Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-03-30
THE RUSSIAN TREATY.
What 10 Said to Its Provisions . 10
Political Onensee.

What 10 Said to It's Provisions - TO
Political Onensee.
The criticisms that have been made upon the
Russian treaty, whether Just or not. have had
the effect Of putting the Senate on the defen-
sive. and il understood that when il il finally
decided to give the treaty out. il will be ae-
companied by the draft of the convention as il
came to the Senate. SO that . comparison may
be made between the treaty as ratified ard the
one upon which the Senate acted.
Accompanying this will also appear the cor
respo2dence, for is is understood TODAY that the
State Department has given its consent TO the
publication OF the messages that passed be-
tween the representatives OF the contrasting
powers The Senate had about made I'D its
mind that it would act regardless Of the feel
ings of the State Department, and that consent
was readily secured, although consent 70 make
public the text of the instrument itself has
never been withheld. Mr.. Butler. acting chair
man OF the committee on foreign relations, was
absent yesterday or il 10 probable that the
treaty would have been released then.
Extraordinary care has been taken that this
treaty should be kept as n profound secret. and
II has been almost impossible TO get anything
like an accurate insight into the much-discussed
convention. The most recent treaty previously
made by this government bearing upon the ex-
tradition OF criminals was that made with Bel
GUM in 1882. and that contains = clause that 10
said by Senators to be almost identical with the
political clause Of the treaty under discus
sion
POLITICAL CLAUSES NOT RARE.
Political clauses are not at all rare in treaties
made by the United States, for from early days
the right of asylum has been protected in all
conventions that have been negotiated. In
many cases the language is exactly the same
Others ia n Of
pressing the intention of this government
but 1t is expressly stipulated that extradi-
ton will not be granted for offenses Of =
political nature in the treaties with Aus
tria. Baden. Belgium. Dominican Republic.
Ecuador, France. Havti, Italy, Japan Mexico
Netherlands. Nicaragua, Orange Free State
Spain. Sweden and Norway and the Swiss con-
federation Some of these treaties were made
many years ago and although amended and
altered the political clause" still remains.
The crime OF forgery, by which il meant-as
stipulated in the treaties-the utterance Of
forged papers. and also the counterfeiting Of
public. sovereign and governmental acts, which
appears in the Russian treaty. also
appears in many of these earlier treaties, but
the fact remains. stated on the floor Of the
Senate when this particular treaty was up for
discussion. that no country maintains
frontier guarded against the escape of its citi-
zens al all compared with the rigid discipline
and strict surveillance maintained by the gov
eminent of the ear, and what might be a
simple provision intended to provide for the
capture OF criminals, pure and simple, in any
one of these other countries becomes under
the peculiar conditions that exist in Russia,
standing menace TO the safety of every man
who may be able to get ont of that country and
reach the shores OF America.
THE TREATY WITH BELGIUM
The treaty concluded with Belgium in the
year 1882 and proclaimed November 20, within
two days after the exchange of the notifications.
contains the most elaborate reference to crimes
of a political nature. An additional clause pro-
vides that "a person who has been surrendered
on account of one Of the common crimes or
offenses mentioned shall, consequently, in
no case be prosecuted and punished in the
state to which his extradition has been
granted on account, Of q political crime
or offense committed by him previously to his
extradition or on account of an act connected
with such political crime or offense unless he
has been at liberty to leave the country for one
month after having been tried, and in case of
condemnation for one month after having suf-
fered his punishment or after having been par
doned. 1t is understood that this provision is
also found in the Russian treaty, but it was as
serted upon the floor of the Senate that extra
dition to Belgium and to Russia under treaties
of precisely the same wording meant two vastly
different things.
During this debate it was brought forcibly to
tne altenuOn OF the Senate by one OF the lead
ing constitutional lawyers of the south that this
country had at one time asked for and secured
the extradition Of a man charged with what
might have been under such a treaty called
political offense. He referred to the arrest of
John Ii. Surratt, who was implicated
in the conspiracy which resulted in the assassi-
nation of Lincoln. Surratt fed TO Egypt and
joined the army of the khedive; thence to
Rome. where he became one of the Papal
Zouaves. He was recognized by a citizen Of
Baltimore. who notified this government of his
whereabouts. Upon application to the pope,
who then enjoyed his temporal power in Italy,
Surratt was sent to this country and tried
WHAT A REPUBLICAN SENATOR SAYS
A prominent republican Senator, who has
been pronounced in his opposition to the rati-
fcation of this treaty, makes the statement
that the new treaty, not only with Russia. but
with France. bears the semblance of a deliber-
ate effort to bolster up, or at least strengthen,
the cause of the United States in certain deli
cate diplomatic negotiations now in progress
In other words" said he, 1--WE purchased
our present Boring seal fisheries of
Russia. party to one of these treaties
Our differences with England are about to be
settled by the high court of arbitration at the
capital Of the nation which is a party to the
other treaty, and has also named one of the
arbitrator. 1t looks very much to me like
deliberate attempt to violate the rights of
human liberty and return human beings into
what is worse than slavery in order that We
may protect few seals