established to cover expenses of administration, upkeep and improvement
of the port, as well as to the charges for the use of various
installations, provided that these charges shall be reasonable, having
regard to the expenditure incurred, and shall be levied in the
conditions of equality provided for in Article 327.
Goods shall not be subjected to any other charge except a statistical
duty which shall not exceed 1 per mille ad valorem, and which shall be
devoted exclusively to defraying the expenses of compiling statements of
the traffic in the port.
=ARTICLE 329.=--The facilities granted for the erection of warehouses,
for packing and for unpacking goods, shall be in accordance with trade
requirements for the time being. All goods allowed to be consumed in the
free zone shall be exempt from duty, whether of excise or of any other
description, apart from the statistical duty provided for in Article 328
above.
There shall be no discrimination in regard to any of the provisions of
the present article between persons belonging to different nationalities
or between goods of different origin or destination.
=ARTICLE 330.=--Import duties may be levied on goods leaving the free
zone for consumption in the country on the territory of which the port
is situated. Conversely, export duties may be levied on goods coming
from such country and brought into the free zone. These import and
export duties shall be levied on the same basis and at the same rates as
similar duties levied at the other customs frontiers of the country
concerned. On the other hand, Germany shall not levy, under any
denomination, any import, export, or transit duty on goods carried by
land or water across her territory to or from the free zone from or to
any other State.
Germany shall draw up the necessary regulations to secure and guarantee
such freedom of transit over such railways and waterways in her
territory as normally give access to the free zone.
CHAPTER III.--CLAUSES RELATING TO THE ELBE, THE ODER, THE NIEMEN
(RUSSTROM-MEMEL-NIEMEN), AND THE DANUBE
(I)--_General Clauses_
=ARTICLE 331.=--The following rivers are declared international:
The Elbe (Labe) from its confluence with the Vitava (Moldau)
and the Vitava (Moldau) from Prague;
the Oder (Odra) from its confluence with the Oppa;
the Niemen (Russtrom-Memel-Niemen) from Grodno,
the Danube from Ulm;
and all navigable parts of these river systems which naturally provide
more than one State with access to the sea, with or without
transshipment from one vessel to another; together with lateral canals
and channels constructed either to duplicate or to improve naturally
navigable sections of the specified river system, or to connect two
naturally navigable sections of the same river.
The same shall apply to the Rhine-Danube navigable waterway, should such
a waterway be constructed under the conditions laid down in Article 353.
=ARTICLE 332.=--On the waterways declared to be international in the
preceding article, the nationals, property and flags of all powers shall
be treated on a footing of perfect equality, no distinction being made
to the detriment of the nationals, property or flag of any power between
them and the nationals, property or flag of the riparian State itself or
of the most favored nation.
Nevertheless, German vessels shall not be entitled to carry passengers
or goods by regular services between the ports of any Allied or
Associated Power, without special authority from such power.
=ARTICLE 333.=--Where such charges are not precluded by any existing
conventions, charges varying on different sections of a river may be
levied on vessels using the navigable channels or their approaches,
provided that they are intended solely to cover equitably the cost of
maintaining in a navigable condition, or of improving, the river and its
approaches, or to meet expenditure incurred in the interests of
navigation. The schedule of such charges shall be calculated on the
basis of such expenditure and shall be posted up in the ports. These
charges shall be levied in such a manner as to render any detailed
examination of cargoes unnecessary, except in cases of suspected fraud
or contravention.
=ARTICLE 334.=--The transit of vessels, passengers, and goods on these
waterways shall be effected in accordance with the general conditions
prescribed for transit in Section I., above.
When the two banks of an international river are within the same State,
goods in transit may be placed under seal or in the custody of customs
agents. When the river forms a frontier, goods and passengers in transit
shall be exempt from all customs formalities; the loading and unloading
of goods, and the embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, shall
only take place in the ports specified by the riparian State.
=ARTICLE 335.=--No dues of any kind other than those provided for in the
present part shall be levied along the course or at the mouth of these
rivers.
This provision shall not prevent the fixing by the riparian States of
customs, local octroi, or consumption duties, or the creation of
reasonable and uniform charges levied in the ports, in accordance with
public tariffs, for the use of cranes, elevators, quays, warehouses, &c.
=ARTICLE 336.=--In default of any special organization for carrying out
the works connected with the upkeep and improvement of the international
portion of a navigable system, each riparian State shall be bound to
take suitable measures to remove any obstacle or danger to navigation
and to insure the maintenance of good conditions of navigation.
If a State neglects to comply with this obligation any riparian State,
or any State represented on the International Commission, if there is
one, may appeal to the tribunal instituted for this purpose by the
League of Nations.
=ARTICLE 337.=--The same procedure shall be followed in the case of a
riparian State undertaking any works of a nature to impede navigation in
the international section. The tribunal mentioned in the preceding
article shall be entitled to enforce the suspension or suppression of
such works, making due allowance in its decisions for all rights in
connection with irrigation, waterpower, fisheries, and other national
interests, which, with the consent of all the riparian States or of all
the States represented on the International Commission, if there be one,
shall be given priority over the requirements of navigation.
Appeal to the tribunal of the League of Nations does not require the
suspension of the works.
=ARTICLE 338.=--The régime set out in Articles 332 to 337 above shall be
superseded by one to be laid down in a General Convention drawn up by
the Allied and Associated Powers, and approved by the League of Nations,
relating to the waterways recognized in such Convention as having an
international character. This Convention shall apply in particular to
the whole or part of the above-mentioned river systems of the Elbe
(Labe), the Oder (Odra), the Niemen (Russtrom-Memel-Niemen), and the
Danube, and such other parts of these river systems as may be covered by
a general definition.
Germany undertakes, in accordance with the provisions of Article 379, to
adhere to the said General Convention as well as to all projects
prepared in accordance with Article 343 below for the revision of
existing international agreements and regulations.
=ARTICLE 339.=--Germany shall cede to the Allied and Associated Powers
concerned, within a maximum period of three months from the date on
which notification shall be given her, a proportion of the tugs and
vessels remaining registered in the ports of the river systems referred
to in Article 331 after the deduction of those surrendered by way of
restitution or reparation. Germany shall in the same way cede material
of all kinds necessary to the Allied and Associated Powers concerned for
the utilization of those river systems.
The number of the tugs and boats and the amount of the material so
ceded, and their distribution, shall be determined by an arbitrator or
arbitrators nominated by the United States of America, due regard being
had to the legitimate needs of the parties concerned, and particularly
to the shipping traffic during the five years preceding the war.
All craft so ceded shall be provided with their fittings and gear, shall
be in a good state of repair and in condition to carry goods, and shall
be selected from among those most recently built.
The cessions provided for in the present article shall entail a credit
of which the total amount, settled in a lump sum by the arbitrator or
arbitrators, shall not in any case exceed the value of the capital
expended in the initial establishment of the material ceded, and shall
be set off against the total sums due from Germany; in consequence, the
indemnification of the proprietors shall be a matter for Germany to deal
with.
(2) _Special Clauses Relating to the Elbe, the Oder, and the Niemen
(Russtrom-Memel-Niemen)_
=ARTICLE 340.=--The Elbe (Labe) shall be placed under the administration
of an International Commission which shall comprise:
4 representatives of the German States bordering on the river;
2 representatives of the Czechoslovak State;
1 representative of Great Britain;
1 representative of France;
1 representative of Italy;
1 representative of Belgium;
Whatever be the number of members present, each delegation shall have
the right to record a number of votes equal to the number of
representatives allotted to it.
If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of
the coming into force of the present treaty, the decisions of the
commission shall nevertheless be valid.
=ARTICLE 341.=--The Oder (Odra) shall be placed under the administration
of an International Commission, which shall comprise:
1 representative of Poland;
3 representatives of Prussia;
1 representative of the Czechoslovak State;
1 representative of Great Britain;
1 representative of France;
1 representative of Denmark;
1 representative of Sweden.
If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of
the coming into force of the present treaty, the decisions of the
commission shall nevertheless be valid.
=ARTICLE 342.=--On a request being made to the League of Nations by any
riparian State, the Niemen (Russtrom-Memel-Niemen) shall be placed under
the administration of an International Commission, which shall comprise
one representative of each riparian State, and three representatives of
other States specified by the League of Nations.
=ARTICLE 343.=--The International Commissions referred to in Articles
340 and 341 shall meet within three months of the date of the coming
into force of the present treaty, The International Commission referred
to in Article 342 shall meet within three months from the date of the
request made by a riparian State. Each of these commissions shall
proceed immediately to prepare a project for the revision of the
existing international agreements and regulations, drawn up in
conformity with the General Convention referred to in Article 338,
should such convention have been already concluded. In the absence of
such convention, the project for revision shall be in conformity with
the principles of Articles 332 to 337, above.
=ARTICLE 344.=--The projects referred to in the preceding article shall,
_inter alia_:
(a) Designate the headquarters of the International Commission, and
prescribe the manner in which its President is to be nominated;
(b) Specify the extent of the commission's powers, particularly in
regard to the execution of works of maintenance, control, and
improvement on the river system, the financial régime the fixing and
collection of charges, and regulations for navigation;
(c) Define the sections of the river or its tributaries to which the
international régime shall be applied.
=ARTICLE 345.=--The international agreements and regulations at present
governing the navigation of the Elbe (Labe), the Oder (Odra), and the
Niemen (Russtrom-Memel-Niemen) shall be provisionally maintained in
force until the ratification of the above-mentioned projects.
Nevertheless, in all cases where such agreements and regulations in
force are in conflict with the provisions of Articles 332 to 337 above,
or of the General Convention to be concluded, the latter provisions
shall prevail.
(3) _Special Clauses Relating to the Danube_
=ARTICLE 346.=--The European Commission of the Danube reassumes the
powers it possessed before the war. Nevertheless, as a provisional
measure, only representatives of Great Britain, France, Italy, and
Rumania shall constitute this commission.
=ARTICLE 347.=--From the point where the competence of the European
Commission ceases, the Danube system referred to in Article 331 shall be
placed under the administration of an international commission composed
as follows:
2 representatives of German riparian States;
1 representative of each other riparian State;
1 representative of each non-riparian State represented in the
future on the European Commission of the Danube.
If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of
the coming into force of the present treaty, the decisions of the
commission shall nevertheless be valid.
=ARTICLE 348.=--The International Commission provided for in the
preceding article shall meet as soon as possible after the coming into
force of the present treaty, and shall undertake provisionally the
administration of the river in conformity with the provisions of
Articles 332 to 337, until such time as a definitive statute regarding
the Danube is concluded by the powers nominated by the Allied and
Associated Powers.
=ARTICLE 349.=--Germany agrees to accept the régime which shall be laid
down for the Danube by a conference of the powers nominated by the
Allied and Associated Powers, which shall meet within one year after the
coming into force of the present treaty, and at which German
representatives may be present.
=ARTICLE 350.=--The mandate given by Article 57 of the Treaty of Berlin
of the 13th July, 1878, to Austria-Hungary, and transferred by her to
Hungary, to carry out works at the Iron Gates, is abrogated. The
commission intrusted with the administration of this part of the river
shall lay down provisions for the settlement of accounts subject to the
financial provisions of the present treaty. Charges which may be
necessary shall in no case be levied by Hungary.
=ARTICLE 351.=--Should the Czechoslovak State, the Serb-Croat-Slovene
State, or Rumania, with the authorization of or under mandate from the
International Commission undertake maintenance, improvement, weir or
other works on a part of the river system which forms a frontier, these
States shall enjoy on the opposite bank, and also on the part of the bed
which is outside their territory, all necessary facilities for the
survey, execution and maintenance of such works.
=ARTICLE 352.=--Germany shall be obliged to make to the European
Commission of the Danube all restitutions, reparations, and indemnities
for damages inflicted on the commission during the war.
=ARTICLE 353.=--Should a deep-draught Rhine-Danube navigable waterway be
constructed, Germany undertakes to apply thereto the régime prescribed
in Articles 332 to 338.
CHAPTER IV.--CLAUSES RELATING TO THE RHINE AND THE MOSELLE
=ARTICLES 354.=--As from the coming into force of the present treaty,
the Convention of Mannheim of 17th October, 1868, together with the
Final Protocol thereof, shall continue to govern navigation on the
Rhine, subject to the conditions hereinafter laid down.
In the event of any provisions of the said Convention being in conflict
with those laid down by the General Convention referred to in Article
338 (which shall apply to the Rhine), the provisions of the General
Convention shall prevail.
Within a maximum period of six months from the coming into force of the
present treaty, the Central Commission referred to in Article 355 shall
meet to draw up a project of revision of the Convention of Mannheim.
This project shall be drawn up in harmony with the provisions of the
General Convention referred to above, should this have been concluded by
that time, and shall be submitted to the powers represented on the
Central Commission. Germany hereby agrees to adhere to the project so
drawn up.
Further, the modifications set out in the following articles shall
immediately be made in the Convention of Mannheim.
The Allied and Associated Powers reserve to themselves the right to
arrive at an understanding in this connection with Holland, and Germany
hereby agrees to accede if required to any such understanding.
=ARTICLE 355.=--The Central Commission provided for in the Convention of
Mannheim shall consist of nineteen members, viz.:
Two representatives of the Netherlands;
Two representatives of Switzerland;
Four representatives of German riparian States;
Four representatives of France, which in addition shall appoint
the President of the Commission;
Two representatives of Great Britain;
Two representatives of Italy;
Two representatives of Belgium.
