Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-19
FORAKER DEFENDS TREATY
CLOSING THE CANAL DURING WAR
NOT PROHIBITED.
q
Nearly All of Eestesday's Executive
Session Devoted to Discussion Of
Hsy-Pauncefote7G Convention.

-1
The friends Of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty
| occupied nearly all Of the time of the Sem
ate In executive session yesterday, Senators
Foraker and Morgan being the speakers.
Prior to taking zap that treaty the Sen
ate. for the purpose of clearing it's calen-
dar. disposed Of several other treaties of
comparatively little Importance. Five con-
ventions In all were ratified. Among the
documents thus disposed Of was an agree
ment supplementary to the Hay-Paunce-
fote treaty itself and extending the time
within which 1t may be ratified. Under
| the terms Of the original treaty the time
| Tor ratification expired five months ago.
The agreement favorably passed upon yes
| terday extends the time until the 4th Of
| March during which the treaty may be
completed. Senator Lodge, who had the
matter In charge, manifested some anxiety
| over this treaty and evidently was some
what relieved when it went through with
| out a dissenting voice.
The other treaties which were ratified
were as follows: Extending for one year
| the time within which the commercial
treaty with the Argentine may be ratified;
extending for year the time within which
the treaty with Great Britain for reciproci-
ty with Jamaica may be ratified; the new
eXtradition treaties with Bolivia and Chile.
Tillman Resolution Adopted.
When the Hay-Pauncefote treaty was
taken up attention was given to the reso-
luton offered In open session earlier in the
day by Senator Tfllman calling for the cor
respondence between this government and
the government of Colombia relative to the
| right of the United States to construct a
canal across Colombian territory.
The resolution was agreed to after 1t was
amended at the instance of Senator Nor
gan so as also to call for all the corre-
spondence with the Panama Canal Com
pany, including all offers on the part of
that company and all negotiation with it
concerning the Panama canal
Senator Bard of California gave notice of
an amendment he would offer to the treaty
providing that the United States shall have
the right to discriminate in favor of Amer
lean goods shipped through the canal in
American vessels engaged in the coastwise
trade"
Senator Foraker's speech from first to
last. was a defense of the Hay-Pauncefote
| treaty, and he took occasion to praise in
high terms Secretary Hay who, he said.
Is not only an accomplished gentleman and
scholarly man, but patriot and a states
man Of high order. He had differed
from the Secretary in some respects, he
said. as to the policy to be pursued, but
any fair-minded man must recognize that
in negotiating the pending treaty the Secre-
tary Of State had accepted conditions as he
found them. and that in falling into the
policy Of neutrality he had only followed
historic precedcRts. As for himself. he had
Always favored an American policy in deal
Ing with the question of the construction of
the canal. but no one who would give the
least attention to the subject could fail to
see that the neutral policy had been the
poilcy OF this country In the past. Every
administration since 1850 had given some
recognition to the Clayton Bulwer treaty
and that document was to be found in the
governments latest treaty complication. To
! further show the attitude of this nation
Mr.. Foraker quoted the fifteenth article of
the treaty made between the United States
and Nicaragua in regard to the canal in
1867, as follows: The United States here
by agree to extend their protection to all
such routes of commerce as aforesaid and
to guarantee the neutrality and innocent
use OF the same. They also agree to en-
ploy their influence with other nations to
induce them to guarantee such neutrality
and protection What more definite and
positive declaration. asked Mr. Foraker
could be made for. neutrality in dealing
win the canal. Hence he aruged that Mr.
Hay had merely acted in accord with the
established policy. Of the government in pro-
viding for neutral rights in the proposed
waterway.
Mr.. Foraker also contended that there is
an implied reservation in the treaty as 1t
came to the Senate to protect the canal
from enemies. The treaty guarantees its
neutrality in time of peace, he said, but we
reserve the right to do with IL as we see
mt in time of war. except that we cannot
fortify it.
The Canal In War Time.
But, he went on, there is prohibition
against our closing it in war time He
found great significance in the difference
between the language used in the CONSTANT
nople treaty relating to the Suez canal and
the language employed In relation to the
Nlcaraguan canal, and dwet upon the fact
that the Suez treaty contains q provision
that in time of hostilities that canal shall
De open 10 the ships OF belligerpntS al
though the Ottoman empire through whose
dominion the canal was to be constructed
should be one of the belIigerents. That pro
vision had been omitted from the Hay-
Pauncefote treaty, Mr.. Foraker said. and
he argued that the omission could be inter-
preted in no way except as d concession of
difference in intent
He also commended for the safety of tho
canal, even though 1t should not be fortified
for it was absurd he said to supDose thai
any enemy would attempt to sail its shins
through canal, 175 miles long, and owned
controlled and polced by this country when
actual hostilities were in progress. In this
connection he called attention to the fate
or the Maine on a peaceful mission and
had been anchored In a harbor of n conn
try with which at the time we were at
peace
Senator Morgan traversed much of the
ground he had covered in his previous ar
guments in support of the Hay-Pauncefote
treaty. He referred to the protocols agreed
upon between Nicaragua and Costa RIGA
regarding the canal and said that the rati-
| fcation OF the Hay treaty is debt we owe
to them. Those countries, IL they should
see tit, might rise up and refuse to allow us
to do anything: hence we could not afford
t. do anything that would offend them
For this reason We would have the neu-
trality of the canal assured and the pend
ing treaty ratified.
Mr.. Rockefeller Christmas Gift.