The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-05-20
THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1869.
.,rlsn wE rAKE ST. THOMAS2

n,,,,.pu ia in the dumps The snug sum of
scvcn and n half millions of dollars, in gold, which
sbc expected to receive from the United States
for her little West India islands is not forth
coming The treaty providing for this purchase
is not even considered, and the prospect of its
ratification grows small by degrees and beauti-
fully less with the lapse of time. The Danish
Ambassador has been to Washington, but he
found even Seward the originator of this famous
negotiation, nominally Indifferent to its fate
Sumner chairman of the Committee on Foreign
Relations, was negectful; and Grant was too
busy with other pursuits to enter zcalously into
the retail real estate business. In this dilemma,
Denmark appeals, through one of her
leading journals, the Copenhagen Ddgbla-
det to the potent American power of
public opinion, and the article has
been obligingly done into English and forwarded
to American editors with a request that they
will spread its contents before the sovereign
people of this country. Denmark wishes to
create the belief that we owe her a debt of
honor, and that we have gone too far in the
matter of this purchase, or rather permitted her
authorities to go too far, to recedc without dis
grace. Her plea is substantially this, that the
johnson administration bought the islands, and
that although it was well understood on both
sides that the ratification of the treaty was cs-
sential to its validity and that Denmark would
have had no just cause of complaint if the Senate
had promptly rejected 1t, and thus ended the
whole matter, yet the American people are
'held and firmly bound" to consummate
the purchase, because Denmark has sub
mitted the question to a vote of the
islanders, and inasmuch as they have expressed
a willingness to resign the tender care of their
sovereign king, and to join their destines with
the United States the proceeding is irrevocable.
This theory would be much more tenable if the
treaty had been confirmed by popular vote in
the United States The bridegroom, as well as
the bride, must say ''yes' before the marriage
is binding. The delay of the Senate was at least
pardonable if not absolutely necessary. As the
treaty was contingent, on the Danish side, upon
a double ratification by the Danish Congress
and the people of the islands, we should have
cut sorry figure before the world if, after we
had formally agreed to take our little bride, de-
spite her tornadoes, her tidal waves her earth
quakes, and her diminutiveness, she should have
saucily turned up her little nose and refused
point blank, an alliance with big Brother Jona-
than! Let the world imagine our feelings in
such woful contingency if it can and decide
whether it was not prudent to guard against the
possibility of the notifying rebuff that might
uOCu Ill SIOIc lOr us. we see no good
reason why the King cannot make his peace with
ST. Thomas. His daughter has only done what
other kings daughters have done before de-
Clared her willingness to obey new lord and |
master, in response to his command; and as the |
amOrous ardor of the proposed sutor has abated.
there is no good reason why the usual resource
should not be adopted in this instance and the
wouid-be bride left to grace her native house
hold.
The area of st. Thomas is variously estimated
at from twenty-four to forty-fve square miles
1t is not half as large as the city of Philadel-
phia. A tidal wave which slightly exceeded the
usual dimensions would submerge it,; it could be
swallowed up bodily by a respectable earth
quake or blown to atoms by first-class vol
canc explosion. Its population numbers but
fewt thousands-not half as large as that of
most of the wards Of Philadelphia. No matter
what may be its commercial advantages, it is
absurd to give the large sum of seven
and half millions of dollars for the privilege
of ruling this infnitesmal scrap of territory and
this handful of people Mr.. Seward made bad
bargain, which we hope nobody will be disposed
to ratify. The Danish journal has failed to
make it appear that our honor is at all concerned
in the matter, but the interests of American
taxpayers are deeply involved in their relief
from the proposed unnecessary burden.
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