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The Commoner
Abrogating the Russian Treaty
, Speech of Representative William Sulzer, of
New-York, in. the house of representatives De
comber 13, 1911, on the joint resolution (H. J.
Res. 166) introduced by him to abrogate the
treaty with Russia.
Mr. Sulzer said:
This joint resolution speaks for itself; no
. patriotic citizen need apologize for it. It sounds
4 a note of true Americanism. It demands the
abrogation of the Russian treaty concluded in
St. Petersburg in 1832, in accordance with its
provisions, because for nearly half a century
Russia has persistently refused to live up to it
and recognize passports of American citizens
without discrimination on account of race or
religion.
The treaty with Russia in this connection is
clear and explicit. By virtue of its terms I am
certain that no discrimination can be made
against any American citizen desiring to visit
and sojourn in Russia on account of race or -religion;
and when Russia makes this discrimi
nation she violates the treaty and perpetrates
an act unfriendly to the people of the United
States. We can not tolerate this Injustice to
some of our citizens, this violation of treaty
stipulations, this race prejudice, and this re
ligious discrimination and intoleration. It is
foreign to the very fundamentals of our free
institutions and contrary to everything for which
the civilized world stands at the dawn of the
twentieth century.
It Is a well-settled principle of international
law that each nation reserves the right to make
such treaties with other nations as it sees fit
regarding all matters, and to determine for
itself whom it will admit within its borders,
just as an Individual has the right to determine
.whom he will admit to his house.
' Treaties between nations should be free from
ambiguity regarding the rights of their respec
tive citizens to visit and sojourn In the country
of each other, and should admit of no discriml
inntlon in lavor of some citizens and against
other citizens of either of the high contracting
parties; and it is customary among the nations
of the world to recognize without discrimina
tion the passports of each, when duly issued
and authenticated, to their respective citizens
who desire to sojourn in other countries.
The question now before the congress of the
United States, therefore, regarding this "Rus
sian passport question" resolves itself into this:
Has Russia by the treaty of 1832 agreed to
recognize American passports without discrimi
nation on account of race or religion?
To determine the question it is necessary to
t read the provision in the treaty of 1832 between
the United States and Russia. Article 1 of that
treaty reads as follows:
"There shall be between the territories of the
high contracting parties a reciprocal liberty of
commerce and navigation. The inhabitants of
their respective states shall mutually have
liberty to enter the ports, places and rivers of
the territories of each party wherever foreign
commerce is permitted. They shall be at liberty
to sojourn and reside in all parts whatsoever of
said territories, in order to attend to their
affairs, and they shall enjoy, to that effect, the
same security and protection as natives of the
country wherein they reside."
This provision of the treaty seems to be plain
and clear, and gives citizens of the United
States
"the right to sojourn and reside in all parts of
Russia in order to attend to their affairs, and
they shall enjoy the same security and protection
as natives of the country wherein they reside."
A treaty is the supreme law of the land, and
Mr. Justice Field, of the United States supreme
court, laid down the construction of treaties in,
Geofry vs. Riggs (133 U. S., 271), in which he
said:
"It is a general principle of construction with
respect to treaties that they shall be liberally
construed, so as to carry out the apparent intent
of the parties to secure equality and reciprocity
between them. As they are contracts between
independent nations, in their construction,'Words
are to be taken in their ordinary meaning, as
understood in the public law of nations, and
not in any artificial or special sense impressed
. upon them by local law, unless such restricted
sense is clearly intended. And it has been held
by this court that where a treaty admits of two
constructions, one restrictive of rights that may
bo claimed under it and the other favorable to
them, the latter ia to bo preferred."
In view of What I have said, it seems evident
to mo, and It must be to every sensible and
fair-minded person, that when the treaty with
Russia was concluded it was the intention of
Russia and the United States that the rights
granted by Article I of that treaty should ex
tend equally to every citizen of this country
without discrimination of any kind whatsoever.
This being bo, it is apparent that .Russia has
for years continually violated the priyislons of
the treaty by refusing to recognize passports
granted to American citizens on account of race
or religion.
This Is not a Jewish question. It is an Ameri
can question. It involves a great principle. It
affects the rights of all American citizens. Rus
sia not only refuses to recognize American pass
ports held by Jews on account of their, race or
their religion, but she also refuses to recognize
American passports held by Baptist missionaries,
Catholic priests, and Presbyterian divines on
account of their religious belief.
The government of the United States declares
as a fundamental principle that all men are
equal before the law -regardless of race or re
, liglon, and makes no distinction based on the
creeds or tho birthplaces of its citizens in this
connection, nor can it consistently permit such
distinctions to be made by a foreign power. We
solemnly assert that the rights of our citizens
at home or abroad" shall not be impaired on ac
count of race or religion.
Not the religion, nor the race of a person,
but his American citizenship is the true test of
the treatment he shall receive and the rights he
shall enjoy under the law at home and abroad.
This is fundamental. We must adhere to it
tenaciously.
- Freedom of religious belief the right to
worship according to the dictates of our con
science is one of the corner stones of our broad
institutions, and so jealous of this liberty were
the fathers that they wrote in the federal con
stitution v
"That congress shall make no law respecting
the establishment of religion or prohibiting the
free exorciso thereof."
We must maintain this great principle of re
ligious freedom inviolate forever.
