The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1911-12-27
REPRESENTATIVE LEGARE On RUSSIAN
TREATY.

AEt ASSk-N A41IA ALSsAAH- VA @>SSSA<~H'
TREATY.
Congressman George S.. Le-
care, Of the 1st South Carolina
district. a member of the com nit
tee on foreign affairs, delivered
before the House of Representa-
tives on last Wednesday strong
and effective speech favoring the
abrogation OF the treaty with
Russia because Of that country's
disregard of its terms in the re-
fusal to honor passports held by
Jewish American cltIzees. Con-
gresham Legare touched forcib
ly upon the vital points at issue
and presented his argument IN
clear and convincing manner. He
spoke in part. as follows:
ssAfr. Speaker, if I were asked
which Of all my worldly posses
sious I treasured most [ would
say my right Of American citl-
zenship. II asked the greatest
humiliation that could befall me,
I would say the deprivation Of
that right. When, therefore, s.
100000 Of the citizenship of my
country, through their chosen
Representatives and through
memorials and otherwise, say to
me, We are being deprived Of
this right guaranteed to Us by
the fundamental laws Of our
land my every sympathy IS
theirs, and my every sense of
justice demands of me that | aid
in righting the wrong from which
they are suffering, If it were
possible to accomplish the desir-
ed END, to achieve success
through diplomatic channels and
without severing the cordial re.
latioss existing between this
counsry and Russia for nearly
eighty years, itwould be far from
my desire that this house should
exercise it's power of abrogating
a treaty. But for more than forty
years Presidents and a greater
number Of Secretaries Of State
have tried and failed. Not only
have they tried in vain, but IN
trying they have merely accom-
plished the undesirable result of
forcing Russia into a position
from which she cannot now re-
cede without reversing her posi-
ton absolutely.
Let US understand the situa-
ton fully. In 1882, after consid-
erable negotiation and mainly
through the aid Of Count Nessel-
rode, without whose assistance
no agreement could ever have
been reached, we entered into an
agreement with Russia. known
as treaty of commerce and nav
igation. This treaty was broad in
it's provisions, and we find in it
the following reciprocal clause:
There shall be between the
territories of the high contract
ing parties a reciprocal liberty of
commerce and navigation. The
inhabitants of their respective
States shall mutually have liber-
ty to enter the ports, places and
rivers of the territories of each
party wherever foreign com
merce is permitted. They shall
be at liberty to sojourn and re-
side in all parts whatsoever of
said territories, in order to at
tend to their affairs; and they
shall enjoy, to that effect, the
same security and protection as
natives of the country wherein
they reside. on condition OF their
submitting to the laws and ordi-
nances there prevailing, and par
ticularly to the regulations in
force concerning commerce.
st was a treaty of commerce
and navigation, out I shall con
fine myself to this one article Or
clause, inasmuch as it is the only
one violated by our foreign neigh
Dor and the one specific article
that arings this resolution into
the House for your considera
ton, except to say that, in my
opinion, if any other claose Of the
treaty relating purely and sorely
to commerce or to navigation had
been violated to our detriment,
either Russia would have made
prompt amend or the then pre-
siding Executive of our country
would have promptly abrogated
the Eeaty with the assistance Of
this House.
For, strange as it may seem.
We have fallen into the mercen
ary habit Of placing the rights Of
property above human rights and
the rights of citizenship. For
more thnn thirty years Russia
fulfilled all her obligations and
lived up to the letter aud spirit
Of this agreement. But when the
domestic policy Of the Empire be-
came one Of oppression and hard
ship and cruel wrong to its Jew
ish subjects, and these subjects
began in vast numbers to seek
neR homes in this land Of liberty
AAld freedom, she became alarm
2 and began the passage and
Sorcements Of laws against ex
Siation. They wanted to stop
|a atide of immigration. They
ss ed every manner and means