The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-05
sides reco,,,,, zlrs c,ear,v that she

z 49,,
can designs. They cannot COM 80 -,
such mass of power can pc ussu - ira,
put selfish ends, and are thefclohe $50,
" alarmed. France cannot forsst .as -.
rible blow recently given to q n s-na. p
pie, of whom she thinks @herssilss =. ~,
resS; Germany sees the patnWay " -
great colonies of which she I..,i.1..
blocked by the Monroe doctrine; le La - -
always raging at the treatment %
Neapolitan em:grants; the NanGaA. !"
counts among the Powers, IS Luz iou
the overthrow of Spain. anu RUSSO -
seriously breads. as the Iistoh . ao,
interference with her sreat-iiails loi eoi.
trolling China and seating herself ioIeseiE
on the shore of the North Pae1iic. i,ioss
plans, which a-e really able, anu :. ~
will convert the vast Asiatic doI nlliiois -. u
the Car. now only a burden on uie I'm
pire, into most valuable possessions, ny :
taken as strong a hold of the COVER iili .S
classes of Russia as their old dream OF m
het,iting Turkey, and they Watc Gu ootit
America and England as potenl'dl W
stacles in the Far East with Jealousy
and spite which renders it d1ftlcuit 10 OF
tain a hearing in st. Petersburg loi tlie
wisest plans of compromise. the L!sloh,
as Americans will see, actually SPEAKS %
a combination of Europe-that Is, OF me
Continent, for our interest is 1dent!cal WIN
that OF America-to resist them III SliiIist
alone, and every new assertion py WASH
inSton of its right to protect It's liite!ests
everywhere deepens the latent iostitltS ,
There is a note of positive anger, as wen
as surprise, that the Union should ven
ture to threaten a European Power IKE
Turkey in order to enforce a pecuhlaiE op-
legation, and a menace is addressed 10
her which, If England Joined in II, would
be OF the Sravest kind, but Whlch, as Eng
land does not join in 1t, only oelrass Tue
bitterest annoyance 'It is highly 1mpro-
bable,'' says G1e Listok, that the thing
will go as far as a naval demonstration,
for there are Powers in Europe, with Rus-
STA in the van, who will lose no time IN
reminding the United States that the Eur =.
,pean concert has in the past made sacri-.
fees on far too extensive a scale IN the
settlement of the question of free passage
through the Straits to think Of allowing
the United States now to nuillfy at
stroke agreements which have cost SO
much blood in working out Inat menace
has at least the merit OF dehnltenesS.
However much Turkey may wrong the
United States, American ships are not TO
pass the Straits in order to exact redress
from Constantinople. under penalty OF be-
ing blown by russian, German, ana Aus
TRAN ships out of the water
The disturbance of the European gov
ernments is increased by two causes OF
which the Americans are naturally only
partially aware. One is the newness of
the American Intrusion" into worldwide
politics. European statesmen might, one
would think, have foreseen that State
with worldwide interests would have
worldwide action; but it is difficult to get
rid of a prep0ssession, and they We're pre-
possessed with the notion that as America
professed Indifference to everything out
side the Western Hemisphere, she would
under all circumStan leave the Eastern
one alone. with words" says Disraeli,
eve govern men," and certainly words do
sometimes seem to have all the force of
realities That illusion has been dispeied,
q new world Power insists on recognition,
and 5ust to begin with, without much
effort, strikes an ancient European mon
archy to its knees. To men imbedded in
traditions that event is most disturbing.
The Continental governments have many
arrangements among themSelves-some
still secret-to meet various contingencies,
and with this new ship drifting in they
are not sure of their anchors. America in
the Philippines, America in China, America
in Turkey-What does it all men, and how
are our combinations affected? The gov
ernmentS feel as the managers Of q great
trust feel when another trust invades their
peculum. and they have not thought out
either the means of resistance or of bar
gaining. They grow quite savage, and
may, perhaps, in the end commit them
selves TO some imprudent line OF action.
They are not quite sure of the obstinacy
of the intruder, though they fear it is very
great: they are not quite certain that she
has strong backing, and they may fancy
that the case is one for trying little
bluff and SO produce a very serious situa-
ton indeed. This is more probable from
the second of the two causes which Ameri-
cans scarcely perceive. The professional
diplomatists of the Continent hate the rep
resentatives of the Union, and would like
any opportunity Of giving them q sharp
set-down. They detest the American
habit-which is no doubt sometimes incon-
venient--of using amateurs as ambassa-
doris and ministers, men who use a nom
professional phraseology, who never know
how to distinguish between feint and
earnest. and who press any demands they
are sent to make with a sort of convic-
ton that they must in the end be granted,
you see, our people," remarks an Aneri-
can, quite unconscious that his attitude is
that of a master, will not have your
tariff. The frankness of the American
agents strikes the old aristocrats OF Euro
pean chancelleries as boorishness, their
lawyer-like arguments as pettifogginS.
American agents, we fancy, do sometimes
use final arguments, the word "unfriendly'
for instance, a little too soon, and their
interlocutors get as angry as Palmerston
was when he rebuked Walewsh for using
the word war, "a word which should never
be employed between diplomatistS. They
in their mention of the great; they fret at
their ignorance of comparative rank, and
they are as shocked as great solicitors at
their Impotence Of long delays Every
trained diplomatist has in him a trace OF
the great ecclesiastic, who thinks that, as
time is nothing TO God, it should be moth
ing to the Church either. Altogether, they
find the American diplomatists an irri-
tatng element in the family, and would
like very much an opportunity of display
ing their real sentiments towards them.
We do not know that this temper in ordi-
nary times matters much, but when grave
issues are at stake the hostile humor of
an entire profession does not tend to paci-
fication. When ones lawyers feel hurt by
their adversarys lawyers negotiations are
very apt to end in Court instead of in a
compromise. Anyhow, the Americans will
do well to think over the arguments from
the I.istok, and decide in their own minds
whether they think they indicate Continen-
tai love Or not.-London Spectator.
sY sEyS ca ~ q B