The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-12-07
rs TO HmeriCd'S
Implied Arrogance
From the New York Sun.


N n assertion rln.lc the other cay in
IM the Hamburger Nachrichtcn may
Il\ possibly deserve some notice, be
I'M cause it has been for some years
understood that all the references
to foreign affairs appearing that nrwspa-
per have been inspired, If not actually
dictated. by Prince Bismarck The state
mont which we have in mind imputed
arrogance to the United States. and de-
clurcd it to be a political necessity to re-
bukc it, especially when directed against
Germany. Let us see what ground there
is for the charge.
It is certain that we have adhered un-
swervngly to the plan of action followed
by Washington during his tenure of the
Presidency, and commended by him to his
countrymcn in the farewell address.
From that time to this, we have never
intCrfcred i'm any quarrel between Euro
pcan powers although our cooperation
has been sought and, although in the
closing years of thc last century, there
were many Americans who believed that
our country was bound by the weight
lest obligations to support France against
Great Britain. We have never taken part
in any congress CT conference the pur-
pose of which was to alter the map of
Europe, or to rcadiust conflicting claims
of European powers. our commercial IN
tercsts may have been affected by the
decisions of such international tribunals,
but we have studously refrained from
any protest or rcmOnstrance, lest we
should thereby seem to connect ourselves,
however Indirectly. with the European
political system. Nor is this the limit
Of our srlf-impOsed isolation. Since the
establishment of our constitution we
have witnessed with indifference the par
titiOn among European powers of near
l, a., " pf f "A q
whole of farther India and of OceaniCa.
Even the insignificant section Of the west
| coast of Africa selected for the reception
| of our omancipated slaves is no part of
| the United States, but constitutes the
| Independent republic of Liberia.
0
As regards the American continent IT.
| self and the adjacent islands, our con-
| duct has uniformly been the reverse of
arrogant or self-seeking. During the long
| war OF the Spanish American colonies
| for Independence many of them would
| gladly have become members of our
| Union had not their advances to this
end been rcpellcd by our government. In
! 1903 we could have seized the Louisiana
| territory had we chosen to do so for
| France was then powcrless at sea, but
| we preferred to buy ii at "A price which
| even Napoleon considered adequate. Sub
| sequcntly we had but to stretch forth a
!
| stead Of that we purchased II at a sum,
| then deemed cXorbitant In the thirties,
| Yucatun, having revoted successfully
| from the Mexican Confederation, applied
! for admission TO our Union; we put aside
| the request, For ten years we rejected
| the prayers Of Texas for annexation, and
only granted them when it was known
that Great Britain was arranging an ac-
| commOdation between Mexico and the
Lone Star Republic, which would have
practically placed Texas under a British
| protcCtOratC. In the ensuing Mexican
war, although We occupied the City OF
| Mexico, ana might have annexed the
| whole Mexican republic had we 50 de-
sired, We withdrew our troops, and paid
a great sum of money for the Cession OF
| California and New Mexico, which were
already I'm our hands. For the relatively
Insignificant strip Of territory known as
the Gadsdcn Purchase, needed to round
out the former acquisition, We paid many
millions Of dollars. Did the Germans
treat France thus generously after theil
occupation Of Paris?
o
In our boundary controversies will
Great Britain, We had i'm the meantime
carried long-suffering and concession tC
| excess. on our northeastern frontier We
yielded much more of our rightful claim;
than We ought to have yielded and it /,
now known that the protests of the peo
pie of Maine against the mutilation o
their state were stifled to a large extent
| through the use of the secret service
fund by our state department, on oul
| northwestern frontier, II was undoubted
ly our duty, with an eye to the future, tC
fight with England sooner than surrcnd
cT any of the Pacific seaCuast south O
the parallel of 81 degrees 40 minutes; W,
did, however surrender all Of that val
uable territory which now constitutes
British Columbia. Was there any arrog
lnce in that?
| We pass 10 more recent proofs of oul
national indifference to territorial ag
| gran'.7emcnt. In Grants administration
we might have annexed Santo Domingo
or the Spanish-speakng half of the is
land of Hispanola, hut the United States
senate refused to sanction a treaty Il
that effect or even a subsequent treat,
giving MS control Of the Samana PENN
sula, After our civil war the Copenhagen
government proposed to sell to us IN,