Sacramento daily record-union., 1882-01-30

pected to be- able in this way to create
great Republic in South America, to
balance this one, and to render impossible
any European interference with either
continent. 1t is further alleged that Mr..
Blaine is very proud Of this conception,
and that some of his friends also regard it
as '' dazzling" and brilliant" Precisely
how war with Chile could have helped it
forward tits difficult to understand, though
that appears to have been the one tangible
goal toward which the late Secretary OF
State was directing his course. Perhaps
he had concluded that it would be neces-
sary to administer a sound thrashing to
each of the South American States, as a
warning to them not to oppose measures
which were to be taken in their interest.
However that may be, he intended to call
Congress of these South American
States-Thether including Brazil or not
does not yet aPpear-and they were of
course to adopt the idea at this Congress,
and were forthwith to form union, and
Constitution modelled on that of the United
States.
It would seem from this that Mr.. Blaine
holds institutions to be every ything, and
men nothing, and yet had he studied his
tory he might perhaps have seen reason to
doubt the correctness of that conclusion.
The idea that any number of human beings
can get together and do what any other
human beings have ever accomplished be-
fore, is optimistic, to say the least. For
history abounds with examples of expert
mentS in precisely this line, and all of
them have been failures. It is the belief
OF some rather profound philosophers that
institutions and capacities are the results
Of growth, and that they cannot be adopted
ready made by any people. Many attempts
to do this have been made, but all have
ended in disappointment. The French
people tried it at the close of the last cen.
tury, but the outcome was not eucourag-
ing. The Spanish people tried it, and they
had to give it up The Anglo.Saxons are
the only race which has thus far shown
capacity for such ordered government as
we live under, and they have been growing
up to their institutions during e. thousand
years. As to the South American popula.
tions, we cannot imagine more hopeless
undertaking than that of converting them
into full-fedged civilized beings. and we
cannot believe that Mr.. Blaine had ever
seriously reflected on the difficulties of the
task he set himself. The mixture of
races in South American ia considerable.
Spanish, Aztec, Indian, with half hun
dred intermediate types, are there mingled.
Barbarism and superstition have worked
| together for the enslavement of the people,
Ignorance and savagism have gone hand
in hand, and the emasculating influences of
tropical climate have been added to COM
plete the general debasement of the people.
To bring such commixture into
homogeneous political unity is hopeless,
even if it could be supposed that the
| Onlou Oedtcs ucu any suCH HilsSluu liz
trusted to it. But in truth Mr.. Blaines
whole scheme is preposterous in the ex-
treme. There are no real sympathies be-
tween as and the South American peoples.
They are of alien blood and of alien civil
ization. There is no link between us but
geographical one, and even that is very
slender one. Whatever destinies may be
before those States they must work out for
themselves. We have nothing to do with
them. Our fiscal system has cut us off
from even commercial union with them.
We have built wall round ourselves in
that respect, and as regards the political
aspect of the case we have nothing to gain
by it. And yet we do net doubt that the
very extent and audacity of Mr.. Blaine's
project will commend it to many superficial
minds. 1t is no doubt thoroughly i'm
practicable and absurd. 1t could not be
carried out, and would probably only re.
suit In iercer antagonisms than ever among
our neighbors. But it seems to offer some
kind of new field of adventure to our
restless and adventurous elements, and
possibly it might afford a new enterprise to
these reasons we are not surprised to find
that the idea has its defenders already, and
when Mr.. Blaine has made his defense on
paper, and has caused the American eagle
to shrek after the customary manner, we
expect that he will have still more converts.
For all this, however, it is certain that
Mr.. Blaines gorgeous conception is as for
eign to the duties he recently undertook as
anything could well be, and that if he had
retained his position in the State depart
ment he would have got the country into
serious difficulties abroad is equally clear.
He seems to have thought that it was his
peculiar role to give the country a
"vigorous" foreign policy and his
notion of that was to stir up all tee
European Governments, get into as many
quarrels as possible, talk as loudly as he
could, and let the consequences take care
of themselves. As the case stands nothing
but humiliation could have come of this
kind OF policy. In fact humiliation has
come of it already, for President Arthur
has been obliged to change the whole pro.
gramme with undignifed suddenness, and
to tell all the foreign powers that Mr.
Blaine did not really mean what be said,
or that he did not understand what he
said. This is the result of introducing the
tactics of the stump into the Cabinet.
Demagogism does not make good prepar-
alton for diplomacy, whatever some peo-
pie may think, and foreign policy which
is based upon search for gorgeous effects
is tolerably certain to come to grief. Just
now the only consolation is that Mr.. Blaine
was superseded bsfore he had done any ire
, parable mischief, but he has nevertheless
afforded shocking example to his type OF
statesmen.
THE SHIP RAILWAY.
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