The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-01-08
WARNING T00LDW0RL
Governments Plan 10 Guard the
Southern Republics.
"HAEDs oFFw SIGN TO BE POSTED

Big Fleets to Enforce the Monroe
Doctrine Both In Letter and Spirit
In Central and south America.
United states Will See Neighboring
Republics Are Not Humaliated,
The administration is preparing to
post a Hands orr sign on South and
Central America which will be SO big
and plain that every nation on earth
can read and understand it, a y a
Washington special to the New York
World.
The Monroe doctrine will be enforced
both in letter and spirit, in the broad
est sense in which it can be interpreted.
and no repetition Of the Venezuelan in
cident or anything closely approaching
it will be permitted. 1t is explained
that this does not mean that the little
republics of Latin America will be al
lowed to take refuge behind the United
States to evade payment Of their debts.
II necessary, the United States will ex-
ert friendly pressure to bring about the
faithful discharge of their obligations,
but in any event American warships,
and plenty of them, will be OH guard to
see that their creditors do not apply
any serious or humiliating amount of
force. - sag
Just how European bondholders are
to secure their money if the little re
publics refuse to pay up and the United
States will not allow the treatment
that was given Venezuela to be repeat
ed is a matter for other nations to wor-
~ about. according to the decision of
the president and his advisers.
The action that has been decided on
and which the general board Of the
navy has arranged to carry out
amounts to little less than the policing
the waters of the isthmus and the
northern shore Of South America,
which is the region that some of the
nations Of Europe are believed to tie
most covetously eying. Hereafter
American warships will be much more
familiar objects in those waters than in
home harbors. ~
At the time the fleets Of the allied
powers were blockading and lombard
ing Venezuela the navy department. by
order of the president. was careful. to
keep all American warships well away
from those waters through a fear that
the motive of sending them there
might be misunderstood and lead to
friction. Hereafter. also by order of
the president, American warships will
be right at the hitherto avoided spot all
Of the time. -04
The Hands OFF, sign will be posted
Immediately after the winter maneu-
vers of the combined fleets in the Car
ibbean, when. instead of returning to
their accustomed haunts. an imposing
array of warships flying the stars and
stripes will be permanently located al
most within shooting. distance of South
America and the isthmus. Culebra and
Guantanamo will then become the joint
base of operations of the powerful bat
tleship squadron.
The battleships will cruise around the
Caribbean, visiting ports in the West
Indies. South America and along the
isthmus. They will come north only in
the middle of the summer to take part
in the combined maneuvers off the New
England coast. The Caribbean squad
ron. when not engaged in other parts
of the Caribbean. will be stationed at
Culebra. The base of operations of the
coast squadron will be at Key West.
The training squadron will continue to
have it's summer bases in Hampton
Roads and Long Island sound. but it
will be in these waters for not more
than three months of the year. The
rest of the time it will cruise in the
gulf of Mexico and will keep a watch
full eye OH the isthmus. Its base dur
ing tae winter. spring and fall will be
Pensacola.
Nothing could more forcibly show the
determination of the administration to
protect the republics of South America
from foreign interference as we'll as
from foreign invasion than the official
announcement Of this programme.
When this was suggested to a high off,
cial of the navy, he said:
1--WE can only tell what it has been
decided to do. We cannot explain. ever
IL any explanation were necessary"
How Sea Gull Caused u Wreck.
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