The sun., 1903-01-07

Bhs the Msarse Dectrlns Peessbse pease
In an lnternational Code?

IN IN lntern1o00Al C00e!
To TEE EpIroa OF TEE SuN--Sx. Apropss
OF my letter to you and your criticisms OF
the sist ultimo the folio wing extract from
letter In the London Times last month.
from Prof. Holland a well-known EnRlish
puolicist. ts worth reading, as Ia hts whole
communication TO the Times on the Vene-
| zuela Incident
IL 10 sats factory 70 know. on the highest au'hor'
| iiy. that the Monroe Doctrine u not intended
70 shield American states asans, the consequences
of thelr wrohgdone. anes ne cordial approfaI Of
| ~ ooerne which hes Jua been oppressed BY our orn
G2rtnc.rn can only be supposed 10 extend 10 II so
lar as II Is reasonably defined ard applied Grest
brtain. Tor one, has no desire for an acre OF ne'
| territory on the American continent. The United
states, on the other hand, will Doubtless readily
recognize that. u International wrongs are 10 be
redresed upon that conuGent, apeneved Euro
pean Powers may occasionally he Obliged to rsoft
10 stronger measures than a EMBARGO on ship
ping or the block whether pacific" or "beIhg
eienti OF line OF coast.
Perhaps you have seen--I have not = the
cordial approval" expressed by the British
Government of the doctrine that, in the
western Hemisphere. no nation or state OF
the Eastern Hemisphere can acquire In
any manner. new territorial sovereignty.
That which any European Power now has II
can keep British. German. French Chinese
immigrants into places north or south OF US
will not be- interfered with, but no Power In
the Old World can establish colonies In the
New World. as we have recently established
a colony in the Far East II European
Power were 10 acquire Holland, the former
cannot hold the Dutch colonies on the western
continent
That Is the final outcome OF the Monroe
Doctrine. The existing status quo in the
New World Is not TO be changed The Euro
pean concert must conhne its attention. ex-
clusively. to the Old World 10 far a. obtain
Ing new territorial sovereignty is concerned
II England has really assented thereto, one
step has been taken, and n very long one. in
the direction OF incorporating the Doctrine
into the International law which can now he
enacted only by the voluntary assent Of each
independent and sovereign nation.
Ethics have nothing TO do with an answer
Ia the inquiry into what Is now the law OF
nations The international lawyer looks
only at existing usage and consent which
can be established as q fact
You pcrtinently describe Internal on al law
as "a vague something" but. whether vague
or definite such law Of nations as has been.
and Is row. ass"utsd to by the nations is
all the world has The trainers OF our Con-
s;itution must have ,Npected good in II, and
from il. when they authorized Congress to
define and punish offences against the law
OF nations" Time and again has our su-
preme Court declared that the law of nations
is 10 be respected a. n part OF the law OF our
land. incorporated into the Constitution:
judicial decree cohtravening II has no extra
territorial forcs Some courts have gone 70
fa- a. to i'd Jud=e that the law OF nations Ia q
part OF the law OF enc, On. o! our States
Whatever il j., whether good or bad. fixed
or mutable, definite or vague. the United
States has had more TO do with making II,
a. think. within the last century and quar-
ter. than any other nation. and has, without
war. pcrSl AIDED the nations TO accept its
ideas. and to accept them AZ times when We
were most deficient in battleships. That Il
true. beginning in Washinston's time. with
neutral rights and duties and coming along
down TO the present day. through the period.
three-oUarters OF a century ago. when revo-
lutionary movements In the Spanish-Ar rican
colonies compelled a tstltement by Presi-
dent Monroe OF our relations with the Old
World and OF the relations OF the Old to the
New Iich was expressed In what Is known
as the Monroe Doctrine.
II does now seem unlikely that the nations
will assent to the Doctrine. but yet u Great
Britain has. why not the others'
Hard II will be. perhaps. for Germany.
which. unlike Great Britain. France. Hol-
land. Denmark. has no possessions on the
Western Hemisphere, but vet she may assent
Why cannot our state Department sound
the German Foreign Office'
II Germany shall follow England II Is pos
sDe that al the others will come along. and
then whatever other valid reasons may exist
for quickly creating big navy. and there
are many. II will not be necessary to be In q
panic on account OF the safety OF the Doc
trine. RUToEks.
PRINCETON. n J. Jan. 5.