The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-16
We Have No secret Treaty With
Germany.

According to q telegram from Berlin
few people there doubt the existence
Of a secret treaty lately concluded be-
tween the United States and Germany,
and a report to the same effect has been
sent : o the London Erening STANDARD
from its Washington correspondent. We
repeat what we said when the same
report was current some weeks ago: that
there is absolutely no foundation for it,
as any one possessing eve a rldimen-
tary acquaintance with u Federal
Constitution should know.
According to the story, which is being
circulated freely in Berlin and to some
extent in London, the German Govern
ment and our State Department have
entered into an agreement corresponding
TO that which was signed by Great Brit
ain and Japan in August, 1905. That is
TO say. the parties reeiprocally guarantee
their respective possessions in the Far
East. Thus, il any attempt should be
made by a third Power to seize Kiao-
chou, or any other German territory
in the Pacific, our wal fleet would COOP
crate with the German navy TO repel
the aggression, while we could rely on
the support of German battleships il
IN effort should be made to occupy
the Philippines or Hawaii.
II IL perhaps not unnatural that such
a rumor should have been started and
should have found some credence among
people who entirely misconceive the
power Of our Federal Executive. They
reason that as the arrangements made
with Japan by Great Britain and France
have tended to isolate the United States
and Germany. so far AZ their Far Eastern
dependencies are concerned, the two last
named Powers are driven by the pres
sure Of events to form n counter COM
bination. That is a plausible explana-
ton Of an imaginary fact, and there il
no doubt that Germany and Russia, if
they had been relegated TO a like isola-
ton, would have had the power and
might have been tempted to arrange a
secret coalition for defensive purposes.
For the Gar. now that the second Duma
has been dissolved and a new electoral
law has been proclaimed, is once nor
absolute, and there can be but little
doubt that the Bundesrath in private
session would authorize Emperor WILL
IAN to enter into a secret compact with
the Russian autocrat.
We may as well remind our European
friends a second time, since some of them
continue to imagine vain things, that there
is really no analogy between the power Of
initiative vested in more or less autocratic
sovereigns and that which our Federal
organic law gives President of the United
States. Under our Constitution the treaty
making function is vested exclusively in
Congress. and although our Executive not
infrequently has assumed a right to pre-
pare the draft Of a convention with a for
eign Power. and wen to affix its signature
thereto Professionally, such a document ia
worthless until it has been ratified by two
thirds Of the Senate. Moreover, when the
execution Of the convention would involve
the expenditure of money the consent OF
the House of Representatives is equally
indispensable to validity.
II is scarcely conceivable that two-thirds
Of our Senators would sanction a treaty
with Germany whereby the signatories
bound themselves to guarantee their
respective possessions in the Far East.
If the American people are not strong
enough to defend the Philippines and
Hawaii we had better let those islands
go, for THY are not worth the aban-