The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1895-04-27
THE MONROE DOCTRINE.

A New Light Thrown Upon an Old Idea
Senator David b. Hill interchangeable
Declares that the Popular Understanding
of the Much-yaunted Doctrine Is En-
roneous-Whst It Really Does Mean.
ALBANY, N. ", April EN- view OF
the general interest which Is now be-
ing attracted to the subject OF this
country's relations with foreign gov
ernments, and especially the discus
sion now in progress regarding
true features of the much-talked OF
Monroe doctrine, a representative OF
the United Press interviewed nat
Hill at his residence, "Nolferts
Roost," in the suburbs of this city
upon this interesting topic. senator
Hill was asked. among other things,
whether experts in public law think
the Monroe doctrine has given the
United States a special right, not gwen
by the Spanish-American. He an
swered that he had never thought
about it.
But does not the Monroe doctrine"
was inquired, declare the United
States cannot allow any Spanish
American republic on this continent
" uG OppTtSSeu. UT u uCoNAhl w.
trolled by a European state?'
THAT would not have referred" he
said, ito a legitimate dispute such as
we, or any other government might
have tomorrow with a Spanish-Amer-
lean state. 1t protested against using
such n controversy with an intention
to increase European political dominion
on this hemisphere, or control the
destiny of an American state or trans
fer a colony like Cuba to a new
European owner, but not change what
was then the law of nations. The es-
ta~blishment, a year or two before 1923,
of more than a dozen independent
states at the south of us, naturally
forced the United States into new
lines of thought and action. John
Quincy Adams, our then minister of
foreign affairs, had the eyes to discern
it. Entangiing alliances or this / d
of the ocean were to be avoided so far
as could be. We had to maintain i'm
partial neutrality in the affairs of the
new and independent Spanish-Ameri-
can states and suppress as we
should to-day piratical expedi-
tions from our shores against any OF
them, or any remaining European
colony. The Monroe doctrine has ex-
erted a powerful influence at home
and abroad in regard to Cuba, Yucca
tan, Nicaragua and its tribe of Mo-
squito Indians invented byEngland) a
Napoleonic dynasty set up thirty years
ago in Mexico and dominion over all
the regions of projected, interoceanic
canals"
but was not the Monroe declaration
to congress a national pledge, a guar
antee of Intervention, forcible if need
be, in behalfof each Spanish-American
republic whenever. in our opinion, OPP
pressed by an European state?"
Il think not, he replied. Not other-
wise, certainly, than if Chilli should
Cypress Peru or Mexico should be I'M
reasonable in dealing with Guatemala.
Congress has never affirmed the Mon
roe doctrine. You remember that,
when President Monroe made his
declaration a congress was convened by
Bolivia at Panama for the considera-
ton and discussion of an American
alliance to enforce the declaration,
there was substantial concurrence of
opinion between President John
Quincy Adams, who had formu-
lated the Monroe doctrine and the
members of the senate and house,
especially the democrats, including
Senator VanBuren, of New York, par
ticipating in a long debate, that the
declaration did not pledge the United
States to forever thereafter prevent a
European power from interfering with
the independence OF form of govern
ment of a Central American state"
$50 you think that President Mon
roe has the reputation of having given
his name to a rule of conduct by the
United States for which neither he
nor Mr.. Adams contended?-
Precisely that" the senator an
swered, the doctrine cannot be for
mulated in. a treaty or a statute,
yet its influence has been, is and
ought to be very great. Discrimina-
ton should, however, be made between
Legitimate disputes and illegitimate
purposes behind disputes.
I'm 1879 when the United States of
Colombia granted to Frenchmen a
concession for building and controlling
an interstate oceanic canal at Panama.
President Hayes did o intervene or
ask congress to intervene and congress
did not intervene to prevent the work.
"~1nterposing u good offices be-
tween England and Venezuela is one
thing, but debating to one or the other
in a peremptory way is a very differ
ent thing, unless it be a clear case Of
self-defense.
The reported conversations of our
minister at st. Petersburg, Mr.. Mid
dleton, concerning the Monroe loo
trine, with Emperor Nicholas and his
accessory in 1926, who was his brother,
the Emperor Alexander; the note
from Nerselrode, the notes from
Secretary Henry Clay on the same
subject to Bernsett, our minister
at Mexico, Everett at Madrid,
Rufus King at London and Brown at
Paris, pour a food of light on what
was in the mind of Mr.. Adams from
1922 to March 1929, when that incom-
parable man, Andrew J~ackson-my
ideal of an American president-began
to fill the sounding trump Of fame
The Monroe doctrine was. as l have al
ways thought, a part of that diplomacy
by Mr.. Adams successfully exerted IN.