The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-05-01
MONROE DOCTRINES FUTURE.


MONROE DOCTRINES FUTURE
Qsestious by an SnteIiigent Critic Of TN
Pan.American Extension.
To THE EDITOR OF The SUH--Str: Your
calculation Of the new Roosevelt extern
sion Of tho Monroe Doctrine opens up a
line OF questions which you ought to
consider at least, even II they prove
unanswerable.
Suppose the multiplicity Of sponsors
for the Monroe Doctrine can't agree
among themselves. what will become of
the conditions OF peace and cafety
which Monroe In his doctrine" en-.
deavored to make permanent "A this
hemisphere?
II Will be recalled that the who'll OBJ
ject and reason for existence Of the
Monroe Doctrine n to preserve the
peace and consequent safety Of this re-
public. which Ia the result Of our moi
having powerful neighbors. Europe
since the death OF Chariemagne in the
ninth century has been scene OF
warfare as a natural consequence OF
being broken up into q multiplicity
OF Independent States of approximately
equal strength: and to this day the
substance OF the people Of western Eu-
rope has been wasted and the best
years OF their young men have been
monopolized by the requirements OF
enormous armaYnents and military SER
vice.
The American statesmen of Monroe's
time well understood this and realized
the Unreasonable advantages OF a posi-
ton such as Americ. ther. occupied
and even now occupies: and they deter
mined 10 discourage whatever consti-
tuted n menace 70 our happy cond, ions
OF peace and safety
What dtd then menace the peace of
America was the upbuilding OF colonial
dependencies in America Of European
Powers Hence Monroe's pronounce
ncnt took the form ~ stopping Euro
pean colonial expansion in the Ameri-
can hemisphere
a lot OF people imagine that Monroe's
pronouncement II the whole substance
OF what ne dealt with: that the young
republic disappearing OF the political
ideals of western Europe meant to
make democracy preserve OF the
Western Hemisphere &C.
II n not possible here to go into these
fallacies except to say that the latter il
exactly what Monroe did not Ia in
mind and that his message Il only part
OF the substance ~ the great national
policy which r. the policy Of having
weak nations for neighbors so as to
exempt ourselves and them from stand
ing armies and ornaments. thus having
peace. Monroe's message Is only part
because In the nature of things II Is
Just as possible IN the course of history
for the peace conditions of Monroe TO
he menared from within the hemisphere
as from without In his time this was
remote possibility, but II was not
many decades before other conditions
arose.
The first menace 10 the conditions OF
Monroe from Within the hemisphere
came with the rise Of the Southern
Confederacy In 1861. and this aspect
OF the great war between the States
was not overlooked IN the North Men
imagined to themselves what would he
likely to become in future Of the young
men and the money of the country If a
powerful military state were allowed to
lift itself across the Potomac and the
Ohio: and il was felt TO he sound
basis for the war policy OF TIE North
the fact that union and union alone
meant peace. In this application the
words Of Grant, Let Va have peace"
should he construed Grant, the rc-