Arizona republican., 1914-04-15
BRYAN CLAIMS.
 REPEAL |S N0T
 TREATY MATTER
Reviews Tolls Question at Length Declaring Repeal Is Not Construction of Hay-Pauncefote Treaty
ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPATCH1

Panama tolls question and in the | Course of the statement declares that | the repeal of the tolls exemption l construed to be a construction of | the Hay -Pauncefote treaty." but is 1 simply a refusal on the part of the | United States to raise that question l in that way"
 MT. Bryan discusses various fea- lures of the subject-the limiting of debate in the house of representatives the Baltimore platform and the eff feet of the repeal on the treaty
 Claiming that the opponents of the repeal had seized upon the charge that the president was ''surrendering to England, MT. Bryan declared that the opposition to the repeal had attempted to appeal ito perjudice rather than to reason"
 What has great Britain done?' he asked ito justify the accusa tion that she is trying to dictate to this country. She has simply called at tention to the terms of the treaty and asked for arbitration of the question of construction, in case this govern ment differs from the British gov ernment in the construction to be placed upon the language The very men who are so insistent upon con- struing the treaty to permit free tolls delayed for months the ratifica- tion of the treaty with Great Britain of bai arbitration on the subject. In other words, they construed the treaty to permit discrimination, and then ob- jected to allowing any international court to express an opinion on the subject. If, as a matter of fact. the treaty grants the rights which Great Britain claims, is it a surrender to Great Britain for our nation to re- peal a law that raised that question? The repeal of the law cannot be construed to be a construction of the treaty. It is simply a refusal on the Ear' of t''e United States to raise that question in that way
 Discussing the presidents right to expect the support of congress when he deals with international questions | Secretary Bryan adds:
 The chief executive speaks for the nation in international affairs, and it is only fair to assume that he speaks advisedly when he declares that intercourse with other nations is seriously embarrassed by the free tolls law which he seeks to repeal
 
 among the nations; we are the fore most advocates of peace and arbitra- ton; we are becoming more and more moral factor throughout the world. Can we afford to surrender this posi- i tion? Can we afford to belittle the great enterprise which has reached 1 it's consummation at the isthmus? | The question is not what we can do | but what we ought to do. This ques- l tion must be decided on moral princi- pies and not by the counting of our regiments and battleships.''
 MT Bryan was a member of the resolutions committee of the Balti more convention and his observations on the platform constitute his first
 
 1 that there are two blanks in the Baltimore platform pertinent to the discussion, one which declares the be- | lief of the democratic party In the | encouragement of the merchant ma rine, but states that it should be de- veloped without imposing additional burdens upon the people and without l I;o treasuries," and a second plank de- claring in favor of the exemption from tolls of United States ships. MT Bryan declares that the opposi- tion to bounties is a doctrine for which the democratic party has stood i from time immemorial He refers to the exemption plank as little bountes and subsidies as the larger
 plank and says:
 What opiate does the little plank
 contain that it can make those who
 accept it oblvious of the larger plank
 By what rule of construction car
 the small plank be made binding and
 the larger one ignored? The secret |
 little plank is to be found in the
 fact that it carefully conceals the
 means by which it is to be carried
 out Had the word subsidy" ol
 bounty been inserted in this plank
 it could not have secured the en-
 dorsement of the convention because : the contradiction between this planl and the larger plank would have
 been immediately apparent.
 But even if the platform had no
 contained within itself a complet,
 refutation of the position taken b.
 the advocates of free tolls, the pre-
 sident would have been justified il
 the position that he took by tn, changed conditions which confronted
 him.
 "A platform is a pledge and is a! binding upon an official as the com
 a subordinate-the statement canno
 be made stronger But the subordin : ate officer is sometimes compelled t
 act upon his judgment where
 change of which the commanding of ficer is not aware has taken place il , conditions. It is not only the righ
 of the subordinate to judge the stua
 ton for himself where condition : have changed since the order wa e given. but it is his duty to do so.
 | Tn the case under consideratio