Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-02-22
shall we Have a Jingo Policyp

shall We Have a J1n8O FOncy?
We are told that with the advent of
James G. Blaine at the head of the State
Department, we may lock for vigorous
foreign policy. AS the programme is
marked out we are to take hand in
Haytien affairs and teach Bismarck a
trick or two in Samoan matters. AS a
matter of brevity, we may put it, that
Blaine's conduct of our foreign affairs is
to be Jingoish. That may be, and then
again it may not be. While Blaine
never missed an opportunity to twist the
tail of the British lion when he was Rep
resentative and Senator in Congress he
cooed you as gently as any sucking dove,
when be was the head of Garfield's Cabi-
net. At that time there were some very
complicated questions between Great
Britain and the United States, amongst
them being the arbitrary arrest of num-
ber of American citizens, whom the Eng
lish Government chose to suspect of Fem
ianism and to imprison. Here was Mr..
Blaine's grand. chance to do the Jingo
act; but, instead of availing him.
self of it, he was as Indifferent to
the Just complaints of imprisoned Am
erican citizens as was Mr.. Lowell, our
then Minister to the Court of st. James,
himself. Sweeney and others languished
in British jails till Mr.. Frelinghuysen
replaced the Plumed Knight as Secretary
of State in President Arthur's cabinet.
There was no protense of Jingoism about
the new Secretary Of State, but he
shortly made an energetic representation
to the English Government which re-
quilted in the release of these uniustly
imprisoned American citizens. What
Mr.. Blaine may say and do in an ire
sponsible position is by no means an in
dication of what he would say or do
when clothed with the high functions of
the foreign arm of the executive. Doubt
less much Of Mr.. Bayard's appearance of
hesitation in dealing with the Samoan
question has been owing to delicate
consideration for the incoming admins
tration. 1t is only courteous on the part
of the retiring President and Cabinet not
to embarrass their successors. But fair
minded people, of all politics, will
remember that Mr.. Cleveland has main
tanned the rights and dignity of the
American name in every issue which has
arisen in cur foreign relations. Shortly
after Democratic accession to power, the
Aspinwall embroglio arose, and it was
handled with decision and spirit. The
action of the administration in the Hay
tien diflic ulty was equally prompt and
satisfactory. There has been no Jingo-
ism about the Government OF the United
States during the past four years, but
there has been firm and resolute main
tenance of our rights. If Mr.. Blaine
shall have committed as few blunders
while at the head of Mr.. Harrison's
Cabinet as can be charged to the account
of Mr.. Bayard, the country and his party
will have cause to congratulate him. Mr..
Bayard has not been an International
fire-eater, but he has maintained the
dignity of the American name unim-
paired. He has undoubtedly not proved
himself great Secretary of State, of the
Webster or Marcy order, but then he has
been an eminently safe one. Almost every
one is looking to the Plumed Knight for
some grand diplomatic coup dstheatre.
Expectations are highly wrought. II,
after all, he should turn out to be a
humdrum official, the
anti-climax will be 30 violent as to prac-
tically end his political career. And yet
it would be far better for the United
States that Blaine should turn out to be
a sort of diplomatic Bombastes-danger-
GUS only with his mouth-than that this
country should be plunged into interna-
tional complications and, perhaps, into
war.