The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1896-05-06
TWO DIPLOMATIC SNARLS I!
Our Governments QuarrelS With France
and Germany.
VIGOROUS ATTITUDES SUSTAINED.
In the Cattle Controversy With France and
the Arrest of Mr. Stern in Germany
Both Premiers Gresham and olney
Acted Promptly and Boldly

whole of the correspondence which the
United States had during the last year
with the countries of Europe which cor
respondonce is just now becoming public
property through advance sheets of the
United States red book, is there exhibited |
more vigorous insistence upon the rights
of Americans than in the course of the |
negotiations with France respecting the ex.
clusion by the government of that country |
of American cattle. The president him
self dictated a small but most important
portion of the correspondence in its earlier |
stages, and the concluding chapters, con-
tributed by Secretary Olney, sweep away
like cobwebs the speclous explanations put
forward to justify the exclusion, and make
it plain that retaliation may be expected
If the unjust restrictions are not abated or
justified.
As far back as March of last year, just
after the fact that the exclusion order had
been issued was made known to the state
department through Mr.. Viguaud our
charge at Paris, Secretary Gresham cabled
that officer that he had failed to state the
reasons for it's issue; that the secretary
of agriculture had asserted our cattle were
entirely free from disease and that 'in
view of these statements the pre- sident di-
rects that you inform the French govern
ment that the United States regard this
prohibition as "a needless and unfriendly
Interference with an important branch of
legitimate trade, and that you demonstrate
against it's enforcement.
The charge was apparently dismayed at
the strength of the message and sought to
delay it's delivery until an opportunity
could be had to consider the propriety of
modifying it, on account of other factors
entering into the negotiations, but an
other cable message from Secretary
Gresham three days later left him no re-
course, and when he did submit 1t, even
the French minister of foreign affairs, who
happened to be then as now in office ad-
mitted that the protest was a little fiery"
Finally Secretary Olney summed up the
position of his government in letter
dated Oct 12 last, winding up by an in
timation that if the French government
persisted in regarding it as necessary for
the protection of their cattle to exclude
the herds from the United States the
same process of reasoning would make it
equally essential to protection on cattle of
the United States that French cattle, es-
pecially the Norman breed which is now
attracting so much attention here, should
be excluded from the United States
From the correspondence, which closes
soon after this passage it appears that the
secretary was prevented from making
good this implied threat only owing to
representations that the new French min
istry would be more favorable to the Uni
ted States
The change of ministry in France
brought about more favorable disposi-
tion on the part of the French govern
| ond ba r,robi h{tio1, N "a fair
way to be removed when the printed cor
respondence closed on Nov. IA, 1895.
Some very highly spirited correspon-
dence passed last summer between Secre-
tary Olney and the German ambassador
at Washington, Baron Thielman, grow
ing out of the harsh treatment accorded
to New York business man, Louis Stern,
by the Bavarian authorities, and while
the case was not of itself great Importance
it seemed for time to put strain be-
tween relations all around.
AS was shown at the time Mr. Stern,
then at Kissengen, resented what he re-
garded as insolence exhibited by petty
official of the Kissengen baths, and was
arrested therefor, sentenced to two weeks
Imprisonment and fined 800 marks. The
case terminated by the forfeiture of exces-
sive bail of So 900 marks exacted OF Mr.
Stern by the Bavarian government and
the refusal of the former to return TO Ger
many and serve sentence.
From the beginning the state depart
ment exerted itself with great vigor first
to insure Justice for Mr. Stern, and after
the passage of sentence to secure clemency
for him. In the course of the latter at
tempt Secretary Olney addressed note to
Baron Thielman, the German ambassador
here, in which he said that to him the pro-
ceedings against Stern seemed to have
been gratuitous and undeseryedly onerous
from the beginning, from the imposition
of the excessive bail to the final sentence
which added to fine the humiliation of a
1 personal imprisonment From the latter
Stern should be relieved, and in no posi-
BILE view of his case was any such chastise-
nent justified. Secretary Olney reminded
the ambassador that enstrangements OF
great nations had in the past grown up
from equally small beginnings
Probably no one was more surprised than
Secretary Olney at the reception accorded
his note, which was shown by the follow
ing note from the ambassador:
In reply to the views contained in your
note / hasten to say that l reject as en-
tirely unjustifled your excellencys criti-
fism of the sentence against Stern deliv.
cred by the court at Kissingen. So far as
the United States government desires to
approach the government of his majesty
the German emperor, in this matter, touch
ing one of its citizens, it must be left to il
to make such approach through the United
States ambassador at Berlin"
But the secretary's answer was to the
point, for taking up the note in detail he
disposed of the first point by maintaining
that all effort by the country of sufferer
for his relief is both legitimate and oblig-
atory. The position that judicial SEN
tence rendered in one country "however
absurd and iniquitous may not, with a
view to the necessary relief from It, be
criticized and characterized as it deserves
by the government of the country whose