[Illustration: Drawing by Georges Scott in L'illustration
The White Flags That Meant Defeat for the German Cause and Marked the
Beginning of the End of the War
German delegates on their way to the armistice conference with Marshal
Foch reaching the first French lines near Haudroy, November 7, 1918.]
The headquarters of the Central Commission shall be at Strasbourg.
Whatever be the number of members present, each delegation shall have
the right to record a number of votes equal to the number of
representatives allotted to it.
If certain of these representatives cannot be appointed at the time of
the coming into force of the present treaty, the decisions of the
Commission shall nevertheless be valid.
=ARTICLE 356.=--Vessels of all nations, and their cargoes, shall have
the same rights and privileges as those which are granted to vessels
belonging to the Rhine navigation, and to their cargoes.
None of the provisions contained in Articles 15 to 20 and 26 of the
above-mentioned Convention of Mannheim, in Article 4 of the Final
Protocol thereof, or in later Conventions, shall impede the free
navigation of vessels and crews of all nations on the Rhine and on
waterways to which such Conventions apply, subject to compliance with
the regulations concerning pilotage and other police measures drawn up
by the Central Commission.
The provisions of Article 22 of the Convention of Mannheim and of
Article 5 of the Final Protocol thereof shall be applied only to vessels
registered on the Rhine. The Central Commission shall decide on the
steps to be taken to insure that other vessels satisfy the conditions of
the general regulations applying to navigation on the Rhine.
=ARTICLE 357.=--Within a maximum period of three months from the date on
which notification shall be given Germany shall cede to France tugs and
vessels, from among those remaining registered in German Rhine ports
after the deduction of those surrendered by way of restitution or
reparation, or shares in German Rhine navigation companies.
When vessels and tugs are ceded, such vessels and tugs, together with
their fittings and gear, shall be in good state of repair, shall be in
condition to carry on commercial traffic on the Rhine, and shall be
selected from among those most recently built.
The same procedure shall be followed in the matter of the cession by
Germany to France of--
(1) the installations, berthing, and anchorage accommodation, platforms,
docks, warehouses, plant, &c., which German subjects or German companies
owned on the 1st August, 1914, in the port of Rotterdam, and
(2) the shares or interests which Germany or German nationals possessed
in such installations at the same date.
The amount and specifications of such cessions shall be determined
within one year of the coming into force of the present treaty by an
arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by the United States of America, due
regard being had to the legitimate needs of the parties concerned.
The cessions provided for in the present article shall entail a credit
of which the total amount, settled in a lump sum by the arbitrator, or
arbitrators mentioned above, shall not in any case exceed the value of
the capital expended in the initial establishment of the ceded material
and installations, and shall be set off against the total sums due from
Germany; in consequence, the indemnification of the proprietors shall be
a matter for Germany to deal with.
=ARTICLE 358.=--Subject to the obligation to comply with the provisions
of the Convention of Mannheim or of the convention which may be
substituted therefor, and to the stipulations of the present treaty,
France shall have on the whole course of the Rhine included between the
two extreme points of the French frontiers--
(a) the right to take water from the Rhine to feed navigation
and irrigation canals (constructed or to be constructed) or for
any other purpose, and to execute on the German bank all works
necessary for the exercise of this right;
(b) the exclusive right to the power derived from works of
regulation on the river, subject to the payment to Germany of
the value of half the power actually produced, this payment,
which will take into account the cost of the works necessary
for producing the power, being made either in money or in power
and in default of agreement being determined by arbitration.
For this purpose France alone shall have the right to carry out
in this part of the river all works of regulation (weirs or
other works) which she may consider necessary for the
production of power. Similarly, the right of taking water from
the Rhine is accorded to Belgium to feed the Rhine-Meuse
navigable waterway provided for below.
The exercise of the rights mentioned under (a) and (b) of the present
article shall not interfere with navigability nor reduce the facilities
for navigation, either in the bed of the Rhine or in the derivations
which may be substituted therefor, nor shall it involve any increase in
the tolls formerly levied under the convention in force. All proposed
schemes shall be laid before the Central Commission in order that the
commission may assure itself that these conditions are complied with.
To insure the proper and faithful execution of the provisions contained
in (a) and (b) above, Germany:
(i) binds herself not to undertake or to allow the construction of any
lateral canal or any derivation on the right bank of the river opposite
the French frontiers;
(ii) recognizes the possession by France of the right of support on and
the right of way over all lands situated on the right bank which may be
required in order to survey, to build, and to operate weirs which
France, with the consent of the Central Commission, may subsequently
decide to establish. In accordance with such consent, France shall be
entitled to decide upon and fix the limits of the necessary sites, and
she shall be permitted to occupy such lands after a period of two months
after simple notification, subject to the payment by her to Germany of
indemnities of which the total amount shall be fixed by the Central
Commission. Germany shall make it her business to indemnify the
proprietors whose property will be burdened with such servitudes or
permanently occupied by the works.
Should Switzerland so demand, and if the Central Commission approves,
the same rights shall be accorded to Switzerland for the part of the
river forming her frontier with other riparian States;
(iii) shall hand over to the French Government, during the month
following the coming into force of the present treaty, all projects,
designs, drafts of concessions and of specifications concerning the
regulation of the Rhine for any purpose whatever which have been drawn
up or received by the Governments of Alsace-Lorraine or of the Grand
Duchy of Baden.
=ARTICLE 359.=--Subject to the preceding provisions, no works shall be
carried out in the bed or on either bank of the Rhine where it forms the
boundary of France and Germany without the previous approval of the
Central Commission or of its agents.
=ARTICLE 360.=--France reserves the option of substituting herself as
regards the rights and obligations resulting from agreements arrived at
between the Government of Alsace-Lorraine and the Grand Duchy of Baden
concerning the works to be carried out on the Rhine; she may also
denounce such agreements within a term of five years dating from the
coming into force of the present treaty.
France shall also have the option of causing works to be carried out
which may be recognized as necessary by the Central Commission for the
upkeep or improvement of the navigability of the Rhine above Mannheim.
=ARTICLE 361.=--Should Belgium, within a period of 25 years from the
coming into force of the present treaty, decide to create a deep-draught
Rhine-Meuse navigable waterway, in the region of Ruhrort, Germany shall
be bound to construct, in accordance with plans to be communicated to
her by the Belgian Government, after agreement with the Central
Commission, the portion of this navigable waterway situated within her
territory.
The Belgian Government shall, for this purpose, have the right to carry
out on the ground all necessary surveys.
Should Germany fail to carry out all or part of these works, the Central
Commission shall be entitled to carry them out instead; and, for this
purpose, the commission may decide upon and fix the limits of the
necessary sites and occupy the ground after a period of two months after
simple notification, subject to the payment of indemnities to be fixed
by it and paid by Germany.
This navigable waterway shall be placed under the same administrative
régime as the Rhine itself, and the division of the cost of initial
construction, including the above indemnities, among the States crossed
thereby shall be made by the Central Commission.
=ARTICLE 362.=--Germany hereby agrees to offer no objection to any
proposals of the Central Rhine Commission for extending its
jurisdiction:
(1) to the Moselle below the Franco-Luxemburg frontier down to the
Rhine, subject to the consent of Luxemburg;
(2) to the Rhine above Basle up to the Lake of Constance, subject to the
consent of Switzerland;
(3) to the lateral canals and channels which may be established either
to duplicate or to improve naturally navigable sections of the Rhine or
the Moselle, or to connect two naturally navigable sections of these
rivers, and also any other parts of the Rhine River system which may be
covered by the General Convention provided for in Article 338 above.
CHAPTER V.--CLAUSES GIVING TO THE CZECHO-SLOVAK STATE THE USE OF
NORTHERN PORTS
=ARTICLE 363.=--In the ports of Hamburg and Stettin, Germany shall lease
to the Czechoslovak State, for a period of ninety-nine years, areas
which shall be placed under the general régime of free zones and shall
be used for the direct transit of goods coming from or going to that
State.
=ARTICLE 364.=--The delimitation of these areas, and their equipment,
their exploitation, and in general all conditions for their utilization,
including the amount of the rental, shall be decided by a commission
consisting of one delegate of Germany, one delegate of the Czechoslovak
State and one delegate of Great Britain. These conditions shall be
susceptible of revision every ten years in the same manner.
Germany declares in advance that she will adhere to the decisions so
taken.
SECTION III.--_Railways_
CHAPTER I.--CLAUSES RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT
=ARTICLE 365.=--Goods coming from the territories of the Allied and
Associated Powers, and going to Germany, or in transit through Germany
from or to the territories of the Allied and Associated Powers, shall
enjoy on the German railways as regards charges to be collected (rebates
and drawbacks being taken into account) facilities, and all other
matters, the most favorable treatment applied to goods of the same kind
carried on any German lines, either in internal traffic, or for export,
import or in transit, under similar conditions of transport, for example
as regards length of route. The same rule shall be applied, on the
request of one or more of the Allied and Associated Powers, to goods
specially designated by such power or powers coming from Germany and
going to their territories.
International tariffs established in accordance with the rates referred
to in the preceding paragraph and involving through waybills shall be
established when one of the Allied and Associated Powers shall require
it from Germany.
=ARTICLE 366.=--From the coming into force of the present treaty the
high contracting parties shall renew, in so far as concerns them and
under the reserves indicated in the second paragraph of the present
Article, the conventions and arrangements signed at Berne on the 14th of
October, 1890, the 20th September, 1893, the 16th July, 1895, the 16th
June, 1898, and the 19th September, 1906, regarding the transportation
of goods by rail.
If within five years from the date of the coming into force of the
present treaty a new convention for the transportation of passengers,
luggage and goods by rail shall have been concluded to replace the Berne
convention of the 14th October, 1890, and the subsequent additions
referred to above, this new convention and the supplementary provisions
for international transport by rail which may be based on it shall bind
Germany even if she shall have refused to take part in the preparation
of the convention or to subscribe to it. Until a new convention shall
have been concluded, Germany shall conform to the provisions of the
Berne Convention and the subsequent additions referred to above, and to
the current supplementary provisions.
=ARTICLE 367.=--Germany shall be bound to co-operate in the
establishment of through ticket services (for passengers and their
luggage) which shall be required by any of the Allied and Associated
Powers to insure their communication by rail with each other and with
all other countries by transit across the territories of Germany; in
particular Germany shall, for this purpose, accept trains and carriages
coming from the territories of the Allied and Associated Powers and
shall forward them with a speed at least equal to that of her best
long-distance trains on the same lines. The rates applicable to such
through services shall not in any case be higher than the rates
collected on German internal services for the same distance, under the
same conditions of speed and comfort.
The tariffs applicable under the same conditions of speed and comfort to
the transportation of emigrants going to or coming from ports of the
Allied and Associated Powers and using the German railways, shall not be
at a higher kilometric rate than the most favorable tariffs (drawbacks
and rebates being taken into account) enjoyed on the said railways by
emigrants going to or coming from any other ports.
=ARTICLE 368.=--Germany shall not apply specially to such through
services or to the transportation of emigrants going to or coming from
the ports of the Allied and Associated Powers, any technical, fiscal or
administrative measures, such as measures of customs examination,
general police, sanitary police, and control, the result of which would
be to impede or delay such services.
=ARTICLE 369.=--In case of transport partly by rail and partly by
internal navigation, with or without through way-bill, the preceding
Articles shall apply to the part of the journey performed by rail.
CHAPTER II.--ROLLING STOCK
=ARTICLE 370.=--Germany undertakes that German wagons shall be fitted
with apparatus allowing:
(1) of their inclusion in goods trains on the lines such of the Allied
and Associated Powers as are parties to the Berne Convention of May 15,
1886, as modified on May 18, 1907, without hampering the action of the
continuous brake which may be adopted in such countries within ten years
of the coming into force of the present treaty, and
(2) of the acceptance of wagons of such countries in all goods trains on
the German lines.
The rolling stock of the Allied and Associated Powers shall enjoy on the
German lines the same treatment as German rolling stock as regards
movement, upkeep and repairs.
CHAPTER III.--CESSIONS OF RAILWAY LINES
=ARTICLE 371.=--Subject to any special provisions concerning the cession
of ports, waterways and railways situated in the territories over which
Germany abandons her sovereignty, and to the financial conditions
relating to the concessionaires and the pensioning of the personnel, the
cession of railways will take place under the following conditions:
1. The works and installations of all the railroads shall be handed over
complete and in good condition.
2. When a railway system possessing its own rolling-stock is handed over
in its entirety by Germany to one of the Allied and Associated Powers,
such stock shall be handed over complete, in accordance with the last
inventory before November 11th, 1918, and in a normal state of upkeep.
3. As regards lines without any special rolling-stock, commissions of
experts designated by the Allied and Associated Powers, on which Germany
shall be represented, shall fix the proportion of the stock existing on
the system to which those lines belong to be handed over. These
commissions shall have regard to the remount of material registered on
these lines in the last inventory before November 11th, 1918, the length
of track (sidings included), and the nature and amount of traffic. These
commissions shall also specify the locomotives, carriages and wagons to
be handed over in each case; they shall decide upon the conditions of
their acceptance, and shall make the provisional arrangements necessary
to insure their repair in German workshops.
4. Stocks of stores, fittings and plant shall be handed over under the
same conditions as the rolling-stock.
The provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4 above shall be applied to the lines
of former Russian Poland converted by Germany to the German gauge, such
lines being regarded as detached from the Prussian State System.
