Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-12-08

body composed of practical statesmen
from all countries, have asked the
powers to join with this government
In second Hague conference, at which
tt is hoped that the work already so
happily begun at The Hague may be
carried some steps further toward COM
pletion. This carries out the desire ex-
pressed by the first Hague conference
itself.
Policy Toward Other Nations Of West
i ern Hemisphere.
] 1t is not true that the United States
feels any land hunger or entertains
any projects as regards the other ma
lions of the western hemisphere save
such as are for their welfare. All that
this country desires is to see the neigh
boring countries stable, orderly and
prosperous Any country whose peo-
pie conduct themselves well can count
unon our hearty friendship If ma
uon showa that it knows how to act
with reasonable efficiency and decency
In social and political matters, if it
keeps order and pays its obligations, it
need fear no interference from the
United States. Chronic wrongdoing or
an impotence which results in a general
loosening of the ties of civilized So
ciety may in America, as elsewhere
ultimately require intervention by
some civilized nation, and in the west.
ern hemisphere the adherence of the
United States to the Monroe doctrine
may force the United States, however
reluctantly, in flagrant cases of such
wrongdoing or impotence to the ex-
ercise Of all international police pow
err. If every country washed by the
Caribbean sea would show the progress
in stable and just civilization which
with the aid of the Plat amendment
Cuba has shown since our troops left
the island. and which so many of the
republics in both Americas are con-
stantly and brilliantly showing, all
question of interference by this nation
with their affairs would be at an end.
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 primary laws Of civilized So
ciety they may rest assured that they
will be treated by us in a spirit of
cordial and helpful sympathy. We
would interfere with them only in the
last resort, and then only If it became
evident that their inability or unwill-
tngness 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. 1t is a
mere trrlism to say that every nation,
whether in America or anywhere else,
which desires to maintain its freedom,
Its independence, must ultimately re-
alize that the right of such independ-
ence cannot be separated from the re-
sponsibility of making good use Of it.
In asserting the Monroe doctrine, in
taking such steps as we have taken in
regard to Cuba, Venezuela and Pana-
ma and in endeavoring to circumscribe
the theater of war in the far east and
to secure the open door in China we
have acted in our own interest as well
as in the interest Of humanity at large.
: There are, however, cases in which,
4 while our own interests are not great
~ involved, strong appeal is made to
our sympathies. Ordinarily it is very
much wiser and more useful for us to
concern ourselves with striving for
our own moral and material better
ment here at home than to concern
ourselves with trying to better the
condition of things in other nations
1 We have plenty Of sins OF our own to
war against, and under ordinary cir
cumstances we can do more for the
general uplifting st humanity by striy-
ing with heart and soul to put stop
to civic corruption, to brutal lawless-
less and violent race prejudices here
at home than by passing resolutions
about wrongdoing elsewhere. Never.
theless there are occasional crimes
committed on so vast 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 sym
. puluy Will IilOSc WIN nave SullGIGu ny
it. The cases must be extreme in which
such course is justifable. There
must be no effort made to remove the
mote from our brothers eye If we re-
fuse to remove the beam from our
own. But in extreme cases action may
BE justifiable and proper. What form
the action shall take must depend up
on the circumstances Of the case-that
is, upon the degree Of the atrocity and
upon our power to remedy it. The
cases in which we could interfere by
force Of arms as we interfered to put
a stop to intolerable conditions In Cuba
are necessarily very few. Yet it is
not to be expected that people like
ours, which, in spite Of certain very
obvious shortcomings. nevertheless as
a whole shows by it's consistent prac-
tice it's belief in the principles Of civil
and religious liberty ,and Of orderly
freedom, a people among whom even
the worst crime, like the crime of
lynching, is never more than sporadic,