The Hawaiian gazette., 1899-04-18
"DlSGRACEFUL DIPLOMACY"

DlSuhS'TTt u 1ILOMA Az ].
Mr.. Eli r. Sheppard, who has held
an official position in the Far East for
some years, read an excellent paper on
the subject of The Future of the Pa
/ cific Ocean" before the Unitarian Club
of San Francisco. on March Goth. He
as well as for commercial reasons. He
believes that recent developments
have completely changed the front OF
! tLe world. and have largely transferred
to the Pacific ocean the national and
international interests and activities
which for centuries past were centered
on the Atlantic"
The music Of al, the international
harps is now generally set to these
words. and there is very general dec
! laratiOn Of sentiments before taking
| hold Of serious business. Mr.. Shep-
| pard believes that it is 20 the ever
| lasting disgrace of American dip!om-
acv that it has permitted Russian and
| France to capture Chinese territory"
| and establish discriminating duties
| against us and it has been very much
too suspicious Of the British to cor
daily join with them in preventing it.
But in all of these rosy discourses
about the future of the Pacific ocean.
il Is assumed that the Anglo-SaXon
trade with the Far East. Nothing is
said about the development of the
Asiatic races. and their position in the
new order Of things.
One Of the first results of the ex-
! pansiOn movement of America towards
the Far East must be the abolition of
all discrimination against races. The
absurdity Of trading with man, and
at the same time barring your door
against him, must end. The hardness
of the American expansion movement
Is largely due to the home policy of
keeping AsiatiC goods, and Asiatic i'm
migrants, out of the country.
Great Britain. whose foreign policy
is now adorod by eXpansionists. saw
the absurdity OF this relation many
years ago, and gave the open door"
to all races Even in Hongkong which
is upon British soil there Is no dis
elimination in favor of the British
But it was one of the Indispensable
conditions of trade that it should be
so, and the British nation has had ad-
vantages OF IT,
The policy of Protection in America,
like that of the Russians and the
French. differs radically from the Brit
ish.
Mr. sheppard is not justified in call.
ing the diplomacy of America disgrace
ful when 1t has been simply consistent
with the Protective policy. We have,
tor forty years, announced a CLOSED
door" to tine world, and it was not,
and is not. consistent to demand sud-
denly the open door" from other ma
lions. American diplomacy has been
directed by public policy which
teaches every nation to take care OF
itself, even at the expense of every
other nation; to slaughter foreign in
dustries in order to build up home in
dustries. The law OF self preservation
justifies II. Even II this is wise pol
icy for America, and is a wise policy
for Russia and France, the British
have not followed 1t and will not unless
forced to.
At the same time while America
shows the CLOSED door" at home, she
sees the vital necessity OF preventing
the CLOSED door" in Asia, and she
secretly blosses John Bull when he
puts his big frame before the door and
won't let 1t he closed
The most conservative and lntelli-
gent eXpansonists are, to large ex-
tent, protectIonIsts also, But, in this
hour Of reflection, after the armies are
beyond the oceans, II begins TO he APP
parent TO them that the open door" in
one part " the world must mean, in
the end open door" everywhere else,
The reaction against making the Phil
ippines or Cuba part Of the American
territory Is largely due 20 the rcaliza'