Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-06-02
FROM COL. HARVEY

t'0l. George Harvey, editor OF the MORT
American Review, has never been strong SUP
porter Of the Wilson administration and reten
Y has criticised it severely.
! Colonel Harvey is also a speaker of keel
atfric wit As an illustration of the viewpoin
f many Americans on the Mexican situation
Is we'll az an example of the Harvey wit, tn
GLOWING brief extract from speech is WORT
eading: H.
But while our composite democratic mind may
AT times seem TO be closed it is really locked
We are always ready and willing to learn. No rea-
sonable person of course, would have expected us
to recognize the de facto government OF Mexico after
had once put our heel in the ground in refusal,
but you may have noticed that subsequently when
precisely similar conditions in Peru and Haiti
we lost not moment In according recognition to
what was, though il seemed to our higher
thought what it ought not to be. thus disproyng
concusiyey accusations of obduracy and inattenton
4 To the demands OF expedency. Never agani, you
may rest assured. shall fall into the error de-
picted by RaIneses H. when, in giving instructions
To the nephew who was to succeed him, he defined
the difference between diplomat and lady
IF diplomat he observed. says yes he means
perhaps II he says perhaps he means no; If he
says no he is no diplomat On the other hand, II
a lady says no she means perhaps; If she says per-
haps she means yes; il she says yes she Is no lady
You may be certain that hall not again
definitely, inf1exibly. and irreyocably negative the
designation of president OF another nation. AS
the cOlored gentleman about to be hanged remarked.
5 somewhat pathetcaIy. This experience is going
to be mighty good lesson to me-
So far as other diplomatic .endeavors con- {
cefned direct attention the Offence familiar
all between theory and practice We denounce dollar
diplomacy instinctively. The very word dollar
grated harshly upon our tender sensibilities. We
could hardly sleep o. nights while Mr. Knox was
making a sordid trade with Nicaragua And yet
when. after having been placed in authority, we
listened, was our duty, the pleadings of those
unhappy neighbors, not only confirmed the trans
action but voluntarily threw in $3.00O000 to boot
evidence OF good faith and kindly feeling no less
than Of our Own contempt for mere dross, so long
as II can be extracted without undue attention from
the treasury of the United States
S So, too with Colombia There was clear case
OF the pressing need of righting wrong and We
are doing II or trying to do it after fashion fully
illustrative of our magnanimous disregard of mill
lions That The injury inflicted and that repara-
ton should be made there can be no question, but
why's 1t necessary to take $25,000.0OO from our
taxphyers, when btt a few years ago s1000o0oe
would have been most gratefully accepted and to
couple with this payment an expression of regret
closely approaching an apology for the action Of
previous administr atlbn, along with the privilege
OF using our canal free OF charge may indeed seem
to some as undue encroachment upon our generosity
So. at least am confident it will appear to the
Tedoubtable huntsman whose comment upon his re-
turn we await with zestfuI anticipation.