The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY,; JANUARY 17, 1929. AMERICA AND THE PACT.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17612, 17 January 1929, Page 6

The Waikato Times With which Is Incorporated The Waikato Argus. THURSDAY,; JANUARY 17, 1929. AMERICA AND THE PACT.

Tlie United States Senate by a practically unanimous vote has decided to ratify the Renunciation of War Pact as conceived by Mr Frank B. Kellogg, the American Secretary of State. The signing ceremony took place in Paris in August last, and it has been accepted by a majority of the countries of the world. Before the ink of the signatures was dry on the parchment, reports were circulated from Washington to the effect that there was a very great probability that when the Pact went before the Senate for ratification it would be rejected and that- the world would witness a repetition of the Versailles Treaty episode, which America refused to ratify despite the fact that their own President had a large part in drafting it and that he had tentatively signed on America’s behalf. During the last few weeks the Kellogg Pact has been before the Senate and we have been informed from day to day of the strenuous opposition it was encountering until it almost seemed futile to hope that it would be accepted. The discussion has been long drawn out, but it is sat- j Vsfactory to note thht when the actual vote was taken the opposition wilted away, and only one Senator raised a “No.” It would seem that the Senators have been fighting shadows for it has been emphasised and explained from the beginning that the terms of the treaty do not prevent a nation resisting a war of aggression, and that in

intended for home consumption. There is, they say, always some temporary political credit to be obtained by appearing in the political arena as a devoted supporter of the Doctrine, and that probably accounts for much of the verbiage which American Senators have been indulging in of late- However, it is satisfactory to know that the Pact has now been ratified and that President Goolidge is convinced that it “will do more to stabilise conditions, express the sentiments of the world and increase the probability of permanent peace than any other factor within his knowledge.” It will be interesting to note whether it will have any effect upon the fate of the Cruiser Bill. So far as America is concerned that would prove that the Kellogg Pact is to be recognised as practical politics and not merely an academical affirmation.