The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-12

far up the Parana River a. Rosario.
and had ascended the rest Of the way
to Asuncion on the steamer Fulton.
accompanied by the Water Witch. Com
missioner BowLIN had not much trouble
in bringing Dictator LOPEZ to terms.
President BUCHANAN was able to report
in his message Of December, 1859:
1T affords me much satisfaction to inform you
that all difficulties with the Republic OF Paraguay
have been satisfactorily adjusted. I, happily did
no, become necessary to employ the force for this
purpose which Congress had placed at my com.
mand under the Joint resolution of the I'd OF june
1855. on the contrary the President of the Re
public in friendly spirit. acccded promptly TO
the Just AMI reasonable demands OF the Govern
nent Of the United states. our Commission ar
rived In Asuncion on the 25,h OF January. 1859
and left 1t on the nth OF February having In three
weeks ably and successfully accomplished all the
objects OF his mission"
II will be observed that the circum-
stance that LOPEZ judiciously came
down. as CASTRO had better come down,
at the nvit alton of this exhibit of over
whelming naval power, does not affect
the character Of the method as employed
to bring Paraguay to terms. II was
SHUBRICK, and not Commissioner Bow
LIN. as the President politely put it after
ward, who in three weeks ably and
successfully accomplished all the objects
Of his mission" Congress empowered
BUCHANAN to Use force il necessary.
SHUBRICK wen, out prepared to use
force. He might have seized LoPE2s
war vessels if LOPEZ had possessed any;
he might have landed troops and taken
possession of LoPEZ's custom houses, il
that had been necessary he might have
captured LOPEZ himself and held him
prisoner; in short, he could have pro-
cecded under the power bestowed upon
Mr.. BUCHANAN by Congress to any act Of
virtual war or of actual war required for
the enforcement of the demands of the
United States Government upon the
South American republic.
So Germany and Great Britain are
merely following the example set by the
United States for the treatment of an
obdurate South American delinquent
and recalcitrant. The details of this
procedure may be strikingly different
from those that might have been wit
messed in the case of the United States
and Paraguay, but the principle Of ac-
ton il the same. Let this fact be OBJ
scured in no American mind by per-
version or misapprehension Of contempo-
raneous occurrences at La Guayra and
thereabouts. How can we deny or even
begr,idge to these two European powers
the legitimate and customary process Of
redress to which we ourselves resorted
under similar provocation during the
administration of JAMES BUCHANAN?
How can we do that unless we make
ourselves directly responsible to all the
other great powers of the earth for every
deed or misdeed Of every President,
dictator, usurper or generalissimo ex-
ercisng authority in South America in
a manner that infringes upon the rights
of the resident subjects of any European
power?
The Monroe Doctrine is not concerned.
When it is attacked, there will be time to
talk of sympathy for an invaded sister
republic, and of our duty and RESPONSE
bilty as the principal power of the Vest
ern hemisphere.
The diplomatic attitude of the State
Department and the general policy Of
the Roosevelt Administration regarding
the Venezuelan business are manifestly
correct.