The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1896-01-09
THE MONROE DOCTRINE
FAILURE CAUSED BY SPECULATION
The SOLICITORS Loan 4 Trust Com.
pany Makes an Assignment. IL
Holds Many Mortgages IN This
state and I'm Yakima.

Chicago Inter Ocean: In sermon,
Rev. DIR. Hall, pastor of the Fourth Pres
byterian church, Chicago, made a pas
sing alluson to the great American
principle, the Monroe doctrine, and it's
latest application. He characterized it
all as case of national vanity.
Either such language was striking in
stance of aphasia, or it betrayed re-
markable ignorance OF the facts in the
case. The charge, for such it amounted
to, was too serious, coming from clergy
man OF DR.. Halls high standing, to be
allowed to pass unnoticed. It was in
line with Professor Won Holst's charge
that the president is trying to he dicta-
tor. As we'll say that vanity prompted
the Boston tea party, and that the firing
on Sumter wounded our national vanity.
The truth is that no tenet OF national
faith and guide to national conduct
could be more free from pride, vanity
and greed, more thoroughly accordant
with the spirit of our Christian religion
than this Monroe doctrine, and the pres
ent application of it is worthy its origin
and history. The doctrine did not reach
it's maturity at once, and it is likely to
have phases of development not yet dis
closed, but from first to last it has occu-
pied a plane wholly above the low level
of ordinary international law. Was it
vanity that made the Good Samaritan
befriend the wayfarer who fell among
thieves? The Monroe doctrine is, In fact
one supreme instance Of the altruistic
principle, without any base alloy, applied
on an international scale. So true ia
this that some students of international
law, as it has been made by the nations
OF Europe, cannot understand why our
country should concern itself with the
Venezuela boundry. It does not make
the United States any smaller to have
that little faraway republic despoiled.
Perhaps DR.. Hall calls this feature of
Americanism vanity, because it is moi
something worse, and he has no con.
ception of anything better on 80 large
scale.
1t is now ~ years since the United
States served notice on the great powers
of continental Europe that the agreement
entered into by them at Paris, and called
by them the holy alliance, could not be
carried out, so far as it concerns its in.
tended application to America. At that
time all America was claimed by Europe,
with the single exception OF the United
States. There was only one nation in
all North and South America. All the
rest of the continent, from Greenland to
Patagonia, was claimed by Europe. The
holy alliance undertook to guarantee to
each of the powers whatever territory it
then possessed. Just about this time
Spanish-An,erica, from Mexico down.
and on both sides of the Andes, under
took to do what the United States had
done less than half a century before.
Hardly had the standard of revolt been
raised before the United States recognized
the independence OF the insurgents, and
in that connection served notice on all
whom it might concern that not only
should these revolted colonies be free and
independent, but there must be no en-
croachment on their territory. That, in
fine, was the Monroe doctrine of 1928,
and the Cleveland message OF 1892 simply
applies it to Venezuela.
1t is very strong optical illusion that
sees the suggestion OF peacock in all
this.