Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-02
The Making Of Treaties.
.HE Taft administration will prob I

ITaE Taft administration will prob
ably loom large in history as an
| era Of treaties. It's output Will
be notable, not so much for the number
of conventions negotiated as for their
scope and importance and the Presi-
dents share In shaping them. The issue
lately raised by the Senate as to Its pre-
rogative having attracted the attention OF
the country, 1t may be worth while to
run back over a few facts and tradt-
tons bearing on the subject.
| Few casual readers Of history are
aware that there was a wide difference
of opinion among me fathers of the
Constitution on the question TO whom
should be intrusted the power to make
treaties. Edmund Randolph wished to
vest it in Congress as a body. Pinckney
in the Senate exclusively, Hamilton In
the supreme executive with the advice
| and appreciation of the Senate. rms
plan was finally adopted as compro-
| mise Hamilton though DESTROYS OF CIV
ing the President thus much initiative,
was as strongly opposed as any one 70
| clothing him with supreme authority IN
the premises, deeming 1T utterly unsafe
and improper to intrust that power 70 an
urged against the inclusion of the House
| Of Representatives in the combination
| was that the larger number OF members
in that chamber would increase the diff
Guilty Of preserving secrecy in the dis
| cussion Of treaties.
| X
| How little this discrimination weighed
with Washington appears in an incident
of which Jefferson has left us a descrip-
/ ton. A treaty then in the Senate had
given rise to some little debate on side
! issue, just before a dinner given by the
| President at which q member OF the
Senate committee on foreign relations
sat next him. The senator seized the OPP
| portunity to relate to his host what had
occurred in the secret session. and his
voice rising as he talked, and STAN
| mering habit causing him to bolt his
words loudly at times. the French min
lister. who sat opposite. could hear sub
stantially everything he said me
President was so annoyed by this bit OF
! stupidity that he came near bringing the
dinner to an abrupt end In order to 81
lence his neighbours flow of public con-
| fidences.
Nevertheless, Washington was pune
tilious about his relations with the Senate
4 In diplomatic affairs. AS he interpreted
| the clause of the Constitution which
| authorized him to make treaties by and
| with the advice and consent of the Sen
| ate." the advice, at least. was to precede
| their execution; so he used to submit to
| the committee on foreign relations any
| question which arose in his own mind.
and go to the Senate chamber and talk
| things over before showing the text OF
| treaty to the foreign government con-
cerned. But he was equally insistent on
the Senate's meeting his overtures half
way: and on one occasion when. moved
by it's habitual love Of deliberation, it
| undertook to refer his proposed treaty
to committee with instructions to re-
port the following Monday. he became
angry and sharply rebuked its spirit
of procrastination.
/
So jealously has the Presidents share
in such matters always been guarded
that 1t has given rise to two or three
notable clashes between the executive
and legislative branches OF the govern
ment. During President Jackson's ad
ministration Congress passed a bill for
the compromise of sundry claims under
| treaty with the Two SicilieH To the
| President this measure appeared to be.
| in effect, a substitute for the existing
treaty. and he vetoed it on the ground
that 1t was an infringement of his con-
stitutional authority to make treaties in
conjunction with the Senate. President
Grant went even further when he vetoed
the resolutions OF Congress acknowledge
Ing two messages OF congratulation sent
occasion Of the centenary OF American
| independence. The resolutions were fnno-
cent enough in form, merely directing the
Secretary OF State to convey to the friend
~ powers the thanks of Congress for
their good wishes; but Grant took the
stand that the Constitution vested in the
executive alone the reception and con-
duct of all correspondence with foreign
| states.
The exclusive powers of President
and Senate In regulating the foreign rela-
lions OF our government are perhaps best
illustrated In the case of a treaty Of
peace. The Constitution requires the CO.
operation Of both chambers of Congress-
to begin a war, but the Senate is the
only body to be consulted In stopping one.
The President negotiates a treaty OF
before 1t becomes effective. The House is
ignored entirely at that stage Of the busi-
ness and does not come into 1t at all un-
less the terms OF the treaty as finally fixed
ture OF money, the cession OF terri
tory or the like. 1t was President Nc
Kinley. for example, who arranged all
the preliminaries for peace with Spain
after the war of 1898 but Congress as
a whole had to take part in voting the
grant OF $50. 100000 to Spain as "conso-
lation" for the transfer of the Philippine
Islands.
| strange ~ say, dlUtlt the attitude ana
temper OF the Senate toward a good many
international questions could be more
fairly ascertained through the examina-
ton Of the treaties rejected by it or
amended in important particulars than
from any scrutiny of the finished and &C
copied products, no list of reflections and
amendments Is accessible to the public.
Mystery surrounds treaty from the mo-
ment it crosses the threshold of the Sen
ate until the decisive vote Is taken. and
IL the vote is adverse every effort is
made to maintain the mystery still. To
their newspapers alone in most instances
the American people owe whatever they
learn of treaties in process of making.
and after a vote they get from the same
source their sole information OF who
voted for and who against 1t.
| There have been some dramatic Incl
dents In newspaperdom in Washington
in connection with the work Of treatyget
. ting John Nugent, who represented q
New York journal In 1s4s. published pre-.
maturely the treaty Of Guadalupe HI
dalgo, whereby Mexico accepted the con
sequences Of her defeat in her war with
the United States The outlines of q
treaty had been suggested by Gen. Scott
and in the opinion Of his friends 1t would