The Tupelo journal., 1917-08-24

HaS
In the years when the Republic
was still struggling for existence, in
the face of threatened encroachments
by hostile monarchs from over the
sea, in order to make the New World
safe for democracy our forefathers
established here the policy that soon
came to be known as the Monroe Doc
trine. Warning the Old World not
to interfere in the political life of the
New, u Government pledged itself
in return to abstain from interfer-
ence in the political conflicts of .Eu-
rope; and history has indicated the
wisdom of this course. We were
then too weak to influence the des-
TIMES of Europe, and it was vital to
mankind that this first great expert
ment in government of and by the
people should not be disturbed by
foreign attack.
Reinforced by the experience of
our expanding national life, this doc
trine has been ever since the domi-
mating element in the growth of our
foreign policy. Whether or not we
could have maintained it in Ease Of
concerted attack from abroad, it
has seemed of such Importance to us
that we were at all times ready to
go to war in it's defense. And
though since. it was first enunciated
our strength has grown by leaps and
bounds, although in that time the
vast increase of our foreign trade
and of travel abroad, modern trans
port modern mails, the cables and
the wireless, have brought us close
to Europe and have made our isola-
ton more and more imaginary, there
has been, until the outbreak of the
present conflict, small desire on our
part to abrogate or even amend the
old familiar tradition which has for
SO long given us peace.
Iii OOtn SOlllSlCICCS al II I1dSuC.
in 1899 and 1907, we reaffirmed this
policy. AS our delegates signed the
first convention in regard to arbitra-
ton, they read into the minutes this
statement:
Nothing contained in this conven-
ton shall be so construed as to re-
quire the United States of America
to depart from its traditional policy
Of not %intruding upon, interfering
with, or entangling itself in the po-
litical questions or policy or internal
administration Of any foreign State;
nor shall anything contained in the
said convention be construed to inn
ply a REIMBURSEMENT by the United
States of America of it's traditional
attitude toward purely American
questions"
At The Hague we pledged our
selves, in case we ever went to war,
to observe certain broad general rules
of decency and fair fighting. But
at the same time we cleared ourselves
from any, responsibility for forcing
other nations to observe similar
pledges. And in 1906, when u del
egates took part in the Algeciras
Conference, which was to regulate
the affairs of the distracted Kingdom
of Morocco, we explicitly announced
that we assumed no police response
bility for the enforcement of the
treaty. And if any honest doubt was
was left as to our attitude in regard
to the enforcement of Old World
agreements,it was dispelled five years
later, when our Government refused
to protest against the overthrow Of
the Acte d'Algeciras.
W. declined to be drawn into quar-
rels abroad which might endanger
in any way our traditional policy.
Our second great tradition in inter-
national relations has been our per-
sistent effort to secure a stable and
equitable agreement of the nations
upon such a maratime code as would
assure to all the world a just freedom
Of the q
This effort was born Of u vital
need. For although. it was possible
for the Republic to keep aloof from
the nineteenth century disputes that
rem the Continent Of Europe, we
could not be indifferent to the way
in which war was conducted at sea.
In those early years Of our national
life, when we were still but q few
communities ranged along the Allan
tic coast, we were q ~seafaring people.
At a time when our f~rontiersmen had
not yet reached the Mississippi, the
fame Of our daring clipper ships