d France, both of which were signed
by the representatives of this and the other two Governments in
August, 1911. The ban of secrecy has been removed from these
documents, and I feel at liberty to make brief mention of them,
although, as they still are pending in the Senate, I should not
feel disposed to discuss them at length. The treaties mark an
advance over the arbitration treaties of 1908 in that they bring
into arbitration a much wider range of subjects than is covered by
the older conventions. In the latter, questions of "national
honor," "vital interest," etc., were excluded from consideration,
whereas, under the pending agreements, "all differences which are
justiciable in their nature by reason of being susceptible of
decision by the application of the principles of law and equity,"
are made subject to arbitration under the rules laid down in the
documents.

There also is a provision granting to the Commission created by
the treaties the right to determine whether any given question
presented to it may be considered justiciable under the language
of the treaties. This latter provision is regarded by the President
and Secretary Knox as highly desirable in the interest of the
expedition of business, but it met such opposition in the Committee
on Foreign Relations that its elimination from the treaties was
recommended to the Senate. The objection to the provision is based
upon the theory that it would deprive the Senate of its constitutional
right to pass upon all treaties. I have not accepted this view,
because I do not believe in hampering working bodies when such a
course can be avoided without doing violence to the fundamental
law as I believe in this case it can be.

With this provision expunged, the Committee is largely favorable
to the treaties, and they are now pending in the Senate. It,
however, has become evident that they cannot be speedily acted
upon, and as I write, in the closing days of the special session,
called at the beginning of the Sixty-second Congress, the indications
are strong that they will be compelled to go over to the regular
session in December for final consideration. What their fate then
may be no one can foretell.

It is well understood that if these treaties should be ratified
they will be followed by similar agreements with the other civilized
nations of the world. The spirit of arbitration has taken strong
hold on our big-hearted and peace-loving President, and I