The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1899-09-26
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TUESDAY. SEPTEMBER 26 1895
That South American Alliance.
rha Raltimore Sun saYs

The Baltimore Sun says:
The New York Commercial obtains
from Washington confirmation OF
the runner of proposed alliance be
tween the Latin Republics of South
America against the United States.
The authorities at the national capt.
tai shave received" 1t states,
"semi- official confirmation OF the
fact" Brazil is said to be the State
that leads in the effort to organize
South America against the supposed
purpose of The United State to ag
grandize itself at the expense of the
territory or commercial freedom OF
the Latin republics. Our special
efforts to cultivate close relations
with them are regarded, in view OF
recent events, with anxiety and sus
picion. This distrust," says the
Commercial, is "ill.founded, but 1t
must be confessed that many things
have happened to create it. AS the
paramount power of the Western
Hemisphere, it may be that we have
uneonsciously shown a sort of ma
tionsl arrogance and condescension
naturally displessing to q people
who call themselves free. Ii now
seems that the cruise of our gunbost
Wilmington up the Orinoco and the
Amazon was not altogether timely,
although undertaken from the most
innocent scientific and commercial
motives. The Wilmington's com
msnder found that there were no
charts Of these rivers, and be was
compelled to take soundings. lie
also made some rough charts which
may be Of value in the future. This
course was misinterpreted, and the
news has been spread broadcast that
q survey has been made with view
to future military operations.
Other developments have contri-
buted to the alarm of the sister re-
publics. The rough treatment of
Chile some years ago, the interference
in the boundary dispute between
England and Venezuela on the broad
ground that the Monroe Doctrine
gave us special rights of control in
South America, our aggressive war
upon Spain and appropriation of her
territory in the West Indies, and the
Assumption of nearly al. our public
men that we may take possession OF
the Nicarsgua-these incidents excite
no little solieitude among our weaker
sisters. Our attitude towards them
has for some years been pstronizing
attitude, IS if We possessed an indis
putable right of leadership. AS re
spects commerce, our statesmen have
sometimes almost asserted the doc.
trine that we are entitled to mon
opoly of the trade of Central and
South America, as against our Euro
pean rivals. The Pan-American
conference was an abortive effort in
that direction, and the spirit that
inspired it continues to manifest itself
in costly schemes for substituting
steamers for the South American
trade, while neglecting the better.
paying markets of Canada and Eu-
rope. Even the Commercial, while
deprecating the attitude of suspicion
that the Latin republics have assumed
toward us, further excites their So
licitude by speaking innocently Of
the United States as" the paramount
power Of the Western Hemisphere. ="
How paramount Z" By what titlef
We are, no doubt, the strongest state
of this hemisphere. but that fact
saafers on Us no right of leadership,
- election" or snzersinty. France
.stronger than Italy, Sweden or
Spain, but no one of these states
comedies to France any para
mountcy" by reason merely of her
greater strength. On the contrary,
they assert their absolute independ-
ence, and would bitterly resent the
assertion by France of European
Monroe doctrine. The hrst Napoleon
did, no doubt. at one time srrogantly
assert and enforce q sort of European
Monroe doctrine, undertaking to
dominate the Continent and exclude
England from trade in its ports, but
the weaker states were FESTIVE under
the parsmountcy of that Big
Brother and cast off his yoke at the
first opportunity. Similarly our
"paramountcy," if asserted by us in
a practical way, would be at once
repudisted by our Southern neigh
bors. The rumored effort of Brazil,
Chile and Argentine to organize
against it is 5 natural effect of the