Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-01-24
DARwlNiAN DEYELOpMENT,
As Applied 10 the Monroe Doctrine
by the Present Administrator.
Col II. V. Boynton writes as follows
tn the Cincinnati G4gesfs.

Col. H. V. Boynton writes as follows
to the Cincinnati Gazette:
National life, like the life of indi-
Vidusls, is q growth. OF late we are
having the Darwinian theory applied to
the government. According to this beau
tiful science the frog jumped upon
stone and Topped, and Topped, and kept
Topping till the air came under his
wings; then he was bird. So, now,
the Monroe doctrine, which originally
applied only to foreign powers acquiring
territory in the northern portions of
America, has been jumped up on to the
Cabinet table by President Hayes, and
developed by long continued and vague
patriotic blowings until 1t has become q
very different thing, and is now
declared to be theory to which the
United States is committed, which does
not allow private foreign capital to build
public works in this northern hemis-
phere, unless the United States are first
given full control.
Darwin never has presented, and never
will discover or produce parallel to
to such development. From the frog to
the bird is only the suspicion Of an adj
vance, compared with the stride from
the Monroe doctrine 70 the Hayes doc
trine. The laugh which ran around all
the foreign legations when it was an
nounced is at last extending to Congress.
Those who have friends interested in
rival routes are trying to keep their faces
straight, and talk sternly of the insult
which is thrust at the United States by
De Lesseps audacity in undertaking
canal across the isthmus. But there are a
few of these who do laugh IN private at the
ridiculous position in which the admin
istration is placed. Before this week is
out the first ship with De Lesseps' work
men will be due at the isthmus, and
what the President declares to be a gross
fracturing of the Monroe doctrine will
begin. In fact, this work has begun |
already. The date of the beginning was
the day the ship, with engineers and !
workmen and tools, sailed from France.
If this is national insult in this expedi- |
ton it was as gross on the day of sailing
as it can be at any later day up to the
time that the first ship passes through |
the De Lesseps canal.
If the foreign nations had decided to
make war on the United States the date
of the opening of hostilities would GER
tainly run back as far as the day of the |
sailing of the first ship of the expedi
ton.
Now what is President Hayes going
to do about it What he misnames the
Monroe doctrine has been set at defiance
and openly infracted for just week to-
day. In week more it will be shatter-
ed beyond restoration. The fact that no
one is manifesting the slightest concern,
except those interested in rival schemes,
shows that there is not particle Of life
in that issue he has attempted to thrust
on the country. The American people
are not slow to comprehend an insult to
the National honor. They know all
about war, and feel to a man that there
are worse things in national life than
war. But because they know
about it from experience, they count
it no less than crime for any public man
to say word lightly or take an uncon-
sidered step which locks even remotely
toward involving the country in war.
1t would be very serious thing even if
the United States had an unquestioned
right in the case to simply get ready 10
interfere. 1t cost 100000 to take
the wild steps that were adopted in the
Virginius matter. The mere assurance
that this administration had decided to
forciblY interfere would shake our credit,
increase our debt, give a rude blow to
our general prosperity, and make further
present funding impossible. It is bad
enough to be made the laughing stock of
nations, so far as the Presidents decla-
rations can make US so. To go
further and attempt TO dignity the
new nonsensical theory as a great Ameri-
can doctrine and insist by force, if need
be, that the nations and all private CAPT
talists shall recognize it, land be governed
by it, is to commit grave crime against
people Just recovering from the effects
of war, and busy and fourishing amid
their industries. The case is not one that
is far off. The sailing of De Lesseps'
ship brings the President face to face
with his new doctrine. If he attempts to
enforce it he will certainly find himself
face to face with the plain common sense
people of the country, and this class
will not be blinded by that alleged
patriotic talk which is solely in the in
terest of rival lines.
The new doctrine is simply and only
this: That a company of private foreign
capitalists cannot construct public works
in the countries of North America to
South, even with the full permission of
| these countries, unless they yield GER
tain control to US. Could anything in
children's play at game of government
be more absurd Wherein is the Mica
raguan plan more respectful to US, or
wherein does it avoid the elements of
foreign control True, it seeks to be
chartered by the United States But
what would prevent De Lesseps himself,
provided he had the money and the
| individual stockholders would sell, from
buying every dollar of it the day after
the stock was issued to subscribers Is
there anything in our laws that could
prevent company of foreign capitalists
from buying, owning ard operating any
railroad or anv number of railroads, or
even { II tt e raj roads in New York 2 is \
there anything to prevent them from
buying and operating all the canals that
are in private hands, or If there are none
such, from building them, provided the
State Legislatures chose to give charters
Suppose De Lesseps himself should
obtain charter from q tier of States,
from Washington city to San Francisco,
for railroad or canal, or both, is there
anything in our laws to prevent him
from building and operating them, and
if his family is large enough 10 put De
Lesseps in charge of every department
of the work, and refuse to employ any
man to construct or operate it after com
pletion unless he was an unnaturalized
Frenchman?
This is an extreme case, and it would
not be pleasant one in practice, but the
fact that there is nothing at present,
either in the laws or the Constitution, to
authorize national interference, shows to
what utter absurdity the doctrine that
the United States should interfere with
the present scheme is reduced. De Les
seps' men will land on the isthmus in a
day or two, but nothing will crack ex-
cept portions of President Hayes last
two MESSAGES