Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-04-30
The Worlds Next Step
No.
The League OF Nations and the Mon
roe Doctrine

VIII be signed away II the United
States becomes a purity to the league
OF nations. as 1t is now proposed. is
one of the grounds of opposition Il
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-establShed on the
thrones which had been overturned
following the French revolution. The
infant republic In America was sur.
full European states.
With the exception of the struggling
republic In America there was 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 II represented, and gave
voice TO the doctrine that no Euro
pean state should be permitted TO oh
tain further territory on this CONT
ment of monarchlcal 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 II
hemisphere was never admitted by the
European nations, but Europe was
busy with its own affairs and In the
early days the Monroe Doctrine was
not challenged.
Time passed. Mexico and Central
and South American countries threw
off the yokes Of Spain and Portugal
Democracy progressed In Europe. Tie
British government was liberaliZed
France became republic, then an
empire. and then once more a repuh-
lie. With the exception Of the Ger
man menace, which was not recog-
niZed until the war broke ont, 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, 1t came to be inter
pretcd as involving n duty of this
country TO protect the little Latin
American republics from punishment
for repruhensible acts such rs repu-
diatlon 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 1t was TO make the little
republics be good by force or ourselves
to fight other nations which might al
tempt to protect the rights of their
citizens. Can Anyone imagine am
foreign entanglenent more r,.ely t.
involve us in war than this? II wI
he remembered how near we came to
war with England once on this ac-
count; and just before the world war
broke out ii began TO seem pretty plain
that we either would have TO enforce
order in Mexico or stand aside and see
some other nation do 1t.
However, except that the Monroe
Doctrine was sometimes used to stir
up jingOism in national campaigns, 1t
had really played little part in Ameri- /
can thought in recent years. In fact, /
our assumed rights under it We're 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 aud the /
other nations signing them should /
submit all disputes whatsoever to ar
bitraton." These disputes were just /
as likely-probal,ly 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 ii does not
mention this American principle spe-
officially, in reality does recognize it
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 that h
no country would be allowed to grab
territory on this continent without
getting into trouble with us. The /,
league of nations provides thai 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 APP
plies to America as well as any other
country.
The result is that we, instead of
having all the burden of enforcing the
Monroe Doctrine against the world
now will have the world pledged to
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
which might threaten US
with war over matter in which we
had little or no concern.
And what if the league should fail?
What If all the other nations should