, 1896-03-26
THURSDAY, MARCH &c, 1896.
IS VENEZUELA SNUBBING US?

Three months ago. when President
Cleveland was breathing fire and
slaughter over the Venezuela bound
ary, the weaker-minded republican
journals played an hysteric obligato to
gans danced a frenzied ghost-dance
around the wickiup of Sitting Grover.
At the time, the Argonaut va forced
to sound a observation-disclosures
lican obligato. We said that we did
not believe the Monroe doctrine had
anything whatever to do with the
Venezuela boundary: that even if it
had. there was scarcely a well-detined
boundary in all South America; that
the United States had better business
than backing up the boundary disputes
anu unpaid dabts of greaser republics;
that they were none of them worth go.
ing to war about; ,hat even if they
were, we had nothing to go to var
with; that before we talked of war, we
had better get a few things to wage
war with; and finally, it was extremely
probable, before the affair vas yer,
that Venezuela would come to terms
with Great Britain, and ignore the
United States.
1t required some moral courage to
express such sentiments when appar-
emily the entire nation, from the eX-
ecutive down to the press. was Shrek
ing for war. But the Argonaut did not
hesitate to express its honest opinions
then. and it has HAD no occasion to
change them since. We think, how
ever, that there has been a marked
change in public opinion-if it even
was in favor of going to war over a
boundary dispute in a distant Spanish
American republic. which we still do
not believe. The clamor for war was
principally in congress-, in daily news.
papers, and in the cheap variety the
a~tres-which all seem at present to be
on about the same level intellectually.
But what we wish to point out is
this: We remarked last December,
when Mr.. Cleveland's bellicose mes
sage astonished the world, that it was
extremely probable LORD Salisbury
would eventually settle the matter by
dealing directly with Crespo. the presi-
dent OF Venezuela; that Spanish-Amer.
lean presidents were so cheap that you
could buy them by the bunch; that
Crespo and his predecessor. Guzman
Blanco. were VIGOROUSLY corrupt, even
in that corrupt country: and that fix
ing things" with a greaser president
with an itching palm was so much
cheaper than fighting the United
States that Great Britain would Ger.
tainly FIX things" with Crespo.
From the latest dispatches, it would
as II our prophecy were coming
to pass. A London cable Of March 18th
says that at is understood here today
that Senior Andrade, the Venezuelan
minister at Washington, has decided
to recognize the Uruan incident as n
separate question, and hopes are ex-
pressed that this entente will lead to
an agreement upon a scheme for the
settlement Of the boundary dispute by
direct negotiations between Great Bril-
tain and Venezuela" This means the
snubbing of the United States. If
Venezuela ignores us in the negotia-
lions, the United States can do moth
ing. After having threatened to lick
Great Britain because she would not
negotiate with Venezuela, we certain
ly can not now threaten to lick" Ven
ezuela because she will negotiate with
Great Britain. II these two countries
now go on and settle their dispute
without any regard to the United
States, what becomes of Mr.. Cleye,
lands threat of war? What becomes
OF his boundary commission? If Vene-
zuela agrees on a boundary with Great
Britain which does not conform to the
findings OF Mr.. Cleveland's boundary
commission, what shall we do? De-
clare war on Great Britain? Or on
Venezuela? Or on both? 1t would
certainly seem, in that event, as though
we ought to lick" somebody.
Mr.. C%leveland's war message has al
ready involved us in many absurdities,
and 1t is quite on the cards that the &C,
ton OF our interesting protege, Vene-
zuela, may force the United States into
a most humiliating position before the
world.-Argonaut-