Speech #670203555

Lie has sought to convey to the Senate the impression that Senators on this side of the aisle voted against having the United States judge for itself. That is absolutely incorrect in accordance with the record. It is true that when the reservation which the Senator from Massachusetts offered was pending in the Senate the Democrats. with one or two exceptions. voted against it. but it was not on the g6ufil of the immigration question. It was because there was a ridiculous element in that reservation. and I regret somewhat that the Senator from Nevada has incorporated that In the reservation now presented. For instance. that reservation provided not only that the United States reserved to itself domestic questions. such as immigration. the tariff. labor. and questions !hat -were purely domestic. but it included. as the reservation now offered by the Senator from Nevada includes. a statement that traffic in women and children was a question entirely domestic. That was what we objected to at that time. because this country has for years entered into treaties with other countries to restrict and prohibit international traffic in women and children. and it is not a domestic question when it comes to an international traffic. It was a great evil. it was only suppressed by international agreements. and it was those agreements which were to be placed under the jurisdiction of the League of Nations. just as other international agreements were to be.