Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-06

| ana clV1ilzeQ mankln0, anu On III
other hand that 1t should keep prepared
while scrupulously avoiding wrongdoing 1t
self. to repel any wrong, and In excepiona
cases to take action which in more ad
would come under the head Of the exercise
OF the International police. A great FREE
people owes 1t to itself and to all mankind
not to sink into helplessness before. thu
powers Of evil.
| Arbitration Treaties.
We are in every way endeavoring to hell
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 entel
into these treaties with US. It IL not posi-
Bile at this period Of the worlds develop.
| ment to agree to arbitrate all matters, but
there are many matters Of possible diff.
| ference between us and other nations which
can be thus arbitrated.
Second Hague Conference.
Furthermore. at the request Of the Inter.
parliamentary Union. an eminent body
| composed of practical statesmen from all
countries, have asked the Powers to join
| with this Government In q second Hague
conference, at which 1t Is hoped that the
work already SO happily begun at The
L
| toward completion. This carries out the de-
sire expressed by the first Hague confer
| ence itself.
Policy Toward Neighboring Countries.
1t Is not true that the United States feels
any land hunger or entertains any projects
| as regards the other nations 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
ly, and prosperous. Any country whose
| people conduct themselves well can count
| upon our hearty friendship. II a nation
| shows that It knows how to act with rea-
! sonable efficiency and decency in social and
| political matters, If it keeps order and pays
| it's obligations, 1t need fear no interference
| from the United States. Chronic wrong
| doing, or an impotence which results In
general loOsening of the ties Of civilized
| society, may in America, as elsewhere, ulti-
| lied nation, and in the Western Hemis-
phere 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 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 so 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 II
within their borders the reign OF law ana
justice obtains, prosperity is sure to come to
them. While they thus obey the primary
laws Of civilized society they may rest as
sured that they will be treated by us in
spirit of cordial and helpful sympathy. we
,,for with
resort and then only if it became evident
that their inability or unwillingness TO 90
Justice at home and abroad had violated
the rights of the United states or hao IN.
vited foreign aggression to the detriment of
the entire body of American nations. II ID
a mere truism to say that every nation
whether in America or anywhere else'
which desires to manain its freedom, us IN
dependence, must ultimately realize that
the right Of such independence can not be
separated from the responsibility OF max
ing good use Of 1T.
In asserting the Monroe Doctrine In tax
ing such steps as we have taken in regard
to Cuba Venezuela and Panama, and in
endeavoring to circumscrtbe the theater OF
war in the far east. and to secure the open
door in China we have acted In our own
interest as we'll as in the interest or hu-
mainly at large. There are however, cases
which, while our own interests are not
greatly involved, strong appeal Is made 10
our sympathies. Ordinarily it Is very much
wiser and more useful for us to concern
ourselves with striving for our own moral
and material betterment here at home than
to concern ourselves with trying 10 peter
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 upl1ftlng
of humanity by striving with heart ana
soul to put stop to civic corruption, to
brutal lawlessness and violent race preJu-
dices here at home than by passing reso-
lutions about wrongdoing ELSEWHERE. Never
ncfn yov 1Yr1ad
mitted on so vast g. scale and of such pc
culiar horror as to make us doubt whether
1t is not our manifest duty to endeavor at
least to show our disapproval OF the deco
and our sympathy with those who have
suffered by 1t. The cases must be extreme
in which such a course is justifiable. There
must be no effort made to remove the mote
from the our brothers eye II we refuse to
remove the beam from our own. But In
extreme cases action may be justihable 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
necessarily very few. Yet 1t Is not to be
expected that a people like ours, which in
spite of certain very obvious shortcomings,
nevertheless as whole shows by It's con-
sistent practice 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 fndivid-
uals and not classes are molested in their
fundamental rights - it is inevitable that
such a nation should desire eagerly to give
expression to its horror on an occasion like
that of the massacre of the Jews in Kishe-
nef, or when it witnesses such systematic
and Iong-eXtended cruelty and oppression
as the cruelty and oppression Of which the
A,menians have been the victims, and
which have won for them the indignant pity
of the civilized world.
Rights Of American Citizens Abroad.
Even where 1t is not possible to secure in
other nations the observance of the prin-
ciples which we accept as automatic. 1t is
necessary for us firmly to insist upon the
rights of our own citizens without regard TO
their creed or race; without regard to
whether they were born here or born
abroad. 1t has proved very difficult to Sc
cure from Russia the right for our Jewish
fellow citizens to receive passports and
travel through Russian territory. Such
conduct is not only unjust and Irritating
toward us. but 1t is difficult to see its wis
dom from Russia's standpoint. No con-
ceivable good is accomplished by 1t. If an
American Jew or an American Christian
misbehaves himself in Russia he can at
once be driven out; but the ordinary Ameri-
can Jew, like the ordinary American Chris
tian, would behave just about as he be-
haves here, that IL, behave as any good
citizen ought to behave; and where this Is