Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-08-19
Senate Committee Calls Treaties
Breeders of Bitterness
and War.
Must Not Surrender Our Pow
ers to a Half Foreign
Body.
THE DUTY OF The SENATE

At this writing there appears
little hope for the projected alliance
between this country and England.
1t is almost certain that the arbitra-
tion treaty, which would leave the
United States Senate shorn of its
greatest power, will not be acted on
before the adjournment of Congress,
and also there is a widespread be-
lief that. the next session will cut
the measure to pieces. There is al
most universal opposition to the
International Commission, and as
the whole framework is built on that
its elimination would wreck the
whole structure.
Tuesday the Senate Committee on
Foreign Relations presented a re-
port to the Senate declaring the
pending conventions with Great
Britain and France, similar to the
one proposed with Germany, would
likely provoke war rather than peace
If consummated in their present
form. The report was vigorous de-
tense of the committees course in
recommending the elimination of the
paragraph in the treaties comforting
especial powers upon the joint high
commission created by the conven-
tion. The attack upon the treaties
centered on the question of the
Senate, as part of the treaty-making
machinery of the United States, CIV
ing its consent to the investiture of
the Joint committee with authority
to determine, without consulting the
Senate, whether or not a matter of
dispute is justiceable and subject to
arbitration
The report was presented by
Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts,,
and the minority of the committee
was granted a week in which to pre-
sent it's views in support of the
Itraties as negotiated. Declaring the
unselfish attitude of the Senate and
contending that it was the duty of
that body under. the Constitution TO
defend its own prerogatives. the
committee report said:
''The inclusion of the Senate as a
part of the treaty-making power was
provided upon mature consideration
in the Constitution and was deemed
to be adapted to our system of gov
ernment. 1t has, on the whole,
proved of the highest usefulness for
the prevention of hasty and ill-eon-
sidered agreements with other
powers and for the preservation Of
the interests of all and every part of
the American people. So long as
that duty rests upon us We must
continue to perform 1t with courage
and firmness and without evasion
or abdication.
"There are certain questions at
the present stage of human develop
ment," the report concluded. (which
II thus forced forward for arbitration
would be rejected by the country af-
fected without regard whether, In
so doing, they broke the general
arbitration treaty or not. In the
opinion of the committee. Il should
not be possible, under the terms of
any treaty. for such a deplorable
situation to arise. Nothing ought to
be promised that We are not abso-
lutely certain We can carry out to
, the letter.
IF the third clause OF Article 3
remains In the treaty. II is quite pos
sible that the unhappy situation Just
described might arise and the treaty
would then become, not what we
fondly hope II will be, noble in
strument of peace, but an III
omened breeder OF bitterness and
war, For that reason as well as on
constitutional grounds, and In the
best interests OF peace and arbitra-
tion itself the committee recon-
mends that this clause be stricken
from the treaty"