The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-06-08
THE LAURELs OF sTATEsMANsHIP.

President Harrison, in his New York
World interview, described the Blaine men
as disappointed Office seekers" and
Blaine himself as "a borrower of the
laurels of craftsmanship" This slur of
the president was publicly Endorsed by
Acknowledgement Miller and Secretary
Foster of the cabinet Mr.. Blaine showed
his resentment at this unprovoked attack
of the administration by absenting him
self from the cabinet meeting of May 81.
and on Saturday, June 4, he resigned.
This imputation on the part Of the presi-
dent and his cabinet cronies that Mr..
Blaine had disingenuously borrowed, or
rather stolen. from him 1.-THE laurels Of
statesmanship" was not only an impolitic
assertion, but it was untrue.
Mr.. Blaine's laurels are all his own;
earned by his own hand directed by his
vigorous, acute and versatile brain. Mr..
Blaine in his later correspondence with
Lord Salisbury concerning the Bering sea
question, inquired whether the right of
selfpreservation and common humanity
and Justice do not extend on the ocean be-
yond the three-mile limit; in other
words, whether civilized nations cannot
protect, even in the open seas. the lives of
valuable animals. harmless in themselves,
and which confer q revenue on the United
States and give occupation to several thou
sand people in England in dyeing and cur
ing the skins before they are ready for CON-
mercer Mr.. Blaine put the most stress
upon the moral argument of common
interest and general utility. This part of
the question, alone Offering any prospect
of a conclusion favorable to the United
States, is barely touched the by treaty,
which lays most stress upon points concern
ing our alleged right to exclusive jurisdic-
ton over the waters of Boring sea, the very
point that Mr.. Blaine was too acute to
make the main question at issue, because
he saw we were weakest on this side of
the controversy. This unfortunate mis-
take was committed by President Har-
rison, who, when he took the treaty
negotiations into his own hands, practi-
cally abandoned Mr.. Blaine's line of contro-
versy, which put the most stress
upon the moral argument, the argument
of common interest and general
utility. The New York Sun points out
that the defect of the treaty, which the
Senate recently ratified, is failure to pre-
sent the main question at issue as origi-
nally enuncisted and pressed with great
force by Mr.. Blaine and was this effect
due 70 the error committed by President
Harrison.
The truth is that the credit of the conduct
OF foreign affairs and the introduction OF
reciprocity belongs to Mr.. Blaine and not
10 President Harrison. The date of the
letter of Mr.. Blaine. urging upon Mr..
Mckinley aud his committee the incorpo-
ration Of the reciprocity clause in the tar.
i'll, clearly proves that the ides and the
argument were all Baine's work.
The Beriug sea negotiations were all
Blaine's work until President Harrison
took the negotiations into his own hands.
President Harrison's interference in the
Chile controversy came near placing our
government in the disgrsceful position Of
great power playing the part of a bully
to q small weak power, when We were
HQUuO Nv every SNlA7ASCEaAtDh OF h0nDr 70
treat Chile as considerably as we would
have treated England. France or Germany
had our sailors been mobbed in Liverpool
Rrest or Bremen. 1t IS clear that the
brightest !surels Of statesmsuship in Mr..
Harrison's administration have not been
borrowed hy Mr.. Blaine; they belong IA
Mr.. Blaine. The weakness of Mr. Harri
son IS well as has strength was seen N hi.
Chile war" message; he argued his case
Ike an acute prosecuting attorney, while
Mr.. Blaine treated il like sn acute, adroit
and intelligent diplomstist.
Its true that Mr.. L. sine gave rs the mag
nifeent scheme OF reciprocity. which ha:
saved 90 the people $50 90 coo of taxation
here. and 10 thelr exports half as much
more in the foreign countries where they
are sent. 1t has extended our foreign
trade not less than 49, oQQ. 90, AMI prom.