Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-07

The Star did not wholly approve the idea
of the provisional Alaskan boundary line
when the modus vivendi signed. 1t
felt that the American claims were reason
able being based upon the treaties and
upon usage unbroken for many decades 1t
felt further that the British claims were ex-
trcrne and untenable and that to compro-
mise these two would be to cause the United
States to lose some of its rightful territory
while Canada gained that to which she had
no title whatever. 1t urged, however, that
the paramount issue of the controversy was
the exclusion of Canada from tide water, to
secure which she offered various PROPOSE
tons. The provisional line was a compro-
mise regards the territorial delimitation,
but was necessarily a victory for the United
States in the matter of the ocean outlets.
So The Star felt disposed. while still de-
mdrring at the provisional grant of any ter
ritory whatever even on this temporary
basis, to accept the modus vivend as safe
guarding the supreme right in the case and
being susceptible to revocati ton when later
conditions would permit reopenng of the
case.
While still retaining it's disinclination to
accept the compromise principle upon
which this line was drawn, The Star has
sympathy with the efforts which have late
ly been made to prejudice the public mild
in the premises, result of the news that
part of the supposed "Porcuplne District
had been found to lie the Canadian side
of the provisional line. Particularly unrea-
sonable have been many of the comments
on the subject, some of them sincerely mis-
taken in their stress of sentiment. some too
paipably partisan in their ignoring of facts.
For instance. it comes with rather bad
for critics nf he ady minis to
proclaim the present news from Alaska as a
revelation of official duplicity. 1t has, in
this vein, been averred that the President
Is not to be blamed for not calling Con-
gress together in extra session to consider
the Chinese crisis, because, forsooth the
iniquity of the administration in this
Alaskan boundary matter having been now
exposed he would lind himself in exceeding
ly hot water with the indignant houses. 1t
Is apparently immaterial to this class of
critics that the modus vivendi governing
the provisional Alaskan boundary was the
subject of debate throughout last summer.
that the negotiations were freely discussed
both here and in London, and that the
modus itself was promulgated in exact
terms. together with official maps of the
new provisional line, Immediately after the
signing of the agreement on the 10Th of DC
Congress assembled the country was in en-
tire possession of the facts and yet there
was no outburst of Indignation, there were
no stormy debates in Congress, and the
administration serenely proceeded in its
course unchecked The fact that the pro-
visional line fell short of the original Amer
lean CAIN was shown clearly on maps
which were published far and wide.
What Is disclosed from Alaska is
that the only part of the provisional line
which was precisely laid down in the modus
vivendi by metes and bounds that included
In the klukwan region. throws into Canada
a bit OF land which, in the opinion of the
miners, constitutes part of the Porcupine
District, Il section which had been SUP
posed TO lie entirely within the American
jurisdiction. AS to the far greater stretch
of territory lying between the provisional
line and the original American claim there
is nothing said that could not have
been said with much better effect and in
better grace year ago. while the discus
sion was under way and public opinion still
display Of after-thought patriotism now for
the critics OF the administration to wax
indignant over matter which was within
the range Of their possible influence a year
ago and has been public property since the
10Th Of last October in its final official form