The San Francisco call., 1905-02-15
SENATOR LODGE
GATHERS DATA
Complies Statement in Sup
port of Action Amending
the Arbitration Treaties
MAKING OUT A CASE
Upper House of Congress
Orders Document Printed
for Public Distribution

WASHINGTON, Feb. IA. = Senator
Lodge presented to the Senate to-day,
in executive session. a list of all the
general and particular arbitration
treaties or arbitration articles of treat
les containing other provisions that
have been submitted to the Senate.
The Senator has compiled also state
ment showing the constitutional meth
ods of making and ratifying treaties
in certain foreign countries. The state
ment was ordered printed as public
document
The disposition Of each arbitration
treaty is given in the statement. 1t
shows that A were submitted, OF which
43 were ratified and 1.-The Olney-
Pauncefote treaty with Great Britain
rejected. OF the treaties ratified 81
were not amended and were amend
ed. Seven arbitration agreements
have been entered into without being
submitted to the Senate. All provided
for the settlement Of private claims
and were with Brazil, Colombia, Spain,
Mexico (pious fund case). Santo Do
mingo and two with Hayti.
The Dominican case is that OF
the San Domingo Improvement Com
pany, inquired into by Senator Bacon'E
resolution introduced yesterday.
The compilation of the laws covering
the ratification Of arbitration agree
ments Of all the countries with which
the United States has negotiated such
treaties shows that in every instance
the executive must obtain the approval
of at least one and in most instances
both parliamentary bodies, except in
the case Of Switzerland, where the par
Hamentary body is supreme in treaty
making, the executive having none OF
the power and of Great Britain. where
the King must secure the approval OF
a committee of Parliament analogous
with the Foreign Relations Committee
OF the Senate of the United States.
The announcement is made by SEN
ator Lodge that he will not make any
statement in answer to the letter OF
the President which charged that the
ratification Of the arbitration treaties
with the amendment adopted was a
step backward and not step forward.
so far as / know no one is going to
make a statement on that subject,
said the Senator.
1t is pointed out in administration
circles, in further evidence of the al
legation that the President has sought
to establish no precedent in treaty
making, that under The Hague treaty
to which the Senate gave its approval
the executive has power to make
special arrangements for arbitration.
Article XXI of The Hague treaty,
touching this point, reads:
The powers who have recourse to srbitra-
tion sign a special act (compromis) in which
the subject of the difference is clearly de-
fined as well as the extent OF the arbitrators'
powers.
The French word "compromis' used
in The Hague convention is said by
departmental experts to be the eQuiva-
lent not of the English for com
promise" but rather of the term
agreement, and the executive branch
of the Government has proceeded
heretofore and without objection upor
this understanding.
Other conventions similar in terms
and scope to the arbitration treaties
just acted upon by the Senate, which
were in process Of negotiating here
between the State Department and
some of the foreign Ministers, have
been completely suspended and the
Japanese treaty signed on Saturday
morning will be the last on the list.