The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1905-02-17
THE SENATE
and TREATIES
NO HOPE FOR ADOPTION OF
RECIPROCITY.
ARE AMENDED TO DEATH
Elder Statesmen Sure to Change Pro.
visions to Point of Rejec-
ton Abroad.

Washington, Feb. 15-It is absolute
ly useless to expect reciprocity by |
treaties which must go to the senate !
for confirmation. Recent experience
has been sufficiently illuminating. The
Cuban case was SO peculiar in it's con-
dition as to furnish no real exception.
The senate may be described as a
body Of men alert to minister to the
welfare of group of special interests,
usually those of the states and constit-
uencies of the senators, but not neces-
sarily so. 1t is the best senators who
gets the most for his own people, or
Interests, in the way of privileges and
] advantages, patronage anu appropria-
tions
! Of general welfare representation,
there is little or none. Senators rush
and push and struggle for what is OF
advantage to- their own section or
states, or neighborhoods. In such an
atmosphere a reciprocity treaty, as a
measure for lessening tariff duties,
proves about as effective weapon as
would SNOWFALL in a boiler house.
How the Senate Rules.
1t is an old saying that this lis a rep
1
comes to- dealing with foreign nations
we cease to have the real machinery
of representation The state depart
ment may be promptly overridden and
made ridiculous; the foreign relations
committee of the senate .%ay be as
speedily set aside.
The entire 80 senators must be sat-
isfied, two-thirds of them actually, and
nine-tenths of them under the influ-
ence of log-rolling devices. They do
not make the trades with any foreign
government; no premier of Newfound-
land or finance minister of France,
goes into the senate chamber to talk
with it's entire membership in the pre-
paration of treaty, and yet that is
what such a foreigner ought to- do il
his proposal is to have genuine con-
sideration.
Under the workings of our present
treaty making machinery, the Hay,
Bond treaty debate in the senate ran
on all fours. Each senator decided
what he wanted put in, in way OF
advantage, and take off, in the shape
of concession, just as if the United
States senate were the whole story
and Newfoundland an eleemosynary
institution at the outer door, which
!. would take whatever we saw fit to
give.
What Will Treaty Do?
1t is interesting to observe the con
4. fiicting claims as to the treaty. The
advocates of Canadian reciprocity
\ think it is a step in the direction o.
their hobby. The high tariff advocates
on the other hand, assert that this i!
not the case, and that the treaty 81
CAREFUL guards American interests a!
to insure the failure of it's acceptance
by the Newfoundland government.
n Commercially, this treaty is not 0
/ great Importance, for the present, bu
there are indications that within II
/ years it may mean an import trade o
S15,000,000 annually for Newfound
land, of which the United States, will
this treaty in force, would get tn
lions share. The present exports o
Newfoundland amount annually t
about $1O,000,000, and the imports t
about $9,000000, these latter being di
vided in fairly equal way betwee
1 the United States, Canada and Eng
7 land. During recent years there ha
- been a growing tendency there to pull
:. chase in the American markets, an
= when Premier Bond took up with tn
y American government the question Q
p trade treaty, in 1902, he was actin
q in harmony with the sentiment OF hi
81 people.
\ NewfoundIand's Trade.
q Newfoundland is little smalle
:. than Pennsylvania and it has a popr
. lation of 5000 AS late as 1908 foul
q ffths of it's total exports were the prt
q ducts of the fisheries, but the countr
81 has immense resources in lumber an
j. wood pulp, slate, iron, copper an