The Sentinel=record., 1911-08-13
DISREGARDED
 TAFT'S WISH
SENATE AMENDS FRENCH AND ENGLISH TREATIES AS TO
 SPECIAL POWERS.
Taft Wanted Action Postponed Un- til Next December-Senate Then Proceeds to Consider
 T"Casies.

Washington, Aug. 12. 2.-Disregard- ling a telegraphed request from Pres ident Taft for contrary course, the senate committee on foreign relations today agreed upon amendment to the British and French arbitration treaties, eliminating the provision con ferring special powers on the propos ed joint high commission. In this form the treaties were reported tc the senate and the presidents wishes
 that action be postponed until next December were set at naught.
 The senate almost immediately
 gave two hours to consideration ot
 the treaties, during which the danger of old world dominance on any joint high commission was discussed. ln- cidentally there was considerable talk about criticism upon the senate contained in "uhe American common wealth" written by Ambassador Bryce long before he ever thought Of coming to this country as diplomat.
 Tn that work Mir. Bryce attacked the senate upon the ground that it kept diplomatic troubles alive so long as there was any political advantage to be gained by so doing. Whether the opposition to ratifying the treaties un- amended could in any way be traced to these utterances by one or tie principal singers of the convention be- tween this country and Great Britain was not manifested.
 In any event, no conclusions were reached by the senate and the gener- al opinion among senators seemed to be that the treaties would receive very little if any further considers tion at this session of congress.
 The telegram from President Taft was sent from Beverly and was re ceived by Chairman Cullom prior to tine session of the foreign relations committee. It was addressed to the committee and requested that if the treaties were to be amended that ac. ton should be postponed until De- cember. Before leaving Washington, President Taft had made strong rep. resentations to individual members of the committee urging as vitally i'm portant the retention of the rrovlslon giving to the joint hign commission the right to determine disputed ques- |tions without reference to the senate. Both President Taft and Secretary |of State Knox have taken the posi- ton that the paragraph which the committee on foreign relations pur. pose to amend is necessary to tho proper operation of the agreement. The resident gave senators to under lstand that he would not yield with out a severe struggle, and his friends express doubt whether ne would not prefer the failure of the treaties rath- CT than ratification with the para
 graph eliminated. The suggestion has been made that the president may
 go even so far as to withdraw the treaties, but some of his closest | friends are authority for the state
 ment that instead he will undertake
 to defeat the suggested amendment.
 There is considerable history about the matter in which the views oi
 Ambassador Bryce as expressed in his
 book were brought into the present lcontroversy. Each member of the
 foreign relations committee received in
 today's mail neatly printed two page
 pamphlet quoting an extract from The American Commonwealth in
 which the opinion was expressed tha'
 a minority in the senate may control
 the action of that body adversely to the will of the majority in "a nar
 row sectional electioneering spirit.
 In this connection was a reference
 to the fact that under the constitu-
 ton two-thirds majority of the sen
 ate is necessary to the ratification o
 treaties with foreign countries.
 Both in committee and in the sen
 ate, the characterization of the sen
 ate in Bryce's work was referred tt
 as indicating hostile disposition or
 the part of the ambassador towards
 the senate's exercise of its function,
 of ratification. The opinion was ex
 pressed by several that Mir. Bryce' lviews had had an undue influence il
 the formulation Of the treaty. It be
 came evident during tAe discussion