The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-18


point they Knight choose to mike, should
have fancied themselves at liberty to ust
Mr.. Trescott as q sort of diplomatic cou
rier to fetch and carry outrageous and inn
practicable propositions between them
selves and the constitutional government
of Peru. But the spectacle which Eng
land now presents In, Europe is not of 8
sort to fascinate the Imagination of the
American people. We have not yet
learned to enjoy being made ridiculous as
nation, nor 10 the passion for humble pie
much developed in this country. 1t was
open to the United States at the outbreak
of hostillties in 1879 between Chill and
Peru to abstain from interference with the
conflict in any form whatever. That might
not have been large and statesman
like policy, but it would at least have
been an ineligible policy, and il
might have been pursued without exposing
the United States to the reproach of bad
faith or to the suspicion of pusillanimity,
both of which have been invited by the
course of Mr. Blaine. As the South Ameri-
can states on the Pacific, thanks to our
senseless tariff, are much more closely con
neeted by commercial and financial ties with
Europe than with this country, We might
have left the great European powers free
to interfere in the interests of peace, at the
price, however, of abandoning all our own
pretentions to political weight and inf1u-
ence in South America. This we did not
elect to do. On the contrary, before the
war actually began certain representatives
of the United States in Chill and Peru did
their best to get this government invo. wed
in the matter. and when England and
France invited the American government
to unite with them in putting stop to
hestilities which were threatening the sol
vency of their South American debtors and
seriously disturbing the commerce of man
kind we loftily babe them stand back and
announced that the United States would
see justice done and peace reestablished in
due time. Two years have since elapsed.
During that time two great opportunities
eating the position we have arrogated to
ourselves. One of these opportunities was
deliberately thrown away at the conferenc-
es held on board of the United States man
borne, then the United States Minister in
Chill, who, in a manner which extorted
an indignant though barren rebuke even
from thai most long suffering Of secre-
fused for the United States the position of
an arbitrator which it was the duty of
the United States almost to have insisted
on assuming. The other of these oppor-
tunities was wretchedly trif1ed with (for
motives not yet perhaps fully uncovered)
by Mr.. Blame in August and September,
1881, when, with the full assent of the
Chilians and an act of the legal majority
of the legal representatives of Peru. a con-
stitutional government had been formed
in Peru by President Ca1deron, and the
Gillian authorities were ready to treat
with the United States government as to
The preliminaries of an honorable peace
with Peru on the basis of an adequate
war indemnity. This is abundantly shown
by the simple fact that after all these
months Mr.. Trescot now reappears in the
United States to tell us that he has been
at the request of the Chill
ans, to find out whether Admiral Mon
ere, the representative of President Calde |
ON, could not be argued into consenting |
o accept on certain terms recognition by |
Jhili. In other words, all the advantages |
if position won for the United States in
August and September last by General
1ulburt were sacrificed, Chill was seduced
nto perpetrating silly and scandalous
outrage on international rights in the seiz- |
ire of President Calderon, and the re-
sources of the west coast have been wasted
or months only that an American special
envoy may be entreated by Chill in |
May, 1882, to try and put things back as
nearly as possible where they were in |
August, 1891 OF course it is quite plain, |
md Mr.. Prescott deserves credit for put |
ing it plainly to the department of state |
hat this is an absurd and discreditable |
Itste of affairs and that it cannot last |
Jhili, Peru and Bolivia among them owe
many hundred millions of dollars of public |
iebts to English, French and German |
subjects. The commercial interests of |
England, France, Germany, Hollend, TIA |
y, in Chill and Peru are very consider |
lble. If Peru Is Shattered and democrat |
zed by the defeats she has sustained and |
he hostile occupation of her capital, |
Jhili is in most preearious and perilous |
condition. In the expressive language of
be west, Chill has ssbi.ten off more than
he can chew.n She is slowly but yisibly |
breaking down under a burden beyond /
her resources. It would be very agreeable |
o her and TO her English creditors andeal |
les, no doubt, to be helped by the United |
,tates TO the possession of the rich Peruv /
an province of Tarapaca and released
rom the fatal task she has set herself of
dominating d population larger than
ler own, scattered over territory in
vhich the whole of Chill might easily be
ost. Mr.. Trescot even intimates that the |
sredit industrial. on the propositions of