Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-04
VOTE ON TREATIES
Senate to Act on Presidents
Arbitration, Measures.
DIVISION OF SENTIMENT
Majority and Minority Reports Sub.
mitted by Committee.
TAFT SEEKS RATIFICATION
Question Likely to Be Disposed of
Before Close of Legislative
Day Tomorrow.
TAFT SEEKS RATIFICATION


Day Tomorrow.
Under a unanimous consent agreement
the Senate will vote upon the ratification
of the administration arbitration trea-
ties with Great Britain and France before
the close of the legislative day of tomor-
row. This probably means a vote on the
calendar day Of Wednesday or Thursday
The proposed resolution of ratification,
offered by Senator Lodge of Massachu-
sets, makes an important amendment to
the treaties, placing the final decision as
to whether questions are jushciaole ano
capable Of submission to arbitration In
the hands Of the Senate instead OF In the
hands of a '.joint high commission, as
proposed in the treaties submitted to the
Senate by President Taft.
A substitute for this resolution OF ratl-
fication, offered by Senator Root OF New
York, is before the Senate also. and, with
amendments offered by Senator Bacon of
Georgia. will be voted upon prior 10 the
vote on the Lodge resolution. Senator
Roots substitute leaves the decision of
the justiciableness of the questions in
vOlved in the hands of the proposed joint
high commission, but specifics that all
questions involving the maintenance of
the traditional attitude of the United
States concerning American questions or
purely government policy are not to be
considered justiciable.
President Taft's Attitude.
President Taft has urged upon the Sen
ate in no uncertain terms his desire that
the treaties be ratified without amend
ment, and as they were signed by the
representatives of the nations involved
last summer he has not hesitated to
speak on several occasions in favor of the
treaties Secretary of State Knox has
made addresses before important gather
ings favoring the ratification OF the
treaties without change.
In order that their attitude on the SUD-
ject of the treaties might not be misun-
derstood, the Senate departed from it's
usual procedure in dealing with proposed
treaties, and debated the treaties in open
instead of in closed executive session.
In reporting the treaties to the Senate
for ratification the committee on foreign
relations recommended the amendment
contained in the Lodge resolution. Inc
report was signed by a majority OF the
committee. Senators Root and Cullom
presented minority report and senators
Burton and Rayner presented still other
reports favoring the ratification OF the
treaties without amendment, but on diff
ferent grounds.
1t has been charged that the senators
opposing the ratification of the treaties
unamended were merely DESTROYS. from a
selfish standpoint, Of retaining the right
to pass upon all treaty and arbitration
matters. But this has been vigorously
denied.
Report by Senator Lodge.
Senator Lodge says in his report to
the Senate on the treaties:
1.-The committee believes that it would
be a violation of the Constitution of the
United States to confer upon an outside
commission powers which, under the
Constitution, devolve upon the Senate. 1t
seems to the committee that the Senate
has no more right to delegate its share
of the treaty-mahng power than Con-
gress has to delegate the Legislative
power. The Constitution provides that
before a treaty can be ratified and be-
come the supreme law of the land it
shall receive the consent of twO-thirds
of the senator's present. This necessarily
means that each and every part of the
treaty must receive the consent of two
thirds of the Senate. 1t cannot possibly
mean that only a part of the provisions
shall receive the consent of the Senate,
To take away from the Senate the deter
mination OF the most important question
in a proposed treaty Of arbitration is
necessarily in violation of the treaty
provisions of the Constitution.
1.-The most vital question in every pro-
posed arbitration is whether the differ
ence is arbitrable. For instance, II
which we object under the Monroe doc
trine and the validity of our objection
should be challenged and an arbitration
should be demanded by that other ma
ton, the vital point would be whether
our right to insist upon the Monroe doc
trine was subject to arbitration, and il
the third clause of article 3 remains in
the treaty the Senate could be debarred
from passing upon that question
Minority View.
Senator Root and Senator Cullom take
the other view of this matter and say in
their minority report:
I'VE do not consider that the pending
arbitration treaties involve any abandon
ment of the constitutional powers of the
Senate. The contrary view cannot be
maintained except on the theory that all
general treaties of arbitration involve
such an abandonment, and no one thinks
that is so.
1.-The pending treaties provide that, il
the parties disagree as to whether any
ton of the class which We have agreed
to arbitrate, the question whether that
case is one of the cases described shall
be submitted to the arbitral decision of
joint commission.
I'VE see no obstacle to the submission
of such question to decision, Just as
any other question of fact, or mixed fact
and law, may be submitted to decision.
Such a submission is not delegating to a
commission power to say what shall be
arbitrated; it is merely empowering the
commission to find whether the particu-
lar case is one that the President and
Senate have said shall be arbitrated
Provisions of this kind are very COM
mon in our statutes. For example, when
Congress provides that duty shall be
imposed upon imports of one kind and
not upon imports of another kind some
officer has to decide whether goods which
are imported come within the dutiable
class or not. No one claims that the
power to make such a decision involves
a delegation to collectors of customs OF
legislative power to say what goods shall
be dutiable.''
RETIRED ON OWN REQUEST.