The Detroit times., 1911-05-18
ROOSEVELT RAPs
TAFT's PEACE PLAN
Says Country Shouldn'. Bind Itself
to Arbitrate Questins Affecting
Honor and independence.

NEW YORK, May 18.-A position
Of direct opposition to President Taft's
proposed general arbitration treaty
with Great Britain and France is TAX
en- by Col Roosevelt in a signed edi
torial in the current number OF the
Outlook
THE United States" he declares
ought never specifically to bind itseli
TO arbitrate questions respecting Its
honor, independence and integrity
Either II should be tacitly under
stood that the contracting powers nc
more agree to surrender their rights
on such vital matters than a man In
civil life agrees to surrender the righ;
OF self-defense; or lese IL should be
explicitly stated that, because of the
fact that IL is now possible for either
party TO take action infringing the
honor, independence, and integrity OF
the other, we ara willing to arbitrate
all questions.
Hypocrisy never pays in the long
run. Even IL the majority of the ma
ton should permit specific agree.
ment to be made to arbitrate such
would promptly-and quite properly
repudiate-the agreement the moment
that II became necessary to enforce
II. No self-respecting nation, no ma
tion worth calling nation, would ever
in actual practice consent to surren-
der it's rights In such matters. Take
this very case of the agreement te-
tween Great Britain and ourselves.
Thank Heaven. 1t is now impossible
and | use the word literally--that
there shall never be war between the
English-speaking people.
I'VE should be very cautious OF en-
tering into a treaty with any nation,
however closely knit TO us, the form
of which 1t would be impossible to
follow In making treaties with other
great civilized and friendly nations" :"
Col Roosevelt then discusses the
killing and wounding of Americans
on American soil by Mexico and
says: - 49,.
In this case we have chosen to
submit to such invasions as is our
right and privilege IL we SO desire.
But II would be absolutely intoler-
able to bind ourselves to arbitrate the
QutotlOuS TdIstu ny SuCu luNdolOuS'
IF for instance, instead Of its be-
ing Mexican troops firing into our in
land towns and killing our citizens.
IL happened to be an English, or a
German or a Japanese feet which,
not once, but again and again fired
into our coast towns, killing and
wounding citizens, this nation would
Immediately demand, not arbitration,
but either atonement or war. In the
same way II dispute arose between
us and another nation. as to whether
we should receive enormous masses
of immigrants who we did not desire
from that nation, no one who knows
anything of the temper OF the Ameri-
can people would dream that they
would for one moment consent to ar
bitrate the matter. In such a case
we should say that our honor our in
our integrity and our
very national existence were involv
ed, and that we could not submit
such a question to arbitration.
The treaty should make no ex-
plicit declaration of a kind which
would brand us with cowardice II we
live up to 1t, and with hypocrisy and
bad faith II We did not live up to 1t.
Also, 1t is well to remember that as
there is not the slightest conceivable
danger OF war between Great Britain
and the United States, the arbitra-
ton treaty could have no effect what
ever upon the armament of either
country"