Pike County press. (Milford, Pa.) 1895-1925, 1896-01-10
THESHOMBURGKLINE
SIR EDWARD CLARKE INSISTS THAT
ENGLAND MUST ARBlTRATE.


ENGLAND MUST ARBlTRATE.
Otherwise She VIII Precipitate a War
with the United states, In which She
win BE at Fauit-The Times Important
Concession.
LONDON. Jan. s.-Sir Edward Clarke,
speaking at Plymouth in referring to Ven.
ezuela, said:
ave must not be too impatient or angry
with the Monroe doctrine II we refused
60 arbitrate except outside the Shomburgk
line, we should have war with the United
States, and n war in which we should not
be right Each side must yield to some
extent. We must ignore the American
commission, but to say that a line fixed in
1910 is unalterable is TO adopt as un-
reasonable an attitude as the United States
adopted in President Cleveland's mes
sage"
He hoped, he said, that the government
would resume negotiations with Venezuela
direct, and that some mediator would be
found whose Judgment could be accepted
with honor by both countries. In that
case, he continued, we might be called
upon to bear taunts both here and in
America.
1t would not be pleasant to hear that we
had yielded after President Cleveland's
message, but he did not believe in bas-
tard honor, which feared to do Justice be-
cause justice had been demanded with in
suit OF menace. 1t was our business espe-
cially TO face the fearful calamity of war
with America to make up our minds to
what was right and to do the right calmly
and quietly regardless Of taunt, content
that we had helped to preserve peace by
Ihe only conduct worthy of great nation.
The close of Sir Edward Clarke's re-
marks was greeted with cheers
Arbitration or War.
The Chronicles Washington correspond
ent cables as follows: 81 once more re-
peat my solemn conviction that the over
whelming majority of the American peo-
pie will support their government in war
on behalf of the principle Of arbitration
where American interests are believed to
be involved. At the same time positively
reassert that the president and the cabinet
earnestly desire an amicable settlement,
and individual members Of the admins
tration confess that they fail to compre-
hend the reasons for England's attitude
of mere blunt refusal. In all the govern
ment departments here the situation Is re-
garded as very serious, despite every effort
made on behalf of peace"
Commenting on the dispatch, The
Chronicle said today: "The vital and alb
sorbing feature of the controversy is that
America desires arbitration, and we can
not refuse the request. 1t is slowly, We
hope surely, entering the minds of oul
statesmen that in order to do justice to the
American case we must look at the Mon
roe doctrine from the American point o.
view. Herein the hair splitting Of ingen
ious lawyers and academic essayists helps
very little. We have to take into account
deep rooted national sentiment which
has way Of getting itself recognized il
policy and in action without the sanction
of theoretical rules.
Some Notable Admissions.
"Lord Salisbury may urge this, that th'
American doctrine is not incorporated il
the code of international law. The Ameri
can answer is that what we call interna
tonal law is merely the customs observed
by European states in their relations will
each other which have been determined
by the dominant powers England hal
been foremost as a maker of internationa
law. 1t requires no exceptional gift Of per
ception TO see that the United States aspirt
to the same leading role in politics on tn,
American continent.
England filed Europe with glory anC
was herself a benefit to mankind in tn,
period of the Napoleonic wars. The inter
national law which is to govern the Amer
lean continent is in progress of formation
and we cannot shut our eyes to the fac
that since the United States are the dOmi
nant power on that continent they will
not fail to exercise that paramount in
fluence which is incidental to the position
The Times has a long article on tn
Monroe doctrine and the Venezuela bound
ary line. 1t makes an important conces
sion when it describes the Shomburgl
line as having no particular sanctity ant
as useful mainly for marking off the prac
tically settled from the unoccupied dis
tricts. BY suggesting that it ought not Il
be difficult to determine and exclude tn
districts actually occupied on either side
opens the way for arbitration Of tn
boundaries of the unsettled districts as
whole, without dealing with the Shom
burgk line at all. The precise method pro
posed by The Times is not important
what is significant is its concession tina
the Shomburgk line, which was Lor,
Salisbury's irreducible minimum, lack
the sanctity of fixed frontier of the Brit
ish empire. That was the line which Lor
Salisbury said could not be discussed, We
the leading English journal deals with
as though it were convenient geograph
ical expression, and argues that arbitra
tion could be arranged without referenc
to it,