The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-10
THE MESSAGE ON FOREIGN POLICY

There is little in the Presidents message
on our relations with foreign powers that
has the merit of novelty Thanks to the
newspapers and to the enterprise of inter
viewers diplomacy has now no secrets.
Everything that is done or said between
nations is public property from the start
Thus the negotiations on the Behrng Sea
question, on the Canadian boundary, on the
exclusion of American pork from the CONT
mental countries of Europe, on the lynching
affair at New Orleans, on the Chilean out
RACES. on the case of the Itata, on the Next
can treaty. on the Pan-American Confer
ence, are all twice-tOld tales 10 the average
newspaper reader for points that are new
he will have to refer to those passages IN
the message which refer to Russia, Guiana,
China. and the state of the law touching the
status of foreigners in this country.
The paragraph which deals with the effect
of Russian anti-Semitic legislation on immi-
grafton into this country presents views
which are striking and new. The President
says that the new Russian orders of exile
issued against the Jews will have the effect
of flooding this country with a million Rus
sian Jews within few years. These people
will come here, for the most part without
money. without knowledge of our language,
and without a mechanical trade. They can
not but find it difficult to earn living here,
aad they must crowd the labor market, so
as to impair the living of the working class
that is now in the country. The President
puts it to the Emperor whether this is fair
to the United States, and whether it is wise
to provoke retaliatory legislation by Con-
gress looking to the exclusion of Russian
refugees. This is point of view in which
the subject has not hitherto been considered
at st. Petersburg 1t may lead to serious
reflection.
The paragraph which refers to the dis.
pute between Great Britain and Venezuela
over the boundary of British Guiana does
not contain any new statements Of fact, but
its references 10 the application of the Mon
roe doctrine to the pending controversy are
more pointed than former Presidential
messages have been. The simple fact is
that Great Britain. relying upon her SUI
perior strength, has encroached upon the
territory of Venezuela and occupies large
tract thereof, including some valuable gold
mines, in spite of the protest of the weaker
nation; and the question which arises is
whether the Monroe doctrine does not re-
quire the United States to insist upon the
appointment of a commission to delimit
the disputed frontier. The controversy is
not new; it was in existence twelve years
ago; but President Harrison now says it is
time it were closed In that opinion the
American people viii agree with him, the
more readily because everybody realizes
| that England would not fight for a slice of
Venezuela.
In regard to China, the President finds
| fault with the Government at Picking for
| refusing 10 receive Mr.. Blair. Nothing is
| better settled by law and usage than that a
nation has a right to refuse to receive a
| diplomatic agent who. in the language Of
| the old writer's, is persona non grata. 1t
was in reliance on that doctrine that Gen.
| eral Grant declined to recognize NJ Gaia
cay as Minister from Russia, after he had
made himself offensive at Washington, and
that Austria refused to receive the person
whom Mr. Cleveland had appointed Min
| lister to Vienna.
The Presidents suggestion that offenses
against the persons of Foreigners, citizens OF
countries with which the United States
| have treaties, should be triabe in United
| States courts will command general APP
| proval. AS the law now stands, if citizen
owes money to a foreigner the latter may
sue in the United States courts. But if a
citizen kills a foreigner the State courts
! nave exclusive JURISDICTION over the case.
| This appears TO involve an ineongruity A
treaty concluded by the Government of the
| United States is the law of the land, and the
! Government is bound to execute 1t like any
| other law; but if its execution must be con-
! fded to State courts, it will be evaded when-
ever popular passion or prejudice is reused
against particular nationality. This places
| the Government in the position of being I'M
| able to fulfill its treaty obligations and of
| having to confess the fact to the foreign
| world.
| We may see differently in the law If
turned against ourselves in the pending con-
troversy with Chile. In that affair Val
paraiso mob killed and wounded a number
of American sailors. MIR. Harrison de-
manded satisfaction. To that the Chileans
replied that the criminal courts of Valpa-
raise had exclusive jurisdiction over the
alleged crime and that they were nvestigal-
ing the matter. The Washington authoritie
retorted, In substance, that they had moth
| ing to do with the courts at Valparaiso
| American citizens had been killed and they
! insisted or their demand for reparation. To
that contention Chile has made no reply and
the case rests there. In the present state OF
public feeling at Valparaiso it is possible
that the courts may End that the Americans
were the aggressors in the matter and that
the police killed them in self-defenBe
|