Delaware gazette and state journal., 1895-12-26
WILMISGTON, THURSDAY, DEc. 20.
How Utterly Causeless War Over the
Venezuela Dispute Would BE.

How Utterly Causeless n War Over the
Venezuela Dispute Would BE.
At Harvard College, last Thursday,
Prof. Albert Bushnell Hart made the
following remarkable address to the
class in history of the United States,
numbering over 300 students. Prof.
Hart stated that the startling news from
Washington was too vitality important
to every one Of them to let it go un-
noticed, and he devoted his entire lee
ture to tho Venezuela matter.
Gentlemen, he said, if we we're not
dead sure that our Senators and Repre-
eentatives in Congress to-day were
clustering, without meaning anything
serious, we would not be where we are
at this moment. II we felt that they
were anything more than fabby-
minded politicians, courting popular
favor by iingo methods, we could not
contain ourselves as calmly as we do.
We have firm confidence in the belief
that the present agitation means abso-
lutely nothing, or at the best may he
political capital for. one side or the
other in our national politics. Did we
for one moment believe that war was
seriously threatened, did we believe
that the words contained in the Presi-
dents message and spoken in Congress-
were seriously and solemnly spoken aR
the voice of the nation, we should not
have slept calmly last night, we should
not have eaten breakfast this morning,
We should not have gone thus quietly
about our daily tasks. You would not
now be here in this room to hear me
lecture. You would have been out on
soldiers field drilling, and | would
not have been here to lecture to you.
[Applause And it's not because /
would be shouldering a musket that l
would not be here, but because il [
believed that war was seriously con-
templated for one moment, would now
be talking TO the Senators and Repre-
sentatives from Massachusetts, doing
my level best to keep them from plung-
ing the country into such cruel and
wanton foolishness. IApplause
did not mean, gentlemen, to make
you a stump speech; but ii seems to
me that in case like the present it is
the duty of every citizen of the United
States to have an intelligent knowledge
of the position which our country holds
in this controversy. am not talking
to you for the purpose Of exciting you
or arousing your feelings, but simply,
as we are all men here together, to
face the menace of war which lies be-
fore us and to ascertain to our own
satisfaction what is to be our position
in this present day, and what will be
our position as it goes down to history.
Are we justified in what we have done?
Are we justified in what we propose to
doH These are the questions we must
answer. II, then, we are going to
war, what are the grounds upon which
the United States must justify herself
for such a step?
In the first place, gentlemen, let me
say with emphasis that the present
case is not a case in which the Monroe
doctrine is involved. And | think |
can presume to say this with certainty,
because | have given great many
years to the study of this particular
doctrine in all its bearings, and as a
result of that study l am confident in
the truth of the assertion that the
present case cannot invoke the Monroe
doctrine to its defence.
The Monroe doctrine, to which 1
shall soon devote a whole lecture, was
pronounced by President Monroe when
the Spanish colonies in America were
in revolt from Spain and indications
pointed to the formation of European
league to champion the cause of Spain
against her colonies. And especially
it seemed that France was about to
step in to the aid of Spain, thus max
ing the American continent the arena
of European politics and European
plunder. Then it was that President
Monroe stepped forward and said that
we would not allow any such Interior
ence. Spain must herself regulate her
own affairs with her own colonies, and
any attempt on the part of any foreign
power to interfere in those relations
would be looked upon by the United
Staiy as a hostile act.
This is the Monroe doctrine, which
has been called in to support the posi-
tion Of the United States in the present
difficulties. As is very evident the
doctrine cannot do the work it is called
upon to do. Further than this, if the
Monroe doctrine has any bearing upon
the present controversy at all, its bear.
ing is directly against the United
States rather than in its favor For the
United States is now trying to do the
very thing which for the last forty and
fifty years it has urged that no power
should do, namely, interfering as a
third party in the quarrels between a
European state and an American state.
We are thus reversing our policy and
working against the very spirit of the
Monroe doctrine which we have dared
to call to our aid in this trouble.
say nothing about the controversy
as 70 whether the Monroe doctrine is
or is not international law. Interna-
tional law, as you we'll know, is moth
ing more or less than tho body of OBJ
served customs in the intercourse of
civilized nations. 1t makes little differ.
ence whether or not the Monore doc
trine is accepted by the nations of
Europe. 1t is enough that we accept
u and are ready to enforce its nrinci-
pies at the cost of war, with all the
bloodshed, sorrow and suffering that 90
with It. But we must be sure what
the Monroe doctrine is, what the prin-
ciples are for which il stands, and I
repeat. that those principles do not
enter into the present controversy, or
II they enter at all, they enter antagun-
lstic tC the position of the United
States rather than in her favor
Let us recognize then that if we 90
to war we are not doing so in defence
OF the Monroe doctrine. We must take
our stand upon some other basis of
right. And am not denying that
some other Just and righteous basis Of
war may be found at the bottom of this
present talk. Only, repoat. We must
as intelligent men and patriotic citi,
zens, be sure OF our grounds and thor
oughly aware Of the position which this
nation will hold before the other ia.
tions Of the world and before posteritv.
1t is most important that we Justify
our war before the worth II mn nretDn