Imperial Valley press., 1919-04-14

authority-the Executive Council
shall recommend, 'or advise, or pro-
pose measures, and it fails to say by
what vote they shall do it. There
are one or two places where it is
stated there shall be a thirds vote,
another case where it shall be unan-
imous; but in most cases it is not
stated.
Now, either there should be a
clause in there saying that where
not otherwise stated, the decision of
the Executive Council shall be by a
maiority vote, or 4se it ought to be
expressed in every article where they
are called upon to make recommen-
dation, or a proposal, or decision
of any kind.
/ Again let me quote from Mr.. Taft.
He says, speaking of ambiguous
lphrases:
! "One Of these, for instance. is in
respect to the Executive Council.
/ VIII it need an unanimous vote or
! will a majority vote be sufficient,
where there is no specification?
| That puts the point extremely well,
and | think there should be another
, change. | offer that as a second
constructive criticism.
! Hemispheres.
| now come to what seems to me
very vital point indeed. and that
I is tie Monroe doctrine. | shall not
undertake to trace the history of the
Idoctrine or of its development since
i Mr.. Monroe first declared it. But
/ in its essence it rests upon the prop
ositlon of separating the Americas
| from Europe in all matters political
1t rests on the differentiation of the
American hemisphere from Europe
and therefore | have found it diff
cult to understand an argument first
advanced with more confidence, per-
haps, than it is now-that we pre-
serve the Monroe doctrine by extend
iHg ii. TIE Monroe doctrine was the
! invisible line that we drew around
the American hemisphere. 1t was
the fence that we put around it to
exclude other nations from meddiing
in American affairs, and | have
never been able to get it through my
! head how you can preserve a frence
/ Ey taking it down.
/ The Monroe doctrine is the corol-
/ larry Of Washineton's foreign policy
I declared in the Farewell Address.
am net going to base any argument
upon it, but it is mistake to con
slider the policy laid down by Wash
/ ington and Monroe as ephemeral and
necessarily transient As Mr. Wilson
well said, Washington's doctrine was
not transient. 1t may be wrong; the
time may have come to discard it; but
! it is not erhemeral because it rests
cn two permanent facts-human na-
IrWre and geography,
/ Human nature. YOU may say, has
/ changed When YOU study the his
/ terry Cf the nast, as far as we have
la history, there is q curious similar
| ity in it at all stages. But one thing
! is ccrtain-not even tie wiSest and
most optimistic of reformers can
change tie geography OF the globe
They say communication has quick
| cned enormously. The Atlantic ocean
| is not what it was as a barrier, OF
the Pacific, either, | suppose. But
DO not forget that even under mod
eln conditions the silver streak, the
little channel only twenty miles wide
was England's bulwark and defense
in this last war. DO not underrate
| the 5000 miles of Atlantic. 1t was
on that that the Monroe doctrine,
the ccrollary of Washington's policy,
rested.
Great systems Of morality and phi
losophy have been taught and
preached, two thousand, twenty five
hundred, three thousand years ago.
They may be wrong. But they are
neither transient nor ephemeral, be-
cause they rest upon the eternal ver-
tiles. And when you come to dis
card a policy like that it is well to
realize what you are abandoning and
what its Importance is.
TIE Monroe doctrine has been eN-
Ipanded. A resolution was passed
unanimously in the Senate a few
years ago stating that the United
States would regard it as an act of
hostility for any corporation or as
sociation or any other nation to take
possession of Magdalena Bay, being
a post of great strategic, naval and
military advantage. That did not
rest on the Monroe doctrine. 1t rest
ed on something deeper than that.
doctrine, the great law of self-pres-
ervation. They say that if we de-
mand the exclusion of the Monroe
doctrine from the operation of the
League, they will demand compensa-
ticn. Very well. Let them exclude
rs from meddling in Europe. That
is not burden that we are seeking
to bear We are ready to go there
at any time to save the world from