The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1916-05-26
HOW ROOSEVELT
KEPT PEACE
BY WILLIAM HARD
In METROPOLITAN MA GAZINE


say: Nov If Roosevelt were presi-
dent, we would have been plunged
into this terrible war straight off," In
truth heard this remark so frequent
/ ly that l determined to go over the
diplomatic records Of the two Roose-
welt administrations.
/ find that Roosevelt had many
bully opportunities to plunge the
United States into foreign conflicts.
I find that he was obliged to face and
handle three great crises with three
of the greatest countries in the world.
I find that he was obliged to take
hand, decisive future-fxing hand, In
the affairs of three small countries
small but nearby and turbulent and
dangerous to the worlds peace. | find
that he was obliged to have dealings
with many other countries in matters
capable Of bearing fruit either Of
friendship or Of hatred. / find that
he wrote on a visiting card the terms
on which a violent European contro-
versy was settled. | find that for
eigners think Of him as a great his
! torical figure not because Of the part
he took in railway legislation or in
| pure-food legislation or in conserva-
ity of domestic politics, but because of
the part he took in international poll
tics.-in the politics of the world at
large. | find that Europe and Asia
regard him as having been primarily
for good or for lila diplomat.
This is the Roosevelt least known
to Americans.
The Alaskan Boundary Question.
His first difficulty was with Great
! britain II was acute. II had to do
with the Alaskan boundary. The
! British put forth a claim which, as
Roosevelt remarked, was lust as in
defensible as if they should now sud
denly claim the island Of Nantucket"
Alaska is a kite. It has a main body
and then, fluttering southwark along
! the Pacific coast toward the state of
| Washington, tail. The dimensions
Of this tail were determined, long be-
! fore Alaska passed from Russia to the
United States, by treaty Of the year
1926 between Russia and Great Bri
! tain 1t provided that the boundary
! between Alaska and the British pos
sessions should run along the crest of
the mountains by which the coast was
| paralleled. The United States accord
| ingly occupied the coast region with
| out resistance.
In 1898, however there was a dis
covery of a considerable quantity of
gold in the Klondike. The Canadians
| Immediately insisted on also discover
| ing a semi-submerged coastal noun
| tain range which spent a large part
| Of it's time under the waters of the
| Pacific and which, when it rose to the
| surface, rose principally in the form
| of scattered headlands. Here was the
boundary, along the crest Of this alb
! surd range, leaping from headland to
headland across great bodies Of navi-
! gable water! The United States
would get a succession of headland-
| tips and Canada would get a success
sion of deep-water inlets, on one Of
which was situated Skagway, the best
entrance to the KlOndik goldfields.
This line, calculated to fatten the
| part Of any vaudeville performer, be-
! came automatically serious in the eX-
treme. Under Mckinley a Joint
| Commission was appointed to con-
slider twelve topics in dispute between
the British Empire and the American
Republic. One of the twelve was the
Alaskan boundary. The representa-
tives of the Empire refused to come
| to terms on any Of the others until
their version Of the Alaskan boundary
had been conceded to them. 1t could
not be conceded, and the Joint Com
mission" collapsed
At this point Roosevelt became
president. Quietly, in the routine of
| diplomatic intercourse, he refused alb
solutely to accept Great Britain's am
| phibious mountain-range line and re-
| fused Also with equal absoluteness, to
arbitrate it, John Hay, as Secretary of
| State, pointed out the fatal tendency
/ Of arbitrator to compromise" This
matter could not be compromised AS
Roosevelt said on another occasion
Uncle Sam does not intend to wrong
any one, but neither does he intend
If his pocket is picked or his face
slapped. to 'arbitrate' with the wrong
doer." What then? A Commission was
erected. 1t was not a Commission
with third-party arbitrator on 1t. 1t
was a Commission equally divided be-
tween the two countries. The repre-
sentatives of the United States were
Lodge Of Massachusetts and Root of
New York and Turner of Washington.
The representatives of the British
Empire were two Canadians and one
Englishman. The Englishman was
England's Lord Chief Justice-Alver-
stone.
This Commission met In London in
1903. It's purpose was indicated both
by Roosevelt and by Hay. Roosevelt
said Through strictly diplomatic chan
nels): Il wish to make one last effort
to bring about an agreement which
will enable the people Of both coun-
tries to say that the result represents
the feelings of the representatives. of
both countries"
In the meantime Roosevelt moved
United States troops into Alaska. He
let II be strictly automatically known
that those troops If the Commission
should fail, would be used ito reduce
the country to possession" He paused.
On October 20, 1903, the Commits
sion uttered its decision. Lord AL
verstone voted with the three repre-
sentatives Of the United States against
his own two Canadian colleagues.