The sun., 1918-12-11

| turitlon wnicn produced his Fourteen
Points.
When the frst convention for the
pacific settlement Of international
disputes was signed at The Hague in
1899 by ANpnEw p. WHtTE, SETH
Low, STAMFORD NEwEts ALfhKp T.
NfAHAN and WILLIAM CRozIER in be-
half Of the United States, 1t was
signed With this express stipulation
or reservation serving notice upon the
world Of the American doctrine:
Nothing contained In this convention
shall be so construed as TO require the
United States OF America to depart from
, Its traditional policy OF not entering
I upon, interfering with, or entangling It.
self In the political questions or inter-
nal administration OF any foreign state,
nor shall anything contained in the said
! convention be so construed as to re-
quire the REIMBURSEMENT, by the United
States Of America, Of It's traditional at.
titude toward purely American ques-
| tons"
Az Mr.. FREDERICK w. HOLLIS, the
secretary Of the American delegation,
says In his history Of the First Peace
Conference ut The Hague:
'9rhe declaration was presented in the
full session of the Conference on July
25. read by the Secretary Of the Con-
ference, and unanimously directed to be
spread upon the minutes and added to
the convention by reference opposite
the signatures Of the American plenipo-
tentiaries. The Importance OF the pro-
ceedins. 30 far az the tinted States OF
| America IL concerned, will readily bo
seen. Never before that day had the
Monroe Doctrine been oficially COM
municated to the Representatives Of oil
the great Powers. and never before was
It received with ali the consent implied
by cordial acquiescence. and the i'm
mediate and unanimous adoption of the
treaty upon that condition"
When the second convention Of The
Hague was concluded In 1907 by 10
sErH ii. ChoArE, HoRAcE PORTER, u.
NJ. ROSE, DAVID JAYNE HILL G. 8.
SPERRY and WILLIAM 1. BUCHANAN
for the United States II was with the
same reservation and declaration.
And when this treaty, stlll binding
upon the United States. was ratified
by our Senate In 1908, the forego-
ing declaration was embodied In
resolution Of the Senate. This be-
came part Of the treaty when the
treaty wis signed by the President
on February %, 1900. The declara.
tlon therein contained IL "a much
part Of the law of the land as any
thing In our Constitution or anything
In our statutes. 1t cannot be amended
or repealed or modified by any word
Of President WILSON, acting alone and
on his own Responsibility.
Furthermore. In approving the Act
OF Algcciras In relation to Morocco,
the Senate formally declared by reso.'
luton, In 1905, that our adhesion was
solely for commercial and friendly
purposes" and without intent ito de-
part from the traditional American
foreign policy which forbids particl-
patton by the United States in the
settlement Of political questions which
are entirely European In their scope"
President WILSON has his Ideals or
ideas of American policy In foreign
affairs. but other Presidents have had
theirs likewise. President WASHING
TONS Ideal was that the United
States, In extending its own CONNER
cial relations with foreign nations,
should "have with them as little po
litical connection as possible" Pres
ident JEFFERsoN's ideal, MS expressed
in his first inaugural, was, Peace.
commerce and honest friendship with
all nations, entangiing alliances with
none" President MoNRoE's ideal re-
quires no further statement.
tOSclhSl, lhtSC iucuib
tute cardinal principle Of American
policy with regard to foreign affairs.
They are the sheet anchor which for
more than a century has kept our
Ship of State off the rocks.
What President WILSON intends to
DO, or thinks he can do, with this
anchor we cannot undertake to con.
lecture. We urgently invite atten-
tion, however, to the radical differ
ence between these Ideals of his pred
ecessors and his own ideals, 60 fire.
quently, so eloQuently and SO vari-
ously by him expressed. The differ
ence IL that the former ideals have
the authority OF formal ana distinct
declaration by the United States Gov
eminent, that IL, the authority Of
law; while the latter are nothing
more than the conception of an indi-
vidual mind and lack the authority Of
an official declaration by the United
States Government or even the sane
ton of an ascertained purpose of the
American people.