her Nations. He closed up the work of the Joint High
Commission, and by a series of treaties adjusted every factor of
difference between the United States and Great Britain concerning
Canada.

Bringing the consideration of the personnel of the committee up to
the close of the Sixty-first Congress, there remain to be mentioned
only William J. Stone, of Missouri, and Benjamin F. Shively, of
Indiana, both Democrats. Mr. Stone and Mr. Shively are not only
new men on the committee, but both of them are comparatively new
to the Senate. They had, however, been sufficiently tried in other
fields of effort to justify their States in sending them to this
exalted body, and the records both have made here have well vindicated
their selection. In a comparatively brief time they have attained
to positions of leadership on the Democratic side of the chamber,
and since they have become members of this committee they have
manifested an unusual grasp of international subjects. They are
from States which adjoin my own State of Illinois, and I am especially
pleased to have them as members of the committee of which I am
chairman.

CHAPTER XXIV
WORK OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN RELATIONS

When I became chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, in
1901, I found a large quantity of undisposed of matter on the
dockets, both legislative and executive. I determined that I would
at once proceed to clear the docket and endeavor to make the
committee an active working one. I have since made it a policy,
as best I could, to secure some action, favorable or unfavorable,
on every matter referred to the committee by the Senate.

The first subject to which I turned my attention was the reciprocity
treaties between the United States and Barbados, Bermuda, British
Guiana, Turk Islands and Caicos, Jamaica, Argentine Republic,
France, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Denmark.

These treaties had been pending before the committee for two years,
and I resolved as I expressed it to one Senator, who was opposed
to them, that I would get them out of the committee "if I had to
carry them out in a basket." These treaties were negotiated under
the authority contained in the fourth section of the Dingley Act,
which provided:

"Section 4. That whenever the President of the United States, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate, with a view to secure
reciprocal trade with foreign countries, shall, within a period of
two years from and