The Panama Treaty was ratified by the American Senate on
Tuesday by 66 votes to 14. The Committee on Foreign Relations had suggested certain amendments relating to the sanitation of the harbours of Colon and Panama and the de- limitation of the boundaries of these ports, but these were rejected, as was also Mr. Bacon's amendment providing for a treaty with Colombia in order to satisfy any demands made by that country on account of the secession of Panama. In this context we may note a remarkably precise statement in regard to the Monroe doctrine made by Mr. Root, late Secretary of War, at Chicago on Monday. That doctrine he defined as an assertion of the right of the United States to prohibit the interference by a European Power with the action of any nation without exception in the Western Hemi- sphere, even with the consent of the Sovereign. Importance is attached to the statement as, in view of Mr. Root's relations with the President, it is believed to embody Mr. Roosevelt's views. Mr. Root went on to say that the Monroe doctrine was not a rule at all, but "an assertion of a right under the universal rule that all sovereignty is held subject to limitations in its exercise arising from the just interests of other nations."
