The Colfax gazette. [volume] (Colfax, Wash.) 1893-1932, 1900-12-28
is STRICTLY AMERICAN
Senate Amended Treaty With
That Idea in View.
Senator Lodge Understood the Feel
ing of the People and Said
We Must Control

Washington, Dec. Ex-senator Lodge
who has charge OF the Hay Pauncetotp
! treaty, IN the senate today made the fol.
| lowing statement:
| The senate amendments were NOT die.
tated by hostility towards Great Britain
| and still less were they in degree q re-
| Election on the secretary Of state. The
| amendments were made solely because in
| the opinion of the senate thev were necps-
sary for the United States in the avoid
ance OF any question as to the owner
ship OF the canal and consequently for
the sake OF the peaceful and harmonious
dealings with the rest of the world on
that subject in the future.
The first amendment is Il simple decla-
| ration that the Clayton Bulwpr treaty
ceases TO exist and is superseded by the
iay-PauncefOte treaty. The object of
the latter was to remove the former a.
an obstacle to the construction of the
lsthmian canal. Some good Judges
thought the Hay -Pauncefote treaty did
this completely as it stood. Others be-
lleved that certain portions OF the CLAW
tOn-Bulwer treaty still remained in force.
10 allow this doubt to continue would
have been a grave mistake. The Ameri-
can people desired to be rid of the CLAW
ton Bulwer treaty finally and beyond
question.
Under article ", of the y-Poncefote
treaty as it stood we were clearly bound
II engaged IN war, to permit a hostile
meet II 1t succeeded IN getting inside the
three-mile zone, to pass unmOlested
through the canal. This NAV or NAV
not be practical question and it il of
no consequence whether it is or not. II
is solemn promise to permit a hostile
fleet to use the canal. That promise we
either intended to keep as We made it or
dld not intend to keep, knowing that
under the stress OF war we should break
1t. If we meant to keep it then it was
promise no nation ought to make. If
we knew that we should not keep it in
time OF war, then it was only honest and
fair to relieve ourselves of the obligation
IN the treaty itself. This was the pur-
pose OF the second or Davis amendment.
which entirely dispOses of any such
promise, and which follows exactly in
principle and almost exactly in words.
article \, of the Suez convention, which
reserved similar rights to Turkey, whose
interest in the Suez canal is trivial com
pared to ours in that proposed in Mica
ragua.
"The third amendment strikes ont
arlcle Iii, by which we engaged to in
Vlte other nations to adhere to the
Had there been no Clayton BulWt6f treaty
we should have negotiated with no one
except Costa Rica and Nicaragua as to
the building of the canal With England.
owing to the Clayton BulWer treaty, we
we're obliged to treat, but as we expect
Europe to keep out OF this hemisphere.
it seemed to the senate an unwse, how
ever excellent and liberal Intention, to
invite European nations to share in
American treaty and thus give them
right to meddle in American affairs at
any point.
"We desire to dispose of the CLAYTON
Bulwer treaty in the most friendly way
possible. We are most averse to any
other disposition of it. England does
not intend to 20 to war to prevent our
building the canal, and if it is physically
possible to build it we mean in any event
to do so. Under these circumstances we
are very clear that it is as much for Eng
lands interest as for ours to accept the
new propositions in the friendly spirit in
which they are offered and thus end a
controversy over a worn out treaty
which is only a stumbling block to both
nations. 1t is not to be doubted that
the English ministers, whose ability, ex-
perience and reputation are known to
all the world, will duly weigh all these
considerations and rightly comprehend
the purpose of the senate amendments
and the spirit in which they are pre-
Sented."