Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1904-09-05

The Democratic platform unt
to make the party the guardian
tional and international honor by
ing the administrations Panam:
policy. The platform says:
Our party having long and earn
| Vocated the construction of Al
| oceanic canal for the purposes of
| defense and commerce between tn
ana with foreign nations. we e.
early completion Of the isthmian
But, while making this declar2f
! accepting the results as an acCO
| and irreversible fact. we cannot r,
| p.| express our disapproval of til,
| odS by which, in disregard Of tn,
| and obligations Of international
| treaty obligations, the canal routc |
acquired, or too sOlemBly record
| that this precedent Of defiant di
| may never be used against US to
| initiation and injury.
If the Democratic party has e
vocated the construction of an is
canal its advocacy has been pure
dcmic No Democratic admins
has ever taken a step or lifted a fiji
that direction
Democratic Platform of 1856,
AS to the question of method
party is on record in favor of the
strenuous policy for the establish
and maintenance of isthmian tt
The Democratic platform of 1876,
which James Buchanan was nomir
contained the following:
Resolved, That the great his
which nature, as well as the assel
States most Immediately interested
maintenance, has marked out for
communication between the Atlantic
Pacific oceans, constitutes one of the
important achievements realized by
spirit of modern times, in the uncon
able energy of our people; and tina
suit would be secured by a timely
efficient eXertion of the control whicl
have the right to claim over it; an
power on earth should be suffered tC
pede or clog it's progress by any
ference with relations that may suit
policy to establish between our go
ment and the governments of the s.
within whose dominions it lies; we car
der no circumstances surrender our
ponderance in the adjustment of all {
tions arising out Of it.
When the resolution was adopted
question of an isthmian canal was
being agitated, as it never was IA
practical way by the Democratic p;
The resolution refers to TIE zs>Giaten
of overland isthmian transit, which
been interrupted By Nicaragua und
pretense that her sovereignty was b
invaded. The resolution virtually ass
the paramount right Of the United 81
to maintain and control the transit X
which was an important part of
munication with California. against
and all Corners.
Buchanan's Message.
In his annual message of 1888 +
dent Buchanan said the transit &C
the isthmus was "a highway W
must be open to the world, and
''the commerce of other nations is
to stand still and await the adjustr
Of such petty controversies" rs Z
which Nicaragua had raised.
government Of the United States eX
no more than this" he added "and
will not be satisfied with less"
These were brave and true utterar
but no Democratic administration
did anything to make them good.
less did the Democratic party ever
tempt to apply them to the construt
of an interoceanic canal 1T was
for a Republican administration t.
that. President Roosevelt's Pan
Canal policy has moved steadily
firmly towards assuring the constru'
of the canal, and his methods have
savored of a deficient diplomacy as
as did those advocated by the ID
cratic party in 1886.