CHAPTER IV.--PROVISIONS RELATING TO CERTAIN RAILWAY LINES
=ARTICLE 372.=--When as a result of the fixing of new frontiers a
railway connection between two parts of the same country crosses another
country, or a branch line from one country has its terminus in another,
the conditions of working, if not specifically provided for in the
present treaty, shall be laid down in a convention between the railway
administrations concerned. If the administrations cannot come to an
agreement as to the terms of such convention, the points of difference
shall be decided by commissions of experts composed as provided in the
preceding Article.
=ARTICLE 373.=--Within a period of five years from the coming into force
of the present treaty the Czechoslovak State may require the
construction of a railway line in German territory between the stations
of Schlauney and Nachod. The cost of construction shall be borne by the
Czechoslovak State.
=ARTICLE 374.=--Germany undertakes to accept, within ten years of the
coming into force of the present treaty, on request being made by the
Swiss Government after agreement with the Italian Government, the
denunciation of the International Convention of the 13th October, 1909,
relative to the St. Gothard railway. In the absence of agreement as to
the conditions of such denunciation, Germany hereby agrees to accept the
decision of an arbitrator designated by the United States of America.
CHAPTER V.--TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
=ARTICLE 375.=--Germany shall carry out the instructions given her, in
regard to transport, by an authorized body acting on behalf of the
Allied and Associated Powers:
1. For the carriage of troops under the provisions of the present
treaty, and of material, ammunition and supplies for army use.
2. As a temporary measure, for the transportation of supplies for
certain regions, as well as for the restoration, as rapidly as possible,
of the normal conditions of transport, and for the organization of
postal and telegraphic services.
SECTION IV.--_Disputes and Revision of Permanent Clauses_
=ARTICLE 376.=--Disputes which may arise between interested powers with
regard to the interpretation and application of the preceding articles
shall be settled as provided by the League of Nations.
=ARTICLE 377.=--At any time the League of Nations may recommend the
revision of such of these Articles as relate to a permanent
administrative régime.
=ARTICLE 378.=--The stipulations in Articles 321 to 330, 332, 365, and
367 to 369 shall be subject to revision by the Council of the League of
Nations at any time after five years from the coming into force of the
present treaty.
Failing such revision, no Allied or Associated Power can claim after the
expiration of the above period of five years the benefit of any of the
stipulations in the Articles enumerated above on behalf of any portion
of its territories in which reciprocity is not accorded in respect of
such stipulations. The period of five years during which reciprocity
cannot be demanded may be prolonged by the Council of the League of
Nations.
SECTION V.--_Special Provision_
=ARTICLE 379.=--Without prejudice to the special obligations imposed on
her by the present treaty for the benefit of the Allied and Associated
Powers, Germany undertakes to adhere to any general conventions
regarding the international régime of transit, waterways, ports or
railways which may be concluded by the Allied and Associated Powers,
with the approval of the League of Nations, within five years of the
coming into force of the present treaty.
SECTION VI.--_Clauses Relating to the Kiel Canal_
=ARTICLE 380.=--The Kiel Canal and its approaches shall be maintained
free and open to the vessels of commerce and of war of all nations at
peace with Germany on terms of entire equality.
=ARTICLE 381.=--The nationals, property, and vessels of all powers
shall, in respect to charges, facilities, and in all other respects, be
treated on a footing of perfect equality in the use of the canal, no
distinction being made to the detriment of nationals, property, and
vessels of any power between them and the nationals, property, and
vessels of Germany or of the most favored nations.
No impediment shall be placed on the movement of persons or vessels
other than those arising out of police, customs, sanitary, emigration or
immigration regulations, and those relating to the import or export of
prohibited goods. Such regulations must be reasonable and uniform and
must not unnecessarily impede traffic.
=ARTICLE 382.=--Only such charges may be levied on vessels using the
canal or its approaches as are intended to cover in an equitable manner
the cost of maintaining in a navigable condition, or if improving, the
canal or its approaches, or to meet expenses incurred in the interests
of navigation. The schedule of such charged shall be calculated on the
basis of such expenses, and shall be posted up in the ports.
These charges shall be levied in such a manner as to render any detailed
examination of cargoes unnecessary, except in the case of suspected
fraud or contravention.
=ARTICLE 383.=--Goods in transit may be placed under seal or in the
custody of customs agents; the loading and unloading of goods, and the
embarkation and disembarkation of passengers, shall only take place in
the ports specified by Germany.
=ARTICLE 384.=--No charge of any kind other than those provided for in
the present treaty shall be levied along the course or at the approaches
of the Kiel Canal.
=ARTICLE 385.=--Germany shall be bound to take suitable measures to
remove any obstacle or danger to navigation, and to insure the
maintenance of good conditions of navigation. She shall not undertake
any works of a nature to impede navigation on the canal or its
approaches.
=ARTICLE 386.=--In the event of violation of any of the conditions of
Articles 380 to 386, or of disputes as to the interpretation of these
articles, any interested power can appeal to the jurisdiction instituted
for the purpose by the League of Nations.
In order to avoid reference of small questions to the League of Nations,
Germany will establish a local authority at Kiel qualified to deal with
disputes in the first instance and to give satisfaction so far as
possible to complaints which may be presented through the consular
representatives of the interested powers.
PART XIII
Labor
SECTION I.--_Organization of Labor_
Whereas the League of Nations has for its object the establishment of
universal peace and such a peace can be established only if it is based
upon social justice;
And whereas conditions of labor exist involving such injustice,
hardship, and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest
so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperiled; and an
improvement of those conditions is urgently required: as, for example,
by the regulations of the hours of work, including the establishment of
a maximum working day and week, the regulation of the labor supply, the
prevention of unemployment, the provision of an adequate living wage,
the protection of the worker against sickness, disease, and injury
arising out of his employment, the protection of the children, young
persons, and women, provision for old age and injury, protection of the
interests of workers when employed in countries other than their own,
recognition of the principle of freedom of association, the organization
of vocational and technical education, and other measures:
Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of
labor is an obstacle in the way of other nations which desire to improve
the conditions in their own countries;
The high contracting parties, moved by sentiments of justice and
humanity as well as by the desire to secure the permanent peace of the
world, agree to the following.
CHAPTER I.--ORGANIZATION
=ARTICLE 387.=--A permanent organization is hereby established for the
promotion of the objects set forth in the preamble.
The original members of the League of Nations shall be the original
members of this organization, and hereafter membership of the League of
Nations shall carry with it membership of the said organization.
=ARTICLE 388.=--The permanent organization shall consist of:
(i) a General Conference of Representatives of the Members, and,
(ii) an International Labor Office controlled by the governing body
described in Article 393.
=ARTICLE 389.=--The meetings of the General Conference of
Representatives of the Members shall be held from time to time as
occasion may require, and at least once in every year. It shall be
composed of four representatives of each of the members, of whom two
shall be Government delegates and the two others shall be delegates
representing respectively the employers and the workpeople of each of
the members.
Each delegate may be accompanied by advisers, who shall not exceed two
in number for each item on the agenda of the meeting. When questions
specially affecting women are to be considered by the conference, one at
least of the advisers should be a woman.
The members undertake to nominate non-Government delegates and advisers
chosen in agreement with the industrial organizations, if such
organizations exist, which are most representative of employers or
workpeople, as the case may be, in their respective countries.
Advisers shall not speak except on a request made by the delegate whom
they accompany and by special authorization of the President of the
conference, and may not vote.
A delegate may by notice in writing addressed to the President appoint
one of his advisers to act as his deputy, and the adviser, while so
acting, shall be allowed to speak and vote.
The names of the delegates and their advisers will be communicated to
the International Labor Office by the Government of each of the members.
The credentials of delegates and their advisers shall be subject to
scrutiny by the conference, which may, by two-thirds of the votes cast
by the delegates present, refuse to admit any delegate or adviser whom
it deems not to have been nominated in accordance with this article.
=ARTICLE 390.=--Every delegate shall be entitled to vote individually on
all matters which are taken into consideration by the conference.
If one of the members fails to nominate one of the non-Government
delegates whom it is entitled to nominate, the other non-Government
delegates shall be allowed to sit and speak at the conference, but not
to vote.
If, in accordance with Article 389, the conference refuses admission to
a delegate of one of the members, the provisions of the present article
shall apply as if that delegate had not been nominated.
=ARTICLE 391.=--The meetings of the conference shall be held at the seat
of the League of Nations, or at such other place as may be decided by
the conference at a previous meeting by two-thirds of the votes cast by
the delegates present.
=ARTICLE 392.=--The International Labor Office shall be established at
the seat of the League of Nations as part of the organization of the
League.
=ARTICLE 393.=--The International Labor Office shall be under the
control of a governing body consisting of twenty-four persons, appointed
in accordance with the following provisions:
The governing body of the International Labor Office shall be
constituted as follows:
Twelve persons representing the Governments:
Six persons elected by the delegates to the conference representing the
employers:
Six persons elected by the delegates to the conference representing the
workers.
Of the twelve persons representing the Governments, eight shall be
nominated by the members which are of the chief industrial importance,
and four shall be nominated by the members selected for the purpose by
the Government delegates to the conference, excluding the delegates of
the eight members mentioned above.
Any question as to which are the members of the chief industrial
importance shall be decided by the council of the League of Nations.
The period of office of the members of the governing body will be three
years. The method of filling vacancies and other similar questions may
be determined by the governing body, subject to the approval of the
conference.
The governing body shall, from time to time, elect one of its members to
act as its Chairman, shall regulate its own procedure, and shall fix its
own times of meeting. A special meeting shall be held if a written
request to that effect is made by at least ten members of the governing
body.
=ARTICLE 394.=--There shall be a Director of the International Labor
Office, who shall be appointed by the governing body, and, subject to
the instructions of the Governing Body, shall be responsible for the
efficient conduct of the International Labor Office and for such other
duties as may be assigned to him.
The Director or his deputy shall attend all meetings of the governing
body.
=ARTICLE 395.=--The staff of the International Labor Office shall be
appointed by the Director, who shall, as far as is possible with due
regard to the efficiency of the work of the Office, select persons of
different nationalities. A certain number of these persons shall be
women.
=ARTICLE 396.=--The functions of the International Labor Office shall
include the collection and distribution of information on all subjects
relating to the international adjustment of conditions of industrial
life and labor, and particularly the examination of subjects which it is
proposed to bring before the conference with a view to the conclusion of
international conventions, and the conduct of such special
investigations as may be ordered by the conference.
It will prepare the agenda for the meetings of the conference.
It will carry out the duties required of it by the provisions of this
part of the present treaty in connection with international disputes.
It will edit and publish in French and English, and in such other
languages as the governing body may think desirable, a periodical paper
dealing with problems of industry and employment of international
interest.
Generally, in addition to the functions set out in this Article, it
shall have such other powers and duties as may be assigned to it by the
conference.
=ARTICLE 397.=--The Government departments of any of the members which
deal with questions of industry and employment may communicate directly
with the Director through the representative of their Government on the
governing body of the International Labor Office, or, failing any such
representative, through such other qualified official as the Government
may nominate for the purpose.
=ARTICLE 398.=--The International Labor Office shall be entitled to the
assistance of the Secretary-General of the League of Nations in any
matter in which it can be given.
=ARTICLE 399.=--Each of the members will pay the traveling and
subsistence expenses of its delegates and their advisers and of its
representatives attending the meetings of the conference or governing
body, as the case may be.
All the other expenses of the International Labor Office and of the
meetings of the conference or governing body shall be paid to the
Director by the Secretary-General of the League of Nations out of the
general funds of the League.
The Director shall be responsible to the Secretary-General of the League
for the proper expenditure of all moneys paid to him in pursuance of
this Article.
CHAPTER II.--PROCEDURE
=ARTICLE 400.=--The agenda of all meetings of the conference will be
settled by the governing body, who shall consider any suggestion as to
the agenda that may be made by the Government of any of the members or
by any representative organization recognized for the purpose of Article
389.
=ARTICLE 401.=--The Director shall act as the Secretary of the
Conference, and shall transmit the agenda so as to reach the members
four months before the meeting of the conference, and, through them, the
non-Government delegates when appointed.
=ARTICLE 402.=--Any of the Governments of the members may formally
object to the inclusion of any item or items in the agenda. The grounds
for such objection shall be set forth in a reasoned statement addressed
to the Director, who shall circulate it to all the members of the
permanent organization.
Items to which such objection has been made shall not, however, be
excluded from the agenda if at the conference a majority of two-thirds
of the votes cast by delegates present is in favor of considering them.
If the conference decides (otherwise than under the preceding paragraph)
by two-thirds of the votes cast by the delegates present that any
subject shall be considered by the conference, that subject shall be
included in the agenda for the following meeting.
=ARTICLE 403.=--The conference shall regulate its own procedure, shall
elect its own President, and may appoint committees to consider and
report on any matter.
Except as otherwise expressly provided in this part of the present
treaty, all matters shall be decided by a simple majority of the votes
cast by the delegates present.
The voting is void unless the total number of votes cast is equal to
half the number of the delegates attending the conference.
=ARTICLE 404.=--The conference may add to any committees which it
appoints technical experts, who shall be assessors without power to
vote.
=ARTICLE 405.=--When the conference has decided on the adoption of
proposals with regard to an item in the agenda, it will rest with the
conference to determine whether these proposals should take the form:
(a) of a recommendation to be submitted to the members for consideration
with a view to effect being given to it by national legislation or
otherwise, or (b) of a draft international convention for ratification
by the members.
