I
cordially sympathized with these views. On the recommendation of John
Hay, I succeeded in getting an agreement with Mexico to lay a matter in
dispute between the two republics before the Hague Court. This was
the first case ever brought before the Hague Court. It was followed by
numerous others; and it definitely established that court as the great
international peace tribunal. By mutual agreement with Great Britain,
through the decision of a joint commission, of which the American
members were Senators Lodge and Turner, and Secretary Root, we were able
peacefully to settle the Alaska Boundary question, the only question
remaining between ourselves and the British Empire which it was not
possible to settle by friendly arbitration; this therefore represented
the removal of the last obstacle to absolute agreement between the two
peoples. We were of substantial service in bringing to a satisfactory
conclusion the negotiations at Algeciras concerning Morocco. We
concluded with Great Britain, and with most of the other great nations,
arbitration treaties specifically agreeing to arbitrate all matters,
and especially the interpretation of treaties, save only as regards
questions affecting territorial integrity, national honor and vital
national interest.
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