The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-03-09
A BAD RATIFICATION.

so that it is now no longer a general
unreserved arbitration treaty. IL is
merely treaty signifying that the
treaties with various powers except ae
TO large number of propositions held
10 be not competent subjects Of treaty
negotiations.
First of all the Senate objected TO
the creation Of the JOINT high commis-
sioners. who were TO investigate and
find if any subject found incapable of
solution by the ordinary processes of
diplomatic negotiation were justiciable,
and struck it out The treaty as drawn
provided that three OF these joint high
commissioners should be citizens of the
United States acting for this country,
and three citizens of the country with
which the controversy was pending
1t was provided thai FIVE Of these six
Joint high commissioners must agree
that the subject submitted was justicia.
BILE before it could be brought before
an arbitration tribunal
Two points Of opposition were de-
/
veloped to this Joint high commission.
The first, energetically and mistakenly
urged by President Roosevelt, and in
| his wake bv Others was that the United
| States might be compelled by foreign
Influences TO submit to arbitration mat
| ters that were not arbitrable, and
! which, under no consideration, would
this country consent to submit TO any
| tribunal whatever 10 decide The clear
| and sufficient reply TO this was that
since the United States would in every
case have oue-half of that joint high
| commission, and two Of the three Unit
| ed States commissioners would have to
gree that the matter was Justlciable
| before IL could he brought to arbitra-
ton. the probability Of any betrayal
Of the Monroe doctrine, Of the drag
gng i'll of any State. or OF our imml-
grafton laws, our educational institu'
tions and the like. was practically i'm.
possible; for ii is not TO be supposed
American commissioners would betray
their country and lay il open 10 the
ravagcs of foreigners on any cherished
policy or national reservation or doc
trine, President Taft, on this point,
expressed himself willing to have the
Joint high commissioners nominated to
and confirmed by the Senate. But the
Senate in spirit of petty jealousy,
lest 1t be deprived of complete control
over every point and step in a treaty
or arbitration procedure, decided to
strike out the joint high commission
altogether The result is that any ar
bitration would have to be by the cou
sent of the Senate, and in effect, any
specific case of arbitration would have
to be reached bv special treaty. 1T
is evident, therefore. that the striking
out Of this clause Of the treaty prac-
tically nulIiies It's whole intent and
value
Ii is clear that. after striking out
this clause, il was quite unnecessary
for the Senate 10 adopt the Bacon
amendment stating specifically that the
Scuate would not consent TO the arbi
tration Of any question that affects the
admission Of aliens into the United
States, or to the educational iustitu.
tions of the several States, or the ter
ritorial integrity of the several States
or Of the United States, or concerning
the question Of the alleged indebted
ness or moneyed obligations of any.
State, or any question which depends
upon or involves the maintenance of the
traditional attitude Of the United States
concerning American questions com
monlv described as the Monroe doc
trine. or other purely governmental pol.
lev
The necessity Of specifying all these
reservations after the Senate had sle
ciicalIv reserved 10 itself the complete
control of every detail OF sny arbitra
tlon question, is not evident; iu fact, it
was all quito supcrluous. Those reser.
vations might have been OF value IN
case the Joint high commission provs
ION had been rctaIned but Is that was
struck out. the reservations arc no
longer either desirable or applicable: rs
4 matter of fact. they were not needed
in any event. because it is NOT couceiv
gble that two ont Of three American
commissioners would consent that the
Monroe doctrine is a subject for arbi
tration, or that the control Of the
United States over the immi grafton
question and the admission Of aliens to
educational institutions or the fright
Of Southern States 10 repudiate thor
debts was IN any way matter Of ar
bitrstiop. These are homie questions.
not international because they are mat
leTs wholly within the jurisdiction of
the United States, and into the man
agement Of which no foreign nation has
the slightest right to inquire. let alone
to interfere: while as to the repudia.
lion OF debts by some Of the Southern
States. iuasmuch as those States have