The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-04-26
Americas War Lord Declares Those
Prominent Americans Who Advocate
Disarmament by the United States and
the Arbitration of All Matters as Be-
ing Absurd.

| was President | pursued without faltering one
consistent foreign policy, policy of genuine in
ternational good will and of consideration for
the rights of others, and at the same time of
steady preparedness. The weakest nations knew
that they, no less than the strongest, were safe
from insult and injury at our hands and the
strong and the weak alike also knew that We
possessed both the will and the ability to guard
ourselves from wrong or insult at the hands OF
any one.
1t was under my administration that The
Hague Court was prevented from becoming an
empty farce 1t had been established by joint
international agreement, but no power had been
willing to resort to it. Those establishing it had
grown to realize that it was in danger OF be-
coming a mere paper court, 50 that it would
never really come into being at all NJ. dEstour-
nelles de Constant had been especially alive to
this danger. By correspondence and in personal
interviews he impressed upon me the need not
only OF making advances by actually applying
arbitration-not merely promising by treaty to
ment, but OF using The Hague Tribunal for this
purpose. | cordially sympathized with these
views. On the recommendation of John Hay,
succeeded in getting an agreement with Mexico
to Law a matter in dispute between the two re-
pubIics before The Hague Court. This was the
first case ever brought before The Hague Court.
1t was followed by numerous others; and it
definitely established that court as the great in
ternational peace tribunal By mutual agreement
with Great Britain, through the decision of
Joint commission, OF which the American men,
bers were Senators Lodge and Turner and Sec
rotary Root, we were able peacefully to settle
the Alaska boundary question. the only question
remaining between ourselves and the British
friendly arbitration; this therefore represented
the removal of the last obstacle to absolute
agreement between the two peoples. We were
OF substantial service in bringing to satisfac
tory conclusion the negotiations at Algeciras
concerning Morocco. We concluded with Great
Britain, and with most OF the other great ma
tionS arbitration treaties specifically agreeing to
arbitratc all matters, and especially the interpre
tation OF treaties save only as regards questions
affecting territorial integrity. national honor,
and vital national interest. We made with Great
Britain treaty guaranteeing the free use OF the
Panama Canal on equal terms to the ships of
all nations, while reservng to ourselves the right
to police and fortify the canal, and therefore to
control it in time OF war Under this treaty we
are in honor bound to arbitratc the question OF
canal tolls for coastwise traffic between the
Western and Eastern coasts OF the United
States. believe that the American position as
regards this matter is right, but l also believe
bound to submit the matter to arbitration in
view of Great Britain's contention-although
hold it to be an unwise contention-that our po-
sition is unsound. | enphatcally disbelieve in
making universal arbitration treaties which
neither the makers nor anyone else would for
a moment dream OF keeping. no less ernphat-
ically insist that it is our duty to keep the linn
tied and sensible arbitration treaties which we
have already made. The importance of PROM
Use lies not in making it, but in keeping it; and
the poorest OF all positions for a nation to oc-
cupv in such matter is readiness to make I'M
possible promises at the same time that there is
failure to keep promises which have been made,
which can be kept, and which it is discreditable
to break.
published by special arrangement with the Out
look Theodore Roosevelt is the contributing
editor. through the Mcclure Newspaper syndicate
Copyright, 1914 by Macmillan Company. All
rights reserved including rights Of translation The
installment will appear in Sundays Herald OF