Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1904-12-06

ton shows that 1t knows how to act
with reasonable efficiency. and decency
in social and political matters, If II
] keeps order and pays its obligations, II
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 fragrant cases of such
wrongdoing or impotence to the ex-
ercise Of an international police pow.
er. If every country washed by the
Caribbean sea would show the progress
In stable and just civilization which
with the ala Of the Plat amendment
! Cuba has shown since our troops left
the island, and which 80 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 ii
! 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 spirit OF
cordial and helpful sympathy w;
| would interfere with them only in the
last resort, and then only If it became
evident that their inability or unwill-
ingness to do justice ut 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 truism to say that every nation
whether in America or anywhere else
which desires to maintain it's 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, III
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,
while our own interests are not great
ly 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.
We have plenty Of sins Of our own to
war against, and under ordinary cir
cumstances we can do more for the
general uplifting of humanity by striv-
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
pathy with those who have suffered by
it. The cases must be extreme in which
such a 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 justifable 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 its consistent prac-
tice its 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,
so that individuals and not classes are
molested in their fundamental rights.
1t is inevitable that such a nation
should desire eagerly to give express
sion to its horror on an occasion like
that of the massacre of the Jews in
Kishineff or when it witnesses such
systematic and long extended cruelty
and oppression as the cruelty and OPP.
preston Of which the Armenians have
been the victims and which have won
for them the indignant pity of the
civilized world. >
Rights Of American Citizens Abroad.
Even where it is not possible to Sc
cure In other nations the observance
Of the principles which we accept as
automatic it is necessary for us firm
~ to insist upon the rights Of our own
citizens without regard to their creed
or race, without regard to whether
fl1ev were horn here or hnrn abroad II