Speech #620098724

I think the promise would be broken. I do not think the American people. who have paid for and built the canal. propose to have it endangered by the presence of any new neighbors at either end. Take the question of immigrationChinese or. if you prefer. Asiatic. We now have a treaty of general arbitration with China and could hardly refuse to make another along the new lines. The question of immigration in that case and in others might be a question arising under a treaty. and nothing is more arbitrable than the interpretation of treaties. or it might be merely a general question as to how far our general treaties permitted us to pass exclusion or restriction laws in regard to immigrants. I see no way to prevent such a question under this treaty being brought before an arbitral tribunal if the high commission of inquiry should decide it to be arbitrable. I do not believe the American people would ever permit such a question to be arbitrated.