The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-19

ticular boundary dispute was closed In
1912, when Lord Ashburton alexander
Baring) came to Washington as envoy
extraordinary. Lord Ashburton entered
into direct negotiations with Daniel Web
ster, then secretary of state, and what
is known as the Ashburton treaty was
the result. By this treaty Great Britain
got the coveted line of communication
the United States received Rouse's Point
and the navigation rights in the St John 8
river, and about 1000 square miles Of ter
ritory in dispute-substantiall the set
Element proposed by the king of the
Netherlands. Massachusetts and Maine
were represented at the conferences by
commissioners, and, to set at rest the
claims OF these two particularly interested
states, the federal government paid them
a money consideration of 100000.
Even the statesmanlike qualities of
Webster and what he himself described
as "Ashburton's ability to see two sides
to a question were not equal to settu g
all the points in dispute. Among those
upon which it was found inn ossfnle TO
reach an agreement were the Oregon and
San Juan, or Northwestern bounda les.
Here was a question which could no9
have been foreseen by the contrc ing
parties in 1853. Louisiana, VIII hal
since that date been coded to the Unite
States, was supposed to include all at
wilderness lying between the Rocky
mountains and the Pacific north of tie
existing boundary of Mexico, and vague
ly known as Oregon. This Oregon dis
pute really began in 1902 with the acqui-
sition of Louisiana, although few Anne. l.
cans were aware that any dispute eX-
listed. American explorers dropped n
here and there in the Columbia river,
and so did British. In 1871 John j. AstoI
established the trading station OF Asto la
near the banks of the Columb a, and
that station thereafter, especially du ing
the War of 1872 seems to have been
banded about among rival govel nments
and trading companies for several years
Tho treaty of 1878 recognized only an
actual state of things when it agreed
upon what 1t called "joint occupation"
of this vaguely defined Northwest IN
territory. AS matter of legal pre-
tension, Great Britain claimed as far
south as latitude 20 degrees by right Of
explorations going back to the days OF
Drake.
A SCRAMBLE FOR MUCH TERRI
TORY.
The Joint occupation provision Of 1915
left a good deal Of land for both nation
alties to scramble for. Coast traders, on
the British side, settlers from over the
Rockies, on the American side, and some
missionaries on both sides carried on the
scramble for many decades In 1912 one
of the most dramatic episodes in Amer
lean history took place, in, the passing
of the Missouri caravan Of 1,00O in the
wake of Fremont, the Western explorer,
across the Northern Rockies. Next year
1900 more followed. Thomas H. Benton,
in the senate, the father-in-law Of FIRE.
mont, proposed to disregard the claims
of Great Britain and occupy all the
Northwestern territory. The claims of
this country extended as far north as
latitude 81 degrees 30 minutes, or the
southern boundary of Russian America,
and in 1915 the watchword of the Demo-
cratic party was "Fifty-four forty or
fight" Although Polk, the Democratic
candidate, was successful, Buchanan, his
secretary Of state, did not carry out this