OCR Text |
Show COMMUNICATIONS League of Nations. Kditnr Tribune- So uniform nnd formidable for-midable Id the iMiparent tipprovnl of the i iirnj ose'l pi 'i n fur the forma t ion of a league of nations that, one lii la t-s to ui'.'-r against It; but, on the other hand, so crave is The oontcmpla t ed step th.-;t it !k the duty "-f cvtv cil izen to oon-flfinn oon-flfinn it it he has good reasons for ho rloiiitr. TY-rmit tr.e, t hvi, to submit as i.T.-f-iy as i-npsiMo a few of tho many ou-::' ou-::' ioiu to t-'iK.'h a IvJ-i'f. Why the r-'-Ti Is T.'-'al. Tho coivd.itu- tates all powers; rot exi-ress'y ce'e-2atHl ce'e-2atHl to the United Suites by that document docu-ment being expressly reserved to the re -t-pectlve states and to ihe people. Congress Con-gress has I'owev to regulate commerce with lore ig n nations, to constitute tribunals tri-bunals inferior to the supreme court, to punish offenses against the law of nations, na-tions, to declare war. to raise and support sup-port armies and a navy. -The executive power is vested in tlie president (article 2, section 1), The judicial power in the supreme and inferior courts (article 3, section 1) an& the legislative power .in i cor.grress. Consresa cannot ratify any treaty that exceeds these delegated powers. In the case of Fong- Yue ling' vs. United States (149 U. S. 6PS) it waa held that the right to expel Chinamen or other aliens from this country is an inherent and inalienable in-alienable right of every sovereign ana independent nation," hence the hands of congress were not tied by a treaty giving; giv-ing; Chinamen the riht to remain here. In Chae Chan Pimr's case (130 U. S. ESI), it was held that, "The powers of government govern-ment are dele-rated in trust to the United fctates and are incapable of transfer to any other parties They cannot be abandoned aban-doned or surrendered. The execution exe-cution of thf-se public trusts is not the subject of barter or contract." Other cases showine: -that congress cannot exceed itg de'eated cowers are: Geoff rev vs. Risg (133 V. S. 258); Fort vs. Lowe (114 U. S. 525), and Devlin on treaty power, section S3, where it is pointed out that the house of representatives may refuse to institute a bill for an appropriation of money in behalf of a treaty which is incompatible in-compatible "with the fundamental principles, prin-ciples, purposes or interests of the constitution." con-stitution." The people of the United States have never delegated to any body the right to enter a league of nations which will in any manner subject them to the legislative, judicial or executive acts i of any entity foreign to our constitu-tion. constitu-tion. Now let us asrtain whether the proposed plan for a league of nations vio- i lates any of these provisions. I By article 11 of the proposed plan "the ! high contracting parties reserve tho right to take any action that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of nations." In article 8 the executive council "shall formulate plans for effecting effect-ing such reduction" (of armaments), an infringement on both the legislative power of congress and the executive power of the president. Article I'd creates '"the court of arbitration," which being superior supe-rior to the supreme court of the United States, is likewise ultra vires, or beyond the power of the treaty-making body to make for us; for be it remembered that "the high contracting powers agree that they will carry out in full good faith any award that may be rendered." Our constitution says that congress alone shall declare war. By article 16 of the plan of a league it is provided: '"Should any of the high contracting parties par-ties break or disregard its covenants under un-der artlclfe 12 it shall thereby ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all the other members of the league, which hereby undertake immediately immedi-ately to subject It to the severance of all. trade or financial relations.' In other word3 our right to determine through congress when we shall declare war is taken away from vs. Article 20, which establishes, a bureau of labor, and article 21. regulating commerce, both interfere with the legislative powers of congress and the executive duties of the president presi-dent of the United States. t In article 25 the high contracting parties par-ties agree "that the present covenant is accepted as abrogating all obligations Inter s which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly engage that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements inconsistent with the terms thereof." In other words, there is no provision made for a withdrawal from the league once in we must fight our way out Again the constitutional limitations on the treaty-making power are exceeded, exceed-ed, for a treaty being in tho nature of a contract no contract permanently disposing dispos-ing of a portion of the sovereign powers of the nation could within the expressly delegated powers of the constitution be entered into. It thus seems clear that a treaty ratify-Ingthe ratify-Ingthe plans of a league