National Affairs: Senate Diplomats

Senator George Wharton Pepper of Pennsylvania, Republican —one time football star at the University of Pennsylvania, and successor of Boies Penrose—was picked by Senator Lodge to be a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the next (68th) Congress when it convenes in December.

Now that Senator Pepper seems certain to be a member of the committee, and possible lieutenant to Senator Lodge, Chairman, the future alignment of the Committee on Mr. Harding's proposal for a World Court is significant. Assuming that there will be ten Republican members in the total of 16, as during the last session, six of them will be irreconcilables—Johnson, Borah, Brandegee, Moses, McCormick, and Pepper —all of whom bitterly opposed the League of Nations; two will be lukewarm, Wadsworth and Lodge, who, although against the League of Nations, may very likely support the President's proposal unless popular opinion takes another trend; the two remaining places are not yet filled. In any event the irreconcilables have a sure majority.

The vote against consideration of the World Court proposal in the last session indicated, if anything, that the bitter-enders on the League of Nations question would be opposed to the World Court. In this case, while the President's proposal would fail of support by certain Republicans, some Democratic help might be expected.

The Democrats also have three places to fill on the committee. Senators Underwood, Walsh (Mont.), Robinson, and Harrison are mentioned as the most likely appointees.

The fact remains, however, that the President's supporters of his own party will be in a distinct minority on the Committee, and any attempts on his part to put in effect anything but an isolationist policy will be met by strong opposition.