New-York tribune., 1903-02-04
POINTS TO BE DECIDED.

The Associated Press has with official au-
thnritv prepared n careful abstract OF the
Alaska boundary treaty, the full text of when
the Senate Yesterday refused to make pup-
lie and il will he found in another column
of this issue. What purports TO be the fuil text
has also appeared in print and is apparent!
accurate. though 1t is not clear how IL couiu
have been published at this time WITHOUT d
breach of confidence. Both the alleged text
and the permitted abstract from the text given
ont under seal are found to agree precisely "lth
the forecast of the treaty already made IN our
Washington correspondence. 1t is simple III
strument 1t provides for the appointment OF
commission of six jurists. three appointed %!
the President and three by The kirg VINO snail
determine by majority vote the true lnteHre-
tation of the Anglo-Russian treaty or loZo' tah-
ing into consideration the understanding there
of by its makers before. at the time OF and aIier
the making of that treaty.
TIE commissioners will thus be asked 10 de-
ternsine whether "the southernmost point or
Prince of Wales Island" means the southern
most point of Prince of Wales Island or some
other place: whether 1.-The channel called Port
land Channel means the channel which is ana
always has been called Portland Channel or
some channel that is and always has beeh
called something else. and whether the line
which is 10 ascend Portland Channel as far as
the fifty-sxfh degree of north latitude is lndeed
to go up that channel which extends exactly 10
that parallel. or is TO go along some other chai-
mel which falls short of or runs far beyond H.
Really. one would think they ought TO be aDle
TO determine those points.
They are also to decide whether "a line par
aileI TO the windlngs (sinuosties) of the coast
Is a line which curves around all the indenta-
tions of the coast or which runs straight across
them from headland to headland: and whether
STRIP or edge, or line Of coast c'llslere de
e6te'D is a continuous strip of coast or series
of disconnected fragments divided by arms OF
the high seas. We shall hope to see them pass
upon these momentous problems without serl-
GUS mental overwork.
The commissioners will further be called
upon to decide whether in saying that he OBJ
iected TO the Russian proposal because it would
exclude the British from the bays and inlets OF
the sea the British negotator in 1923 meant
that IL would thus exclude them. that it
would give them access TO those parts Of the
sea; whether in accepting finally that Russian
line as one shutting them from the sea the Brit
ish meant to coneede TO Russia an unbroken
coast strip, or TO vindieate the British right to
break through il at various points; whether In
paying Russia fee for the privilege of cross
ing that coast strip the British meant TO ac-
knowledge Russian ownership of it or to main
tain British ownership and whether In show
ing on all their official maps down to few
years ago the Russian and United States line
as the true boundary line the British meant to
indicate that 1t was the true line or that it
was not the true one. If six jurists around
table cannot find satisfactory answers to those
questions some peoples faith in human nature
VIII be materially weakened.
In brief, does "sinuosity' mean something
straight or something crookeds That seems TO
be the crux Of the whole problem which emf
nent jurists are to be sworn to answer accord
ing to their true judgment.