Evening star., 1928-12-14
PAN-AMER|CANROW
SEEN IN OLD ISSUE
U. S. Expected to Make Good
on Arbitration Promises
:
Made by James G. Blaine.

Latin America awaits at Washington
This month an expression of the readi-
ness of the United States to make
good" on a pledge now nearly 40 years
old. 1t was the virtual contract en-
tered into on this country's behalf by
James @. Blaine, Secretary of State i'll
the Harrison administration, on the oc-
caSion of the first pan-American con-
ference Blaine enunciated the doctrine
that arbitration is a principle of Amer
ican international law"
Thereupon the conference, under the
leadership of the United States, adopted
a plan providing for the compulsory
settlement by arbitral means, of all
controversies, whatever their origin
Latin America, with rare exception, has
lived up to that understanding in letter
and spirit. Many of its states have writ
ten it into their constitutions Uncle
Sam has not gone approximately as far
as the sister republics to the South.
When they expected, under the 1889
covenant. that the colossus of the North
would arbitrate, he has interened III
their affairs and sent Marines to give
his intervention armed effect.
Thoughts along these lines are pre-
dominant at the outset of the Pam
American Conference on Arbitration
an address by President Coolidge. For
the moment they are secondary to the
situation dramatically provoked by the
threat of a Bolivian-Paraguayan war
while the American republics are de-
liberating over the question of how to
prevent inter-American war. No
matter how the quarrel between Bolivia
and Paraguay turns out, the Washing
ton conference sooner or later will
come to grips with the big question
before it.
Question Facing U. S.
That question, in nutshell. is: Is
the United States now prepared to go
the full limit in the direction of
obligatory arbitration. which it prom
ised to go in 1889, and to which practi-
cally the rest OF the pan-American
world is definitely committed?
The Havana conference last Winter
sidestepped the thorny problem by
making it the special order of business
at the present conclave of the American
states. They are meeting in pursuance
of resolution proposed by Senor DIR.
r. j. Alfaro, the Panaman Minister to
the United States and head of his
country's delegation at the present con-
ference. Charles Evans Hughes, the
chief American delegate at Havana.
took part in the animated discussion
which led up to the adoption of the
;Alfaro resolution.
Hughes is the chief spokesman of
America again at Washington this
month. The entire conference is on the
qui vive of anticipation as to the posi-
ton he will now enunciate in the
United States name. According to the
plans of certain influential Latin dele
gates, it will not be long before Mr..
Hughes will be asked to lay this
country's cards on the table
Hughes Gives Opinions.
When Mr. Hughes discussed arbitra-
tion at Havana, he said that contro-
verSieS to which principles of law and
equity are applicable and which are
called justiciable, must be considered
proper subject of arbitration. Then
he spoke of controversies which re-
late solely to political expediency and
to which no principles of law or equity
apply. Consequently the American
spokesman intimated that they must be
excluded from the scope of arbitration.
Later Hughes was very emphatic in
pointing out that controversies involv-
ing questions of purely domestic con-
Germ cannot under any circumstances
be regarded as international questions.
He was equally emphatic in asserting
that pecuniary claims form one class
of controversies about which it would
be easy to make an arbitration con-
vention
Summarizing the American position,
Hughes said that sovereignty and in
dependence would be an appropriate
expression to exclude from arbitration.
The Monroe doctrine was never brought
into the Havana discussion by the chief
representative of the United States.
The general attitude of the United
States in the past has been that three
classes of questions are not arbitrable
from our standpoint: % Purely do
mestic questions like the tariff and i'm
migration; 90 questions involving
points of national honor and vital in
terest, and CD questions covering dis
puteS in which an outside, non-Ameri-
can state is at interest.
Made No Reservations.
The Latin republics have no reserva-
tionS whatever about arbitrable queS-
tions. Their contention is that there
is no class of international dispute that
should not be subject to juridical settle
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