The evening times., 1899-10-28
The Spectre of Intervention.

Reports that foreign diplomatists in
Washington are endeavoring to ascertain
what the attitude Of the United States will
be- in the event Of European meddling with
| the South African situation, are. strictly
! speaking, incorrect They have. however,
some foundation in truth There is not the
/ slightest necessity for any European rep
resentative to ask our Government how it
would view Intervention by one or more Of
the Continental powers in Great Britain's
domestic war. The whole resident corps
diplomatique is well advised that the
friendship which exist between America
and England, as well as important national
interests in the far East, and especially in
China, would operate to make this coun-
try look with grave disfavor upon any
scheme designed to hamper or obstruct
Great Britain in the war which has been
forced upon 1t by the Transvaal and Orange
States.
What anti British diplomatistS would
like TO know and probably are trying to
find out is, whether the inevitable attitude
of the United States will be passive and
merely protestant, or active and military.
1t is not likely that they will be gratified,
by any direct statement on this point, on
the part of the President or our Secretary
of State. They will have to be content
with such deductions as they may be able
to make from the known facts of public
sentiment. and of national interests.
The Spanish war brought us to the part
ing of the ways. as far as our international
policy and relations are concerned. The
entries made in the worlds record during
that period are ineradcable. They tell US
that but for Great Britain new Holy ALI
ance would have attempted the suppress
ion of our "pretensions," and compelleS
us either to forego our design to free Cuba.
or fight three or four allied powers of the
Old World. Since then the evidence has
been brought clearly and ominously home
to US. that the practical partition of the
Chinese Empire among the states of
Europe, means the exclusion OF our pro-
ductions from an area of vast proportions,
which promises to be one of the worlds
greatest future markets, and one the ad-
vantages of which it is necessary TO our
agricultural and industrial growth and
prosperity that We should share equally
with the most favored nation. The open
door" secured to us by treaties and COM
mercial arrangements with China is liable,
and. unless the movement be checked, is
certain to be slammed in our face. We
are compelled TO call a halt and to insist
that our trade rights, privileges, and cppor-
tunities shall not be injuriously affected
by or through political changes on the
Chinese coast.
The logic of the situation is that a COM
mon Anglo-Saxon policy and programme
will prevent the exclusion of American
and British commerce from the territory
still called the Chinese Empire while in
the absence of such an understanding and
such mutual support both might possibly
be shut out. In these circumstances any
attempt to weaken Great Britain, or to
threaten that government with entangle-
ments and complications which might
render it negligible quantity in connec-
tion with European movement to OBJ
struct American progress, would neces-
sarily be treated in Washington as an IN
friendly act, and probably would be re-
sented accordingly.
Il is our earnest desire to live at peace
with all nations. 1t is our firm determi-
nation to stand by a friend who has
earned our gratitude by protecting US from
the same hostile intervention that today
menaces Great Britain; and who, in re-
lation to the designs of Continental Eu-
rope, or some part of it, stands practically /
in the same position We do. In short, if |
the cabinets inimical to our kindred en-
pire do not wish to witness the firm es-
tablishment of the Anglo-Saxon alliance |
which has worried them SO much, their
proper course is to leave England alone,
and not to meddle with her while she is
busy with her own affairs, which are not
theirs, in South Africa.
An Analogy of ExnIut;ou