Description:

Taft William


William Taft TLS on World Court Arbitration Treaties

 

Single page TLS on White House letterhead, 6.75" x 9". Dated "February 20, 1912" and signed by William Howard Taft as "Wm H Taft". Near fine with single center fold.

 

A wishful letter written by President Taft who had worked to propose bilateral arbitration treaties, which were presented in a speech to the American Peace and Arbitration League on March 22, 1910.  He intended the treaties to replace 1908 U.S.-U.K. and U.S.-France bilateral arbitration treaties.

 

The Taft Arbitration Treaties represented an effort to legalize international relations. The treaties, although not radical in the context of 1911, did expand on previous bilateral efforts to provide for an interstate arbitral mechanism that would be ready to operate when a dispute arose. The popular treaties met with opposition; as discussed in Part II, the U.S. Senate sought to approve arbitrations on a case-by-case basis and to exempt certain sensitive issues from the scope of arbitrations. Nonetheless, many prominent Americans, including President Taft, viewed with optimism the development of international law to solve international disputes and help insure a more peaceful world. His optimistic letter is shown below:

 

 

"I consider that the ratification of the pending arbitration treaties with England and France by the Senate of the United States will complete the greatest step that has been taken within the last fifty years toward the securing of the settlement of all international controversies by arbitral methods. Any progress toward the abolition of war and the upholding of civilized, peaceful and Christian treatment of the issues that arise between the countries of the world should be welcomed by all friends of mankind"

 

The end result however was not as expected. By a vote of seventy-six to three, the Senate eventually approved the Taft Arbitration Treaties with the amendments exempting particular subject matters and deleting Article 111 (thereby removing any role for the Joint High Commission in deciding justiciability). Taft refused to ratify the treaties. He thought the Senate had "crippled," "maimed," "truncated," and "emasculated" them, leaving them in a form that even "their own father could not recognize.". Taft maintained he had planned to resubmit the treaties to the Senate after the people had replaced some senators in the 1912 election, but instead, he noted, the voters decided to replace him.

Ex. Malcolm Forbes



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