Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1904-12-09

the request of the InterparIiamentary
union, eminent body composed of prac-
deal statesmen from all countries, have
asked the powers TO join with this govern
ment n g second Hague conference. at
which 1t is hoped that the work already So
happily begun st The Hague may be car
rie5 some steps further toward completion.
This carries cut the desire expressed by
the first Hague conference itself.
Policy in This Hemisphere.
1t is not true that the United States feels
any land hunger easerteins any projects
as regards the other "a ions OF the west
ern hemisphere save such as are for their
welfare All that this country desires is to
see the neighboring countries stable, order
~ and prosperous. Any country whose peo-
pie conduct themselves well can count upon
our hearty friendship If nation shows
that il knows how TO act with reasonable
efficiency and decency in social and polit- Q
ical matters, if il keeps order and pays its
obligations. it need fear interference
from the United States. Chronic wrong
doing, or an impotence which results in
general 1oosening of the ties of civilized
society, may in America, as elsewhere,
ultimately require intervention by some
civilized nation, and in the western hem
isphere the adherence of the United States
to the Monroe Doctrine may force the
United States, however reluctantly, in
hagrant cases Of such wrongdoing or i'm
potence, to the exercise of an international
police power. If every country washed by
the Caribbean sea would show the progress
in stable and just civilization which with
the aid of the Platt amendment Cuba has
shown since our troops left the island, and
which many of the republics in both
Americas are constantly and brilliantly
showing, all question OF Interference by
this nation with their affairs would be at
an end Our interests and those of OUR
southern neighbors are in reality identical
They have great natural riches. and it
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 society they may rest
sured that they will be treated by US in
spirit of cordial and helpful sympathy. We
would interfere with them only in the last
resort, and then only il it became evident
that their inability unwiilingness to do
justice at home and abroad had violated
the rights OF the United States had in
vited foreign aggression to the detriuSent
of the entire body OF American nations.
| II is mere truiSm to say that every ma
ton, whether in America or anywhere
| e1se, which desires to maintain its free
| dom, its independence, must ultimately
| realize that the right of such independence
| cannot be separated from the responsible
| ity of making good use of it.
The Monroe Doctrine.
In asserting the Monroe Doctrine. in tax
ing such steps as We have taken in regard to
| Cuba, Venezuela and Panama, and in
| deavoring to circumScribe the theater of.
| war in the far east, and to secure the open
! door in China, We have acted in own
| interest as well as in the interest of human
! ity at large. There are, however. cases In
| which. while our own interests are not
greatly involved, strong appeal is made to
| our sympathies. Ordinarily 1t is verysuuch
| wiser and more useful for US to concern
ourselves with striving for our own moral
and material betterment here at hbme 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 circumstances
| We can do more for the general uplifting Of
humanity by striving with heart and soul
to put a stop to civic corruption. to brutal
lawiessness and violent race preJudices
| here at home than by passing resolutions
about wrongdoing elsewhere. Neverthe-
less there are occasional crimes committed
on so vast q scale and OF such peculiar hor-
TOR as to make US doubt whether it is not
our manifest duty to endeavor least TO
| show our disapproval Of the deed and our
| sympathy with those who have suffered by
/ it. The cases must be extreme in which
such a course is Justihable. There must be
effort made to remove the mote from
our brothers eye If We refuse to remove
the beam from own But In extreme
cases action may be juStihable and proper.
What form the action shall take must de-
pend upon 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 We interfered to put stop to in
j tolerable conditions in Cuba are neces-
/ sarily very few. Yet 1t is not to be expected
that people like ours, which in spite OK
certain very obvious shortcomings, never
theless q whole shows by its consistent
practice its belief in the principles of civil
and religious liberty and Of orderly free
dom. a people among whom even the worst
crime, ike the crime of lynching, is never
more than sporadic. that individuals and
not classes are molested in their funda-
mental TightS-it is inevitable that such q
nation should desire eagerly TO give express
sion 20 lis horror on an occasion like that
of the massacI of the Jews in Kishine1, or
when Ii VII esses such systematic and
long ex;enCeN cruelty and oppression as
tES cr-e-ty ard oppression Of which the
Arm mans have Leen the victims. and
whi-h have won for them the indignant
pity Of The civilized world
American Citizens Abroad.
Even where it is not possible to secure in
other nations the observance of the prin-
ciples which we accept as automatic. il Ii
NJ ces >ry for US firmly to insist upon the
rights # our own citizens without regard
to tn IN creed or race; without regard to
whether hey were born here born
abroad Il has proved very difficult TO Sc
cure from Russia the right for our Jewish
fe low ci els q receive passports ana
travel tEr 1gk Russian territory Such
conduct is MOI Cn,y unjust and Irritating
towara US, but il is difficult TO see its wis
dom p ON Ruszia's standpoint No con-
cefvaJ-e good is accomplished by it II
Americ IN Jew or an American Chris
tian m.sbef ayes himself in Russia he can
at once be driven out: but The ordinary
American Jew, ike the ordinary American
Christian would behave Just about a he
behaves here, hat is. behave as any good
citizen ought to behave: anG where this is
the case il is wrong against which we are
entitled to protest to refuse him his pass
port without legerd 10 his conduct and
character, merely on -oCia- AID religious
grounds. In Iurl ey cur C-fIiC u.ties arise
less from t1e way in With cur citizens are
sometimes treated thar from the inoigna-
tioL ins vitE-bIy excited in seeing such fear
full r1isrule as has been Witnessed both In
Armenia al h &C -donia-
The Navy.