Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1899-01-30
STATUS OF THE TREATY.

While it is an exceedingly difficult
thing to secure the ratification of any
treaty in the United States senate, it
is also true that by the same system it
is almost impossible to kill a treaty
outright that has the support of only
an even majority. The question has
many times been raised eff Chairman
Davis should let the treaty come up
for a vote, and that vote should be
unfavorable, fewer than sixty men
going on record for ratification what
then; could the president send back
to the senate the same treaty, Or what
would be it's status" Unless clear
majority was against the treaty, 1T
would never get out of the senate,
whether it failed Of ratification or
not. The procedure might be some
what like this: one of the senators
friendly to the treaty, when he saw
how the vote was going, would sud-
denly change position and vote OPP
posite from the way he had intended;
he would then, as soon as the result
was announced, rise and move re-
consideration and a majority of, the
senate, but not two thirds majority,
voting with him would bring the
treaty back before the chamber for
reconsideration. This is the view of
the parliamentary situation of prom
inent and very intelligent senator.
1t raises delicate question IN parll-
mentary procedure, however. In
case fifty-f senators voted to rati-
fly the treaty and thirty five to reject
it, from which side should the motion
to reconsider it come, the majority
or the minority, the unsuccessful or
the successful? Usually the majority
and the successful side are the same
thing, but in the case of a senatorial
treaty they would not be, and the
prevalent opinion is that the motion
to reconsider would come from the
successful side, even if in an actual
minority The customary formula
after bill has passed in the no use is
for one of it's friends to move per-
functorily that it be reconsidered and
laid on the table, and the voting down
of this motion prevents subsequent
serious effort in the same line. In the
case of the treaty, the motion would
be to reconsider simply with no ref
erence to laying on the table.
Another thing that makes it diff
cult to kill a treaty is the fact that
the senate never dies like the house
of representatives. In case no action
is reached by the present senate, the
treaty will still be before that body
in the fifty sixth congress when it
assemblies in the middle of March.
In a practical way, it is hardly likely
that Chairman Davis would allow the
treaty to come to a vote unless he
was sure of results. 1t is an easy
matter to get polling of the senate
at the last moment and there are al
ways test questions which may be
submitted preliminary to vote on
the thing itself, and in that way the
advocates of the treaty can learn
whether it is best to push it to vote.
It is quite remarkable how much of
the real discussion of the treaty is
being done in open session, nominally
in speaking of resolutions, like those
introduced by Mr.. Hoar, Mr.. Bacon,
Mr.. Vest and Mr.. Mason. The beauty
of the senate is that any member is
free to do as he pleases. The man
who wants to make a speech to the
country, takes one of those resolu-
tons as his text, one way or the other,
bends his energies toward executive
sessions, and when within the closed
doors, talks or keeps silence, accord
ing to whether he desires to delay or
hasten the coming of the roll call.