Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-29
An Impression That 1t May Be
Evasive, Not Aggressive.
WILL AVOID A CRISIS IF POSSIBLE
Why He Wants an Alliance With
This Government.
NO TRADE TO BE MADE

The impression seems to prevail in official
and diplomatic circles that the reply Of
Lord Salisbury to Mr.. Olney's notes will
be different than indicated by the semi-offi-
cial utterances of the London papers. 1t is
believed that those utterances correctly rep
resented the attitude Lord Salisbury vas
disposed to take, but the impression is grow
ing that he Will think better of it, AMI give
either an evasive reply or refrain from any
aggressive course calculated to join the is
sue. 1t is quite possible that the British for
eign office did not feel sure at first that Mr..
Olney meant all that was said in the note.
There is well-known disposition on the part
of the British government to consider the
acts of the administration of the United
States during that period when the issues Of
a presidential campaign are being joined as
purely buncombe, for home consumption. 1t
is we'll understood in England that this ad-
minstrat.on would be greatly benefited il
IL could awake new popular issue before
the campaign of '6, and Lord Salisbury
may have been disposed to regard the pres
ent move in that Light. If so It is said he
mas been thoroughly undeceved and brought
TO a reaEZation of the fact that the attitude
taken in the Olney letter is the one that the
department intends to occupy, and that
peremptory rejection of it would inevitably
lead to trouble.
Will Avoid Crisis il Possible.
1t is not certain that this will lead LORD
Salisbury TO a more pacific policy, but the
reasons why Great Britain should not seek
conflict with the United States are re-
garded as potent enough to cause him to
avoid crisis if possible. The recently more
conci.atory tone of the London press and :ne
manifest desire of Lord Salisbury to get con-
SHERATON by this country of his dreamed-of
alllance are looked upon as nd.cat:ny a NOS
S.pie inodihcat:on of h. first Infections The
fhn r.N1ia Af ID
ana the complications it may involve NAV
tend to make Great Britain more concilia.
tory toward the United States
II is very well understood here now that
l,ord salisbury would yield great deal in
an boundary disputed if there Were any
nope OF securing an alliance with The
United States which would relieve her
iron possible embarrassments with other
powers 1t has become evidentSs til,t the
doctrine of no entangling alliances Inv
the United States is even less to her lik-.
ing than is The Monroe doctrine If this
government would waive the first SO far as
20 1o:n with Great Britain, the other doc
tf.ne would be readily accepted
No Purpose to Trade.
1t is understood. however that he ad.
m:n-stration is not interested in this
phase OF the question, any more than as IL
indicates that the British government is
rot anxious to have a conflict with us
There is no purpose to make trade for
the recognition of the Monroe doctrine
as lar as the Venezuelan boundary dis
pute is concerned, this country has no in
terest in securing concession of territory
to Venezuela if that territory belongs to
Great Britain, but Qbly is seeing that Great
Br'tain doss not take what she cannot es-
tabiish her right to. 1t is the principle
and not the possession, that is being con.
tended for. If Lord Salisbury insists that
he is not called upon 10 answer to us for
the validity of title before appropriating
the disputed territory, that Will directly
join the issue made by the Secretary Of
State. 1t is irs sted that there is no uues-
ton about the vigorous course of the ad-
minstration in that event.
1t is insisted also that this main issue will
rot be permitted TO be clouded, nor even
eVaded, unless the evasion amounts to a
recognition of the position of the United
States.
No Crisis Before Congress Meets.
Whatever the reply of Lord Salisbury
nay be, however, no actual crisis can
arise before the meeting of Congress. The
reply will probably call for a rejo:nder
which will be final, and the adn,inistra-
tons position will be firmly fixed subject
to the approval or d.sapproval of Con-
sress. There is no probability that any
part of the correspondence VIII be given
publicity by the department until Con-
gress meets when it will all be made the
subject of a SPECIAL message. Unless tho
fact is disclosed in London, it is improb-
able that even the receipt of the reply will
be announced acknowledged before the
correspondence is sent to Congress