In either case a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast by the
delegates present shall be necessary on the final vote for the adoption
of the recommendation or draft convention, as the case may be, by the
conference.
In framing any recommendation or draft convention of general application
the conference shall have due regard to those countries in which
climatic conditions, the imperfect development of industrial
organization or other special circumstances make the industrial
conditions substantially different and shall suggest the modifications,
if any, which it considers may be required to meet the case of such
countries.
A copy of the recommendation or draft convention shall be authenticated
by the signature of the President of the conference and of the Director
and shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of the League of
Nations. The Secretary-General will communicate a certified copy of the
recommendation or draft convention to each of the members.
Each of the members undertakes that it will, within the period of one
year at most from the closing of the session of the conference, or if it
is impossible owing to exceptional circumstances to do so within the
period of one year, then at the earliest practicable moment and in no
case later than eighteen months from the closing of the session of the
conference, bring the recommendation or draft convention before the
authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies, for
the enactment of legislation or other action.
In the case of a recommendation the members will inform the
Secretary-General of the action taken.
In the case of a draft convention, the member will, if it obtains the
consent of the authority or authorities within whose competence the
matter lies, communicate the formal ratification of the convention to
the Secretary-General and will take such action as may be necessary to
make effective the provisions of such convention.
If on a recommendation no legislative or other action is taken to make a
recommendation effective, or if the draft convention fails to obtain the
consent of the authority or authorities within whose competence the
matter lies, no further obligation shall rest upon the member.
In the case of a federal state, the power of which to enter into
conventions on labor matters is subject to limitations, it shall be in
the discretion of that Government to treat a draft convention to which
such limitations apply as a recommendation only, and the provisions of
this article with respect to recommendations shall apply in such case.
The above Article shall be interpreted in accordance with the following
principle:
In no case shall any member be asked or required, as a result of the
adoption of any recommendation or draft convention by the conference to
lessen the protection afforded by its existing legislation to the
workers concerned.
=ARTICLE 406.=--Any convention so ratified shall be registered by the
Secretary-General of the League of Nations, but shall only be binding
upon the members which ratify it.
[Illustration: Copyright Underwood & Underwood
Paris in War Time
A wonderful photograph made from the top platform of the Eiffel Tower.
Hovering over the city is a French dirigible, a guardian against the
dreaded Zeppelins. Paris in war time pursued the even tenor of its way,
but it was a saddened city where frivolous tourists were not wanted.]
=ARTICLE 407.=--If any convention coming before the conference for final
consideration fails to secure the support of two-thirds of the votes
cast by the delegates present, it shall nevertheless be within the right
of any of the members of the permanent organization to agree to such
convention among themselves.
Any convention so agreed to shall be communicated by the Governments
concerned to the Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who shall
register it.
=ARTICLE 408.=--Each of the members agrees to make an annual report to
the International Labor office on the measures which it has taken to
give effect to the provisions of conventions to which it is a party.
These reports shall be made in such form and shall contain such
particulars as the governing body may request. The Directors shall lay a
summary of these reports before the next meeting of the conference.
=ARTICLE 409.=--In the event of any representation being made to the
International Labor Office by an industrial association of employers or
of workers that any of the members has failed to secure in any respect
the effective observance within its jurisdiction of any convention to
which it is a party, the Governing Body may communicate this
representation to the Government against which it is made and may invite
that Government to make such statement on the subject as it may think
fit.
=ARTICLE 410.=--If no statement is received within a reasonable time
from the Government in question, or if the statement when received is
not deemed to be satisfactory by the Governing Body, the latter shall
have the right to publish the representation and the statement, if any,
made in reply to it.
=ARTICLE 411.=--Any of the members shall have the right to file a
complaint with the International Labor Office if it is not satisfied
that any other member is securing the effective observance of any
convention which both have ratified in accordance with the foregoing
articles.
The Governing Body may, if it thinks fit, before referring such a
complaint to a Commission of inquiry, as hereinafter provided for,
communicate with the Government in question in the manner described in
Article 409.
If the Governing Body does not think it necessary to communicate the
complaint to the Government in question, or if, when they have made such
communication, no statement in reply has been received within a
reasonable time which the Governing Body considers to be satisfactory,
the Governing Body may apply for the appointment of a Commission of
inquiry to consider the complaint and to report thereon.
The Governing Body may adopt the same procedure either of its own motion
or on receipt of a complaint from a Delegate to the Conference.
When any matter arising out of Articles 410 or 411 is being considered
by the Governing Body, the Government in question shall, if not already
represented thereon, be entitled to send a representative to take part
in the proceedings of the Governing Body while the matter is under
consideration. Adequate notice of the date on which the matter will be
considered shall be given to the Government in question.
=ARTICLE 412.=--The Commission of Inquiry shall be constituted in
accordance with the following provisions:
Each of the members agrees to nominate within six months of the date on
which the present Treaty comes into force three persons of industrial
experience, of whom one shall be a representative of employers, one a
representative of workers, and one a person of independent standing, who
shall together form a panel from which the members of the Commission of
Inquiry shall be drawn.
The qualifications of the persons so nominated shall be subject to
scrutiny by the Governing Body, which may by two-thirds of the votes
cast by the representatives present refuse to accept the nomination of
any person whose qualifications do not in its opinion comply with the
requirements of the present article.
Upon the application of the Governing Body, the Secretary-General of the
League of Nations shall nominate three persons, one from each section of
this panel, to constitute the Commission of Inquiry, and shall designate
one of them as the President of the commission. None of these three
persons shall be a person nominated to the panel by any member directly
concerned in the complaint.
=ARTICLE 413.=--The members agree that, in the event of the reference of
a complaint to a commission of inquiry under Article 411, they will
each, whether directly concerned in the complaint or not, place at the
disposal of the commission all the information in their possession which
bears upon the subject-matter of the complaint.
=ARTICLE 414.=--When the Commission of Inquiry has fully considered the
complaint, it shall prepare a report embodying its findings on all
questions of fact relevant to determining the issue between the parties
and containing such recommendations as it may think proper as to the
steps which should be taken to meet the complaint and the time within
which they should be taken.
It shall also indicate in this report the measures, if any, of an
economic character against a defaulting Government which it considers to
be appropriate, and which it considers other Governments would be
justified in adopting.
=ARTICLE 415.=--The Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall
communicate the report of the Commission of Inquiry to each of the
Governments concerned in the complaint, and shall cause it to be
published.
Each of these Governments shall within one month inform the
Secretary-General of the League of Nations whether or not it accepts the
recommendations contained in the report of the Commission; and if not,
whether it proposes to refer the complaint to the Permanent Court of
International Justice of the League of Nations.
=ARTICLE 416.=--In the event of any member failing to take the action
required by Article 405, with regard to a recommendation or draft
convention, any other member shall be entitled to refer the matter to
the Permanent Court of International Justice.
=ARTICLE 417.=--The decision of the Permanent Court of International
Justice in regard to a complaint or matter which has been referred to it
in pursuance of Article 415 or Article 416 shall be final.
=ARTICLE 418.=--The Permanent Court of International Justice may affirm,
vary or reverse any of the findings or recommendations of the Commission
of Inquiry, if any, and shall in its decision indicate the measures, if
any, of an economic character which it considers to be appropriate, and
which other Governments would be justified in adopting against a
defaulting Government.
=ARTICLE 419.=--In the event of any member failing to carry out within
the time specified the recommendations, if any, contained in the report
of the Commission of Inquiry, or in the decision of the Permanent Court
of International Justice, as the case may be, any other member may take
against that member the measures of an economic character indicated in
the report of the Commission or in the decision of the Court as
appropriate to the case.
=ARTICLE 420.=--The defaulting Government may at any time inform the
Governing Body that it has taken the steps necessary to comply with the
recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry or with those in the
decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice, as the case
may be, and may request it to apply to the Secretary-General of the
League to constitute a commission of Inquiry to verify its contention.
In this case the provisions of Articles 412, 413, 414, 415, 417 and 418
shall apply, and if the report of the Commission of Inquiry or the
decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice is in favor of
the defaulting Government, the other Governments shall forthwith
discontinue the measures of an economic character that they have taken
against the defaulting Government.
CHAPTER III.--GENERAL
=ARTICLE 421.=--The members engage to apply conventions which they have
ratified in accordance with the provisions of this part of the present
treaty to their colonies, protectorates, and possessions which are not
fully self-governing:
1. Except where owing to the local conditions the convention is
inapplicable, or
2. Subject to such modifications as may be necessary to adapt the
convention to local conditions.
And each of the members shall notify to the International Labor Office
the action taken in respect of each of its colonies, protectorates, and
possessions which are not fully self-governing.
=ARTICLE 422.=--Amendments to this part of the present treaty which are
adopted by the Conference by a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast
by the delegates present shall take effect when ratified by the States
whose representatives compose the Council of the League of Nations and
by three-fourths of the members.
=ARTICLE 423.=--Any question or dispute relating to the interpretation
of this part of the present treaty or of any subsequent convention
concluded by the members in pursuance of the provisions of this part of
the present treaty shall be referred for decision to the Permanent Court
of International Justice.
CHAPTER IV.--TRANSITORY PROVISIONS
=ARTICLE 424.=--The first meeting of the Conference shall take place in
October, 1919. The place and agenda for this meeting shall be as
specified in the Annex hereto.
Arrangements for the convening and the organization of the first meeting
of the Conference will be made by the Government designated for the
purpose in the said Annex. That Government shall be assisted in the
preparation of the documents for submission to the Conference by an
International Committee constituted as provided in the said Annex.
The expenses of the first meeting and of all subsequent meetings held
before the League of Nations has been able to establish a general fund,
other than the expenses of delegates and their advisers, will be borne
by the members in Accordance with the apportionment of the expenses of
the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union.
=ARTICLE 425.=--Until the League of Nations has been constituted all
communications which under the provisions of the foregoing articles
should be addressed to the Secretary-General of the League will be
preserved by the Director of the International Labor Office, who will
transmit them to the Secretary-General of the League.
=ARTICLE 426.=--Pending the creation of a Permanent Court of
International Justice, disputes which in accordance with this part of
the present treaty would be submitted to it for decision will be
referred to a tribunal of three persons appointed by the Council of the
League of Nations.
ANNEX
_First Meeting of Annual Labor Conference, 1919_
The place of meeting will be Washington.
The Government of the United States of America is requested to convene
the conference.
The International Organizing Committee will consist of seven members,
appointed by the United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy,
Japan, Belgium, and Switzerland. The committee may, if it thinks
necessary, invite other members to appoint representatives.
Agenda:
1. Application of principle of the 8-hours day or of the 48-hours week.
2. Question of preventing or providing against unemployment.
3. Women's employment.
(a) Before and after childbirth, including the question of
maternity benefit.
(b) During the night.
(c) In unhealthy processes.
4. Employment of children:
(a) Minimum age of employment.
(b) During the night.
(c) In unhealthy processes.
5. Extension and application of the International Conventions adopted at
Berne in 1906 on the prohibition of night work for women employed in
industry and the prohibition of the use of white phosphorus in the
manufacture of matches.
SECTION II.--_General Principles_
=ARTICLE 427.=--The High Contracting Parties, recognizing that the
well-being, physical, moral, and intellectual, of industrial wage
earners is of supreme international importance, have framed, in order to
further this great end, the permanent machinery provided for in Section
I, and associated with that of the League of Nations.
They recognize that differences of climate, habits, and customs, of
economic opportunity and industrial tradition, make strict uniformity in
the conditions of labor difficult of immediate attainment. But, holding
as they do, that labor should not be regarded merely as an article of
commerce, they think that there are methods and principles for
regulating labor conditions which all industrial communities should
endeavor to apply, so far as their special circumstances will permit.
Among these methods and principles, the following seem to the High
Contracting Parties to be of special and urgent importance:
First--The guiding principle above enunciated that labor should not be
regarded merely as a commodity or article of commerce.
Second--The right of association for all lawful purposes by the employed
as well as by the employers.
Third--The payment to the employed of a wage adequate to maintain a
reasonable standard of life as this is understood in their time and
country.
Fourth--The adoption of an eight hours day or a forty-eight hours week
as the standard to be aimed at where it has not already been attained.
Fifth--The adoption of a weekly rest of at least twenty-four hours,
which should include Sunday wherever practicable.
Sixth--The abolition of child labor and the imposition of such
limitations on the labor of young persons as shall permit the
continuation of their education and assure their proper physical
development.
Seventh--The principle that men and women should receive equal
remuneration for work of equal value.
Eighth--The standard set by law in each country with respect to the
conditions of labor should have due regard to the equitable economic
treatment of all workers lawfully resident therein.
Ninth--Each State should make provision for a system of inspection in
which women should take part in order to insure the enforcement of the
laws and regulations for the protection of the employed.
Without claiming that these methods and principles are either complete
or final, the High Contracting Parties are of opinion that they are well
fitted to guide the policy of the League of Nations; and that, if
adopted by the industrial communities who are members of the League, and
safeguarded in practice by an adequate system of such inspection, they
will confer lasting benefits upon the wage earners of the world.
PART XIV
Guarantees
SECTION I.--_Western Europe_
=ARTICLE 428.=--As a guarantee for the execution of the present treaty
by Germany, the German territory situated to the west of the Rhine,
together with the bridgeheads, will be occupied by Allied and Associated
troops for a period of fifteen years from the coming into force of the
present treaty.
