Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/224

184 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS by congress concerning the tolls to be levied on vessels using the Panama canal contained a pro vision empowering the president to exempt the coastwise shipping of the United States from pay ing anything for the privilege, and the British gov ernment remonstrated against this as in violation of the neutrality clause of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty which had made possible the construction of the canal. The president signed the bill never theless, arguing that the neutralization clause was incorporated in the treaty, not for the purpose of preventing the nation that owned the canal from granting special privileges to the shipping under its flag, but to prevent its discriminating between other nations. He favored submitting the contro versy, if Great Britain persisted in it, to arbitra tion; but the senate would not entertain any such suggestion, regarding the question as belonging to the class which, from their nature, were not arbitrable. The demand of the republican platform for the protection of American citizens in their rights of travel and sojourn in foreign countries was espe cially aimed at the treatment American Hebrews complained of when visiting Russia, due to racial prejudice. In December, 1911, persuasion having failed to alter the Russian government s attitude, President Taft gave notice of intention to abrogate