Chapter XCVII: 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.