We declare, the government of the United
States has carefully lived up to its treaty obliga
tions with Russia. Wo have granted to every
Russian coming to this country all the rights
stipulated in the treaty, irrespective of race or
religion.. That is our construction of the treaty
of 1832 and demonstrates the intention of tho
Unied States government in its conclusion.
American citizens should have the same right
to visit and sojourn In Russia that Russian citi
zens have to "visit and sojourn in the United
States. If they do not, then the treaty is
violated, and it ought to be abrogated.
The refusal of Russia to recognize American
passports on account pf race and religion is a
clear violation, in my judgment, of the treaty
of 1832, and tho remaining question is one of
remedy only.
What action should the congress of the United
States take in this matter? I have given much
thought to this inquiry and,, have finally con
cluded that the best action we can take to
remedy this injustice to American citizens is
to serve the usual official notice of twelve months
on Russia, that we desire to abrogate the treaty
of 1832, and that at the expiration of the
notice, given in accordance with the terms of
the treaty, it shall T)e null and void.
We must be true to the great principles of
justice and freedom and equality on which our
government is founded. We can not appear to
connive at discrimination of any American citi
zen on account of his race or his religion or
. permit any foreign power to ostracize him or
discriminate against him for these reasons. To
do so is an insult to every American.
Russia must recognize American passports,
without discrimination on account of race or
religion or the Russian treaty must bo abro
gated. Our self-respect demands It. The
memories of the past plead for it; our hope for
the future commands it. No other course Is
open to tile United States, and for this govern
ment to submit longer to the violation by Russia
of the treaty is a humiliation to our sense of
justice and to our love for our fellow man that,
merits the condemnation of very patriotic
American.
, The Russian treaty must be abrogated. The
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 6t
people are aroused about the matter 'as they
never have been before over the question, and
the time for action by the congress has come.
There can be no arbitration of this elemental
principle of our government; there must be no
more delay; the matter must be settled once
for all time, and a newjtreaty arranged in which
Russia can find no loophole to enable her to
discriminate against any class of American citi
zens on account of race or religion.
Wo aro a patient and long-suffering people
where the question involved does not touch us
on our tenderest spot our pocketbooks; but
the awakening has come, and with it a keen
realization of the affronts we have suffered for
years at the hands of a fovernlnent notorious
for its lack of human sympathy.
PRESIDENT IGNORES HOUSE
Following is an Associated Press dispatch:
Washington, Dec. 18. President Taft turned
over to the senate today the task of completing
the abrogation of the treaty of 1832 with Rus
sia, because of alleged discriminations against
American .citizens of Jewish fflith. Ignoring
tho house of representatives, the president sent
a message to the senate announcing ithat on
Friday last he had caused notice to 'be for
warded to St. Petersburg that the United States
desired the treaty to end January 1, 1913. This
notification was officially handed to the repre
sentatives of the Russian government yester
day. Mr. Taft asked the senate to ratify and
give effect to his action. The foreign riffairs
committee of the senate voted unanimously to
.report a resolution of-ratification, couched in
diplomatic terms, and Senator Lodge offered it
late in the senate.
There was every reason to believe that the
resolution would be rushed through, inasmuch
as the senate committee, as an act of courtesy
to the house, had decided that the' lower
branch of congress should be asked to .concur
4n the senate's .action. Senator Heyburn of
Idaho, however, took the floor and after pro
testing vigorously against hasty action, asserted
his right under the rules and by .formal objec
tion threw further consideration of the matter
over, until tomorrow. :,
Although It was evident tonight that politics
would enter into the fight tomorrow, the pre
diction was made freely that all obstacles would
be overcome, and that before the senate ad
journed the committee resolution would be put
through as a substitute for the house resolu
tion, which proved objectionable to the Russian
government. ,
Chairman Sulzer, of the house committee on
foreign affairs, author of the house resolution,
said tonight that he believed the"matter would
be adjusted satisfactorily, and that the abroga
tion of the treaty would be an accomplished
fact before congress recessed Thursday for the
holidays.
Democratic leaders both in the senate and
the. house are determined to claim credit for
the abrogation of the treaty. Senators Culber
Bon of Texas and Hitchcock of Nebraska, the
latter a member of the foreign relations com
mittee, served preliminary notice to this effect
in the senate today, and .will be heard further
tomorrow. Senator Culberson accused Presi
dent Taft of trying to strip the house of one
of its prerogatives, and asserted that the presi
dent was trying to steal the' democratic thunder.
In his message to the senate President Taft
transmitted a copy of the letter which American
Ambassador Guild at St. Petersburg had trans
mitted to the Russian foreign office. In it was
expressed the view of the United States that tho
old treaty no longer met the political principles
of commercial needs of the "two nations and
should be terminated. The American govern
ment, with marked courtesy, suggested further
that it would be most agreeable to this country
if a new treaty, along more modern lines", could
be negotiated to replace ,the ancient and outr
lived document.
Despite this overture to the Russian govern
ment, state department officials today practi
cally admitted that there was little hope for
negotiating a new treaty that would avoid the
very things that were leading to the denuncia
tion pf the old one.
The United States, it was pointed out, would
bo treading upon dangerous ground in trying
to .arrange with Russia for a reciprocal agree
ment looking to wider latitude' in the rights
of the. citizens of the two countries. Under
the, most favored nation", clauses of the
treaties the United States has with other pow
ers, anyone .ofr tfteae could claim the right of
entry for its citizens into the United States, and
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