=ARTICLE 429.=--If the conditions of the present treaty are faithfully
carried out by Germany, the occupation referred to in Article 428 will
be successively restricted as follows:
(i) At the expiration of five years there will be evacuated:--the
bridgehead of Cologne and the territories north of a line running along
the Ruhr, then along the railway Jülich, Duren, Euskirchen, Rheinbach,
thence along the road Rheinbach to Sinzig, and reaching the Rhine at the
confluence with the Ahr; the roads, railways and places mentioned above
being excluded from the area evacuated.
(ii) At the expiration of ten years, there will be evacuated:--the
bridgehead of Coblenz and the territories north of a line to be drawn
from the intersection between the frontiers of Belgium, Germany and
Holland, running about 4 kilometers south of Aix-la-Chapelle, then to
and following the crest of Forst Gremünd, then east of the railway of
the Urft Valley, then along Blankenheim, Valdorf, Dreis, Ulmen to and
following the Moselle from Bremm to Nehren, then passing by Kappel and
Simmern, then following the ridge of the heights between Simmern and the
Rhine and reaching this river at Bacharach; all the places, valleys,
roads and railways mentioned above being excluded from the area
evacuated.
(iii) At the expiration of fifteen years there will be evacuated:--the
bridgehead of Mainz, the bridgehead of Kehl and the remainder of the
German territory under occupation.
If at that date the guarantees against unprovoked aggression by Germany
are not considered sufficient by the Allied and Associated Governments
the evacuation of the occupying troops may be delayed to the extent
regarded as necessary for the purpose of obtaining the required
guarantees.
=ARTICLE 430.=--In case either during the occupation or after the
expiration of the fifteen years referred to above, the Reparation
Commission finds that Germany refuses to observe the whole or part of
her obligations under the present treaty with regard to reparation, the
whole or part of the areas specified in Article 429 will be re-occupied
immediately by the Allied of the employed.
=ARTICLE 431.=--If before the expiration of the period of fifteen years
Germany complies with all the undertakings resulting from the present
treaty, the occupying forces will be withdrawn immediately.
=ARTICLE 432.=--All matters relating to the occupation and not provided
for by the present treaty shall be regulated by subsequent agreements,
which Germany hereby undertakes to observe.
SECTION II.--_Eastern Europe_
=ARTICLE 433.=--As a guarantee for the execution of the provisions of
the present treaty, by which Germany accepts definitely the abrogation
of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty, and of all treaties, conventions and
agreements entered into by her with the Maximalist Government in Russia,
and in order to insure the restoration of peace and good government in
the Baltic Provinces and Lithuania, all German troops at present in the
said territories shall return to within the frontiers of Germany as soon
as the Governments of the principal Allied and Associated Powers shall
think the moment suitable, having regard to the internal situation of
these territories. These troops shall abstain from all requisitions and
seizures and from any other coercive measures, with a view to obtaining
supplies intended for Germany, and shall in no way interfere with such
measures for national defense as may be adopted by the provisional
Governments of Esthonia, Letvia, and Lithuania.
No other German troops shall, pending the evacuation or after the
evacuation is complete, be admitted to the said territories.
PART XV
Miscellaneous Provisions
=ARTICLE 434.=--Germany undertakes to recognize the full force of the
treaties of peace and additional conventions which may be concluded by
the Allied and Associated Powers with the powers who fought on the side
of Germany, and to recognize whatever disposition may be made concerning
the territories of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, of the Kingdom
of Bulgaria, and of the Ottoman Empire, and to recognize the new States
within their frontiers as there laid down.
=ARTICLE 435.=--The high contracting parties, while they recognize the
guarantees stipulated by the treaties of 1815, and especially by the Act
of 20th November, 1815, in favor of Switzerland, the said guarantees
constituting international obligations for the maintenance of peace,
declare nevertheless that the provisions of these treaties, conventions,
declarations and other supplementary acts concerning the neutralized
zone of Savoy, as laid down in paragraph 1 of Article 92 of the Final
Act of the Congress of Vienna, and in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the
Treaty of Paris of 20th November, 1815, are no longer consistent with
present conditions. For this reason the high contracting parties take
note of the agreement reached between the French Government and the
Swiss Government for the abrogation of the stipulations relating to this
zone which are and remain abrogated.
The high contracting parties also agree that the stipulations of the
treaties of 1815 and of the other supplementary acts concerning the free
zones of Upper Savoy and the Gex district are no longer consistent with
present conditions, and that it is for France and Switzerland to come to
an agreement together with a view to settling between themselves the
status of these territories under such conditions as shall be considered
suitable by both countries.
ANNEX
1. The Swiss Federal Council has informed the French Government on the
5th May, 1919, that after examining the provisions of Article 435 in a
like spirit of sincere friendship it has happily reached the conclusion
that it was possible to acquiesce in it under the following conditions
and reservations:
First--The neutralized zone of Haute-Savoie:
(a) It will be understood that as long as the Federal Chambers have not
ratified the agreement come to between the two Governments concerning
the abrogation of the stipulations in respect of the neutralized zone of
Savoy nothing will be definitely settled, on one side or the other, in
regard to this subject.
(b) The assent given by the Swiss Government to the abrogation of the
above-mentioned stipulations presupposes, in conformity with the text
adopted, the recognition of the guarantees formulated in favor of
Switzerland by the treaties of 1815 and particularly by the declaration
of 20th November, 1815.
(c) The agreement between the Governments of France and Switzerland for
the abrogation of the above-mentioned stipulations will only be
considered as valid if the treaty of peace contains this article in its
present wording. In addition, the parties to the treaty of peace should
endeavor to obtain the assent of the signatory powers of the treaties of
1815 and of the declaration of 20th November, 1815, which are not
signatories of the present treaty of peace.
Second--Free zone of Haute-Savoie and the district of Gex.
(a) The Federal Council makes the most express reservations to the
interpretation to be given to the statement mentioned in the last
paragraph of the above article for insertion in the treaty of peace,
which provides that "the stipulations of the treaties of 1815 and other
supplementary acts concerning the free zones of Haute-Savoie and the Gex
district are no longer consistent with the present conditions." The
Federal Council would not wish that its acceptance of the above wording
should lead to the conclusion that it would agree to the suppression of
a system intended to give neighboring territory the benefit of a special
régime which is appropriate to the geographical and economical situation
and which has been well tested.
In the opinion of the Federal Council the question is not the
modification of the customs system of the zones as set up by the
treaties mentioned above, but only the regulation in a manner more
appropriate to the economic conditions of the present day of the terms
of the exchange of goods between the regions in question. The Federal
Council has been led to make the preceding observations by the perusal
of the draft convention concerning the future constitution of the zones,
which was annexed to the note of April 26 from the French Government.
While making the above reservations the Federal Council declares its
readiness to examine in the most friendly spirit any proposals which the
French Government may deem it convenient to make on the subject.
(b) It is conceded that the stipulations of the treaties of 1815 and
other supplementary acts relative to the free zones will remain in force
until a new arrangement is come to between France and Switzerland to
regulate matters in this territory.
2. The French Government have addressed to the Swiss Government, on May
18, 1919, the following note in reply to the communication set out in
the preceding paragraph:
In a note dated May 5 the Swiss Legation in Paris was good enough to
inform the Government of the French Republic that the Federal Government
adhered to the proposed article to be inserted in the Treaty of Peace
between the Allied and Associated Governments and Germany.
The French Government have taken note with much pleasure of the
agreement thus reached, and, at their request, the proposed article,
which had been accepted by the Allied and Associated Governments, has
been inserted under No. 435 in the peace conditions presented to the
German plenipotentiaries.
The Swiss Government, in their note of May 5, on this subject, have
expressed various views and reservations.
Concerning the observations relating to the free zones of Haute-Savoie
and the Gex district, the French Government have the honor to observe
that the provisions of the last paragraph of Article 435 are so clear
that their purport cannot be misapprehended, especially where it implies
that no other power but France and Switzerland will in future be
interested in that question.
The French Government, on their part, are anxious to protect the
interests of the French territories concerned, and, with that object,
having their special situation in view, they bear in mind the
desirability of assuring them a suitable customs régime and determining,
in a manner better suited to present conditions, the methods of
exchanges between these territories and the adjacent Swiss territories,
while taking into account the reciprocal interests of both regions.
It is understood that this must in no way prejudice the right of France
to adjust her customs line in this region in conformity with her
political frontier, as is done on the other portions of her territorial
boundaries, and as was done by Switzerland long ago on her own
boundaries in this region.
The French Government are pleased to note on this subject in what a
friendly disposition the Swiss Government take this opportunity of
declaring their willingness to consider any French proposal dealing with
the system to be substituted for the present régime of the said free
zones, which the French Government intend to formulate in the same
friendly spirit.
Moreover, the French Government have no doubt that the provisional
maintenance of the régime of 1815 as to the free zones referred to in
the above-mentioned paragraph of the note from the Swiss Legation of May
5, whose object is to provide for the passage from the present régime to
the conventional régime, will cause no delay whatsoever in the
establishment of the new situation which has been found necessary by the
two Governments. This remark applies also to the ratification by the
Federal Chambers, dealt with in Paragraph 1 (a), of the Swiss note of
May 5, under the heading "Neutralized Zone of Haute-Savoie."
=ARTICLE 436.=--The high contracting parties declare and place on record
that they have taken note of the treaty signed by the Government of the
French Republic on July 17th, 1918, with His Serene Highness the Prince
of Monaco defining the relations between France and the Principality.
=ARTICLE 437.=--The high contracting parties agree that, in the absence
of a subsequent agreement to the contrary, the Chairman of any
commission established by the present treaty shall, in the event of an
equality of votes, be entitled to a second vote.
=ARTICLE 438.=--The Allied and Associated Powers agree that where
Christian religious missions were being maintained by German societies
or persons in territory belonging to them, or of which the government is
intrusted to them in accordance with the present treaty, the property
which these missions or missionary societies possessed, including that
of trading societies whose profits were devoted to the support of
missions, shall continue to be devoted to missionary purposes. In order
to insure the due execution of this undertaking the Allied and
Associated Governments will hand over such property to boards of
trustees appointed by or approved by the Governments and composed of
persons holding the faith of the mission whose property is involved.
The Allied and Associated Governments, while continuing to maintain full
control as to the individuals by whom the missions are conducted, will
safeguard the interests of such missions.
Germany, taking note of the above undertaking, agrees to accept all
arrangements made or to be made by the Allied or Associated Government
concerned for carrying on the work of the said missions or trading
societies and waives all claims on their behalf.
=ARTICLE 439.=--Without prejudice to the provisions of the present
treaty, Germany undertakes not to put forward directly or indirectly
against any Allied or Associated Power, signatory of the present treaty,
including those which without having declared war, have broken off
diplomatic relations with the German Empire, any pecuniary claim based
on events which occurred at any time before the coming into force of the
present treaty.
The present stipulation will bar completely and finally all claims of
this nature, which will be thenceforward extinguished, whoever may be
the parties in interest.
=ARTICLE 440.=--Germany accepts and recognizes as valid and binding all
decrees and orders concerning German ships and goods and all orders
relating to the payment of costs made by any prize court of any of the
Allied or Associated Powers, and undertakes not to put forward any claim
arising out of such decrees or orders on behalf of any German national.
The Allied and Associated Powers reserve the right to examine in such
manner as they may determine all decisions and orders of German Prize
Courts, whether affecting the property rights of nationals of those
powers or of neutral powers. Germany agrees to furnish copies of all the
documents constituting the record of the cases, including the decisions
and orders made, and to accept and give effect to the recommendations
made after such examination of the cases.
The present treaty, of which the French and English texts are both
authentic, shall be ratified.
The deposit of ratifications shall be made at Paris as soon as possible.
Powers of which the seat of the Government is outside Europe will be
entitled merely to inform the Government of the French Republic through
their diplomatic representative at Paris that their ratification has
been given; in that case they must transmit the instrument of
ratification as soon as possible.
A first procès-verbal of the deposit of ratifications will be drawn up
as soon as the treaty has been ratified by Germany on the one hand, and
by three of the principal Allied and Associated Powers on the other
hand.
From the date of the first procès-verbal the treaty will come into force
between the high contracting parties who have ratified it. For the
determination of all periods of time provided for in the present treaty
this date will be the date of the coming into force of the treaty.
In all other respects the treaty will enter into force for each power at
the date of the deposit of its ratification.
The French Government will transmit to all the signatory powers a
certified copy of the procès-verbaux of the deposit of ratifications.
IN FAITH WHEREOF the above-named plenipotentiaries (1) except as
indicated in the footnotes to the preamble, have signed the present
treaty.
DONE AT VERSAILLES, in a single copy which will remain deposited in the
archives of the French Republic, and of which authenticated copies will
be transmitted to each of the signatory powers.
REJECTION OF THE PEACE TREATY
The Senate Fails to Ratify the Treaty of Versailles With the Revised
Lodge Reservations by a Vote of 49 to 35
The Treaty of Versailles with the Covenant of The League of Nations was
signed on June 28, 1919, by Germany and by the representatives of the
Allied and Associated Powers, with the exception of China.
It was ratified by the German National Assembly on July 10th; by the
British Parliament on July 25th, and by King George on July 31st, by the
King of Italy on October 7th, by France on October 13th and by Japan on
October 27th.
