The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1919-08-28
The Worlds Next Step
NO.
The League OF Nations and the Mon
roe Doctrine
Nv CLARENCE sPEED

Cwritten for and Approved by the Illinois
Branch of League to Enforce Peace-)
Apprehension, real or pretended,
that the cherished Monroe Doctrine
will be signed away if the United
States becomes party to the league
of nations, as it is now proposed, is
enc of the grounds of opposition TO
the league in the senate.
The Monroe Doctrine was enunci-
ated at time when reaction was in
the saddle in Europe. Napoleon had
been crushed and ancient dynasties
were being re-estabIished on the
thrones which had been overturned
following the French revolution. The
infant republic in America was sur
rounded by the possessions of power
full European states.
With the exception Of the struggling
republic in America there vas hardly
any place where the spirit of demOc
racy seemed to survive. President
Monroe felt the isolation not only of
this nation but of the democratic
spirit which it represented, and gave
voice to the doctrine that no Euro
pean state should be permitted to OBJ
tain further territory on this CONT
nent. He feared that the establish
ment of mOnarchical forms of govern
ment any nearer our borders might
make the overthrow of democracy
complete.
The right of the United States to
take this position of guardian of a
hemisphere was never admitted by the
European nations, but Europe was
II
early days the Monroe Doctrine was
not challenged.
Time passed. Mexico and Central
and South American countries threw
of the yOkes of Spain and Portugal.
Democracy progressed in Europe. The
British government was liberalized.
France became q republic, then an
empire, and then once more repub-
lie. With the exception of the Ger
man menace, which was not recog
nized until the war broke out, Europe
seemed to have no territorial designs
on America.
But the Monroe Doctrine grew and
grew. From being a protection against
the aggression of monarchy which
might overthrow democracy in the
United States, it came to be inter
preted as involving a duty of this
country to protect the little Latin
American republics from punishment
for reprehensible acts such as repu-
diatiOn of debts or violence to the per-
sons or property of foreigners residing
in their borders.
We were placing ourselves in the po-
sition of being made the policeman
whose duty it was to make the little
republics be good by force or ourselves
to fight other nations which might at
tempt to protect the rights of their
citizens. Can anyone imagine any
foreign ENHANCEMENT more likely to
involve us in war than this? 1t will
be remembered how near we came to
war with England once on this ac-
| count; and just before the world war
broke out it began to seem pretty plain
| that we either would have to enforce
| order in Mexico or stand aside and see
some other nation do it.
However, except that the Monroe
| Doctrine was sometimes used to stir
| up jingOism in national campaigns, it
| had really played little part in Ameri-
| can thought in recent years. In fact,
| our assumed rights under it were alb
| rOgated in some twenty arbitration
| treaties which we signed with England
| France, Russia and other nations in
] 1913 and the years following, and no
| one even noticed it. These treaties
agreed that the United States and the
| other nations signing them should
submit all disputes whatsoever to ar
bitratiOn." These disputes were just
as likely probably more soto in
| vOlve the Monroe Doctrine as anything
| else. And under the treaties we
would have had to submit them TO an
| international body much like that pro-
vided for in the league of nations.
But, though we had signed away
our rights under the Monroe Doctrine
! the league of nations, while it does not
mention this American principle spe,
| officially, in reality does recognize IL
by virtue of recognizing the fundamen
| tai principle underlying it; and this
| is the first general recognition it has
ever had.
The Monroe Doctrine asserted thai
| no country would be allowed to graf
territory on this continent without
getting into trouble with us. The
league of nations provides that no ma
| ton shall be allowed to grab terri
tory anywhere in the world without
getting into trouble with all the mem
bers of the league. Obviously this ap
plies to America as well as any othel
country.
The result is that we, instead Of
having all the burden of enforcing tn,
Monroe Doctrine against the world
now will have the world pledged t.
help us support it against any nation
which seeks to grab land.
| Apparently this, instead of dragging
us into a foreign ENHANCEMENT, helps
us out of our one hereditary foreign
ENHANCEMENT which might threaten u
with war over a matter in which W.
had little or no concern.
And what if the league should fail
What if all the other nations shoult
suddenly decide to combine to over
whelm an offending state on tn
American continent?
I