The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-08-16
SENATE'S GAGE FLUNG TO TAFT
PEACE TREATIES DESCRIBED
As "BREEDERS or WAR;"

|
|
Committees Report Given Out 70 Coun.
teract the Presidents Appeal IA
the People--The senators Refuse ia
Give Up Their Treaty PrerOsatives.
| WARRINGTON. Aug. is The Senate Com
mittee on Foreign Relations characterized
President Taft's general arbitration treat
les with Great Britain and France in their
present form as breeders Of war and not
of peace" The committee predicts with
great seriousness that the treaties II
ratified "a presented by the Administra-
| ton would arouse series OF International
| disputes. now happily a. rest into ma
| lign and dangerous activity"
II IL seldom tha. a Republican COM
mittee in the Senate has condemned in
! severer terms a proposition advanced by
"a President Of its own political faith.
| II Ia apparent. however. that the present
situation il entirely free from politics or
any personal hostility to Mr.. Taft. 1t Is
merely a case where the Senate and the
Executive differ on a point Of constitu-
tional const ruction. and the Senate has
risen on it's dignity and served notice that
it will not acquiesce in the President =
view.
In making public it's report to-day the
Committee on Foreign Relations accepted
President Taft's challenge and brought
the issue sharply to a head. The publica-
ton Of the committee's g report was directly
against the wishes of Mr. Taft. as was the
amendment adopted by the Foreign Re-
lations Committee day or two ago strik-
ing from the treaties the section which
empowers high court Of inquiry to de-
termlne the propriety Of arbitrating any
national controversy when the contracting
parties fail to agree.
The Senate committees action to-
day in giving out it's report was OBJ
| viously designed to head OIL any progress
that the Administration might make in
this direction. The purpose Of the COM
mittee was clearly indicated when ii
declined to withhold the report until
Senator Burton, representing the minority
views of the committee, might present
the Administration side Of the question.
Senator Burton then objected to the
printing Of the report until the minority
views could be prepared. but Senator
Lodge. who wrote the majority report.
moved for the printing of the document
at once. The question was put and
carried. The vote was viva voce. but
the response indicated that it was almost
unanimous. thus rejecting the unfavor-
able attitude Of the Senate generally
toward the arbitration treaties in their
present form.
The majority report OF the committee
is concurred in by all the members except
Senators Burton. Cullom and Root.
The report says that with the objec-
tionable clause in the treaty empowering
the high court Of inquiry to determine
whether or not a question is arbitrable
the Senate is deprived of its constitutional
power to pass upon all Qlesti ons in
volved in any treaty submitted to it in
accordance with the Constitution. The
report adds:
The committee believes that Il would be
| aviolation OF the Constitution Of theC Cnited
States to confer upon an outside commits
| sion powers which. under the Constitu-
| ton. devolve upon the Senate.
1t seems TO the committee that the
| Senate has no more right TO delegate
| its share Of the treaty making power than
Congress has TO delegate the Legislative
power. The Constitution provides that
before treaty can be ratified and become
| the supreme law Of the land it shall receive
| the consent Of two-thirds of the Senate
This necessarily means that each and
every part of the treaty must receive the
| II cannot possibly mean that only part
| Of the provisions shall receive the consent
| OF the Senate.
To take away from the Senate the de-
termination OF the most important Ques-
ton in a proposed treaty Of arbitration
is necessarily in violation of the treaty
provisions Of the Constitution. The most
vital question in every proposed arbitra =
| ton is whether the difference is arbit
rable. For instance, if another nation
should do something to which we object
under the Monroe doctrine and the valid
ity of our objection should be challenged
and an arbitration should be demanded
by that other nation, the vital point
would be whether our right to insist upon
the Monroe doctrine was subject to arbi-
tration. and If the third clause of Article
III. remains in the treaty the Senate could
be debarred from passing upon that
question.
| The Senate to-day is heartily in favor,
in the opinion of the committee. Of en-
larging TO the utmost practical limit the
scope of general arbitration treaties.
| The committee recommends TO the Senate
| the approval OF the enlarged scope for
arbitration proposed in Article J.. hut il
declines to admit that the destruction Of
the constitutional powers of the Senate is
necessary to the promotion Of peace and
arbitration or that their maintenance
diminshes by hairs breadth the en-
larged scope which these treaties pro-
pose for arbitration as the true method
for the settlement of international con-
| troversies.
The committee itself, and in the opin
ion of the Senate also. has no desire 10
contract the ample boundaries set TO
arbitration in the first article But it must
be remembered that IL we enter into these
treaties with Great Britain and France
we must make treaties In precisely
the same terms with any other friendly
Power which calls upon us to do So This
adds to the gravity OF the action
now TO be taken, for nothing could
be so harmful to the cause OF peace
and arbitration or to their true intereste {
as to make a general arbitration treaty
exactly observed.
| There are certain questions at the
present stage Of human development
which if thus forced forward for arbi-
tration would be rejected by the country
affected without regard to whether in 40
doing they broke the general arbitration
| treaty or not In the opinion of the
committee it should not be possible under
the terms Of any treaty for such a de-
plorable situation to arise. Nothing
ought to be promised that we are not absO-
lutely certain that we can carry out to the
letter
| II. following the example of tho trea-
ties OF 1908, these treaties stopped at this