The Irish standard., 1897-02-27
IIlsII

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himself so diplomattc, 70 stAtesmanlike
as Mr.. Olney. nm willing to trust to
him to see that we forfeit no atom Of our
self respect and our national honor. To
distrust, to fear the outcome. to say that
we fear England will get the best OF us,
is to admit that we are inferior to Eng
land, and to confess that the English
excel us in diplomacy, and Guido us in
craftsmanship, which we never ought to
admit. I do not fear that the American
people will be taken advantage OF by the
English people do not fear that the
English diplomats will entirely over
throw our American diplomacy and
cheat us out OF any just desert with
American patriotic statesmen watching
our interests. England has as much 70
fear as we have"
What confiding mind Mr.. Wyman
has, to be sure. He does not think Eng
land would overreach us in any way,
but the facts are she has always done so
whenever she could. She has shown
herself better master of diplomacy by
far than the American nation has ever
done. She has been trained to the bust
ness, or, rather, chicanery, while the
American people have been too busy
clearing the forests are accommodating
the almighty dollars. England over
reached us in the Alabama claims settle
ment-overreached us shamefnlly in
permitting only the payment to this
country of SIS ,000, 900 for the destruction
of thousands of millions of property and
the loss of tens of thousands of lives by
the prolongation of the war, brought
about by her blockade runners, which
were fitted out in British harbors for
the destruction of the American union.
Had we not submitted to that Geneva
award we could have, with propriety, re-
taliated upon England whenever she
might afterwards engage in struggle
the paltry sum we did we forever tied
Our hands. And after paying us SIS, 000,-
0n0 she claimed $5000,O00 as her due as
damages done to her fishery interests
and of course she got it, leaving us but
$40, 000, 600 with which to soothe our
selves for our material losses as we'll as
our compromise of national honor.
But this was not all. AS long as Rus
STA continued to own Alaska England
was very careful how she conducted her
self in Alaskan waters in regard to the
cauching of seals, but once that territory
became the property of the United States
England and Canada both began depre-
dations upon American rights and cap
to1red what seals wherever and whenever
they could. 1t was submitted to arbitra-
ton with the usual result-the United
States was denied the right to protect it's
own property and then as If to add insult
to injury this country allowed Canada
$500 900 for destroying our own prop
erty. And even this sum, unjust as the
whole of it was, did not result as mats
ter of computation or justice, for Secre-
tary Gresham just Jumped the mater and
gave Canada round sum" for destroy
ing or carrying away Uncle Sans prop
erty. But England goes even further.
She claims the most valuable portion OF
Alaska as her own. When Russia had it
she made no claim nor did she do SO
until long after the United States be-
came it's possessor, but as soon as 1t was
found to contain valuable minerals then
this Britisher, who is SO chiad-like and
bland, according to Mr.. Wyman, put out
his claw to rake it in. That will be a
matter of arbitration, too. under the
treaty should it be ratified, and the usual
result will follow-Americans will be left
to hold the bag. If we denied her that
claim she would point to the treaty and
we might look in each others faces and
come to a realization OF what fools we
had made Of ourselves and that England
had again got the better of us.
1t is feared that Mr. Wyman will never
make a Iallyrand He is too trusting In
dealing with nations to make SUCCESS
full diplomat.