Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1902-12-30
mamsa&a pilot.
TUESDAY, DEC. 80, 1902.
Published weekly and entered al thePost OfHc
at waussu as second class matter.
The Monroe Doctrine.

that we mad ourselves overturned the
Monroe doctrine The PILOT pub
Iished some of these at the time, taken
from the Arena of March 1900 They
comprised utterances of leading news
papers in Germany, England, France
and Russia Here is one -
''But short time ago the Saturday
ReUielc advised the British government
that, rs we were evidently preparing to
stay in Asia, and hal thereby repealed the
Monroe doctrine, England should seize
the first opportunity to take control Of
South america"
The world has been kept advised
through the daily press, as to the fact
that Germany has coyetous designs up
on South America.-as place for her
surplus population which has hitherto
been sent, almost entirely, to the
United States Aleading French paper
sad, Nov 3O-1S9S
"The Monroe doctrine Is NOR ont Of date.
The American republic, conquering and
eolonizing, has no longer the righ1 TO
close to Europe the new continent.
since she has, herself, stepped ont SIDE Of IT, "
The European argument is simply
this. IF y5u Americans have right
to say to us'hands off the Western con
tinent, we have an equal right to say
to you hands off the Eastern continent.
You have come here, therefore we may
go there"
No one can deny the soundnesS of this
proposition, if the premises be admitted.
But those of the expansionist school
who assert that our only purpose III the
Philippines is to give them independ-
ence, as soon as they are fitted for it,
can make an argument, which may
ease their own eonsciences, somewhat,
even if it does not convince anyone;
they can say that we are not conquer
ing and colonizingn in the European
sense of those terms, and therefore
have not abandoned the Monroe doe
TRUE.
The recent acts of Germany and
Great Britain in Venezuela can not be
explained satisfactorily by the fact that
two million dollars was due to their
citizens. The very precipitate. high
handed and even barbarous behavior of
the foreign fleets looked much more
like an effort to incite the fury of the
Venezuelans and goad them into war,
than like plan to bring about a peace
able settlement of the paltry claims, by
making show of hostile power.
Their acts looked to us rather like
"seizing of the first opportunity to take
control of South America, not because
the opportunity was iustiliable one,
but because it furnished an excuse and
even poor excuse might not soon
occur again. Better bring the Monroe
doctrine to a test now than wait until
the American navy grows still stronger.
Besides, perhaps the United States
government would see the fallacy of APP
pealing to that doctrine now in the face
of its own colonization schemes upon
the Eastern continent Such may be
the feeling, that prompted the wanton
outrages recently perperated by Ger
man aud British men of war in Venezu-
elan harbors
There are some indications, however,
that good game of bluff on the part of
the president and cabinet, and the
congress now in session, might scare
them Off. Large nations are more
than ever afraid of war with each ether.
They can hardly be goaded to fight
another large nation. They find some
way of settling the difficulty. Grover
Cleveland, maddenea at the action of
England in its boundary dispute with
Venezuela, which interrupted a duck
shooting trip in which he was engaged.
hurried back to Washington and lost
no time in giving John Bull very
plain line of talk which left no alterna-
tive except that either The United
States or Great Britain should back
down. The latter government was
then expecting TO have war with the
Dutch republics Of South Africa Ii
backed down. Perhaps il would have
backed down anyway. Win it back
down with Germany as an ally, and
from war which could scarcely be
anything else than a naval conflict
Was the wanton sinking of the cap
tnred Venezuelan war vessels the first
act of plan to sink every war vessel
of every government upon the Western
continent before they get through I'M
less the Monroe doctrine is conceded To
be ne longer in force Was II de-
signed as an object lesson for Uncle
Sam
Il has been supposed here that in
war with Great Britain we would have
an advantage in one respeet-shat of
fighting her in her own territory. viz
Canada But England could put fleets
of war vessels on all the great lakes.
Inside of month after war was de-
olared she could be hombArding Mil
wSukee, Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo.
Cleveland and Toledo. The Clayton
Bulwer treaty, in existence until few
years ago. forbade US from putting any
war vessels upon the great lakes. 1t
also forbade Great B-s...in doing 80.
bat this amounted to nothing SO long
as she held the 81 Lawrence river.
'With the greet lakes controlled by
Britain, how gould an American army
be sustained in Canada How could il
6e supplied from this side And be-
sides that. war in Canada would not be
war against Great Britain. bnt against
our own friend and neighbor. whom
England loves loss than we do, although
it is her colony.
We can not guess what the outcome