The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-03
ROOSEVELT ON THE
 MONROE DOCTRINE
POLICY DEFINED IN LIGHT OF
 RECENT TROUBLE.


 Necessary as Long ns the Doctrine Re- mains a Cardinal Feature of A meFican Foreign PoiicV-Large Navy Rs Guar antse Of Peace.
 Chicago, April 2.-Six thousand peo- pie in a hall the seating capacity Of which is but five thousand gave enthu- siastic greeting to President Roosevelt when he stepped upon the stage of the Auditorium tonight. The great build ing has held many a throng, but never one that was more hearty and unstint- ed in its applause for any man than the crowd that filled it tonight.
 When the president, escorted by the members of the local committee, ap- peared on the platform he was met with great enthusiasm, the vast crowd rising to its feet and supplementing its hearty cheers with waving programmes and fiuttering handkerchiefs.
 The address. in part, follows:
 To-day I wish to speak to you, not merely about the Monroe doctrine, but about our entire position in the western temisphere-a position so peculiar and predominant that out of it has grown the acceptance of the Monroe doctrine as a cardinal feature of our foreign pol icy; and in particular I wish to point cut what has been done during the life time of the last congress to make good our position in accordance with this historic policy.
 n.s, +ISo xr,a 0. ly extended our boundaries westward to the Pacific and southward to the Gulf, since the time when the old Spanish and Portuguese colonies to the south of us asserted their independence, our na- ton has insisted that because of it's primacy in strength among the nations of the western hemisphere it has cer- tain duties and responsibilities which oblige it to take leading part thereon. We hold that our interests in this hem- isphere are 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 requires 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 control thereover., This policy, therefore, not only for bids us to acquiesce in such territorial acquisition, but also causes us to ob- ject to the requirement of control which would in its effect be equal to territorial aggrandizement. This is why the United States has steadily be- lieved that the construction of the great Isthmian canal, the building of which is to stand as the greatest material feat of the twentieth century-greater than any similar feat in any preceding cen- tury-should be done by no foreign na- tion, but by ourselves. These treaties (the Hay-Pauncefote and canal treaties) are among the most important that we have ever negotiated in their effects upon the future welfare of this country, and mark a memorable triumph of American diplomacy-one of those fortunate triumphs, moreover, which rebounds to the benefit of the entire world.
 About the same time trouble arose in connection with the republic of Vene- zuela because of certain wrongs alleged to have been committed, and debts OVGTuuS, Uy tllS ISpuDllC lO NlllACllo OL various foreign powers, notably Eng land,' Germany and Italy. After fail ure to reach an agreement these pow CTS began blockade of the Venezuelan coast and a condition of quasi-war en- sued. The concern of our government was, of course, not to interfere need lessly in any quarrel so far as it did not touch our interests or our honor, and not to take the attitude of protecting from coercion any power unless we were willing to espouse the quarrel oi that power, but to keep an attitude of watchful vigilance and see that there was no infringement of the Monroe doc trine-no requirement of territoria rights by European power at the ex' pense of weak sister republic-wheth' CT this acquisition might take the shape of an outright and avowed seizure o1 territory or of the exercise of contro which would in effect be equivalent tt such seizure. This attitude was eX' pressed in the two following published memoranda, the first being the letter addressed by the secretary of state tt the German ambassador the second the conversation with the secretary o1 state reported by the British ambassa dor:
 Department of State,
 "Washington, Dec. 16, 1901. "FIis Excellency Dr. von Hollehen etc.:
 "Dear Excellency-I inclose memo randum by way of reply to that whicl you did me the honor to leave with me on Saturday, and am, as ever,
 "Faithfully yours,
 John Hay"
 Memorandum.
 sThe president in his message of tht Sd of December, 1903, used the follow ing language:
 The Monroe doctrine is a declara' +ion that there must be no territoria aggrandizement by any non-Americar power at the expense of any American mower on American soil. It is in nc wise intended as hostile to any natior in the Old World
 "The presidentfurther said:
 This doctrine has nothing to dc with the commercial relations of any American power, save that it in trutf allows each of them to form such as if desires. * We do not guaran tee any state against punishment if i misconducts itself, provided that pun a-i... knly nj