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Show JOHN HAY'S OPINION. John Hay, one of tho best loved and mohl effective American diplomats, wrote a letter to Joseph H. Choato in which he said: "f have never struck a subject nn full of psychological interest in-terest as tho official mind of a senator." sena-tor." Mr. Hay later summed up his opinion of the senate as a treaty-making power as follows: "A treaty en-teriag en-teriag the senate is like a bull going into the arena no ono can say just, how or when tho final blow will fall ; but ono thing is certain it will never j leave tho arena alivo. Mr. Hay, as Beerelary of state under Prosident Mc-Kinley, Mc-Kinley, had negotiated a large number of arbiJ ration treaties in an effort to lessen the likelihood of war t hroughout the world. The senate opposed op-posed tho treaties. Tn the secretary's diary, February lli, 1905, is this entry "This was a wild clamor that tho rights of tho senate wore invaded, but every individual senator felt that his precious privilege of casting two votes in opposition to every treaty must be safeguarded. And then the president presi-dent 's majority was too big they wanted to teach him that he wasn't it. " The above was written after his retirement re-tirement from office. On April 24, 1!00, he wrote to Richard Watson Gilder: Gil-der: "I am in deep waters these days. Matlcrs have come to such a pass with the sennto that it seems impossible to do business. . . . The , fact that a treaty gives to the country a great lasting advantage, seems to weigh nothing whatever in the minds of about half the senators. Personal interests, in-terests, personal spites and a contingent contin-gent chance- of a petty political advantage ad-vantage are the only motives that cut any ice at present." While considering his retirement later In tho same year because of senate sen-ate action, ho wrote to Samuel Mather: "I shall be sorry to part with the president (Mr. McKinley), who has (stood nobly by me in everything, but there will always be 34 per cent of the senate on the blackguard side of every question that, conies before them, " There are a number of voting things regarding, 3C ornate and its tmndy-jpy kin powers to be found in the "Uife and Letters of John Hay," and his biographer, William Thayer, sympathized with the attitude of the diplomat us follows: "That a few men, not diplomatic by training, should have the right to shatter a delicate piece of diplomacy, seemed to him (Hay) as moiwcrous as if a clodhopper should be privileged to trample on a violin. The artist in him revolted; his reason revolted; re-volted; his conscience revolted." Mr. Hay was pessimistic regarding the senato to the last. In a letter to nn intimate friend, Mr. Adams, he made this allusion to the subject: "The weak place in both our schemes is the senate. I have told you many times that I did not believe another important treaty would ever pass the senate," In a letter to Henry White, in reference to the abrogation of tho Olayton-Bulwer treaty, he wrote: "In I he usual reckless manner of our senate, sen-ate, they are discussing the matter with open doors, and are getting themselves them-selves so balled up with their own eloquence elo-quence that it is greatly to be feared they will so commit themselves as to consider themselves bound to regret my arrangement that may be made." The senators of today are made of Iho same kind of clay as those of whom Mr. Hay wrote. In fact some pf them are the very same men. Chairman Lodge is a bright and shining example. In the days of Mr. Hay the administration administra-tion and the senate majority were both Republican. At this time the admin; .stration is Democratic and the senate Republican. So if political considerations considera-tions are to rule there would be no hope for ratification of the peace treaty under ordinary circumstances. But an extraordinary circumstance, in ;vhich the whole world is deeply interested, in-terested, has arisen, and it may be that :he senators will not dare kill the ;reatv negotiated by the foremost itatesmen of the world for lasting benefit of our Christian civilization as :hev killed the treaties of Secretary Hav having the same object in view. |