Gilpin observer., 1904-12-08

| CiLoit " ScCuic JuSlice ioT OtUeTS OF JUS
tice for ourselves. save as conditioned
| upon the attitude we willing to take
| toward our army, and especially toward
| our navy. 1t is not merely unwise, 1T is
| contemplate. for a nation, for an in
| dividual. to use high-sounding language
| to proclaim its purposes. or to take po-
| sitions which are ridiculous If unsupport-
| ed by potential force, and then to refuse
! to provide this force. If there n no in
tention Of providing and of keeping the
force necessary to back up a strong atti
| tude then :. is far better not to assume
| such attitude.
The steady i'm of this nation. as of all
| enlightened nations. should be to strive
| to bring ever nearer the day when there
shall prevail throughout the world the
peace of Justice There are kinds of
peace which are highly undesirable.
| which are In the long run destructive
| as any war. Tyrants and oppressors have
many times made wilderness and called
| it peace. The peace of tyrannous terror,
| the peace of craven weakness. the peace
of injustice. all these should be Stunned
| as we shun unrighteous war. The goal
| to set before us as nation, the goal
which should be set before all mankind.
| Is the attainment of the peace of JUS
tice, OF the peace which comes when
each nation is not merely safe-guarded
| in its own rights. but scrupulously rec
| ognizes and performs its duty toward
others.
There is as yet no judicial way of en-
forcing a tight in international law.
When on ..ation wrongs another or
wrongs many others, there is no tribu-
nal before which the wrongdoer can be
brought. Either it is necessary supinely
to acquesce in the wrong. and thus put
n premium upon brutality and aggres
sion. or else it Is necessary for the ag
grieved nation valiantly to stand up for
its rights. Until some method Is devised
by which there shall be degree of in
ternatfonal control over offending ma
tions. it would be a wicked thing for
the most civilized powers. for those with
| most sense of international obligations
and with keenest and most generous ap-
probation of the difference between right
and wrong. to disarm. If the great civ
| ilized nations of the present day should
completely disarm. the result would mean
an immediate recrudescence of barbar-
| ism in one form another.
Arbitration Treaties.
We are in every way endeavoring to
| help on. with cordial good will. every
movement which will tend to bring US
| into more friendly relations with the rest
| of mankind. In pursuance of this policy
I shall shortly lay before the Senate
| treaties of arbitration with all powers
which are willing to enter into these
| treaties with US. Furthermore. at the
| request of the Inte1parliamentary Union.
an eminent body composed of practical
statesmen from all countries. I have
asked the Powers to join with this gov
| ernment in a second Hague conference,
at which it is hoped that the work al
ready so happily begun at The Hague
may be carried some steps further to-
ward completion. This carries out the
| desire expressed by the first Hague con-
| ference Itself.
Policy on Western Hemisphere.
1t is not true that the United States
| feels any land hunger or entertains any
| projects as regards the other nations of
the western hemisphere save such as are
\ for their welfare. All that this coun-
| try desires is to see the neighboring
| countries stable. orderly. and prosperous.
Any country whose people conduct them
| selves well can count upon our hearty
| friendship. If a nation shows that it
| knows how to act with reasonable eff
| cheney and decency in social and political
| matters. II 1t keeps order and pays its
| obligations. it need fear no interference
from the United States. Chronic wrong
| doing. or an impotence which results in
/ a general loosening of the ties OF civil
| lied society. may in America. as else
| where, ultimately require Intervention by
some civilized nation. and in the western
| hemisphere the adherents of the United
| States to the Monroe doctrine may force
the United States. however reluctantly.
/ in fragrant cases Of such wrongdoing or
impotence, to the exercise Of an inter-
national police power.
Our interests and those Of our south
ern neighbors are in reality identical.
| They have great natural riches and If
| within their borders the reign of law and
| justice obtains. prosperity is sure to come
| to them. While they thus obey the pri-
| mary laws of civilized society they may
rest assured that they will be treated by
us in a spirit Of cordial and helpful sym
pathy. We would interfere with them
| only in the last resort, and then only
| II 1t became evident that their inabLIoy
or unwillingness to do justice at home
and abroad had violated the rights of
| the United States or had invited foreign
| aggression to the detriment of the en-
tire body Of American nations.
In asserting the Monroe doctrine. in
| taking such steps as We have taken in
| regard to Cuba. Venezuela. and Panama
and in endeavoring to crcumscribe the
| theater OF war in the far East, and to
| secure the open door in China We have
| acted in our own interest as we'll as in
| the interest of humanity at large. There
/ are. however. cases in which, while our
| own interests are not greatly involved
strong appeal is made to our sympathies
| There are occasional crimes committed
| on so vast a scale and of such peculiar
| horror as to make US doubt whether it is
| not our manifest duty to endeavor at
least to show our disapproval Of the deed
and our sympathy with those who have
| suffered by 1t. The cases must be ex-
| treme in which such course is justi-
| fable. But in extreme cases action may
| be 5ustifiable and proper. What form
the action shall take must depend upon
| the circumstances of the case; that Is.
/ upon the degree of the atrocity and upon
our power to remedy II. The cases in
which We could interfere by force OF
i arms as We interfered to put stop to
intolerable conditions in Cuba are neces-
| sarily very few. Yet 1t is not to be ex-
pected that people like ours. which in
| spite Of certain very obvious shortcom-
ings, nevertheless as a whole shows by
| its consistent practice its belief in the
principles Of civil and religious liberty
| and Of orderly freedom. a people among
whom even the worst crime. like the