Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-03-21
THEIR HANDS FULL
Diplomatic Complications Very
Tangled just at Present.
SECRETARY GREsHANs BUSY TINE

and Hawaii to Solve the State Depart
ment Talent Has Steady Job-The Case
Of Thufston ~ Viewed from Different
POints-Romero on the Contention Re-
tween Mexico and Guatemala-Biast
from . Spanish Editor.
WASHINGTON, March 2l.-The Central
American, complications. the Mexico
Guatemala difficulty and the Spanish
insult to Old Glory are the rcigning sem
break between Gresham and the Hawaii-
al minister. Between them all it would
seem that our diplomatic talent in the
state department would find 'foemen
worthy Of its STEEL" CT something to that
effect. The alleged British demand on
Nicaragua, has fallen somewhat into the
background, because there is shrew6
suspicion that the telegram from Man.
aqua had its origin in the United states,
and that John Bull has not made any
such peremptory demand. That IS the
BELIEF expressed by good many Of the
diplomats.
Looks Like War in Mexico.
1t begins to look as though it will be
impossible to avert war between Mexico
and Guatemala Opinion is freely ex-
pressed in diplomatic circles here that
serious trouble is almost certain to result.
Senor Romero, the Mexican minister, ex-
presses a lively hope that the points in
dispute may be settled, and SO do the dip
lomats from Guatemala, but this hope Is
not generally entertained. A war between
those two countries can have only one
termination. 1t will end in the extension
Of the boundaries Of Mexico farther south,
the subjugation Of the strongest Central
American country, and its elimination
from the map OF independent nations. 1t
has long been the dream Of Mexico to ac-
quire Central America, and she seems to
be in the way of a realization Of the ma
tional desire. The war spirit is said to
have again burst out in Mexico with in
creased fury.
Que stion Between the Countries.
According to Mexican Minister Romero:
''Thc pending question between Mexico
and Guatemala is u very plain one. Each
country claims that under the dc facto
line existing before the treaty of 1882 she
was in possession of the disputed terri
tory, and both agree that it belongs to
Mexico under the line marked by the
treaty As the treaty line is paramount
Mexico considered the action of Guate-
snala in sending an armed force to destroy
the log camps established there by Mex
leans who were cutting wood under
grants OF the Me x;can government, seize
the logs and arrest the men, an unwar-
rantcd invasion of her territory and has
asked Guatemala to apologize for it, and
to pay an indemnity to the victims of the
outrage"
The Case Of Thurston Of Hawaii.
And now we come to the Hawaiian mat
ter. There is no doubt that Thurston's
recall has been asked-and that long
en- ugh ago to have received a reply-be-
cause, as alleged, ThurstOn told the re-
porters something before he gave the in
formation TO the state department. This
is variously declared to be always wrong,
and wrong only according to what he
told. Senator Hale has been among the
most Jealous defenders Of the Hawaiian
republic on the flo, T, of the senate but
he does not support Thurston in the mat
ter of the minister's reported recall at the
instance Of Secretary Gresham on the
facts SO far rs developed. II Thurston
published diplomatic correspondence be-
fore giving it to the state department,
says Hale, he was clearly in the wrong.
He Likes the Dole Republic.
Il had hoped" he continued, that
nothing more would happen to strain our
re ations with the Dele government, for 1
b eve it is a good government, and that
tn Hawaiians have republic which is
such in fact as well as in name-not like
these Central American republics, includ-
ing Mexico, which are nothing but mill
tary despotisms" 1t really makes little
difference whether Thurston has violated
official etiquette or not, il he is persona
non grata he must 60 He must also 60
whether the Dole government likes it or
not. But if it doesn't like it Dole will
simply omit to accredit another person to
succeed Thurston and in this case Willis,
our minister to Hawaii, will be obliged to
take leave of absence just rs Porter. our
minister to Italy, did when Baron Fava
was recalled as the result of the killing of
his fellow countrymen in New Orleans.