New-York tribune., 1903-02-15
THE PROTOCOLS.

Tho fnaI signing of the Venezuelan protocois
is on the whole to be regarded with satisiac
tion. The terms of those instruments. so far as
made known are not above criticism 1t is 10
Ie regretted that the powers have insisted upon
DRAGGING in the President of the United States
rs arbiter in some contingency. Ihere WAS
really no good reason for that, and there were
some cocent reasons why it should not be done.
If must be hoped that coming negotiations VIII
so be shaped that it will not be necessary ~
make this feature of the settlement enec'Ne'
The inequality of treatment accorded u 'he
three powers is another thing to be resrelteu'
Nevertheless, the signing of the protocols Is
step toward final settlement 1t will cause the
immediate raising of the blockade. the cessa-
tiou of what is practically a war against Nenez-
uela the ameloration of grave hardshlps III
ficted not only upon Venezuela, but also upon
many innocent people of other natlonailtles' anu
the removal of causes of irritation which might
lead to serious international complications. oh
these grounds it is to be welcomed
There is a widespread disposition 10 credit
Germany as having thus far come out on top"
Our London correspondent reports sentiment III
England as being to the effect that British
diplomacy has suffered a severe blow, as Eng
land has been outwftted by her ally. who comes
and financial, on top; and he quotes "The Lon
don Spectator'' to that effect. We are not sure
that s,ch an estimate OF the situation is 1u-
d.cious Ii is true that Germany has secured
through the protocols an advance payment OF
about thirteen times as much as either Great
Britain or Italy gets. She has also displayed
strenuous not to say violent disposition, ana
a faculty for obstruction in the negotlauohs
greater than either or both of her allies But IL
may be that some thoughtful men will interpret
those results as sgnfying not so much tnat
Germany is thirteen times as able or has oeen
thirteen times as successful as the others, as
that she has been thirteen times as rapaclous,
thirteen times as arbitrary and domlneer1nS,
and thirteen times less sure of the righteous
ness of claims, and thus much the less Will
ing to submit them all to an impartial tribunal
Thus interpreted, it seems a Pyrrhic victory
that Germany has won. The Venezuelan envoy
is reported to have said that for every dollar
now arbitrarily exacted by her Germany Will
in future lose thousand in Venezuelan COM
merce and that may be true. The German
residents and merchants at Caracas and else
where In that country do not regard it as an
idle menace. To carry a point by sheer physi-
cal strength and to secure large amount OF
ready cash may seem for the moment a tri-
umph. But in the long run it will probably
prove far better to have gained as Great Brit
ain has done q reputation for magnanimity. for
good faith for generosity, for patience and for
q conciliatory disposition. We are inclined to
think that when 1.-The tumult and the shouting
dies" our British cousins will not feel half SO
badly over the matter as some of them now
seem to do
In the midst of the whole controversy, and
in the course of an utterance not altogether dis
Greet it is agreeable TO be able to discern one
notable bit of concrete truth The "semi-of-
icial' note issued at Berlin, explaining why
the German Government did not exclude the
United States from all participation in the con-
troversy, makes the strange and not altogether
gracious declaration that Germany would have
attained her ends sooner and better If the
United States had held entirely aloof-a curious
statement in view of the persistence with which
Germany has tried TO drag this country, or its
President, into the case as umpire But, then,
the note continues:
There were not and there are not now means
for eliminating the United States from the con-
| troversy. A statesman who had acted on this
| assumption would have lost the game from the
| start. 1t is not question of imaginary defects
| of German craftsmanship. but of fixed, immu-
| table facts. Careful nursing the friend
ship of the United States is a Bismarckian ira
| dition- In his relations with the United States
he CBismarck) never wore cuirassier's boots
| That is sound sense and, in its own phrase,
| fixed, immutabe fact. The same idea was per-
haps less reluctantly and more graciousy ex-
pressed on the same day by the British Prime
Minister when he said that the United States
had been taken into the confidence of the Brit
ish Government at every stage Of the proceed
ings and that the Monroe Doctrine had no
enemies in England. The ultimate purport of
the two utterances is precisely the same, and it
is something which trust this Venezuelan
incident has served TO fix immutably in the
mind and In the diplomatic code of all the world