Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-12-30
Ol.ROOSEVE[['ii IT.
AGAIN HITS The.
PEACE TREATIES
Former President Points to
Abrogation Of Russian
Treaty as Example Of Flu
tility Of Arbitration Plan.

l. I A-t + . + y . 4.
New York, Dec. 29-The following
editorial on "The Russian Treaty. Ar
bitration and Hypocrisy by Theo'
dore Roosevelt, appears in the current
issue of The Outlook:
II cordially approve the action
taken by congress in abrogating the
Russian treaty, because men must
vote and act on the situation as it &C
tually confronts them; and In the &C.
tual event congressman had but two
alternatives, namely to abrogate the
treaty, or to submit to the continuance
of conditions which have become In
tolerable to our national self-respect,
and which represent continuing
wrong, especially to American citizens
Of Jewish faith.
II still believe that in SO serious q
matter it would have been we'll first
to endeavor to secure a decision by
The Hague court on the interpreta.
tion of the existing treaty. am conf.
dent that such a decision would OF
necessity have been in our favor; and
If SO, it would have enabled Russia to
retire from an untenable position with
good grace and no loss of self-respect
-an object that should always be held
in view in dealing with any foreign ma
tion with which at any time we have
difficulties; while If the decision as to
the Interpretation of the clause
in question had been adverse to
US, we would then, at once have
abrogated the treaty, and have
been clearly right in SO doing
This was the position held by that dis.
|tinguished diplomat, Mr.. Oscar Straus
But no movement had been made by
either nation looking toward any other
method of settling the matter than
the one actually adopted congEess
Y Rxs q . ssant ttNf;ssd hs siat; psa I. sas; (;
conditions would remains as they now
are; and, under the circumstances,
congress acted wisely and properly In
declaring for the abrogation.
New Treaties HypocrItieal.
"But this action was taken while
the universal arbitration treaties are
pending III the senate. These treaties
are avowedly championed, as being the
kind we are to enter into with all ma
tions, and as supplanting the existing
arbitration treaties which we have
with almost all nations, including
Russia as we'll as England and France
These treaties, If ratified by the
senate unamended, will explicitly
promise, will explicitly pledge the
honor and good faith Of the American
nation, to arbitrate precisely such
questions as that which at this very
moment we announce that we will not
endeavor to arbitrate in the case Of
Russia. Under these circumstances, to
ratify the general arbitration treaties
would put the American people in an
attitude Of peculiarly contemplate by
pocrisy, and would rightly expose us
to the derision Of all thinking man
kind; for we would put ourselves In
the position Of making sweeping an
insincere promises, impossible Of per
formance, at the very time when by
our own actions we showed that we
would certainly not keep such
promises, nor translate them into ac
ton believe that we can normally
arbitrate the question Of the interpre
tation Of a treaty, even II only as the
jpremilinary to adopting the very
serious action Of denouncing such 8
treaty. But / do not believe that we
can arbitrate, with the intention OF
abiding by the arbitration, such ques
tfons as treating all our citizens alike
without regard to their creed, In the
matter Of passports, or such questions
las the Monroe doctrine, the admis