The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1899-05-29
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From the New York Sun.

trom the New York Sun.
m CCORDING to reports from London
I'M ana washington, the Ottawa gov
I1\ elhment, by insisting upon mad
uA mlssible conditions, has prevented
the submission of the Alaska boun-
oary dispute to arbitration. If these re-
ports are well founded, it is possible that
the expected reassembling of the Joint
hlgh commission will not take place, and
II Is also possible that Lord Salisbury
may feel impelled to consider the ques-
ton of how far the wishes of a British
colony can be suffered to prejudice the
general interests of the British empire.
There is reason to believe that the jolnt
hlgh commission might have arrived at
an agreement concerning the various
subjects referred to it but for the diff
Guilty or reconciling the conflicting views
of the United States and Canada re-
specting the boundary of Alaska. Even
with relation to this question, which
anected the extent Of the national do.
main, and, therefore. the national dig
nifty and honor our state department
evinced conciliatory spirit, and, at the
request of the British foreign office re-
Trained from sending troops to occupy the
disputed territory A further step in the
direction OF accommodation was made
Whsn Mr.. Choate, our ambassador in
London, effected an arrangement with
Lord Salisbury whereby the Alaska boun-
dary was to be withdrawn from the list
Of matters dealt with by the high COM
mission and to be made the specific sub.
ject of arbitration.
There were two weighty reasons for
such concession on our part. In the
first place, the American and British
delegates to the peace conference at The
Hague had been instructed to propose
the formation of permanent board for
III adjudication OF international disputes
and 1t was obvious that their arguments
would be seriously weakened If, stimuli
taneously, their governments should re-
fuse 10 allow the Alaska boundary TO he
defined by arbtrators. In the second
place. our government, was desirous of
securing, in an amicable way, the abro-
CATION or material modification of the
Clayton n-Bulwer treaty, and, to that end,
was inclined to offer Great Britain q Quid
pro quo in the shape of permitting our
Alaska boundary to be fixed by an i'm
partial tribunal. 1t is understood that
this arrangement, which, on the grounds
Just named was acceptable to two of the
parties interested, would have been car
rled out had not the third party, Canada,
interposed and refused to suffer the
Alaska boundary to be ascertained by
arbitration, except upon prescribed con-
| ditiOns which would practically compel
an umpire to pronounce in favor of her
claim.
What shall be done? Shall our govern
ment proceed TO a military occupation Of
the disputed territory and shall our
treasury department punish Canada for
her interposition by the issuance of re-
taliatory regulations against the prod
Gcts of the Dominion? Such a course
would, at best, produce extremely strained
relations ana cause a great deal OF fric-
| tion, while at the worst il might pro-
woke a collision of armed forces. The feel
| ing of good will which now exists be-
tween the British and American govern
ments could hardly be expected to survive
an outbreak of actual hostilities on the
Alaska frontier, and thus all that has
been accomplished during the last twelve
month to create relations OF amity be-
tween the two great sections of the Eng
| disappearing world would be, through
canada's perversity, undone IN one un-
| lucky hour.
There Is. however. a mode of escape
| from the existing complication. The
, SY.tink. foreign 0.hcs canaet but reoos-
= niss thst We, Sa our part, nave done an