The Saint Paul globe., 1896-12-14
IMPOSING ON THE MONROE DOC
TRINE.

1t has long been evident that the
greatest difficulties which our govern
ment has experienced in acting as me
diator in disputes to which some petty
South American state might be a party
would be the misconstraction which it
would be likely to place upon our own
action. These republics are 80 exceed
ingly bumptious that the moment they
find sympathy or assistance offered to
them from a source so influential they
are ready to conclude that this means
support for them, right or wrong, and to
presume upon it accordingly. We saw
this in the case of Nicaragua, whose
government had fiagrantly violated in
ternational usages, and, because it
knew that he United States was friend
3y to the Central American governments
and not overland toward England, re-
fused to pay the indemnity due, mag
lining that the United States would not
allow collection to be enforced A les
son was taught by the occupation of
Corinto; but there are other countries
which still have it to learn. This ap
pears to be the case with Venezuela.
The intervention Of the United States
was the only thing which saved that
republic from being practically annihi-
lated by Great Britain. But for our
action England would have taken pos
session of the entire lower valley Of
the Orinoco and all the valuable gold
bearing territory, leaving to the Vene-
zuelan government a scrap of land
which it would have been easy to alb
sorb by future aggression. We risked
the prospect of war with Great Britain
to prevent this in the interests of ab-
stract justice, and now comes the re-
port that Venezuela herself is in a
turmoil of resistance, because she, for
socth, is not to be represented on the
arbitration board, and is inclined to
reject the proffered olive branch.
1t would be good thing to impress
upon the Venezuelan authorities in the
strongest language that can be used
that we are through fighting their
quarrels; that, in truth, we never took
up their quarrel at all, but formulated
and insisted upon an application of a
principle of our own, enunciated long
ago in the Monroe doctrine Having
secured a recognition of that, our part
of the business is at an end. If Vene-
zuela chooses to reject the advantage
ly, by President CIeveland's administra-
ton, she need not look to us for rescue
from any future troubles that this may
bring upon her We have devoted our
attention so far principally to impress
sing upon the nations Of Europe the
validity of the Monroe doctrine and
the fact that we should insist upon its
observance. Our next task, apparently
w1a be to teach the other governments
of the American continent what the
Monroe doctrinA means.
1t does not mean that we hold our
selves responsible for any of their mis-
demeanors or presumptions. The pro-
test against the extension of European
authority on this continent was not
framed so much with reference to pro.
tectio2 Of inferior powers, as tc
the maN tenance Of our own dignity
and the guarding Of our own boun.
daries against hostile iencroachments
We entered into this dispute with
Great Britain, not because the mainte-
nance OF Venezuela's territorial integ
rity y-as of moment to us in itself
but because we could not permit Great
Britain to carry out successfully a pol
icy that would eventually make hel
master Of every inch of American sol
not included within the boundaries O,
the United States. This imposes supor
rs no obligation to protect state from
the consequences Of its own folly, or Il
object to the infliction upon it of sucl
chastisement as it may deserve. An,
american state that relies upon thu
Monroe doctrine as a protection to 1t IL
wrong doing will reckon without iti