The Honolulu republican. [volume] (Honolulu, T.H.) 1900-1902, 1900-12-30
TIE INFLUENCE OF BLAINE.

a the conclusion reached by Jane
G. Blaine. that the United States ha
attained that period in history whe
she had ceased to venture TO hope
n diplomatic dealings with England
The imprint Of Blaine's wonderfu
craftsmanship will live long. year
after him as lie shown in this case Il
fact to the close. observer il would ar
pear that Blaine's influence upon tn
present and future Of his countr.
would be even greater than was tina
OF Henry Clay in his lifetime ant
since.
Il was Blaine who conceived tn,
l-ea, or If he did not conceive it, as il
sometimes claimed, was the first {,
| openly advocate il, of reciprocity
| hen Secretary of State under Gar
| field in 1881 it was Blaine who pave.
| the way for the Congress of the Amer
| lean Republics held after he had retir
ed from the State Department He
not only believed in closer political
utilization but in closer trade relations
between the United States and the
Latin-American nations as the neces-
sary prerequisite for closer diplomatic
relations. 1t was under him as Sec
rotary of State that the invitations for
lie first Pan-American Congress were
issued Dy the United States and it is
due 10 his work that that Congress re-
suited in success. So far back as
the tariff act of 1903 Mr. Blaine urged
reciprocity section in the tariff law
but he was too far in advance of the
men of that day to see his suggestion
carried into effect.
The Pan-American Congress of 1889
when Blaine was Secretary OF State
under Harrison resulted in the estab-
lishment at Washington of the Bureau
of American Republics out of which has
grown the Bureau of Statistics of the
Treasury Department which has done
doing in its trade relations with the
world
Mr.. Blaine believed that the Clayton
Bulwer treaty had been abrogated by
England's own acts. which it undoubt-
eddy had, and he acted upon that basis
in instituting the work for treaty be-
tween the United States and Nicara-
qua and Costa RIGA which was finally
carried to consummation by his sue
cessor. Mr.. Frelinghuysen, and later
withdrawn from the Senate by Grover
Cleveland.
Mr.. Blaine lived long enough to see
reciprocity an accomplished fact
though it was only inserted in the Nc
Kinley bill after Mr.. Blaine's strong
letter showing how weak would be the
I'LL without this feature. He did not
live long enough to see his ideas con-
corning the Nicaragua Canal carried
out. but they will be carried out just
lie same Nor did he live long enough
to see the American flag floating over
Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the
Danish West Indies, though it was his
dream that it should do so. In all
these ambitious designs for his coun-
try Mr.. Blaine lived a generation
ahead of his time.
General Grant is reported to have
said before his death tha- the reason
he opposed the nomination of Blaine
in 1876 and in 1880 was that he feared
Blaine would plunge the country into
foreign war and mat he Grant had
seen so much of war he never wanted
his country to be engaged in another
in his lifetime. There were many
people who held this opinion of Blaine
but Blaine, himself. aggressive as he
was in dealing with foreign nations,
did not believe war would come He
believed that the nations OF Europe
with the possible exception of Spain
would have so impressed upon them
the latent power and resources of the
United States that they would not go
to war with this nation over any affair
involving the rights of the United
States to control the destiny of the
american continent.
II is noticeable that in the amena-
ments to the HayPauncefote treaty
those adopted were presented by
men who nad been close follow
ers of Blaine. disciples OF the Maine
man it might be said The late Cush-
man X. Davis, the uashing FORAKER Of
Ohio and the scholarly Lodge of Mas
sachusetts all took Blaine for their
mentor and guide in their early days
in public life and were among his most
loyal friends and supporters Mr..
Blaine's ideas are living tangible
things though the great brain that
gave them to the world is no more and
Blaineism will not only result in the
building of the Nicaragua Canal but
in the building OF the Pacific cable and
the enlargement of the country's part
in the world affairs of the day