The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1904-12-09

effort to secure justice for others or JUS
| tice for ourselves. save as conditioned
| upon the attitude we are willing to take
toward our army, and especially toward
our navy. 1t is not merely unwise. 1t is
contemplate, for a nation, as for an In
dividual. to us9 high sounding language
to proclaim It's purposes. or to take po-
sitions which are ridiculous II unsupport.
ed by potential force, and then to refuse
| to provide this force. II there is no In
| tention of providing and Of keeping the
fforce necessary to back up q strong atti-
tude then 1t is far better not to assume
| such an attitude.
The steady aim of this nation, as Of all
enlightened nations, should be to strive
| to bring ever nearer the day when there
| shall prevail throughout the world the
peace of justice. There are kinds Of
peace which are highly undesirable.
which are in the long run as destructive
as any war Tyrants and oppressors have
| many times made wilderness and called
| 1t peace. The peace of tyrannous terror.
the peace Of craven weakness, the peace
of injustice all these should be Stunned
as we shun unrighteous war. The goal
| to set before us as a nation the goal
which should be set before all mankind.
| is the attainment of the peace Of JUS
| tice, of the peace which comes when
each nation is not merely safe-guarded
| in its own rights, but scrupulously rec
| ognizes and performs its duty toward
| others
| There is as yet no judicial way Of en-
| forcing a right In international law.
| When one nation wrongs another or
| wrongs many others. there Is no tribu-
| nal before which the wrongdoer can be
brought. Either 1t is necessary supinely
| to acquesce in the wrong, and thus put
hrttta1itv and
| sion. or else it is necessary for the ag-
| grieved nation valiantly to stand up for
| its rights. Until some method Is devised
| by which there shall be a degree OF In
| ternational control over offending ma
| tions, 1t would be a wicked thing for
the most civilized powers, for those with
most sense Of International obligations
and with keenest and most generous, ap-
probation of the difference between right
and wrong, to disarm. II the great civ
iized nations of the present day should
completely disarm. the result would mean
an immediate recrudescence of barbar-
ism in one form or another.
Arbitration Treaties.
We are in every way endeavoring to
help on. with cordial good will. every
movement which will tend to bring us
into more friendly relations with the rest
of mankind. In pursuance of this policy
shall shortly lay before the Senate
treaties of arbitration with all powers
which are willing to enter into these
treaties with us. Furthermore, at the
request of the Interparliamentary Union.
an eminent body composed of practical
statesmen from all countries. have
asked the Powers to join with this gov
eminent in a second Hague conference.
at which it is hoped that the work al
ready SO happily begun at The Hague
may be carried some steps further to-
ward completion. This carries out the
desire expressed by the first Hague con-
ference itself.
Policy on Western Hemisphere.
It is not true that the United States
feels any land hunger or entertains any
projects as regards the other nations OF
the western hemisphere save such as are.
for their welfare. All that this coun-
try desires is to see the neighboring
countries stable, orderly, and prosperous.
Any country whose people conduct them
selves well can count upon our hearty
friendship. If a nation shows that 1t
knows how to act with reasonable eff
cheney and decency in social and political
matters, If 1t keeps order and pays its
obligations. 1t need fear no interference
from the United States. Chronic wrong
doing or an impotence which results in
a general loosening of the ties of civil
lied society, may in America. as else
where, ultimately require Intervention by
some civilized nation, and in the western
hemisphere the adherents 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 exercise of an inter-
national police power.
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 pri-
mary laws of civilized society they may
rest assured that they will be treated. by
us in a spirit of cordial and helpful SYM
pathy. We would interfere with them
only in the last resort, and then only
If it became evident that their inabiiity
or unwillingness 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.
In asserting the Monroe doctrine, in
taking such steps as we have taken in
regard to Cuba, Venezuela, and Panama,
and in endeavoring to circumscribe the
theater of war in the far East, and to
secure the open door in China, we have
the interest of humanity at large. There
are however, cases in which, while our
own interests are not greatly involved,
strong appeal is made to our sympathies.
There are occasional crimes committed
on so vast a scale and of such peculiar
horror as to make us doubt whether 1t is
not our manifest duty to endeavor at
least to show our disapproval Of the deed
and our sympathy with those who have
suffered by it. The cases must be ex-
IRENE in which such a course is justi-
fable. But in extreme cases action may
be justifiable and proper. What form
the action shall take must depend 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 as we interfered to put stop to
intolerable conditions in Cuba are neces-
sarily very few. Yet 1t is not to be ex-
pected that a people like ours, which In
spite of certain very obvious shortcom-
ings, nevertheless as a whole shows by
its consistent practice its belief in the
principles of civil and religious liberty
and of orderly freedom, 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-it is inevitable that such ma
ton should desire eagerly to give ex-
nam Nm a