The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-06-11
DIPLOMACY.

There is reason to believe that the new
school of American diplomacy is making an
impression throughout the world and will
probably mark a new departure in inter-
national negotiations. The characteristics
of the new American school are honesty,
straightforwardness, absence of subterfuge
and chicanery. and stating honest purposes
in language that says what 1t means and
means what it says. This does not nee
essarily imply brusqueness or any lack of
courtesy and suavity of manner. 1t simply
implies a substitution of honesty for du-
plicity, of brevity and plain statement for
circumlocution and of businesslike direct
ness for p~hrasemaking. From time i'm
memorial diplomacy. as applied to inter-
national negotiations, has stood as the
representative of craft, Discrimination, du-
phcity, finesse and hypocrisy. The Amer
lean school proceeds on entirely different
lines and aims to accomplish by candor,
openness and honest methods what used to
be thought a~ttainable only by trickery and
guile.
Among the recent instances of the sue
cess of American diplomacy have been the
British-Venezuelan boundary dispute and
our peace treaty with Spain. In the future
it will be remembered that the United
States interviewed with a vigorous protest
against the threatened aggressions of Great
Britain, an assertion of the Monroe doc
trine and a suggestion that the boundary
dispute be submitted to arbitration. At first
Great Britain denied the right of the United
States to NEEDLE in the matter, declined to
take any advice on the subject, denied the
binding force of the Monroe doctrine and
secuted the idea of arbitration. In
the correspondence that ensued firm
irsistence and plain talk on the
part of the United States won
the day. and in the end the Monroe doctrine
was recognized and the boundary dispute
was submitted to arbitration. Again, when
it came to negotiating a treaty of peace
with Spain the Spanish commissioners be-
gan to use all the weapons of old-school
diplomacy-duplicity, Discrimination, ver-
bosity, etc. They were soon given to I'M
derstand that tie American commissioners
were there to talk business and do business,
and that they said what they meant and
meant what they said. This kind OF diplo-
macy was a revelation to the Spaniards,
ard 1T took them quite a little while to
grasp the idea. When they finally did so
they discovered that their o~ld-fashioned
methods were useless against the straight
forward methods of the Americans. and in
the end they almost recognized that honesty
Is the best policy. The Americans carried
| every important point of their contention.
The American method has had more than
the compliment of imitation, or, at least,
| approximation. by some other powers. In
1895 Lord Salisbury, realizing the Importance
| of a clearer definition of the relations be-
tween Great Britain and France, instructed
| the British ambassador in Paris to make
| such a definition. He did 1t in the form of
a speech delivered at an anniversary ban
| quet Of the British Chamber Of Commerce
in Paris on the evening of Dec. 6. 1898. He
| began his speech with a very high tribute
! to the diplomatic representatives of the
| United States. to whom he gave the credit
| of introducing ''the new diplomacy" of
avowed frankness. sincerity. plain speaking
| and honest dealing. He said this new
| diplomacy was In a measure due to mother
| country innovations and ito the originality
| Of the American mind-ever restlessly
watching TO improve ev~erythins-which will
perhaps end by wiping the diplomatists of
the old school Of the face Of the earth"
He added: Il am quite ready TO acknowl-
edge that there is much good in the partic-
r:ar innovation occurring In my mind at
the present moment" This was introduce
tory and was Intended to foreshadow the
: following part Of his speech. which VA