East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-08-09
CENTRAL AMERICA
A STATE PROBLEM
SECRETARY KNOX MAKING
ATTEMPTS AT SOLUTION
Getting Strings on Honduras and
Through Her the Others of the
Shlfty Republics-Outward Object
Seemingly 10 Give Her Financial
Help, But Real Object Is Diplo-
matte Ono.

Washington.-Secre of STATE
Knox has found new way to lay tht
everlasting ghost Of trouble in Cen,
trail America which has haunted the
State Department ever since there was
a Central America. The method
which Is now being worked out, Is to
all appearances a mere financial pro-
position, but the ultimate object Is a
diplomatic one.
There are really two objects. One
is to tie a string to Central America,
the other to save the dignity of the
United States before Great Britain
decides to step in and tie a string to
1t. We claim an undisputed jursdic>
tion in this business of tying strings
on the Latin-Amerlcan republics in
the western hemisphere.
The proposition Is to. have American
bankers refund the public debt of
Hunduras. At present the bonds Of
the country are selling about ninety
five per cent below par and the bonds
would be cheap as wall paper If they
were not too small to paste on con-
veniently. Most Of the bonds are held
by English investors and Great Brit
ain has been prevented only by re-
gard for the Monroe Doctrine from
jumping in and making Honduras pay.
1t would be a good thing for Am
erlcan bankers If the American gov
ernment, through the State Depart
ment, stands back Of them and sees
that Honduras keeps up her pay
ments, That happens to be what Sec
retary Knox is looking fora good
and valid excuse for jumping into
Honduras and making ii walk the
straight and narrow path of free and
enlightened government. BY getting
az Honduras he can get at the other
republics ana make their disreputable
presidents toe the line also Hon
duras happens to be the back yard
OF Central America, in which Cab
rera, of Guatemala and Zelaya, OF
Nicaragua, are always having their
ructions. That Is one reason why the
republics at their last conference
signed a solemn convention to pre-
serve the neutrality Of Honduras.
This treaty cost a lot of money for
printing and incidentals, but it has
not proven of any appreciable value
except as a souvenir. With a hold on |
Honduras, a duty to preserve the in
torests Of the Americans who put up |
their money for the refunding scheme |
il is safe to say that If zeloyo or Cab1 |
rera or anyone else in Central Amer- |
&C so much as makes faces over the |
back fence of Honduras, Secretary |
Knox will be down upon him with n
whole fleet of warships.
Nicaragua has been acting up with
impunity ever since Knox became
Secretary of state. and heaven knows
how long before that Secretary
Root tried to use the moral suasIon
method by boosting the international
bureau and having International con-
ferences, This failed utterly. So has
everything else. The only hope of
lies in diplomatically
spanking the belligerant presidents
until they think twice before doing az
they please.
This is evidently what Secretary
Knox proposes to do. And If he sue
ceeds the whole civilized world is
likely to be pleased, as there is scar
,ely a country Of consequence but
what has claims of one kind of an
other against the Central American
governments.