The St. Mary banner., 1920-10-02
PRESIDENT FAILST0
ACT ON TREATIES
Wilson Declines to Take Stems
Toward Termination of
Commercial Pacts.

hington-President Wilson has
| declined to take steps toward termi
| nation of certain commercial treaties
as directed by congress in the mer-
| chant marine act, holding that such
a course would be wholly irrecOncil-
able with the historical respect which
the United States has shown for its
international engagements
Formal announcement of the presi-
dents decision and the reasons impell-
ing it was made Friday at the state
department. The merchant marine
act as approved by the president on
the closing day of the last session of
congress directed the executive with
in so days to give notice to foreign
nations of the intentions of the Unit
ed States to terminate any sections of
existing commercial treaties which re-
strict the right Of the American gov
ernment to impose discriminatory
charges on shipping in foreign bot
toms.
state department said:
THE department Of state has been
informed by the president that he does
not deem the direction, contained in
section 81 of the s0-called merchant
marine act, an exercise Of any consti-
tutional power possessed by congress.
80 days after the act became law, to
notify the several governments, with
whom the United States had entered
into commercial treaties, that this
country elected to terminate so much
of said treaties, as restricted the right
of the United States to impose dis
crilninatOry customs duties on i'm
ports and discriminatory tonnage du-
ties, according as the carrier vessels
were domestic or foreign, quite regard
less of the fact that these restrictions
are mutual and quite regardless also
OF the fact that the treaties contained
the manner contemplated by congress-
THE president considers it mis-
leading to speak OF the termination
Of the restrictive clauses of such
treaties. The action sought to be i'm
posed upon the executive would
amount to violation of said treaties,
which are 80 in number and cover
every point of contact and mutual de-
pendence which constitute the modern
relations between friendly states. |
Such a course would be irrecOncilable /
with the historical respect which the
United States has shown for its inter
national engagements and would falsi /
y every profession of our belief in the
binding force and the reciprocal obli-
cation OF treaties in general
Secretary Colby. commenting on
he point made by the president that
had exceeded its powers, call
ID attention to the veto by President
lays of an act passed by congress in
S79 which required the president to
,ive notice to China of the abrogation
If articles and of the Burlingam
reaty.
President Hays declared that 'the
'ower of making new treaties or of
modifying, existing treaties is not
edged by the constitution in congress
ut in the president with the advice
nd consent Of congress as shown by
he concurrence of two-thirds of that
ody.'
The merchant marine act was ap-
roved June in the final rush of the
eason's close, with no opportunity to
uggest its revision. To have vetoed
he act would have sacrificed the
reat number of sound and enlighten-
d provisions which it contains. Fur
lermore, the fact that one section
the law involves element Of illegal
y rendering the section imperative,
eed not affect the validity and opera.
on of the act as a whole"