The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-12-15
THE VENEZUELA AFFAIR.

can not agree with the complacent
attitude of the American press and
government towards the actions of
Germany and England in Venezuela.
England is fresh from the murder of
a nation In South Africa. Germany has
Just buncoed China out OF vast rich
slice of that empire on the flimsiest Of
pretexts.
England was trying to murder Ven
ezuela once before when we made her
stop, and she went straight from Ven
ezuela and crushed the life out of the
Beers. Both nations grab everything
in sight all over the world. The way
they have started out, too, looks bad.
They had no business sinking those
Venezuelan vessels. 1t looks as IL they
were trying to provoke the Venezue-
lans to war, and pile UP indemnity that
can never be paid. Then they will &C.
cupy the country as England has oc-
cupied Egypt, and simply never get
out. OF course 1 see from the attitude
of the press in this country that there
is a well understood agreement with
Washington not to do that. l regard
that agreement as just bunco.
Englands agreement to leave Egypt
was just as well understood when she
first bombarded Alexandria with the
consent of the Powers, but she has
newell left Egypt and now it is an ac-
copied fact that she never will.
An angel and a devil are struggling
for supremacy all the time in all men.
With nations the angel generally has
the upper hand when they make prom
Uses and the devil generally gets the
upper hand when the time comes to
keep them. One thing we can say of
William II: although he helps the Sui
tan to murder Christians; although he
sent his picture and that of his wife
to the Unspeakable Turk when the
streets of Constantinople were running
red with Christian blood, still he has
never been known to violate a pledge
as England has done. If he has given
his word to leave Venezuela intact we
can rely on it. Otherwise if the devil
is kept down and the angel gets the
upper hand in Venezuela, those two
nations are more afraid of Uncle Sam
than l think they are. Who would
have thought that measly old British
lion would have come deliberately back
to Venezuela from South Africa, with
the hide still scorched on his back,
where the Beers burned him?
We. see England weeping tears of
Joy now Oh 1tIIIdiy bIOulQcI. WHY
Because the German Emperor slapped
England's face in the matter of the
Boer war. We did the same thing with
the same effect just before the Span
ish-American War.
II Blaine had ordered her away from
the Pribiloff Islands England never
would have stolen our Alaska lands
II Mckinley had ordered her out or
Alaska, she never would have been
back In Venezuela now. Not even
though Germany propped her up and
put splints on her backbone.
England claimed a quarter OF Yene-
zuela and got half OF what she claimed,
allowed by the Venezuelan Commits
sion. She had not az much claim TO
that land as she has 20 Texas. OF
course she would come back again.
Two or three more claims and one or
two more commissions and she VIII
have the whole thing. The point
that surprises one n that the limping
old animal should turn up here again
~ soon after having bis hide ec0rched
BY the Beers. That Il q bad sign.
The Monroe Doctrine says 20 the
European Powers THOU shalt not
sfealH-ln Amefiea. And here "a fenf-
land stealing 80 she time e. fast -
a GeOfFls Niger" ~ a melon patch.
ana nov en- bas brought Germany
over ~ bod fhe bse she stole our