The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-03-07
PARLIAMENTARY UNION
AMERICAN MEMBERS OF GROUP
 MEET IN WASHINGTON.
Three Propesitions From This Country Agreed Upon to Re Presented to Next COnference to Be
 Held at Brussel1s.

Washington, March 6.--At a meeting of members of Congress belonging to the American group of the Interparli- amentary Union for the promotion of international arbitration today, Chair man Bartholdt was authorized to se- lect and appoint delegates to the Brus- sells conference of the union to be held in September. Three American prop ositions' were agreed upon to be pre- scented at the Brussels conference. These were; An invitation to the Central and South American countries to become members of the union; the extension of jurisdiction to The Hague Arbitration Court over specific matters of arbitra. tion through e general arbitration treaty and the formation of an inter- national congress to formulate and ne- gotiate such treaty.
 MT. Bartholdt expressed the opinion that nothing memorable in the way of international arbitration had been done through the failure of the amended arr bitration treaties which President Roosevelt had refused to submit to the various European powers for exchange or ratification. The proposition which the American group will present at the Brussels conference for a general arr bitration treaty defining exactly what shall and what shall npt be subjects of international arbitration, he said, would Pbe much more practical and far reach- ing in the accomplishment of interna- tional peace. For this reason MT. Bartholdt saw no great loss in the fail ure of the treaties.
 The question of justice of what pow CTS should be conferred on The Hague Court received considerable discussion at the meeting. The explanation was od in n nnaottnna hv l. ous members that the proposed general treaty should bind all powers signing 1t to submit certain matters to this court for arbitration; that upon appli- cation by one nation to the court ser vice should be made upon another na- tion to appear and answer exactly as is done in the courts of this country with reference to a civil proceeding. The organization of the United States was made to typify the nations of the world in their proposed new realtion under such a treaty in that the vari- ous States of the Union have independ- ent Jurisdiction over their international affairs, hut must refer disputes with another State to the Supreme Court of | the United States. The Hague Court, | it is proposed, shall take the position 1 internationally that our Supreme Court takes in the disputes between States. As to the invitation to be extended the Central and South American repub- | lies, MT. Bartholdt said that he had as-
 surances that every one of the repub-
 lies would accept such an invitation,
 and further that the position of this Government with reference to those re-
 nublics made it appropriate that the ln- itiation to the parliamentary
 union should come from the United States.
 As to the proposed International
 Congress, it stated that the principal
 work of such a Consfess would be to formulate the pro posed general arbi- tration treaty, The steps towards its formation to be taken at the Brussels
 conference would be a decision as tc
 the basis of representation which should
 be accorded each nation in the con gress. It was proposed that such a congress should meet periodically and
 deal with questions of international
 peace as they might arise.