New-York tribune., 1911-12-31
TAFT BRINGS PEACE
OUT OF D|SC0RD
Confusion and Delay OF Much
Discussed Dinner Forgot
When President Talks
of Arbitration.
REPLIES TO HIS CRITICS
Banquet Held Up One Hour and
a Half by Mismanagement
Ami bassadors Absent
President Alone as Com
mittee Receives Itself.

President Alone as Com
mittee Receives Itself.
President Taft rose supreme above
tho discord Of the peace dinner IN 'he
Waldorf last night With the beginning
OF his speech all the troubles and dlsap-
polntmcnts over the arrangements Oh
the banquet and the delays in gettins
started were forgotten. and the only IN
terruptions came from the applause that
marked his telling points in the defence
of the proposed arbitration treaties Win
England and France.
In a speech Of nearly an hours dura-
ton he took up all the objections that
have been made TO his peace programme
and the arbitration treaties that have
already been drafted. and answered each
Of them with mastery reasoning or keen
ridicule. Time and again he had TO
pause for the cheers of more than eight
hundred men and women TO die away.
and when he had finished ii was many
minutes before his auditors were willing
10 cease their applause and let the other
Sneakers have their turns.
First pointing out the opportunity OF
this country to secure lasting peace and
quiet in the Central American region. he
soon passed to the great and dominant
question in his programme of the
treaties with England and France, which
he said he believed to be the first steps
ir. world wide arbitration We are in
a position to lead the world in the mat
ter of peace" he said. we have done
il in these two treaties, and the world
looks TO us TO continue"
President Taft's Address.
John Temple Graves had given up con-
siderable of the first part Of his speeca
az POSTMASTER to denying that there
had been any discCrd in arranging the
dinner, and President Taft began by
some jocose references TO the emphasis
MIR. Graves had laid on The peaceful
character OF all the dinner negotiations.
MIR. Taft continued:
am IN favor or peace. 1 ana in favor II
mean ~ Lhat IS tnat Ne can ,alk d gIe.,
deal aOoUt peace ana still nave war. IA.
orator on peace TrequenJiy gets IL seNotc
Jolt by Ine suggestion tuat Maf II .uh,
on in the neignDorhood. I VIII therefore
take the liberty mere OF suggesting an an
pOrtant way OF preserving peace al Il Coz
ner Ct tne Wo.Id tndt l. very inportaht
to us.
This country IS divided into North. South
and Central America, containing twenty
one countries, with the DomInOn Of Can
ade. In South Amerca the stability Of inc
governments mas maryellousiy increased -
the last twenty years. 1 am sorry tire
same tninS is not lTue in Central America,
where there are HYe republics. AS We nnG
that section OF the hemisphere more in
portant on account OF the construction ~
the Panama canal ana the trdae develop
ment We are more aware Ot the lack ot
stability Of ;hOsc governments. 10 - ouf
duty rs the leading republic N thS homi-
sphere to lend our assistance IN every way
TO get those nauoHs on their part 10 mann
Tain the prosperity OF their people.
| am not going to discuss the Monroe
Doctrine tonight. Ii is an historical Jocu-
ment that shapes itself according to the en-
thusiasm Cf the one who uses II. take
the ground that We are the large ard pros
Porous ana powerful nelghbOr OF those ave
republics and that with thc wealth and
power and stability we represent We are
charged with the responsibility Of helping
these republics to their proper position
among the nations Of the world. II there
is one thing the growth or civilization
nation TO nation and the obligation ot the
strong TO help the weak.
| hardly need recount the troubles Of
these republics and those of the West In
dies. There is a profession down there
that is more lucrative and more certain In
its returns than either the law, medicine
or the clergy II is revolutionizlns In
Santo Domingo up 10 few years ago they
could almost mark time by the revolu-
tiOns But after while, by accident, and
design, too, in way. We got control of the
custom houses In Santo Domingo Iheh
we got into a contract by which we agreed
to collect the revenues and pay % per cent
OF them into a New York bank and pay OF
the European creditors. and - per cent OF
the revenues we agreed to use TO pay the
running expenses of the republic.
After a great deal of discussion the Sem
ate confirmed that treaty, and I'm the last
five years we have nearly paid off the Eu-
ropean debt and have run the government
of the island with more money than IL ever
had to run II before. There has been no
revolution. Some generals and lieutenant
generals and major generals have been In
the otting, but they haven't got on shore,
and the reason why was because they
couldn't set mold of the custom houses,
which made the profit of a revolution.
The United States only has the power 10
oolect the customs and TO protect its agents
who are collecting the customs. II has no
power to land an army and stop revolu-
tion. They can 20 of in the bosky and
fight as many revolutions as they cho Dss.
but they can't disturb the collecting
agency.
We have drawn treaties Of the same kind
with Nicaragua and Honduras. Honduras
is country that runs across the isthmus,
and every time two OF those countries
down there get into trouble with each
other they use Honduras as "A twenty-four
foot ring 10 light IL out. Honduras has
to keep up big standing army to keep
out of international quarrels. She had 4
foreign debt Of S26000,000. and the interest
ran IL up TO sl26OO0.OC0. The creditors were
willing TO scale IL down 10 a secured debt
of A5O0.0C0 and Honduras borrowed Slo.-
OOo eco 10 pay the deb, and have S.JJo!'o
left TO run the government and pay fer
internal improvements
To Defend Collecting Officers.
I'm the treaty proposed between the
United States and Honduras the United
States agrees TO recommend TO the fiscal
agent OF the loan the collecting officers
who are To take the revenues for the Sc
curity OF the loan, and the United States
reserves the right To defend those collect
ing officers IL doesn't even take an obli-
Yation 10 defend them The mere intima-