The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-09-06
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER s, 1901,
OUR INTERESTS AFFECTED.

as mediator in the quarrel which it is
having with it's neighbor, Venezuela,
the latter country seems in 40 hurry
to bring about a settlement and the
row will probably be permitted to
continue for a time longer. The
United States has done all it can do,
much as it may like to see peace
restored between the republics, and
car now only continue to see that
traffic across the isthmus is not in
terfered with. The quick acceptance
on the part of Colombia of the offer
of this country is easily understood,
as is also the manifest desire of the
V~enezuelans to be permitted to con-
tinue to carry out their plans and
force a settlement in accordance with
their wishes.
1t has been said by some newspap-
ers that the United States should let
the two hotheads fight it out and
simply stand by as a disinterested
spectator, willing that victory shall
so to either of the contestants. In
support of this advice those giving
it call attention to the proverbial
ingratitude of the South American re-
publics in the past and say we have
no reasons for expecting different
treatment from them in the future, in
the abstract this may be SO and the
advice given may be good but in the
concrete it is all wrong. Were only
the interests of the .Colombians and
the V~enezuelans alone involved we
probably could afford to let them fight
it out without paying heed to their
quarrels, except so far as to see to
it that whatever rights we have in
the two countries are not violated and
that proper protection is afforded to
American citizens and American prop
erty and property owned there by
Americans. But because of the like
lihood of foreign intervention on the
plea that it is required to protect
the European interests in the two So
called republics it is not to be denied
that the speedier peace is restored
the better it will be for this country.
The Monroe doctrine is not yet dead
and has not been abandoned by this
nation as one of it's policies, notwith-
standing that u democratic friends
insist that by our own actions since
the Spanish war we have torn it all
to tatters and thrown away the pieces.
Consequently it is easily to be seen
why it is to our interest that the
trouble between the two cantanker-
Gus little fellows shall be ended as
speedily as possible. The first indi-
cation on the part of some European
power of an apparent intention to
interfere would call forth from
this nation a protest. Should
this protest be disregarded then it
would become incumbent upon us to
make a showing of force to back it
up and then trouble of a more serious
nature than any we have been a party
to since the civil war would probably
follow.
But aside from all this We should
not fail to do all within our power
to promote peace and good will among
our southern neighbors. It has ever
been the hope and wish of American
craftsmanship to see the time when
all the republics of the Western Hem
isphere shall dwell in peace and amity
and when they shall be members of
one grand and powerful family, bound
by ties of common interests and NUT
ual relationship. With the dawn OF
that day shall pass away all danger
or likelihood of European effort or
wish to gain a foothold on this side
of the ocean and the menace in that
direction which may now be said TIC
be ever present will have vanished
To hasten the advent of that time
". lldS uDCCA Tx SOAoSu1AC ~ SN
United States, as is shown by the re
peated attempts made by the govern
ment to bring about a better under
standing between the Independent
nations of the western half of the
world, attempts that have been giveI
shape in congresses and gatherings O
various kinds to which delegates from
the republics to the south Of us have
been invited. It is in furtherance o.
this desire that the forthcoming Pan
American congress has been called
and in the G Of which this gov
ernment is 30 greatly concerned. I
may prove 2 hard and wearisom'