Arizona republican., 1903-04-03

To-day I wish to speak to you, not merely about the Monroe doctrine. but about our entire position in the west ern hemisphere-a position so peculiar and predominant that out of it has grown the acceptance of the Monroe doctrine as cardinal feature of our foreign policy; and III particular I wish to point out what has been done during the lifetime of the last congress to make good our position in accordance with this historic policy.
 ''Evec since the time when We defin
 itely extended cur boundaries west
 ward to the Pacific and 3outhwaTd tC the Gulf, since the time when the old Spanish and Portuguese colonies to the south of us asserted their independ- cree, cur nation has insisted that be- cause Of it's Irmacy in strength among the nations Cf the western herli- phore it has certain duties and repson- abilities which oblige it to take lead ing part thereon. We hold that our interests in this hemisphere ars greater than those of any European power possibly can be, and that our duty to ourselves and to the weaker republics who are our neighbors rc- quires us to see that none of the great military powers from across the seas shall encroach upon the territory of the American republics or acquire con- trol thereover.
 This policy, therefore, not only for bids us to acquiesce in such territorial acquisition, but also causes us to ob- iect to the requirement of a control ur in itS off Ia i territorial aggrandizement. This Is why the United States has steadily believed that the construction of the
 great Isthmian canal, the building of | which is to stand as the greatest ! material feat of the twentieth century 1 greater than any similar feat in any preceding century-should be done by
 no foreign nation but by ourselves. through the territory of one of our
 smaller sister republics. We have been
 scrupulously careful to abstain from perpetrating any wrong upon any of l these republics in this matter. We do
 not wish to interfere with their rights l in the least; but. while carefully safe-
 guarding them, to build the canal our l selves under provisions which will en- ! able us if necessary, to police and pro : 1 tect it, and to guarantee it's neutrality, l we being the sole guarantor. Our in> i tention was steadfast; we desired ac- i ton taken so that the canal could al ways be used by us in time of peace and war alike, and in time Of war could
 never be used to our detriment by any ! "a tior which was hostile to US. Such
 action, by the circumstances surround |, ing it, was necessarily for the bene, ] fit and not the detriment of the ad- ! jacent American republics.
 After considerably more than half q 1 century these objects have been ex-
 actly fulfilled by the legislation and
 treaties of the last two years. Two ] years ago we were no further advance 1 ed toward the construction of tn, Isthmian canal on our terms than we i had been during the preceding eighty 1 years. By the Hay-Pauncefote treaty. 1 ratified in December, 1901 an old treaty { with Great Britain. which had been ] held to stand in the way. was abrogat- i ed and it was agreed that the canal
 should be constructed under the aus pices of the government of the Unite ]
 States, and that this government
 should have the exclusive right to reg
 ulate and manage it. becoming the
 sole guarantor of it's neutrality
 Tt was expressly stipulated fur | thermore. that this guaranty of neu- trality should not prevent the United States from taking any measures
 which it found necessary in order to
 secure by it's own forces the defense ot
 the United States and the maintenance
 of public order. Immediately follow
 hs this treaty congress passed a law
 under which the president was author
 ized to endeavor to secure treaty for
 acquiring the right to finish the con-
 stfuctlcn of, and to operate. the Pan-
 anna canal, which had already been be-
 gun Tn the territory of Colombia by 2
 french company. The rights of tht.
 company were accordingly obtained
 and treaty negotiated with the re- !: public of Colombia. This treaty ha.
 just been ratified by the senate. It
 reserves all of Colombia's rights. while guaranteeing all of our own and thos, of neutral nations. and specificalI, permits us to take any and ali meas ures for the defense of the canal. ant for the preservation of our interests whenever in our judgment an exi s gency may arise which calls for actio, ! on our part. In other words. thcs l two treaties, and the legislation | \ carry them out, have resulted in ou q obtaining on exactly the terms We Ge s sired the right and privileges whic ! we had so long sought in vain. Thes treaties are among the most importan ] that we have ever negotiated in thei
 effect upon the future welfare of thi