On the day the Treaty was signed President Wilson sailed for New York,
and on July 10th he addressed the Senate and submitted the Treaty to
that body, which under the Constitution is empowered to give its "advice
and consent" to treaties negotiated by the Chief Executive. Opposition
to the Covenant of the League of Nations had previously developed in the
Senate, especially on the part of the Republican majority. The Foreign
Affairs Committee, of which Senator Lodge of Massachusetts was Chairman,
was from the start unalterably opposed to the Treaty unless it contained
as amendments or as reservations clauses which, it was claimed, would
safeguard American interests and institutions. In February the
President, who had made a hurried trip from Paris in order to acquaint
the American people with the details of the Treaty as it affected this
country, conferred at the White House with the Foreign Relations
Committee of the Senate and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House,
on which occasion there was a frank and comprehensive discussion, a
complete stenographic report of which was published in the press. On
March 3rd Senator Lodge presented a resolution signed by 39 Republican
Senators and Senators-elect protesting against the Covenant of The
League of Nations, as it stood. As it required a two-thirds vote of the
Senate to ratify, these 39 opponents of the treaty would be sufficient
to reject it, and the virtual effect of this resolution was to give
warning to the President that the Treaty unless it were to be
"Americanized" would fail of ratification.
The President on March 5th sailed from New York and returned to Paris to
take up his work at the Peace Conference, remaining there until the
Treaty was signed.
On July 15th, the Foreign Relations Committee took the Treaty under
consideration and conducted hearings on it. One of these, continuing for
several days, was for the purpose of exposing what the Committee
regarded as the unjust treatment of China in respect of the cession to
Japan, under the Treaty, of the German rights in Shantung (Kiauchau).
On August 19th, the Foreign Relations Committee again conferred at the
White House with the President, and on September 3rd the President
started on a tour of the country to win support for the Treaty and The
League of Nations.
On September 10th the Foreign Relations Committee reported the Treaty to
the Senate with 45 amendments and four reservations.
On September 26th, owing to a nervous breakdown, the President at
Wichita, Kansas, gave up his tour of the country and returned to
Washington.
What were known as the Fall amendments to the Treaty were defeated in
the Senate on October 2nd by 58 to 30, and as this vote indicated the
unlikelihood of amendments being passed, the Republicans of the Foreign
Relations Committee changed their tactics, abandoning amendments and
considering reservations instead. It had been pointed out that American
amendments to the Treaty would require ratification by Germany and that
this might nullify the whole Treaty and necessitate the re-opening of
negotiations, thereby delaying peace indefinitely.
On October 4th the Massachusetts Republican State Convention, before
which Senator Lodge spoke in defense of his attitude on the Treaty,
urged prompt ratification of the Peace Treaty with "reasonable and
effective" reservations.
On October 15th by a vote of 55 to 35 the Senate rejected a proposed
amendment of the Foreign Relations Committee to the clause affecting the
German rights in Shantung by virtue of which these would be transferred
to China.
The deadlock in the Senate had meanwhile aroused widespread criticism
throughout the country, the attitude of the Republican majority being
vigorously objected to by influential members of that party. Public
opinion both in and out of the Republican party was generally in favor
of ratification with reservations, as was repeatedly indicated by
"straw" votes among the people.
RATIFICATION, WITH ORIGINAL LODGE RESERVATIONS, DEFEATED NOV. 19, 1919.
On November 6th Senator Lodge presented 14 reservations which had been
agreed to by the majority members of the Foreign Relations Committee. On
November 19th, they were voted on by the Senate, being coupled with the
following resolution of ratification:
_Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein)_, That
the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the Treaty of Peace
with Germany concluded at Versailles on the 28th day of June, 1919
subject to the following reservations and understandings, which are
hereby made a part and condition to this resolution of ratification,
which ratification is not to take effect or bind the United States until
the said reservations and understandings adopted by the Senate have been
accepted by an exchange of notes as a part and a condition of this
resolution of ratification by at least three of the four principal
allied and associated powers, to wit, Great Britain, France, Italy, and
Japan.
1. The United States so understands and construes Article I that in case
of notice of withdrawal from the League of Nations, as provided in said
article, the United States shall be the sole judge as to whether all its
international obligations and all its obligations under the said
covenant have been fulfilled, and notice of withdrawal by the United
States may be given by a concurrent resolution of the Congress of the
United States.
2. The United States assumes no obligation to preserve the territorial
integrity or political independence of any other country or to
interfere in controversies between nations--whether members of the
League or not--under the provisions of Article 10, or to employ the
military or naval forces of the United States under any article of the
Treaty for any purpose, unless in any particular case the Congress,
which, under the Constitution, has the sole power to declare war or
authorize the employment of the military or naval forces of the United
States, shall by act or joint resolution so provide.
3. No mandate shall be accepted by the United States under Article 22,
Part 1, or any other provision of the Treaty of Peace with Germany,
except by action of the Congress of the United States.
4. The United States reserves to itself exclusively the right to decide
what questions are within its domestic jurisdiction and declares that
all domestic and political questions relating wholly or in part to its
internal affairs, including immigration, labor, coastwise traffic, the
tariff, commerce, the suppression of traffic in women and children, and
in opium and other dangerous drugs, and all other domestic questions,
are solely within the jurisdiction of the United States and are not
under this Treaty to be submitted in any way either to arbitration or to
the consideration of the Council or of the Assembly of the League of
Nations, or any agency thereof, or to the decision or recommendation of
any other power.
5. The United States will not submit to arbitration or to inquiry by the
Assembly or by the Council of the League of Nations, provided for in
said Treaty of Peace, any questions which in the judgment of the United
States depend upon or relate to its long-established policy, commonly
known as the Monroe Doctrine; said doctrine is to be interpreted by the
United States alone and is hereby declared to be wholly outside the
jurisdiction of said League of Nations and entirely unaffected by any
provision contained in the said Treaty of Peace with Germany.
6. The United States withholds its assent to Articles 156, 157, and 158,
and reserves full liberty of action with respect to any controversy
which may arise under said articles between the Republic of China and
the Empire of Japan.
7. The Congress of the United States will provide by law for the
appointment of the representatives of the United States in the Assembly
and the Council of the League of Nations, and may in its discretion
provide for the participation of the United States in any commission,
committee, tribunal, court, council, or conference, or in the selection
of any members thereof and for the appointment of members of said
commissions, committees, tribunals, courts, councils, or conferences, or
any other representatives under the Treaty of Peace, or in carrying out
its provisions, and until such participation and appointment have been
so provided for and the powers and duties of such representatives have
been defined by law, no person shall represent the United States under
either said League of Nations or the Treaty of Peace with Germany, or be
authorized to perform any act for or on behalf of the United States
thereunder, and no citizen of the United States shall be selected or
appointed as a member of said commissions, committees, tribunals,
courts, councils, or conferences except with the approval of the Senate
of the United States.
8. The United States understands that the Reparation Commission will
regulate or interfere with exports from the United States to Germany, or
from Germany to the United States, only when the United States by act or
joint resolution of Congress approves such regulation or interference.
9. The United States shall not be obligated to contribute to any
expenses of the League of Nations, or of the secretariat, or of any
commission, or committee, or conference, or other agency, organized
under the League of Nations or under the Treaty or for the purpose of
carrying out the Treaty provisions, unless and until an appropriation of
funds available for such expenses shall have been made by the Congress
of the United States.
10. If the United States shall at any time adopt any plan for the
limitation of armaments proposed by the Council of the League of
Nations, under the provisions of Article 8, it reserves the right to
increase such armaments without the consent of the Council whenever the
United States is threatened with invasion or engaged in war.
11. The United States reserves the right to permit, in its discretion,
the nationals of a covenant-breaking State, as defined in Article 16 of
the covenant of the League of Nations, residing within the United States
or in countries other than that violating said Article 16, to continue
their commercial, financial, and personal relations with the nationals
of the United States.
12. Nothing in Articles 296, 297, or in any of the annexes thereto or in
any other article, section, or annex of the Treaty of Peace with Germany
shall, as against citizens of the United States, be taken to mean any
confirmation, ratification, or approval of any act otherwise illegal or
in contravention of the right of citizens of the United States.
13. The United States withholds its assent to Part XIII. (Articles 387
to 427, inclusive) unless Congress by act or joint resolution shall
hereafter make provision for representation in the organization
established by said Part XIII, and in such event the participation of
the United States will be governed and conditioned by the provisions of
such act or joint resolution.
14. The United States assumes no obligation to be bound by any election,
decision, report, or finding of the council, or assembly in which any
member of the League and its self-governing dominions, colonies, or
parts of empire, in the aggregate have cast more than one vote, and
assumes no obligation to be bound by any decision, report, or finding of
the council or assembly arising out of any dispute between the United
States and any member of the League if such member, or any
self-governing dominion, colony, empire, or part of empire united with
it politically has voted.
Ratification of the above resolution required a two-thirds vote. The
resolution was lost 55 to 39, the votes of 13 Republican
"irreconcilables" being cast against the resolution. On a motion to
reconsider, the resolution was again voted on, this time the vote being
51 to 41. Senator Underwood's motion for unconditional ratification of
the Treaty without reservation was then lost 53 to 38.
The crux of the opposition to the Treaty was Article X. In President
Wilson's view, the Lodge reservation to this article cut the heart out
of the League of Nations, and nullified its whole structure and
practical operation. For a time it looked as if the Peace Treaty was
dead. Public opinion, however, insisted that the Treaty must not be
allowed to die and that the United States was morally obligated to the
rest of the world to take its place in the family of nations as a
signatory to the Treaty with such interpretative reservations as would
protect America's interests, and at the same time not antagonize other
nations.
Early in January, 1920, the President in a letter to Senator Hitchcock
declared against "strong" reservations, and on January 15th, with a view
to reaching a compromise, there began a series of bi-partisan
conferences among Senators at which were discussed the various
reservations that had been a stumbling block, but no agreement could be
reached. As before, the phraseology and intent of Article X was the
principal bone of contention.
THE TREATY AGAIN BEFORE THE SENATE
On February 10th Senator Lodge reported the Treaty a second time to the
Senate, and with the original set of reservations. After another month
of debate and of organized efforts on the part of public spirited
citizens to exert pressure on the Senators to settle their differences
and give the nation what it demanded--a Treaty of Peace--the lines were
again drawn preparatory to another vote. The Senate, sitting in
Committee of the Whole, took up the Lodge reservations, one after
another, accepting some virtually without change, modifying or
amplifying others, until all but Article X had been agreed upon.
Various new drafts of this reservation were suggested, both by Senators
and by private citizens; some of these were voted on, but none could
muster the votes necessary for adoption.
Early in March a compromise reservation was worked out by Republicans
and Democrats, and this was made the occasion of an effort to induce the
President to give his views on Article X. For convenience in comparison,
Article X of the League of Nations, the original Lodge reservation, and
the proposed compromise reservation, are reproduced herewith:
ARTICLE X OF THE LEAGUE
The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve as
against external aggression the territorial integrity and
existing political independence of all members of the League.
In case of any such aggression the Council shall advise upon
the means by which this obligation shall be fulfilled.
THE ORIGINAL LODGE RESERVATION
The United States assumes no obligation to preserve the
territorial integrity or political independence of any other
country or to interfere in controversies between
nations--whether members of the League or not--under the
provision of Article X., or to employ the military or naval
forces of the United States under any article of the Treaty for
any purpose, unless in any particular case the Congress, which
under the Constitution has the sole power to declare war or
authorize the employment of the military or naval forces of the
United States, shall by act or joint resolution so provide.
THE PROPOSED COMPROMISE RESERVATION
The United States assumes no obligation to employ its military
or naval forces, its resources, or the economic boycott to
preserve the territorial integrity or political independence of
any other country under the provisions of Article X., or to
employ the military or naval forces of the United States under
any other article of the Treaty for any purpose, unless in any
particular case the Congress, which, under the Constitution,
has the sole power to declare war, shall, by act or joint
resolution, so provide.
ARTICLE X, SAYS WILSON, NULLIFIES A SACRED OBLIGATION
The President expressed his views on Article X and the proposed
reservations to it in a letter to Senator Hitchcock under date of March
8th, in which he said:
"There is no escaping the moral obligations which are expressed
in positive terms in this article of the covenant. We won a
moral victory over Germany, far greater even than the military
victory won on the field of battle, because the opinion of the
whole world swung to our support and the support of the nations
associated with us in the great struggle. It did so because of
our common profession and promise that we meant to establish
'an organization of peace which should make it certain that the
combined power of free nations would check every invasion of
right, and serve to make peace and justice the more secure by
affording a definite tribunal of opinion to which all must
submit and by which every international readjustment that
cannot be amicably agreed upon by the peoples directly
concerned shall be sanctioned.'
"This promise and assurance were written into the preliminaries
of the armistice and into the preliminaries of the peace itself
and constitute one of the most sacred obligations ever assumed
by any nation or body of nations. It is unthinkable that
America should set the example of ignoring such a solemn moral
engagement.
"For myself, I feel that I could not look the soldiers of our
gallant armies in the face again if I did not do everything in
my power to remove every obstacle that lies in the way of the
adoption of this particular article of the covenant, because we
made these pledges to them as well as to the rest of the world,
and it was to this cause they deemed themselves devoted in a
spirit of crusaders. I should be forever unfaithful to them if
I did not do my utmost to fulfill the high purpose for which
they fought."
