The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-31
The Waldorf-Astoria Huns With Excitement-Taft
 Among the Guests
COVERS LAID FOR
 OVER A THOUSAND
Taft Replies Specifically to Criticisms Against Arbitration Treaties Be- tween United States, Eng
 land and France

New York. December 30.--Preceded by dissensions which seemed for a time to threaten climax anything but pacific, the peace banquet tonight proved in real ization everything that its name implied 50 far at least as concerned It's attend ant conditions President Taft, who was the guest of honor and chief speaker, while arguing for the pending arbitra- tion treaties between the United States and Great Britain and France, as he has done previously at similar gatherings. went further tonight than in other ad- dresses and replied specifically to some criticisms recently made against the principles embodied in those treaties. He also made answer to the charge of in consistency lodged against advocates of the arbitration treaties who did not fa- vor arbitration in the difficulty between the United States and Russia.
 Refers to Root Argument
 Those of us who are in favor of these treaties have been criticised as intonsist- ent because we did not invoke arbitra- tion in the recent difference with Rus sa,' said MT. Taft. T am not entirely WILLIE lO opGdh dS lIdIlkiy dS l ullSH of that because my tongue is tied in a slight way by what we hope for in fu- ture negotiations. All that I can say is that if you will read the argument of Elihu Root on the question of why the treaty should be terminated and why ar bitration would not do, I am content to stand on his exhibit and explanation of that.
 The truth is that the treaty itself con fatt ,f,-oa of the United States to recognize the doctrine of non-expatriation and recog- nize the right of Russia to say that the naturalized Russian citizens in the United States should not lose their allegiance to Russia and could be punished for be- coming naturalized citizens.
 Now. why, therefore, should we arbi- doctrine that prevailed in the United States and that prevailed in Russia in 1892 The doctrine had been departed from by statute in the United States but it remained in the treaty and we cannot so far as foreign country Is concerned in contractual dealings with her repeal a treaty by statute. ~
 Hence it was stated in the notice of termination of the treaty made in accord4 ance with the terms of the treaty that the treaty was so old that it was not respon- sive to the views of the two nations.
 Now, why, therefore, should be arbi- trate treaty of that sort, in which we were met first and foremost by the prop osition that 20 or 30 or 40 years ago, we repudiated it as an international mat ter?
 Therefore, say that the inconsistency that is supposed to exist in our failure to invoke arbitration there does not exist and I commend to those who think 1t does a close perusal of MT. Roots argu- ment and of the treaty itself"
 Answers Other Criticisms
 Answering other criticisms of the trea- ties the President contnued
 There are certain questions, it is said, that we would have to arbitrate under this treaty; we would have to arbitrate the Monroe doctrine. I say it is not a