New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-03
DIVIDING BEFORE THE WORLD.

The legal right of Democratic Senators to
hold a caucus over the Dominican treaty is not
to be disputed. Neither is 1t 10 be doubted that
precedents for such action may be found in the
annals of Congress. There are those however,
who will call into question, on high grounds of
national welfare, the propriety of it. In most
countries the feeling prevails widely that, no
matter what differences of opinion may exist
on domestic TOPICS toward the outside world
united front should be presented. fractional
politics should have no place in foreign affairs.
Nothing is more resented than foreign meddling
with the politics of a country. If it were
made known that some European government
was especially interested In the success Of some
political measure or movement here and was
using influences and agencies to that end, In
dgnation would be great, and it would be just
But 1t will occur TO many minds that making
measure Of foreign policy a subject of partisan
contention comes unpleasantly near to Offering
opportunity, If not actual invitation to such
meddling, at least to the acute interest from
which such meddling might naturally proceed
1t Il not meant, of course, that there should
be no differences of opinion on matters of for
eign policy, that all men should implicitly
and unhesitatingly approve whatever policy the
administration of the time may devise. The
point is that the opposition of any man to
certain policy, should be individually based
upon reason and conviction, as a citizen Of the
nation and not be dictated by the crack Of the
party whip i'll caucus. \ measure Of foreign
policy should not be opposed just because it is
presented by an administration of the other
party, for the sake of putting the administra-
ton in a hole" If man is sincerely OPP
posed to q measure on grounds of reason, NOR
ais or patriotism, he Is entitled to make that
opposition known. But for him, on purely fac
70 +ba oPS
supposed fractional advantage, Il measure which
he at heart favors and which he would ear
nestly support if it were put forward by an adj
ministratiOn Of his own party certainly seems
dubious patriotism and dubious morals. 1t is
an unfortunate thing for party managers to
draw men into the position of having to choose
in such a matter between obedience to the
caucus and the dictates Of their own patriotic
judgment but when men are thus placed their
chances of winning popular approval are far
greater In adopting the latter course than the
former.
We have said that there are precedents for
| fighting foreign policy on fractional lines They
date back notably to the administrations of
some of the Fathers of the Constitution"
Happily, there are also shining precedents on
the other side for sinking all party differences
when confronting the outside world To 60 no
| further afeld than the famous Venezuela case
of ten years ago, of the gravest foreign
| controversies this country has been involved in
for many a year, and one in which there was
ample ground for differences of opinion con-
! corning the wisdom and prOpriety Of the ad-
minstrauon's policy. it is to be recalled that
! Mr.. Cleveland received no more cordial support
! from his party than from Republicans and
/ that it was, in fact, a Republican majority in
! Congress that backed him up and assured the
! success of his policy. There should be enough
( matters in domestic policy for partisan man
! ayers to use in the great game of politics. In
foreign affairs it is best for the nation and for
/ its government to present a front that is at
| least not divided on purely fractional lines