New-York tribune., 1902-10-23
THE DANISH TREATY.


The chief sufferers from the rejection by the
Landsthing of the treaty ceding to the United
States the Danish West Indies will he the peo
pie Of ~. Thomas. st. John and St CroiX Den
mark is not bankrupt and can afford 10 continue
in the luxury of spending money OF those isl
ands which ii cannot possibly make truly pros
porous i'm defiance of the laws Of political and
commercial grayitation. The United states Is
not in great need of new islands. and can AZ
ford 10 await the natural operation of those
laws As Froude truly said: The Yankee
whether we like il or not is sovereign of these
waters" The manifest destiny Of the West
Indies is closer relations with the United States
hut long Denmark desires To retain its
American possessions we may be Content know
ing that such friendly ownership will work no
serious harm to our interests and that il will
he our OWN fault if. when Denmark ultimately
does want to dispose of them we do not bring
them into our system
The Danish islands are worth more to us than
10 anybody else except an active rival who
might wish 10 plant himself near our shores.
But such an establishment we surely should not
permit If they have served no other purpose
the recent negotiations have given the United
States priority of position a purchaser. if
there is ever 10 be a purchaser The rejection
throwing back of the islands upon Denmark in
1865 left that country with an excuse for seek
ing some other purchaser whom we might not
like for neighbOr. and made her particularly
reluctant 10 suggest sale to us The new treaty
which was ratified by VS. has removed that un
pleasant impression. and when a change OF
opinion occurs at Copenhagen there need he no
difficulty in taking mp the matter once more
Knowing that We had stood ready to fulfil our
bargain. Danish ministers would naturally feel
il proper 10 turn 10 us with any offer they might
have to make. With the construction of an
isthmian canal st. Thomas promises to have re-
newed importance, and we certainly could not
| afford 10 see il pass into the hands Of any Eu-
ropean power nOr already established in the
/ West Indies
Nor could the people of the islands afford To
| be thus attached TO some distant power As
we have said. they are the chief sufferers from
! continuance Of the Danish connection Den
mark has been a kind master TO them. and
they are rightly loyal TO their sovereign There
is talk i'm Copenhagen Of new steamship lines
and other assistance for the colonies But the
best Of intentions and the most active enter
prise cannot bring more than an artificial pros
perity 10 the islands SO long as they are shut
out from their natural and nearest market The
bulk of their supplies should be bought here
and the bulk of their produce should be sold
here. Denmark may spend money literally for
their development hut the people of the isl
ands realize that their great commercial need
is absorption into the country of which they are
natural appendage They dwell i'm artificial
isolation, without the area. population or re-
sources to be self-dependent Almost in sight
of our territory Of Porto Rico, they might share
the industrial and commercial benefits which
have come to that island with American an
nexatiOn. They inevitably gravitate toward us.
and the rejection Of the treaty is sure TO cause
great disappointment and wreck many hopes of
business revival among the planters Of St CrOix
and the commercial classes of ST. Thomas