New-York tribune., 1900-05-26
THE MONROE DOCTRINE AGAIN.

our transa tlantic friends, with the best inten-
tions in the world, have taken to dreaming
Dreams and now and then even to seeing red
They are quite sure that in the near future the
United States will either be in a tremendous
war or be subjected to great humiliation 1t
VIII all be because of the Doctrine of Monroe.
That Overpraised, unjustly magned and all too
often misinterpreted thing will be the author
and fnisher Of our woes. Under 1t we have
warned the whole world out of the American
continents. But the world will not stay out
The nations of Europe propose to invade South
America in war of conquest and annexation
and the United States will have either to fight
TO keep them out to let its famous Doctrine
go the way of the Bull against the Comet Some
two or three years ago The Spectator" of
London, than which there is no more temperate
and judicious journal, pictured the teeming
hosts of Germany rushing the Argentine Re
public and the southern States of Brazil Now
the same journal, in spirit of undoubted
friendship for America. asks us to consider
whether, in advance Of any such crisis and the
embarrassment 1t would cause us, we had bet
ter not at once abandon the extreme pretensions
of the Monroe Doctrine. The Economist" of
London also most sane and serious, assures US
that when an emergency arises diplomacy as
well as militarism will ignore the Doctrine
THE Saturday Review" thinks our moral right
to demand respect for the Doctrine has probably
lapsed and THE Outlook Q-ondon) adds the
reflection that if wanted our rights on these
continents to be respected we should never
have meddled in the affairs of any other CONT
nent.
Now, to consider these last observations first
it should be quite evident to the thoughtful OBJ
server that the United States has in no wise by
its operations in the Philippines or elsewhere
impaired the logical and moral force of the
Monroe Doctrine That Doctrine was and is in
no sense a universal act of self-abnegation It's
self-denial is explicitly confined to the existing
possessions of European Powers upon the Amer
lean continents. With them the United States
promised not 70 interfere, so long, of course,
as they behaved themselves, and as a logical
corollary of that promise it insisted that
those Powers should not seek to extend the
scope of those possessions at the expense of the
American republics. In other words the status
quo was to be maintained on both sides. Let US
grant. however as an extreme concession for
the sake Of argument. that the self-abnegaton
of the United States was tacitly extended to
Europe. Then we have this country the one
hand demanding that Europe should not med
die with American States. and on the other
promising that the United States would not
nor interfere in the affairs of Europe itself Be
yond that it is impossible logically or morally to
go. To say that in return for Europe's keeping
her hands off these continents the United States
is pledged to keep its hands off not only Europe
and Europe's possessions. but also all other con-
tinents of the world and islands of the sea- is
simply out of the question
1t is by no means clear, however that the
apprehensions Of THE Spectator are well
founded That admirable journal is not to be
deemed an alarmist. But it is quite possible
that in all good faith and sobriety it overrates
the gravity of the situation or of the outlook
1t is true that the overcrowded countries of
Europe must find some places into which to
pour their overflow They are finding them
They are sending hundreds of thousands of
their surplus men and women to the United
States. But we do not think that therefore they
Will ever attempt the political military con-
quest of this Republic. If they should do so. we
are entirely confident that a large proportion of
their eXpatriated subjects now settled here
would be among the foremost and most resolute
TO resist them. They also sending many
emigrants TO some of the South American
States and it may well be believed that the
same rule will largely hold good there We have
seen no reason to suppose that any consdera BILE
number of-for eXample-the Germans now set
tied in Brazil and Argentina desire those coun-
tries 10 be made German provinces or colonies
On the contrary, ii is pretty certain that most
of them do not wish such a change and would
actively resist ii if ii We're proposed And in
such case. what preteXt could Germany have for
an invasion? And what would he her prospect
of success IL she should undertake it? We do
not mean. of course, that Germany is not a far
stronger nation than either Brazil or Argentina
or than both together. But the task Great
Britain is having in South Africa is n criterion
by which 10 judge the magnitude of the task of
conquering South America. If 1t has been found
necessary for Great Britain TO send 900 men
to South Africa to deal with a populat ton of
100000, how many would have to be sent to
Argentina to subdue 1000 600 or to Brazil 10
conquer 100000? We simply decline to be-
lieve that any European Power will transport
an army of million men across the Atlantic
Ocean for the conquest Of South America If
Germany should do so, what would become
meanwhile of the Watch on the Rhine?
The progress Of the South American States is
another factor that makes powerfully against
any such INVASION For, despite the neglect and
worse with which those States have been treated
for the best part of century, they are growing
in population, education, wealth. industries and