New-York tribune., 1919-09-17
Preserving the Monroe Doctrine

Preserving the Monroe Doctrine
President Wilson told the people of
Portland, Ore, that the present text Of
the covenant safeguards the Monroe
Doctrine. Therefore he holds that
Reservation Four, reported by the SEN
ate Committee on Foreign Relations, is
superfuous.
The President admitted that PERSONAL
]y he never thought it necessary to men,
ton the Monroe Doctrine in the cove
nant, since the covenant itself had ex-
tended the principle of the doctrine to
the whole world and thus denuded it of
any strictly American character
These statements bring up again the
whole question of the conflict between
the Monroe Doctrine and the Wilson con-
ceptions regarding the new world order
sought to be established through the
league Of nations. What is the Monroe
Doctrine? MI Wilson said at Portland:
'SThe Monroe Doctrine is that no nation
shall come to the Western Hemisphere
and try to establish it's power or inter-
fere with the selfgovernment Of people
in this hemisphere" The doctrine is
considerably more definite than that It
constitutes the United States an accent to
prevent such aegros son, and pats upon
the United States the responsibility of
intervening in disputes between other
American and n-American (in Mon
roe's language, Europcan) states.
Mr.. Wilson has said something about
the Monroe Doctrine in his "History of
the American People, The most pro-
nounced assertion Of the American view
of the doctrine occurs in a letter written
by Secretary Olney to Lord Salisbury in
the course Of the Venezuela boundary
dispute. In that letter, defending the in
terposition of the United States, Mr..
Olney said: 'To-day the United States
is practically sovereign on this continent
and it's fiat is law upon the subjects to
which it confines it's interpositon.
Of this declaration. Mr. Wilson wrote:
"He president Cleveland) had in
mind, too, the peculiar relations which
the government over which he presided
had borne to the states of South Amer
ca in respect to their dealings with the
nations Of Europe, and knew that he
could not in fidelity relax the rieor of
the principle upon which it had these sew
enty years been its avowcd policy to act
1t was that his assertion Of the Monroe
Doctrine in new aspect, with new dig
nifty, even with q new rigor that caught
the almost passionate enthusiasm of the
country. and made war unnecessary"
And Mr.. Wilson himself has not hest
tated to apply this vigorous interpreta-
ton of the Monroe Doctrine by establish
ing forcibe protectorates over Hayti and
the Dominican Republic.
The Monroe Doctrine is in it's essence
an extreme assertion of nationalism. of
American separatism, so to speak.
When the President began to mature his
project for a league of nations, he saw
clearly enough that there was no place
for Monroeism in such system. Even
earlier he had drawn up scheme for
par-American society of nations, with
Article X Of the present covenant as it's
cornerstone. On the foundation of that
society the Monroe Doctrine was to
lapse. In its place the theory Of pan
American concert was to be set up.
SO when Mr.. Wilson went to Paris and
began the construction of q charter for
the league Of nations it was natural for
him to think that the Monroe Doctrine
was useless survival. Its operation
must manifestly conflict with the func-
tioning Of the league, for it would take
the American hemisphere out of the
leagues jurisdiction and allow the United
States to continue to act as an arbiter
in It's own right of disputes between
other American nations and the powers
of Europe and Asia.
When the President returned to Wash
ington last March he discovered that
this country didn't want to sacrifice the
Monroe Doctrine in order to join the
league. He felt impelled when he got
back to Paris to make an illogical con-
cession to this deep-seated feeling. But