Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1885-04-09
Our Foreign Policy.


Mr.. James F. Colby, of New Haven,
Conn.,. in an ably written article in the
Independent says truly that national
interests will soon compel the United
States to define anew its foreign policy.
Our geographical position making it
possible to avoid entangling alliances.
the first administration wisely adopted
the policy of strict attention TO domes-
tic affairs, steady avoidance of foreign
complications, and firm insistence that
the powers of one hemisphere shall not
NEEDLE in the politics of the other. The
policy thus inaugurated was followed
by successive administrations for more
than three-quarters of century. 1t
contributed immeasurably to our peace
and prosperity, and has made the United
States the great neutral power of the
world Despite the strong presumption
thus raised in its favor, during the past
eight years the germs of a new foreign
policy have appeared. Mr.. Evarts in
terfered in Egyptian affairs; then Mr..
Blaine in the Chilli Peruvian war; and
the United States was represented in a
European Conference, engaged in par
titioning Central Africa, and the Senate
was recently discussing the expediency
of an alliance of vague if not unlimited
liability with Nicaragua. In view of
the rapid development of these diplo-
matte germs, the present administration
can hardly avoid choosing between
definite abandonment, or an express
reatiirmation of our traditional foreign
policy. Possibly the time may come
when we shall have more to gain than
to lose by entering the European con-
cert; but the proof ought to be conclu-
sive and our Navy powerful; for our
primary interest is still, and must con-
tinue to be, in America, and snch action
will give the states of the Old World
more than color of right to interfere
in Panama and Nicaragua. Advocates
of spirited foreign policv," and of
an EXTENSION of our political inhu-
ence," say or imply that our Secretary
of State can be useful only by meddling
in foreign politics. There are enough
unsettled questions of international pol
icy to keep Secretary Bayard out of
mischief for the next four years. For
instance: the prevention of fraudulent
naturalization; the status of American
women who marry foreigners, and of
children born in a foreign country of
American parents; the protection of
our carrying trade; an extension of the
Extradition Remedy; the prevention of
the importation of criminals and pau
pers into the United States; an inter-
national copyright, and others ''too num-
Gus to mention" While these ques-
tions remain unsettled, there is ample
scope for the new Secretary of State to
exercise his diplomacy without med
ding in foreign politics. AS Mr.. Colby
suggests. ''the extension of our foreign
commerce will make it increasingly
difficult in practice to avoid all entang-
ling alliances, but it will be well for the
country, when urged to rush into inter-
national politics, to remember that
almost the last official utterance of its
distinguished and experienced diplo-
matist, the late George p. Marsh, was
hope that the vastly greater interests
of our internal commerce, industry and
government may not be sacrificed to
considerations connected with our for
eign policy