Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-19
MONROE DOCTRINE
JUSTICE ALVEY TALKS ON PUR-
POSE OF ALLIES.
Action as to Venezuela Believed to Be
to Destroy American Policy
Protest Advised.
rom the Baltimore Sun of to-day.

1rrleI Justice ftlcnaTu H. Alvey VI tHe LIS
trict of Columbia Court of Appeals, who
was a member OF Mt Cleveland's Venezue-
Ian commission in 1896, and was for ten
years chief justice of the Maryland court
of appeals, said in a lengthy conversation
with your correspondent at his home IN
this town today:
II regard the present situation or az
fairs in Venezuela as a serious crisis for
the United States. While L nave never
been an advocate of a powerful navy, l
must confess that at the present time IL
would be well for the United States to have
one
when President Cleveland was confront
ed with the crisis in Venezuela in 1888 ne
took the bull by the horns and made ms
protest before Great Britain had proceeded
to any extreme overt act. 1t was then easy
for that country to make concessions With
cut any great loss of dignity and serious
consequences were averted. PRESIDENT
Roosevelt. in my judgment, should protest
against what the allies have already zone
and against what they evidently contem-
plate doing, and against their making war
upon those people. He has a right to pro-
test independently of the Monroe doctrine.
He should protest in the interest OF tne
preservation of international law. The
method which the allies have adopted, os-
tensibly for the collection of debts, Is no
way to collect debts and is in contravention
of the established laws of nations.
= "a Golden Opportunity"
1.-THE protest should have been made when
the Venezuelan ships were sunk, and IN
failing to do so the administration missed
a golden opportunity. The sinking OF ships
and the bombardment of forts is not rec
ognized method of collecting debts. When
England and Germany adopt this method 1t
is an indication, to my mind, that those
countries have an Interior motive. Ihey
have acted apparently with great adrolt,
ness and it Is believed that they submitted
their plans to Secretary Hay and obtained
from him some sort of aclu!escence IN what
they were going to do as long as they re.
Trained from any permanent acquisition VI
territory.
1T is strange that the administration did
not take alarm and at once suspect the
motives of the allies and make protest.
But if Secretary Hay has made the acqules-
cense he is credited WITH then he mas, 10
a considerable degree, surrendered the
Monroe doctrine. For the permanent &C
QUESTION of territory is not the only way
in which that safeguard can be oveIieaped.
The oppression Of the South American
people' or controlling their destiny was ex-
pressly specified by President Monroe as an
act which would be viewed as unfriendly TO
the United States.
While it is true that the hot-headed peo-
nile of Caracas have committed some lndls-
cretions, and, indeed, outrages upon British
subjects this does not, i'll my judgment,
justify the eXtremities to which the allles
have gone. The seizure of custom houses
and the collection of taxes is an act OF SOW
ereignty Just as pronounced as the occupa-
ton of territory. The maintenance of
blockade and the destruction of trade, SO
far from compelling the payment of debts,
makes it impossible for Venezuela to pay
them. r-,.a...,..., -...
To Destroy Monroe Doctrine.
70
my mind, their settled purpose to destroy
the Monroe doctrine England is, perhaps,
chagrired at her failure to obtain the whole
of the splendid territory she laid claim to
in 1888 and is Selling this opportunity.
Germany has always secuted the right ~
the United States to intervene in South
American affairs and may be enlisting the
aid of England to get rid of the assertion
of that right by the United States for al
time She needs an outlet for her excess
of population and wants her colonists to
continue under her rule. She already has
a foothold in southern Brazil, in fertile
and heathful country, and desires to pro-
ceed untrammeled in establishing and con-
trolling colonies in South America.
Lord Salisbury in his correspondence
with Secretary OlEey in 1850 laid much
stress upon his contention that the Monroe
doctrine has never been Incorporated In IN
terna tional law. Perhaps it has not. But
whether II has or MOI, it is the settled policy
of the United States 1t is policy which is
as firmly established with US as the main
tenance of the balance of power is the
settled policy Of European nations The
two are not without analogy. The Monroe
doctrine was adopted in 1923 at the sugges-
ton of the British government as a meas
ure of self-nrotectiGn- While England has
never perhaps, by any official declaration
recognized"it.o yet she@stands committed 10
it by the declarations of her ministers and
her acquiesence in its policy.
A Settled Policy.
THE United States has steadily main
tanned it, except that there was a certain
relaxation in the adoption of the Clayton
Bulwer treaty, under which England was
permitted to acquire territory ON the mos
quito coast. France has never assented to
the American policy, but she was compelled
t. submit to it's enforcement and withdraw
her army from Mexico after the close OF
our civil war upon the demand of the
United States.
Il do not see hcw cur government is to
avoid complications If the Monroe doctrine
is to be upheld. The movement of England
and Germany upon Venezuela, followed
closely upon the meeting CT the king and
kaiser. 1t seems from the conduct of the
allies that there must be some Interior mo-
tive, for they are not proceeding in
a way which would Indicate that debt-col-
lectng is their main object. If they proceed
houses, and, knowing that Venezuela has
not the means to pay the debts, proceed to
wage war upon her, that is a violation of
the Monroe doctrine. Taking custom houses
ana temporary occupation may be the be-
ginning of permanent occupation.
How the United States Is to withstand
the combined force of Europe, what will
he the attitude of France and Russia l can
not tell. 1t is unfortunate that our govern
ment did not take decided position before
the powers proceeded to such extremities as
makes it difficult for them to recede. That
would have been the surest way to preserve
neace."
In discussing the proposition to settle the
questions at issue by arbitration Judge AL
Ney said that, of course, is the best way
out of 1t. He understands that Venezuela
admits some of the debts but only asks for
time in which to recover from the disas
of her recent civil war. The submission of
such Claims as are in dispute, if there are
any, to The Hague court might be a proper
method, although there are restrictions
upon the jurisdiction of that court which
might close it to this litigation. But tina t
would not be an obstacle in the way of ar
bitration, as the United States has never
had any difficulty in settling matters by
convention. The arbitration is between
governments, and the individual claimants
are not considered. The award in the past
has been to one or the other governments
for distribution among the claimants
A Powerful Weapon.
IF the worst should come to the worst. -
continued Judge Alvey, ''of course it could