The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-09-01
President Taft Addresses Bar Association at
 Boston
FEDERAL COURTS
 NEED IMPROVEMENT
Declares Federal Judges Do Not Receive Enough Salary, and That Executive Has as Much
 Power as the Senate

Boston. August s1-"Arbitration of dis putes between nations is coming slowly but surely coming" said President Taft in his address today before the American Bar association which concluded its 54th annual convention in this city tonight The President briefly reviewed the pro- posed general arbitration treaties win Great Britain and France and made 1t plain in his opinion the objections made to the treaties were invalid.
 President Taft declared emphaticaily there is room for improvement in proceed ure in the federal courts. and upon us, he said, falls the burden of initiating reform in that respect" The chief jus tice of the United States supreme court, he said has taken that matter in hand with his associates and the district Judges and has called a conference In Washing ton where they will formulate new rules of procedure The President declared this to be a great step in the direction Of practical reform He said there was need of increasing judicial salaries so that 'the best men of the bar might be secured for the various courts.
 The President motored from Beverly and when he appeared in the convention hall he was welcomed with hearty cheer.
 No formal introduction was spoken President Edgar H. Farrar of the bar association, one of the largest men at the convention. merely expressed his purpose to retire in favor of man who was bigger than he in all dimensions
 Mrs Taft came with the President on the 20 mile ride through the rain but stayed in the White House automobile outside Huntington hall and did not hear the speech.
 Immediately after the address they motored back to Beverly.
 The President aimed his argument for the arbitration treaties at the Sen ate foreign relations committee Which, he said took exceptions to the part providing that the joint high commis- sion determine whether a question IS 'tusticiable and, therefore, one to be set tied by arbitration. The committee held this part of the treaty a delega ton of powers by the Senate. the Pres tdent said, and therefore it objected.
 Executive Powers
 There were not" he said, any more powers conferred by tine constitution upon the Senate than there were con ferred by the constitution upon the executive I think this is pretty plain because the executive has to initiate and the Senate has to agree to the treaties before they can go into force. Now, my proposition Is this: That IT the Senate has power to ratify an agreement which shall bind the gov ernment and therefore bind it to con- sent to the adjudication of any class of questions arising In the future by a board of arbitration, then il neces- sarily follows that 1t has the right to consent to this treaty"
 Referring to his hope that the Senate would not modify the treaties the President compared the nation to SICK Indian.
 "You know the Indians when they are sick don't like any medicine eN- cept something that bites, something that is bad to take said the President. 'I don't think we shall really get ahead with this arbitration business unless we are willing to assume an obligation to expect a judgment that may bite and may be bad for us to take. If we are going to take the position that we will walt until the question arises and then conclude-because we don't think we can win in the arbitration case that it Is not a justiciable question, then we have written our promises in water and we have made agreements that dlSSOlVe unueT lnt Atst ol SN PCi ence. The result will follow that in- stead of promoting the cause of arbi- tration we have interfered with 1t, obstructed 1t and made it laugh ing stock with all nations"
 Before turning to arbitration the Pres ident spoke of the efforts the supreme court is making to reform the rules or equity procedure in the federal courts, and declared the salaries of federal ,o incraaSaf also de- voted a few paragraphs to discussion of the intricate question of patent law and offered a heartfelt prayer of thanks to the first interpreters of the consttu- ton.
 Federal Judges Salaries
 Speaking of the salaries of the federal judges the President said those Of cir cult judges should be increased, so as to be more commensurate with those paid district judges.
 "Of course'' he said the salaries of the supreme court members ought to be increased. We have got them up to SIP. 800 or something like that. They ought to go up to $25 coo court which exercises such great responsibility and calls for such ability and learning ought to have it's members amply paid, so they need not be dependent on featuring in law schools and doing other things to eke out a salary that ohiy ehapies uein to live.
 Speaking of patent law and patent ca ses. the President said he hoped the new court of commerce would be used as a "court of patent appeal The su- preme court in such cases. he found, had proved failure.
 At the conclusion of his argument In patent matters the President spoke of reforms" and his hearers who pre- vious to his entrance had debated e resolution upon the recall of the iudici- ary leaned forward eagerly
 The expected denunciation did not come but Instead there was an evil dently whole hearted appreciation of court.
 And now, gentlemen he said. there is another thought that this meeting suggests and that is of hearffc't S'-m- pathy to the men of l7S1 and l7Ss-- who muds the constitutions. Tn these days when we are all in favor of prog ress. it is of the highest benefit to the community that we had an instru ment made in those days sufficiently elastic to comprehend all needed progress and sufficiently restrictive to keep out wild theories that if they were tried would inhict injury on the com munity and would prove to be failures i'm the end and to thank God that we had John Marshall and his associates& when the case or Marbnry vs. Madise<fs came lp, to decide that the court s s&f& the ultimate tribunal to make thesl4W of 2 the lesislature sassrs with the con