Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1904-06-29

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alyze every industry east of the Mis-
| sissippi river. Mines were closed,
steel plants shut down, factories idle.
! The strike had cost railroads, manufac-
turers and merchants altogether the
enormous sum of S2000O0,0O0. A vast
army of $4,000 miners were idle. and
to that number We're added daily thou
sands of workmen from factories and
steel plants that had been compelled
70 close down
/ There have been other strikes as seri-
Gus in the history Of the country. TIE
memory of the Homestead strike in
1892 is still fresh and there had been
reign of lawlessness and terror in
! Plttsburg in 1875, when scores of lives
| had been sacrificed and millions of dol
lars worth OF property destroyed.
| President Roosevelt determined that
the country should not witness another
| Homestead horror, and when every
| other effort to settle the strike or 1902
! had failed he summoned the owners of
! the anthracite coal mines to a confer
ence at the White House
John Mitchell, president of the Unit
ed Mine Workers. participated in the
conference. The mine owners refused
to arbitrate, and insisted that Presi-
| dent Roosevelt should send federal
troops into the mining region, overawe
the strikers, and, in fact, open the
mines TO non-union labor at the point
| ~ fha harnnaN - ~,
gatling gun.
On the other hand, John Mitchell,
one of the ablest organizers and lead
CT of union labor In the country. of
fered to submit the whole controversy
wages, hours of labor, recognition OF
the union, and ALTO the arbitration
of President Roosevelt agreeing in ad-
vance to abide by his decision
Everybody knows how the contro-
versy ended. The mine owners were
finally compelled TO agree to President
! Rooseyelt's proposals and the whole
controversy was setled by board of
arbitration selected by the President.
The miners won on nearly every point,
and from that day down TO the pres
ent there has not been a dispute be-
tween the anthracite operators and
miners.
Interprets Monroe Doctrine Anew.
The Venezuelan affair came uD in
the closing weeks Of 1902 1t was &
notable incident in American history,
for it enabled President Roosevelt to
secure from the European powers a
more cordial recognition of the Monroe
doctrine and at the same time to give
that famous American principle new
and broader int rpretatiol.
1t is not necessary to refer here to
the events leading up to the Venezue-
Ian incident. On Dec. Z, 1902, fleet
made up of British and German war
ships appeared at La Guayra On the
evening of that day both nations pre-
sented ultimatums to President Castro,
demanding the payment of debts long
overdue to citizens of Great Britain
and Germany Both nations had Sc
cured the assent CT the United States
to their program, which included the
probable seizure of ore or two Venaz-
uelan ports and their occupation Until
the collection of customs revenue suf-
feed to pay the claims. The right of
foreign powers to adopt this course
with Central and South American re.
publics has never been questioned.
Venezuela, however, refused to sub.
nit tamely to the Anglo-German pro-
gram President Cairo called out an
army of 100000 men and prepared to
fight. Germany and Great Britain, to
their overwhelming surprise, found
that their plans for peaceful block
ade had gone awry and that they were
engaged in actual war with the hot
headed South American republic. And
it was like real war. Venezuelan war
ships We're captured and scuttled, ports
were bombarded, and people were
killed.
More than that, Germany and Great
Britain declared blockade of the
Venezuelan coast and began to lay
plans for landing an army and fighting
way across the mountains to Car
acas.
ton of the soil of an American repub-
lie by European power, and Presi-
dent Roosevelt refused to permit it.
On the night of Dec. II the ambassa-
doris of Great Britain and Germany at
. Washington were handed memoran-
dums to the following effect:
1T must be understood that the
United States could not give its con
sent to any extension of the interna-
tional right of peaceful blockade"
In other words, President Roosevelt
) informed the powers of Europe that
thAy would not be permitted to make
war upon an American republic for the
sake of collecting a debt.
That ended the Venezuelan affair
Great Britain and Germany protested
that they had no intention Of infring
ing upon the Monroe doctrine. They
Withdrew their fleets and settled with
Venezuela by negotiation, United
States Minister Bowen, with the con
. sent of President Roosevelt. acting as
the representative of the South Amer
lean republic.
Alaskan Boundary Arbitrated.
The negotiations of the Alaskan
boundary arbitration conviction was
coincident with the settlement of ,he
Venezuelan affair. President Roose
Welt. in negotiating with the British
ambassador. stated the limit of the