The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1912-11-27
ROOT ON ARBITRATION.
New York Senator Speaks of The
Esprit of Self Government"

Spirit OF Sell Government
Senator Elihu Root, at the Cham
Der Of Commerce annual banquet
Thursday evening Of last week,
spoke on the Spirit of Self-Govern-
ment." In speaking of the Pana-
ma Canal bill, he said:
There is one essential to the
spirit of self-government, and that
is justice. The manufacturer, the
employer of labor. who is unwilling
to be just to his workingmen is
false to the ideals of his country.
The laborer who in the comparative
ly new found power of organization
is unjust to his employer is false
to those great traditions in which
rest the liberty of all labor.
"The willingness to do justice in
nation to every brother of other
common land is the ideal of self
government. Further than that,
the willingness to do justice as
nation is essential to the true con-
ception of self government.
1--WE are now approaching ques-
ton which will test the willingness
of the American people to be true
to the ideals of self-government,
showing that a democracy can be
honorable and just. Sixty odd
years ago Great Britain and the
United States were owners of a
great territory extending from
Mexico to the frozen north, each
with a great seacoast on the Allan
tic and each with great seacoast
on the Pacific. An agreement was
made under which Great Britain
signed over to the United States
all the rights she had under the
partnership agreement known as
the Clayton-Bullwer treaty, with
the provision that the canal. when
constructed, under the patronage of
| the United States or by the United
States, whichever it might be,should
he opened and made neutral upon
the same terms that were specified
in the original agreement, which
were that the ships of Great Brit
ain and the ships of the United
States should have exactly the same
treatment This new agreement
specified that the ships of all ma
lions were to have the same treat
ment. Then Panama made to the
United States a grant of the use
and occupation of a strip of terri
tory across the Isthmus to be used
for the construction of a canal, in
accordance with the terms and
stipulations in this treaty with Great
Britain.
"Our Congress has passed a law
which gives free transit to Ameri-
can ships engaged in coastwise trade
while passing between our Atlantic
coast and our Pacific coast, while
tolls are to be imposed upon Brit
ish ships passing between British
ports on the Atlantic and British
ports on the Pacific, and upon all
other foreign ships. Now, Great
Britain claims that is violation of
the treaty which We made with her,
and in accordance with which, by
express provisions contained in our
grant from Panama, we were to
| DuIIu anu open the Canaf. Congress
takes a different view of the con-
struction of the treaty, and it has
passed this law which Great Britain
says violates it, and the question is
now to come, what is to be done
about it?
1--WE have a treaty with Great
Britain under which we have agreed
that all questions arising upon the
Interpretation of treaties shall be
submitted to arbitration, and, it
seems hardly conceivable, yet there
are men who say that we will never
arbitrate the question of the con-
struction of that treaty, and 1 say
to you that if we refuse to arbi-
trate it we will be in Imposition
of the merchant who is known to
all the world to be false to his
promise.
with our nearly four thousand
millions of foreign trade we will
stand in the world of commerce as
a merchant false to his word.
Among all the people on this earth
who hope for better days of
righteousness and peace in the flu
| ture, we will stand in the light of
our multitude of declarations for
arbitration and peace discredited dis
honored hypocrites, with the fair
name of America gone; with the
influence of America for advance
along the pathway of progress and
civilization annulled, dishonored and
disgraced. That question stands
among us and no true American can
fail to use his voice and his influ-
ence upon that question for his
country's honor. From the Wall
n