"A NEW DOCTRINE IN THE WORLD'S AFFAIRS"
The President said he regarded the stipulations as to constitutional
methods required by the proposed compromise reservation as superfluous,
because it was understood at Paris that whatever duties any nation
undertook under the Treaty would as a matter of course "have to be
fulfilled by its usual and established constitutional methods of
action." He said further:
"Any reservation which seeks to deprive the League of Nations
of the force of Article X. cuts at the very heart and life of
the covenant itself. Any League of Nations which does not
guarantee as a matter of incontestable right the political
independence and integrity of each of its members might be
hardly more than a futile scrap of paper, as ineffective in
operation as the agreement between Belgium and Germany which
the Germans violated in 1914.
"Article X. as written into the Treaty of Versailles represents
the renunciation by Great Britain and Japan, which before the
war had begun to find so many interests in common in the
Pacific; by France, by Italy, by all the great fighting powers
of the world, of the old pretensions of political conquest and
territorial aggrandisement. It is a new doctrine in the world's
affairs and must be recognized or there is no secure basis for
the peace which the whole world so desperately needs.
"If Article X. is not adopted and acted upon, the Governments
which reject it will, I think, be guilty of bad faith to their
people, whom they induced to make the infinite sacrifices of
the war by the pledge that they would be fighting to redeem the
world from the old order of force and aggression. They will be
acting also in bad faith to the opinion of the world at large,
to which they appealed for support in a concerted stand against
the aggressions and pretensions of Germany.
"If we were to reject Article X. or so to weaken it as to take
its full force out of it, it would mark us as desiring to
return to the old world of jealous rivalry and
misunderstandings from which our gallant soldiers have rescued
us and would leave us without any vision or new conception of
justice and peace. We would have learned no lesson from the
war, but gained only the regret that it had involved us in its
maelstrom of suffering. If America has awakened, as the rest of
the world has, to the vision of a new day in which the mistakes
of the past are to be corrected, it will welcome the
opportunity to share the responsibilities of Article X.
"It must not be forgotten, Senator, that the article
constitutes a renunciation of all ambition on the part of
powerful nations with whom we were associated in the war. It is
by no means certain that without this article any such
renunciation will take place. Militaristic ambitions and
imperialistic policies are by no means dead, even in counsels
of the nations whom we most trust and with whom we most desire
to be associated in the tasks of peace.
DEMOCRACY VERSUS IMPERIALISM
"The choice is between two ideals; on the one hand, the ideal
of democracy, which represents the rights of free peoples
everywhere to govern themselves, and on the other hand the
ideal of imperialism which seeks to dominate by force and
unjust power, an ideal which is by no means dead and which is
earnestly held in many quarters still.
"Every imperialistic influence in Europe was hostile to the
embodiment of Article X. in the covenant of the League of
Nations, and its defeat now would mark the complete
consummation of their efforts to nullify the Treaty. I hold the
doctrine of Article X. as the essence of Americanism. We cannot
repudiate it or weaken it without at the same time repudiating
our own principles.
"The imperialist wants no League of Nations, but if, in
response to the universal cry of the masses everywhere, there
is to be one, he is interested to secure one suited to his own
purposes, one that will permit him to continue the historic
game of pawns and peoples--the juggling of provinces, the old
balances of power, and the inevitable wars attendant upon these
things.
"The reservation proposed would perpetuate the old order. Does
any one really want to see the old game played again? Can any
one really venture to take part in reviving the old order? The
enemies of a League of Nations have by every true instinct
centered their efforts against Article X., for it is
undoubtedly the foundation of the whole structure. It is the
bulwark, and the only bulwark, of the rising democracy of the
world against the forces of imperialism and reaction.
"Either we should enter the League fearlessly, accepting the
responsibility and not fearing the rôle of leadership, which we
now enjoy, contributing our efforts toward establishing a just
and permanent peace, or we should retire as gracefully as
possible from the great concert of powers, by which the world
was saved. For my own part, I am not willing to trust to the
counsel of diplomats the working out of any salvation of the
world from the things which it has suffered."
ARTICLE X AS FINALLY ADOPTED
The Article X reservation was again rewritten and when finally adopted
on March 15 by a vote of 56 to 26, read as follows:
The United States assumes no obligation to preserve the
territorial integrity or political independence of any other
country by the employment of its military or naval forces, its
resources, or any form of economic discrimination, or to
interfere in any way in controversies between nations,
including all controversies relating to territorial integrity
or political independence, whether members of the League or
not, under the provisions of Article X., or to employ the
military or naval forces of the United States, under any
article of the Treaty for any purpose, unless in any particular
case the Congress, which, under the Constitution, has the sole
power to declare war or authorize the employment of the
military or naval forces of the United States, shall, in the
exercise of full liberty of action, by act or joint resolution
so provide.
THE TREATY AGAIN REJECTED
All of the 14 reservations having been debated and adopted in the
Senate, sitting in Committee of the Whole, a fifteenth reservation
expressing sympathy with the aspirations of the Irish people having been
added, the resolution of ratification was introduced by Senator Lodge on
March 19th. The vote stood: in favor of ratification, 49; against, 35.
By this vote, the Treaty of Versailles was for the second time rejected.
The resolution was supported by 28 Republicans and 21 Democrats, and
opposed by 23 Democrats and 12 Republicans. The resolution lacked seven
votes of the necessary two-thirds, and although it was a Republican
measure, the opposition of the Republican "irreconcilables" or
"bitter-enders" was sufficient to defeat it.
THE RESERVATIONS WHICH FAILED
Text of the Preamble and Fifteen Reservations as Adopted by the Senate
Before the Final Vote on Ratification
Resolved (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring therein), That
the Senate advise and consent to the ratification of the Treaty of Peace
with Germany concluded at Versailles on the 28th day of June, 1919,
subject to the following reservations and understandings, which are
hereby made a part and condition of this resolution of ratification,
which ratification is not to take effect or bind the United States until
the said reservations and understandings adopted by the Senate have been
accepted as a part and a condition of this resolution of ratification by
the Allied and Associated Powers, and a failure on the part of the
Allied and Associated Powers to make objection to said reservations and
understandings prior to the deposit of ratification by the United States
shall be taken as a full and final acceptance of such reservations and
understandings by said powers:
1. The United States so understands and construes Article I. that in
case of notice of withdrawal from the League of Nations, as provided in
said article, the United States shall be the sole judge as to whether
all its international obligations and all its obligations under the said
covenant have been fulfilled, and notice of withdrawal by the United
States may be given by a concurrent resolution of the Congress of the
United States.
2. The United States assumes no obligation to preserve the territorial
integrity or political independence of any other country by the
employment of its military or naval forces, its resources, or any form
of economic discrimination, or to interfere in any way in controversies
between nations, including all controversies relating to territorial
integrity or political independence, whether members of the League or
not, under the provisions of Article X., or to employ the military or
naval forces of the United States, under any article of the treaty for
any purpose, unless in any particular case the Congress, which under the
Constitution has the sole power to declare war or authorize the
employment of the military or naval forces of the United States, shall,
in the exercise of full liberty of action, by act or joint resolution so
provide.
3. No mandate shall be accepted by the United States under Article
XXII., Part 1, or any other provision of the Treaty of Peace with
Germany, except by action of the Congress of the United States.
4. The United States reserves to itself exclusively the right to decide
what questions are within its domestic jurisdiction and declares that
all domestic and political questions relating wholly or in part to its
internal affairs, including immigration, labor, coastwise traffic, the
tariff, commerce, the suppression of traffic in women and children and
in opium and other dangerous drugs, and all other domestic questions,
are solely within the jurisdiction of the United States and are not
under this Treaty to be submitted in any way either to arbitration or to
the consideration of the council or of the Assembly of the League of
Nations, or any agency thereof, or to the decision or recommendation of
any other power.
5. The United States will not submit to arbitration or to inquiry by the
Assembly or by the Council of the League of Nations, provided for in
said Treaty of Peace, any questions which in the judgment of the United
States depend upon or relate to its long established policy, commonly
known as the Monroe Doctrine; said doctrine is to be interpreted by the
United States alone and is hereby declared to be wholly outside the
jurisdiction of said League of Nations and entirely unaffected by any
provision contained in the said Treaty of Peace with Germany.
6. The United States withholds its assent to Articles 156, 157, and 158,
and reserves full liberty of action with respect to any controversy
which may arise under said articles.
7. No person is or shall be authorized to represent the United States,
nor shall any citizen of the United States be eligible, as a member of
any body or agency established or authorized by said Treaty of Peace
with Germany except pursuant to an act of the Congress of the United
States providing for his appointment and defining his powers and duties.
8. The United States understands that the Reparation Commission will
regulate or interfere with exports from the United States to Germany, or
from Germany to the United States, only when the United States by act or
joint resolution of Congress approves such regulation or interference.
9. The United States shall not be obligated to contribute to any
expenses of the League of Nations, or of the Secretariat or of any
commission, or committee, or conference, or other agency, organized
under the League of Nations or under the Treaty or for the purpose of
carrying out the Treaty provisions, unless and until an appropriation of
funds available for such expenses shall have been made by the Congress
of the United States; provided, that the foregoing limitation shall not
apply to the United States' proportionate share of the expense of the
office force and salary of the Secretary General.
10. No plan for the limitation of armaments as reported by the Council
of the League of Nations under the provisions of Article 8 shall be held
as binding the United States until the same shall have been accepted by
Congress, and the United States reserves the right to increase its
armament without the consent of the Council whenever the United States
is threatened with invasion or engaged in war.
11. The United States reserves the right to permit, in its discretion,
the nationals of a covenant-breaking state as defined in Article XVI. of
the covenant of the League of Nations, residing within the United States
or in countries other than such covenant-breaking state, to continue
their commercial, financial and personal relations with the nationals of
the United States.
12. Nothing in Articles 296, 297, or in any of the annexes thereto or in
any other article, section, or annex of the Treaty of Peace with Germany
shall, as against citizens of the United States be taken to mean any
confirmation, ratification or approval of any act otherwise illegal or
in contravention of the rights of citizens of the United States.
13. The United States withholds its assent to Part XIII. (Articles 337
to 427 inclusive), unless Congress by act or joint resolution shall
hereafter make provision for representation in the organization
established by said Part XIII., and in such event the participation of
the United States will be governed and conditioned by the provisions of
such act or joint resolution.
14. Until Part 1, being the covenant of the League of Nations, shall be
so amended as to provide that the United States shall be entitled to
cast a number of votes equal to that which any member of the League and
its self-governing dominions, colonies or parts of empire, in the
aggregate, shall be entitled to cast, the United States assumes no
obligation to be bound, except in cases where Congress has previously
given its consent, by any election, decision, report, or finding of the
Council or Assembly in which any member of the League and its
self-governing dominions, colonies, or parts of empire, in the
aggregate, have cast more than one vote.
The United States assumes no obligation to be bound by any decision,
report, or finding of the Council or Assembly arising out of any dispute
between the United States and any member of the League if such member or
any self-governing dominion, colony, empire, or part of empire united
with it politically has voted.
15. In consenting to the ratification of the Treaty with Germany the
United States adheres to the principle of self-determination and to the
resolution of sympathy with the aspirations of the Irish people for a
government of their own choice adopted by the Senate June 6, 1919, and
declares that when such government is attained by Ireland, a
consummation which it is hoped is at hand, it should promptly be
admitted as a member of the League of Nations.
The First Meeting of the Council of the League of Nations
Representatives of France, Great Britain, Italy, Greece, Belgium, Spain,
Japan and Brazil, members of the Council of the League of Nations, met
on January 16, 1920, in the "cloak room" of the French Foreign Office
for the first meeting in the history of the League.
The Council organized by electing Leon Bourgeois Chairman and confirming
the choice of Sir Eric Drummond of Great Britain as General Secretary.
The first official act of the League Council was the appointment of a
commission to trace upon the spot the frontiers of the territory of the
Saar Basin.
All the members of the Council called for by the covenant of the League,
with the exception of the representative of the United States, were
present. Beside M. Bourgeois, the members were Earl Curzon, the British
Foreign Secretary, for Great Britain; Premier Venizelos, for Greece;
Carlo Ferraris, Italian Minister of Industry, Commerce, Labor and Food,
for Italy; Paul Hymans, the Belgian Foreign Minister, for Belgium; Baron
Matsui, Ambassador to France, for Japan; Dr. Gastoa da Cunha, Ambassador
to France, for Brazil; Count Quinones de Leon, Ambassador to France, for
Spain.
PEACE BY CONGRESSIONAL ENACTMENT FAILS
President Wilson Vetoes Knox Resolution Declaring State of War Ended
The failure of the Peace Treaty of ratification for the second time on
March 19, 1920, with the Lodge reservations attached, and the determined
refusal of the Republican majority to ratify it in the form desired by
President Wilson, showed quite conclusively that under existing
political alignment no peace might be expected for the country through
the Treaty of Versailles. The Republicans, therefore, turned their
efforts in a new direction to bring about peace without yielding to the
President.
On April 1st the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of
Representatives reported favorably a joint resolution declaring the
state of war between Germany and the United States at an end and
terminating the operation of all Congressional acts and Presidential
proclamations dependent for their duration on the termination of the war
or of the "present or existing emergency." It gave Germany forty-five
days in which similarly to declare the ending of the war with the United
States, and to waive all claims against this country, which she would
not have had the right to assert had the United States ratified the
Treaty of Versailles. For failure to comply with this provision, all
commercial intercourse and the furnishing of loans and other financial
assistance by this country to Germany were prohibited, except by license
of the President. In answer to Democratic criticisms that the resolution
was not only insincere, but also unconstitutional in arrogating to
Congress the treaty-making power of the President, the Republican
leaders conceded that, while the negotiation of peace terms rested with
the President, the declaration of a status of peace was quite within the
proper functions of Congress.
