The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1919-06-07
FRANKLIN WOULD LIKE LEAGUE

Editorial Supplied by Foreign Trade League,
THE MOST STRIKING characteristic of the
American people, in which we differ more
from the rest of the world than in anything
else, is generosity. Our wealthy men of Amer
lean descent use their millions to endow uni
versties, hospitals and other public or benevo-
lent institutions. Our citizens who go abroad
do not hagge over "tips" or the prices of the
things they buy. Queen Victoria was an artist
in using a title of nobility as jimmy to pry an
Engishman loose from his money, for hos
pitals and other charities, but in the non-Eng
lish speaking countries even this influence is
lacking, and it is practically unheard of for
citizen to give fortune to a college or any
public purpose. In our foreign policy we have
always manifested this spirit. No country ever
respected another the way the Chinese respect
and admire the American people for what we
have done to protect China against her spoil
ers.. Our Monroe Doctrine has always been
intended in the same spirit although the Span
lard has never been able to understand it.
Benjamin Franklin, our first ambassador to
the world, carried this spirit with him in his
instructions from our continental congress
These instructions were written by the hard
fisted lawyer. John Adams, in committee of
which Thomas Jefferson was chairman, and
they were as revolutionary as the Declaration
of independence.
Diplomacy had always been royal game of
grab. Each country, in making treaty, valued
only what it could grab All the world was
held in the grip Of this game of grab. Colonies
were monopolies from which foreigners were
rigidly excluded All of Latin America was
held in these monopolized colonies. Trade with
Asia was a monopoly of two corporations, the
English and Dutch East India Companies All
international trade was in the grip of monopo-
lies, subsidies, bounties discriminating taxes,
preferences and prohibitory regulations Each
country Disseminated against foreign ships,
but this was only part of general policy of
soaking the foreigner.
Franklin was the original "open door" dip
omat. He offered France an open door in the
United States. French ships and goods were to
be admitted in our ports on an exact equality
with the ships and goods owned by our own
people, paying the same duties and charges
and no more if France would give us the same
open door. He was instructed to offer the
same terms to Spain and other European coun-
tries. Holland was the only country that actu
ally accepted this policy at that time France
became our ally in the Revolution but went on
against American ships and
goods for nearly fifty years.
Other diplomats followed up this policy of
Franklin. England accepted it after the war
of 1872, and by 1880 all the important coun-
tries had made their treaties in which they
agreed to treat American ships the same as
their own, and adopted the Franklin policy in
all duties and regulations regarding American
goods. 1t proved tremendous impetus to the
worlds trade. The growth of trade made a
greater demand for labor, and the condition
Of the workingman improved more in fifty
years than in the preceding five centuries. 1t
made markets for the American farmer, and
markets for all the producing nations
The League of Nations is a document such
as Ben Franklin would have written had he
)een at the peace conference in Paris. 1t ap-
oeals to the spirit of the American people, be-
:ause it carries forward the American ideal
hat the world belongs equally to the people
md not to king, prince or potentate