The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-09
consider the question and further delay |
"a IInd fort
ROOSEVELT VS.. TAFT.

The Roosevelt talk in the Outlool
against The arbitration treaty amount:
TO very little as an opposition to thai
treaty. for the very things that he pre-
scnts as obstacles 10 unlimited arhltra
tion would undoubtedly be pronounced
non iuSiiciable by the High Commls
sor provided for. This High Commits
sion is to be composed on the part oi
the United States of three Commission
crs of Inquiry. to meet three from the
nation in controversy. Unless the mat
ter presented is pronounced msticiahle
by two out Of three OF the American
| Commissioners. it is eliminated from
the scope of arbitration, The Monroe
doctrine. the debts OF Southern States
| the Platt amendment as to Cuba. the
question whether European countries
are entitled 10 reciprocity on the same
terms that Canada has il in the event
| that Canada ratifies the reciprocity
agreement--all these things must he as
sentcd 10 by two of the three American
Commissioners in the inquiry as 10
whether the points at issue are proper
subjects Of arbitration. The opposition
Of one member will not be enough to
keep the matter in controversy out OF
arbitration, but the adverse OPINION OF
two members will remove it from arbl-
tration possibilities. In all this, there
fore, the plea of Colonel Roosevelt Is
very much IN the nature Of a begging
of the question. lie assumes that in
certain cases two out of the three Amer
lean Commissioners might bctray their
assumed: but the assumption is quite
the contrary.
AT the same time that this article of
Colonel Roosevelt S in opposition to the
arbitration treaty appeared, President
Taft was delivering in Hartford, Con
nccticut one of his strongest and most
effective pleas in support Of arbitration
and Of the unreserved arbitration treaty
as signed He pointed out that the In-
tercsts of this country are fully pro-
tected by the Joint High Commission
Of Inquiry, and that the honor of the
country, its traditional policies, AS we'll
as its agreements as to Cuba, are all
fully protected by the formation of the
Joint High Commission of Inquiry. This
is, in fact, the strong point in the
treaty; and ii seems singular to us that
Colonel Roosevelt and the opponents of
the treaty in the Senate should have
overlooked the important office that
this commission is to fill, President
Taft dwelt very strongly upon the bene
ffcial aspects of the arbitration treaty;
and no one hearing or reading his
mislcd by the faulty assumptions Of
Colonel Roosevelt, or the fallacious pleas
made in the Senate and by the Senate
Committee on Foreign Affairs.
We do not consider that the attitude
of Colonel Roosevelt towards this treaty
is particularly significant so far as tho
treaty itself is concerned but il is sig
nlflcant Of his attitude toward Presi-
dent Taft. II affords him convenient
from which 10 open his at
tack upon the President. It. has been
evident for good while past that
Colonel Roosevelt was aching 10 get at
President Taft, To signify his disap-
proval Of the Taft policies generally,
and Of Mr.. Taft in particular as Presi-
dent We shall expect TO see from now
on Il more unreservcd, more open aud
positive warfare, by Colonel Roosevelt
upon President Taft than he has shown
heretofore. Undoubtedly the occasion
is one which affords Colonel Roosevelt
fair and full opportunity to get in op.
position TO President Taft in a way
quite agreeable to Roosevelt. and which
must have been anticipated by Presi
dent Taft. For, there have been NUT
teriugs from Roosevelt heretofore on
this question that indicated about where
he would stand with respect to the ar
bitration treaty, and now that he comes
out in full cry against it. and denounces
it as hypocrisy. a betrayal of National
honor, and all that sort of thing, there
can be no mistake as TO his aim. He
means President Taft every time when
he gets in his words of dcnunciation,
and from henceforth doubtless his con.
dcmnation and opposition to the Presi-
dent viii be made more and more evi.
dent. open, and pronounced.