TEXT OF HOUSE RESOLUTION
The original resolution, as introduced in the House, read as follows:
WHEREAS the President of the United States, in the performance
of his constitutional duty to give to Congress information of
the state of the Union, has advised Congress that the war with
the Imperial German Government has ended;
_Resolved_, by the Senate and the House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
state of war declared to exist between the Imperial German
Government and the people of the United States by a joint
resolution of Congress, approved April 6, 1917, is hereby
declared at an end.
Section 2--That in the interpretation of any provision relating
to the date of the termination of the present war, or of the
present or existing emergency in any acts of Congress, joint
resolutions or proclamations of the President containing
provisions contingent upon the date of the termination of the
war, or of the present or existing emergency, the date when
this resolution becomes effective shall be construed and
treated as the date of the termination of the war, or of the
present or existing emergency, notwithstanding any provision in
any act of Congress or joint resolution providing any other
mode of determination of the date of the termination of the
war, or of the present or existing emergency.
Section 3--That, with a view to securing reciprocal trade with
the German Government and its nationals, and for this purpose,
it is hereby provided that unless within forty-five days from
the date when this resolution becomes effective the German
Government shall duly notify the President of the United States
that it has declared a termination of the war with the United
States and that it waives and renounces on behalf of itself and
its nationals any claim, demand, right or benefit against the
United States, or its nationals, that it or they would not have
the right to assert had the United States ratified the Treaty
of Versailles, the President of the United States shall have
the power, and it shall be his duty, to proclaim the fact that
the German Government has not given the notification
hereinbefore mentioned, and thereupon, and until the President
shall have proclaimed the receipt of such notification,
commercial intercourse between the United States and Germany
and the making of loans or credits, and the furnishing of
financial assistance or supplies to the German Government or
the inhabitants of Germany, directly or indirectly, by the
Government or the inhabitants of the United States, shall,
except with the license of the President, be prohibited.
Section 4--That whoever shall willfully violate the foregoing
prohibition, whenever the same shall be in force, shall upon
conviction be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural
person, imprisoned for not more than two years, or both; and
the officer, director or agent of any corporation who knowingly
participates in such violation shall be punished by a like
fine, imprisonment, or both, and any property, funds,
securities, papers, or other articles or documents, or any
vessel, together with her tackle, apparel, furniture, and
equipment, concerned in such violation, shall be forfeited to
the United States.
Section 5--That nothing herein contained shall be construed as
a waiver by the United States of its rights, privileges,
indemnities, reparations or advantages to which the United
States has become entitled under the terms of the armistice
signed November 11, 1918, or which were acquired by or are in
the possession of the United States by reason of its
participation in the war or otherwise; and all fines,
forfeitures, penalties, and seizures imposed or made by the
United States are hereby ratified, confirmed, and maintained.
MINORITY OPPOSITION
The Democratic members of the Foreign Affairs Committee presented a
minority report severely arraigning the Republican majority both for the
spirit and the provisions of the resolution, which, the report
contended, "outrageously surrendered" American rights and, by the spirit
in which it was conceived, laid open its authors to the charge of "sharp
practice." The chief points made in the minority report were:
"The preamble states that the President of the United States,
in the performance of his constitutional duty to give to
Congress information of the state of the Union, has advised
Congress that the war with the Imperial German Government has
ended. At no time and under no circumstances has the President
made any such assertion.
"It is true that, on the signing of the armistice, the
President, in the course of an address to Congress, used the
words, 'the war thus comes to an end.' But he spoke of actual
hostilities, as every one knew, and not of the technical state
of war.
"It takes a treaty to end a war. Hostilities had ceased, but
the war had not ended, and will not end until it is terminated
in a constitutional manner. The drafters of the resolution and
the members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs who voted for
it knew that this was the case.
"By quoting this statement of the President as the basis for
this resolution the authors of the resolution lay themselves
open to the charge of insincerity and sharp practice. The
President never declared that the technical state of war which
this resolution undertakes to declare at an end had come to an
end, and the Supreme Court of the United States has recently
declared that what the President had done did not announce the
termination of the war.[32]
[32] The reference is to the Supreme Court decision on the question
of war-time prohibition in the Kentucky distilleries case.
"This resolution contains some provisions that are within the
power of Congress, and others that are not. So far as it seeks
to declare peace, and so far as it seeks to direct the
President to issue a proclamation to the German Government, it
trenches upon the treaty-making powers and is not within the
power of Congress.
"So far as it prohibits the United States citizens and
residents from commercial intercourse with Germany or its
nationals, and provides penalties for the violation of such
restriction, it is valid. So far as it attempts to repeal war
legislation, it is, of course, within the power of Congress."
With regard to Section 2, which fixed the date of the termination of the
war as the date when the resolution shall become effective, the report
said:
"There is much war and emergency legislation that should be
repealed. This section does not repeal this legislation,
however, and it gives no relief from the burdens,
inconveniences, extravagances and losses which come from the
existence of this legislation. Much of this legislation is
burdensome, and oppressive in time of peace.
"Congress has the power to repeal it, and it should address
itself to this task instead of frittering away its time in
attempting to pass unconstitutional legislation for the purpose
of embarrassing the executive department of the Government, or
for some other political purpose."
Objection was raised against Section 3 for not adequately protecting
American rights. The report, which was presented by Representative
Flood, observed on this subject:
"The first thought which comes to one's mind in connection with
this section is that it gives to Germany and her nationals all
the rights they would have had if the United States had
ratified the Treaty of Versailles. Without the provisions of
the treaty great uncertainty prevails as to the title to and
right to use German ships. The Versailles Treaty contains
Germany's assent to the use of the property seized by the Alien
Property Custodian, amounting to more than $500,000,000, to pay
claims of the United States against Germany. This resolution
does not pretend to accomplish this result.
"If we are dependent for a status of peace upon this
resolution, I fail to see how we could be able to demand
reimbursement for the cost of our army of occupation.
"Under the treaty Germany can become a League of Nations
member, and, having under this resolution all the rights it
would have had under the treaty when it became a member of the
League, it would be entitled to assert against the United
States the same rights which any other nation could assert, had
our country ratified the treaty. We would thus be in the
position of being compelled to protect the independence and
territorial integrity of Germany against the aggressions of any
or all of our allies.
"Section 5 is an attempt to preserve something out of the wreck
of American rights which have been so outrageously surrendered
in former sections of the resolution."
RESOLUTION PASSES HOUSE, 242 TO 150
The first test of strength between the supporters and the opponents of
the resolution came on April 8th, when a rule limiting debate was
adopted by a nearly strict party vote of 214 to 155, the Republicans, as
were to be expected, supporting, and the Democrats opposing the rule.
The vote on the resolution itself came next day, April 9th, when, after
a flow of oratory characterized chiefly by bitterly partisan attacks
from both sides of the House, the resolution was adopted by a vote of
242 to 150. Twenty-two Democrats joined the Republicans in voting for
it, and two Republicans broke party lines in opposing it. Despite the
comfortable majority, however, the result showed that without the
President's approval efforts to declare peace by Congressional action
would prove futile, since the vote lacked twenty of the two-thirds
majority necessary to override a veto.
SENATE TAKES UP FIGHT TO FORCE PEACE
The scene now shifted to the Senate. Here the fortunes of the resolution
were placed in the hands of Senator Philander C. Knox, of Pennsylvania,
Secretary of State in President Taft's cabinet and a recognized
authority on international law. Senator Knox redrafted the House
resolution so as to repeal specifically the joint resolutions of war
against Germany on April 6, 1917, and against Austria-Hungary on
December 7, 1917, and thus, by annulling Congressional action declaring
a state of war, to re-establish _status quo ante bellum_.
Such a solution of the problem, it was felt, did not encroach at all
upon the President's right of making treaties. In fact, the resolution
specifically requested the President to open negotiations for the
purpose of establishing friendly relations and commercial intercourse
between the United States and Germany, and the United States and the
successors of the Austro-Hungarian government. The resolution also
provided for the retention by the United States government of all enemy
property seized during the war until all American claims against enemy
governments had been settled, and declared further that, although the
United States had not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, nevertheless it
did not waive any of the "rights, privileges, indemnities, reparations
or advantages" stipulated for its benefit in the terms of that document.
TEXT OF ORIGINAL KNOX RESOLUTION
The text of the Knox resolution, as favorably reported to the Senate on
April 30th by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, read:
Joint resolution repealing the joint resolution of April 6,
1917, declaring a state of war to exist between the United
States and Germany, and the joint resolution of December 7,
1917, declaring that a state of war exists between the United
States and the Austro-Hungarian Government.
_Resolved_ by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America, in Congress assembled, that the joint
resolution of Congress passed April 6, 1917, declaring a state
of war to exist between the Imperial German Government and the
Government and people of the United States, and making
provisions to prosecute the same, be, and the same is hereby
declared at an end.
Provided, however, that all property of the Imperial German
Government or its successor or successors, and of all German
nationalists which was on April 6, 1917, in or has since that
date come into the possession or under control of the
Government of the United States or of any of its officers,
agents, or employees, from any source or by any agency
whatsoever, shall be retained by the United States and no
disposition thereof made, except as shall specifically be
hereafter provided by Congress, until such time as the German
Government has by treaty with the United States, ratification
whereof is to be made by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, made suitable provisions for the satisfaction of all
claims against the German Government of all persons wheresoever
domiciled, who owe permanent allegiance to the United States,
whether such persons have suffered through the acts of the
German Government or its agents since July 31, 1914, loss,
damage or injury to persons or property, directly or
indirectly, through the ownership of shares of stock in German,
American, or other corporations, or otherwise, and until the
German Government has given further undertakings and made
provisions by treaty, to be ratified by and with the advice and
consent of the Senate, for granting to persons owing permanent
allegiance to the United States, most favored nation treatment,
whether the same be national or otherwise, in all matters
affecting residence, business, profession, trade, navigation,
commerce, and industrial property rights, and confirming to the
United States all fines, forfeitures, penalties, and seizures
imposed or made by the United States during the war, whether in
respect to the property of the German government or German
nationalists, and waiving any pecuniary claim based on events
which occurred at any time before the coming into force of such
treaty, any existing treaty between the United States and
Germany to the contrary notwithstanding.
To these ends, and for the purpose of establishing fully
friendly relations and commercial intercourse between the
United States and Germany, the President is hereby requested
immediately to open negotiations with the Government of
Germany.
Section 2--That in the interpretation of any provision relating
to the date of the termination of the present war or of the
present or existing emergency in any acts of Congress, joint
resolutions or proclamations of the President containing
provisions contingent upon the date of the termination of the
war or of the present or existing emergency, the date when this
resolution becomes effective, shall be construed and treated as
the date of the termination of the war or of the present or
existing emergency, notwithstanding any provision in any act of
Congress or joint resolution providing any other mode of
determining the date of the termination of the war or of the
present or existing emergency.
Section 3--That until by treaty or act or joint resolution of
Congress it shall be determined otherwise, the United States,
although it has not ratified the Treaty of Versailles, does not
waive any of the rights, privileges, indemnities, reparations,
or advantages to which it and its nationals have become
entitled under the terms of the armistice signed November 11,
1918, or any extensions or modifications thereof or which,
under the Treaty of Versailles, have been stipulated for its
benefit as one of the principal allied and associated powers
and to which it is entitled.
Section 4--That the joint resolution of Congress, approved
December 7, 1917, declaring that a state of war exists between
the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Government and the
Government and people of the United States, and making
provisions to prosecute the same, be and the same is hereby
repealed, and said state of war is hereby declared at an end,
and the President is hereby requested immediately to open
negotiations with the successor or successors of said
Government for the purpose of establishing fully friendly
relations and commercial intercourse between the United States
and the Governments and peoples of Austria and Hungary.
A DEMOCRAT PAYS HIS RESPECTS TO REPUBLICANS
The attitude of leaders of the Democratic party on Republican maneuvers
to force peace by Congressional action was indicated by a statement
issued by Homer S. Cummings, chairman of the Democratic National
Committee, in which the Knox resolution was characterized as "renewed
evidence of the moral leprosy which is eating out the heart of the
Republican party," and which, according to Mr. Cummings, proposed
dishonor in the name of peace. As reported in the press, the statement
said:
"The so-called Knox peace resolution, which has just been
reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, is
renewed evidence of the moral leprosy which is eating out the
heart of the Republican party. In the name of peace it proposes
dishonor.
"An analysis of the resolution discloses that:
"First, it recognizes the defect in the recent House
resolution, which attempted to make a separate treaty with
Germany by act of Congress.
[Illustration: Senator Philander C. Knox of Pennsylvania
A former United States Attorney-General and Secretary of State, and one
of the "irreconcilable" opponents of the League of Nations and Treaty of
Versailles. He was the author of the peace resolution declaring war with
Germany ended which was passed by Congress but vetoed by President
Wilson.]
"Second, as an alternative proposition, it requests the
President to commence negotiations for a separate peace with
Germany.
"Third, it seeks to terminate, by a paper resolution, a state
of war without protecting American rights.
"Fourth, it attempts to take advantage of the provisions of the
Treaty of Versailles without becoming a party to that treaty
and,
"Fifth, it requests the President to negotiate a separate peace
with Austria.
"These are the outstanding features of the resolution. If any
group of leaders a year ago had dared to suggest that we should
abandon our allies and negotiate a separate treaty of peace,
they would have found themselves isolated and discredited.
Republican leaders have lost their moral sense in their mad
lust for power.