The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-28

| administration, Mr.. Gresham has had
to deal with perhaps more vexatious,
intricate and delicate diplomatic
affairs than has fallen to the share
of most secretaries of state. From
his long judicial experience he was
disposed to view every question from
the standpoint of exact and equal
justice. and the first consideration
with him was always absolute fair
ness; if his own country occupied a
false position in the matter he thought
it was his duty to set it right, even
! at a sacrifice of material interests as
it might appear at the time.
Such a course was certain to subject
him to public criticism, and he fully
realized this in advance. but was in
no respect deferred from doing what
he thought was right. This brought
| him face to face with the great ques-
ton of the hour at that time, the an
nexation of Hawaii. He had decided
views on this matter even before he
came into the cabinet, and it was up
on his recommendation that Presi-
dent Cleveland performed almost his
first official action by withdrawing
from the Se.-ate, in which it was
pending the annexation treaty ne
gotiated by Secretary Foster. Then
Mr.. Blount was sent to the islands to
make an official investigation, and
upon his report, the secretary made
his now celebrated recommendation
that the queen be restored, inasmuch
as she had been deposed by the action
of the officers of the United States.
When congress finally made known
its views, the secretary accepted
them for his government, but 1t can
not be discovered that he ever chang
ed his views as originally announced
as to the justice of the action he had
proposed.
Hawaiian Negotiations.
While he was deep in the Hawaiian
negotiations, Secretary Gresham was
obliged to suddenly give immediate at
tention to the Boring sea seal fisheries.
The arbitration arranged by his pre-
decessor was in full swing. Here was
another matter with which he was
not in harmony. He did not believe
that the arbitration would be success
full in the object aimed at by the
United States-namely, the protection
of the seals, but regardless of the out
come, he was forced to bring the Brit
ish government TO the removal OF the
modus vivendi or quick action to carry
out the award when 1t was announced,
in order to guard against the annihi-
lation of the seals. The British were
unwilling to do the first Of these
things, and it was only an exhibition
of all the strength of his character and
purpose he succeeded in hurrylng
through the British parliament an act
to give effect to the arbitration and
then securing the adoption of regula-
lions to keep off the poachers. By
clause in the Wilson tariff act, Con-
gress had swept away in a line all the
carefully constructed reciprocity trea-
ties negotiated by the preceding adj
ministration. This caused great anger
among the nations with which the
United States had such treaties, and
the storm fell upon Secretary Ores
hams head. Immediately there was
talk of retaliation and tariff wars. and
in some cases this was realized to
certain extent.
As n Diplomat.
Mr. Gresham's task was TO placate
the European powers and how skilfully
he did so, the printed correspondence
tells. He fairly amazed the Germans
and Austrians, used as they were to
the various ways of diplomacy by
frankly admitting that they were right
in claiming a remission of the differ
entail duties upon beet sugars, that
justice seemed to require this remis-
sion and he would do all that could
be done to make reparatio promise
which he faithfully endeavored to re-
deem to the last, and thereby
strengthened his own hands in. the
vexatious negotiations looking to the
removal Of the unjust and onerouS re-
strictions placed upon the importation
of American cattle and meats.
Another legacy from his predecessor
which Mr.. Gresham found very little
to his liking was the necessity for car
ing for the Samoan king, held inn
prisoned on the Sunday island by the
Germans. He wanted to repudiate the
nn1a .lr-ro Nv Iii
United States assumed a part of the
tripartite protectorate over Samoa, and
he worked hard to this end, and finally
succeeded in inducing President Cleve-
land to recommend TO Congress that
the United States withdraw from all
further participation in Samoan affairs. (
Much to His Credit.
Then, in the constructive side Of diplo-
macy, Mr.. Gresham had much to his |
credit. He did all that a foreign officer |
could to properly prevent the atrocities /
of the Japanese war; lost no opportunity /
at any stage to bring it to an end, and /
ultimately, when peace was restored, it /
was through the good offices of the AM
erican ministers to China and Japan, act
ing under Secretary Greshams instruc- I
tons, that the peace negotiations were /
initiated. All this was done. and made ,
clear to the world that the United States
est and from motives of humanity, not /
withstanding the temptations held out by
some Of the great European powers to act !
jointly with them from less worthy mo-
tives that might have brought a self
return. And while he was doing this
Secretary Gresham was also using his
good offices to prevent a war between
Mexico and Guatemala, both full OF
fighting spirit and difficult of restraint.
and in this he succeeded completely, al
though he was obliged to use very strong
representations to do so. While the
amount of money involved was insfgnih-
cant in the case of the claims of the
United States citizens against Venezuela,
Secretary Gresham managed through a
joint commission to secure a judicial an
nunciation of a doctrine that is of the
greatest Importance to the civilized world,
namely, that the government of that
country is responsible for the abuse or
ll-treatment, for financial redress of for
eigners, committed by insurgents.
Gresham's Americanism.
But the Americanism of the secretary
was shown in its brightest light in three
incidents that occurred during his admin
tstration, and the fact in two of the three
he had to contend with great powers in
dicates that he made no distinction when
the time came to claim rights for his own
country. The first of these cases, while
really of great Importance, for 1t amount
ed to a declaration to Europe that the
United States would not permit private
claims to be collected from American re-
publics where our citizens had pecuniary
interests. This was the case at San Do
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