of nations as now proposed would be unconstitutional and void. It would certainly be so without with-out a submission of the question to the people; and, if that is done, I personally have no .doubt oE the outcome. . Moreover, More-over, every member of congress is bo.nd by his oath to support and defend the constitution,. of the United States; and, as Madison a)d long ago concerning treaties; treat-ies; "Docs it follow because the power is given to congress that it is absolute and unlimited? I do not believe that power is given to the president and senate sen-ate to dismember the empire or to alienate alien-ate any great essential right. I do not think the whole legislative authority hae this power.1' Therefore, if the proposed plan were adopted in a treaty and the senate were to ratify that .treaty, the house of rep: resentatnes could refuse to appropriate any money to uphold it on tho ground ; that legislative, executive and judicial ! rights were delegated beyond the power , of the treaty-making body to bestow. Immediately Im-mediately a rapture would take place; and war. In fact, the only manner in which a league could be formed which would be legal and binding would be on the plan of a United States of the worh: and who can say that Americans are ready to consider svicla a thought when in going throughout Europe ore reatiity notices no-tices vastly and almost insuperably different dif-ferent standards of living and ideals? Very truly yours, CJjAUDE T. BARNES. - Salt Lake, March 26. L . Mexican Bandits. Kdltor Tribune: On arriving here from the desert I v find by yesterday's paper that tgaln there has been a raid across the border by organized Mexican bandits, which had to be followed back into Mexico by our troops in order to recover re-cover the booty. This Mexican trouble has now been going go-ing on for r early nine years because our authorities have tried to handle the affair af-fair as if we were dealing with an organized, or-ganized, constitutional government, whereas, for all but seven years of the century of Mexican independence of Spain wo have had to do with revolutionary revolu-tionary upstarts or a government (that of Diaz) holding over for twenty-five ye.-'.rs in defiance of the Mexican constitution, consti-tution, which prescribes for the presidents a term of seven years and forbids his re-election. The term of 'Diaz, and especially the illegitimate extension thereof, was the only period of tranquillity "in the history of that unhappy land, which has never had any other government ,than a despotism, des-potism, and never can have until the rights of minorities come to be respected, an idea which, except for its aristocratic interpretation, with the minority in command, com-mand, has not ye I entered into the heart of man of Spanish origin, and. in fact, has reached considerable development only among the Kuglish speaking peoples. Senator Ashurst of Arizona, to diminish this nuisance of a long ill-defined frontier fron-tier between barbarism and civilization, offered the suggestion that the United States should buy from Mexico the desert des-ert country southwest of Arizona, Including Includ-ing Lower California, an almost uninhabited uninhab-ited country, having a population consisting con-sisting almost exclusively of Indians .and not making one person to the square mile. V have been long suffering over this affair to an extent, I believe, unparalleled unparal-leled in the dealings of great powers with irritating neighbors, and this is well Shown, by Ashurst 's prcposal. I should be glad to accede to this and make a .considerable .con-siderable financial sacrifice to carry it out if it were const It u tionaUy possible. Unfortunately the Mexican constitution provides the death penalty tor any member mem-ber of the Mexican congress proposing to cede to any one any Mexican territory. terri-tory. Accordingly it seems to me that, as ; the Mexicans for the last forty years i have continuously defied their own con- stiuition. no one else can be considered to bo bound by it, and that therefore we should be amply jusiified in ruling that this territory bad fallen into a sta t of anarchy, in which It was governed by no r -sponsible element, so that, it becomes our duty to i-nt'-r into it to stamp out anarchy" without further ado. and that we idm.dd put it under a territorial government govern-ment f-iniilar to that of the Phihppim-'.s wdtliont trifling over that shadowy document docu-ment mores honored in the breach than In the observe i ice, know a us the consti-tut consti-tut ion of Mexico. surnesl Immediate seizure of all Mexican territory down to :i line r aching about southwest, to the rjulf of C'al i t ornia. turns to run west northwest, and at the same time service of notice to Carranza that If .he does not maintain order each future raid acro&s the border or other attack at-tack on our rights will be followed by further adances of the border until the domains nominally under his control are reduced to what he is able to keep m oder. Yours faithfully, N. T. BACON. Salt Lake, March 26. |