The Forrest City times., 1897-01-29
PUBLIC SENTIMENT
Finds Expression in a Meeting in
 Washing ton
In Favor of the Arbitration Treaty-Nc Wish to Dictate to the Senate, but Anx- ious That SO Desirable Treaty
 Should be Ratified by that Body.


 tinguished audience representative of influential social and religious ele- ments of the national capital, filled the grand opera house at four o'clock yesterday afternoon Ito attest their appreciation of the great principle ot internatkonal arbitration as embodied in the tfeaty between this republic and Great Britain now pending in the senate"
 Hon. John W. Foster, eX-secretary of state, who called the meeting to or der, disciaimed any purpose of criticis- ing or seeking unduly to hasten or in- hueuce the action of the senate. He said he recognized tue senate as CO., ordinate branch of the government He closed by saying:
 'l venture, however, to say, speak ing for myself. that the final action of the senate will not be such as to de- feat the treaty. which is desired by the great majority of the people of the uDIsed States, and whose defeat would discredit this government in the eyes of the civilized world"
 The outcome of the meeting was the unanimous adoption of resolution declaring that, ''believing this treaty to be D distinct advance toward the best civilIzat tion, and trusting that it may prove d helpful example for other nations, we shall hail with joy and patriotic pride its confirmation by the senate of the United States"
 Mir. Gardner G. Hubbard was presid- T lul. |. the close of which he declared that he looked forward to a day when there will be a court esta blished that shall be recognized by all nations which will take into consideration all fer ences between nations and settle them by arbitration, or decision of such court.
 Prof. B. l.. Whitman, of Columbia university, made some pointed remarks about two diseases prevailing in Amer ican social life, one known as anglo mania and another disease, largely political in it's character, known as anglophobia. He claimed that anglo- phobia was as unreasonable as anglo- mania was ridiculous.
 
 merly of Missouri, now of Washing ton, delivered d vigorous address in support of the general principle of ar bitration, ill which he incidentally criticised the tone of President Cleve- lands Venezuelan message, and asked, If arbitration was good for Eugla and Venezuela, why not good for En- gland and the United States?
 Associate Justice Brewer of the United States supreme court, who was introduced as "the president of the Venezuelan commission" aroused the meeting to the highest point of enthu- siasm. He began by saying that when he received the request of the com mittee to take part in the proceedings and was assured that the speeches were to be limited to five minutes he came to the conclusion that all he would have to do would be to stand up and be counted in favor of arbi- tration, because, according to his ex- perience, no lawyer could say what he had to say under two hours. So he had come here to be counted in favor of the arbitration treaty. When I say that" continued Justice Brewer, II do not want to be considered as one who would trespass upon the prerogative of the senate to make a careful canvass of every line of that treaty. appreciate fully the words of the senator from Massachusetts (Mr. Hoar) so recently uttered in pro- test against the pressure for indecent I .l hal ;. the gentlemen charged with the duty of considering carefully, that treaty that you must vote for it" There is something in my own nature which, when anybody says to me: You must, causes something to run up my spinal column, which says: 'I won't" It is the senate sduty to consider that treaty carefully, and when 1 say that l say it is no trespass upon their rights for American citizens to express their views of that treaty. And l am sure there is no one who will more cheerfully accord that right than the senior senator from Massa- chusetts tMr. Hoar), whom we all de- light to honor. In spite of all the in- timations l see in the press, 1 believe that the senate will not declare itself ''in favor of the law, but against it's enforcement" They will act upon it with the desire to do the best for the interests not alone of this country, but of the world. lApplause.] l know judges make mistakes, having been on the bench many years l know it is dangerous to submit grave questions to such tr- bunal, and if 1 could see here one of my brothers, with whom 1 have been associated for two years referring to Justice Harlan, one of the Behring sea arbitrators), I think 1 could illus trate that at his exp pense. Laughter But then, what are the errors and losses incidental to arbitration com pared to the horrors of war? IAp- plause. What are few million dol lars of wrongful damages in compari- son to the sacrifice of thousands of human lives?"
 Justice Brewer in his peroration brought down the house by a brief but dramatic poem on Lost Oppor