The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-19

u me formal request i'm ordar -
> 'he language Of the treaty TO af-
d i.u an opportunity for diplomatic
DISCUSSION and adjustment
Il do not believe that anv v
erhnnent can submit to arbitration any
questlon except it be a question On.
stltutlng a difference between itself
ana another government. There nev-
81 was any question between the
onlteo states and any other govern
.nen. concerning debts due by a State
70 IT'S DOndholderS. In the first nlaca
the United States was not the debtor
anu II there be foreign bondholders
VINO IeeI outraged by the action Of
ohy Oh the States in refusing to paw
reconstruction Or any other debts.
mere IS a difference etwee them
ana the State which refused To nav
but no difference .iustifable or 9th.
erWlse. between them and the United
States. SO that if any arbitration on
TINS question was ever to be had. it
would be by a board evoked and
agreed upon by the State and the
pondholders. who are the parties at
ton may now be had 1T any time
When the two parties at difference
agree to have it. The intervention of
the United States would not ONLY not
be necessary, but would be at once
absurd and insOlent.
you will notice that Great Britain
expressly reserves her 'self-governing
colonies out of the terms Of the
treaty. except in the event that the
party to it. The treaty expressly pro-
vIdes that when a question shall arise
affecting the interests of a self-gOv-
erning dominion that dominion shall
be consulted. It was not necessary
for u to make that provision as to
our States. because a written Consti-
tuition known to the diplomatic uni
verse already makes 1t by limiting
the subjects yer which we as a Fed
eral Government have Jurisdiction.
But p the United States
Government did undertake to submit
to arbitration the question concern
ing the debts Of Iowa, Pennsylvania,
North Carolina, or Mississippi? 1t
could in no way bind The State. It
ment and could bind it only to pay q
donation. OF curse, in a certain
sense the Federal Government could
agree to pay any of money to
any foreign power, just as it agreed
to give Spain twenty millions of dol
lars. If the Federal Government was
so fond of the friendship Of some
foreign power that 1t was willing 20
pay the debt Of some State to bond
holders of the State residing within
the territory Of that foreign power,
it would be simply a free gift Of mon
ey. There would be no way under
law or equity or any other way, to
get it back from the State, nor would
it be either legally or morally bind
ing upon the State to repay 1t, unless
the State had consented to the arbi-
tration and had made itself a party
to it.
''To resune rapidly; the people Of
the United States who are giving
themselves so much trouble over the
subject Of the arbitration Of State
debts un,ler the proposed treaty pre-
sumo, first that two out Of the three
American commissioners would agree
that the question was Ju~stlhablc.'
They presume, secondly, that two
thirds Of the Senate in providing for
the special agreement and IN De
fnins the scope of the arbitration
would consent to the arbitration Of
such a question. They presume in
the third place that if all that hap
pened, Congress would make the ap-
propriation. In addition to that, they
have presupposed ahead Of it all that
this would be "a question hereafter
ARBITRATION TWO
arising and further that in some
way a question of difference between
a State and it's bondholders would
be, or could be, "a question of differ
ence' between the United states ana
it's bondholders.
There is one other point: h OBJ
lection is made to the treaty that the
prerogltiveS Of the Senate are sur
rendered. If you will read the treaty
YOU will see that they are not. The
objection is made hat the United
States 'surrenders it's sovereignty -
a certain extent. OF course. it is true
that any government makes
a treaty it surrenders its sovereignty
to the extent of surrenderlng the SOW
erign right vested in Congress 10
make war, concerning the question
settled by the treaty, or If 1t be Z
treaty of arbitration, concerning the
question to be arbitrated.
Il heard one Senator very foolish
w say that this treaty Would De i
surrender of the right of 70
declare war. Every friendly treaty
ao++,;n~ a difference is that. but the