Breaking Treaties.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 30, 1912:
    When the violation of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty was under discussion in the Senate it was pointed out that we should undoubtedly be summoned to arbitrate our action, with every chance of losing. To which the ready answer of the advocates of violation was that we could decline to arbitrate on the ground that the measure relating to the Panama Canal is purely domestic, is, in fact, "our own business, and not that of any other nation," since we build the canal and shall maintain it. But we got the right to build the canal and control it only by the consent of Great Britain to surrender her rights under the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, and this consent was given in return for our pledge that the vessels of all nations should use the canal on equal and fair terms. To decline to arbitrate differences arising from such a transaction is simply to repudiate the vital, essential, efficient principle of all arbitration. It tends directly to the annulment of all treaties of arbitration that we have with the various nations of the world, or, what amounts to the same thing, to the refusal to renew them when they expire.
    Now we have in all twenty-five such treaties, a greater number than any other country except Brazil. They are effective in every case for five years from the time of ratification, and will expire by limitation during the years 1913 to 1915. Here is a list of the countries with which these treaties have been made:
    In Europe: Switzerland, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Austria-Hungary.
    In America: Mexico, Peru, Salvador, Argentina, Haiti, Bolivia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Chile, Brazil, Paraguay.
    In the Orient: Japan, China.
    There are besides these the treaties with Great Britain and France, signed last year and amended by the Senate, which would, of course, be abandoned completely if we refused to arbitrate our action regarding the canal. It will be noted that one-half of our treaties of arbitration are with the countries to the south of us, with which it is especially important that we should maintain the most friendly relations, because of the delicate questions constantly likely to arise under our Monroe Doctrine. Fortunately it will be some time before the canal will actually be open and the measure adopted by Congress be operative. Let us hope that that measure will, in time, be modified to redeem the National honor and preserve the peace-making principle of arbitration.