Evening star., 1920-02-11
SOUTH AMERICANS
ARE SUSPICIOUS
OF us POSITION
Hesitate About Joining
League While Monroe Doc
trine Is "UnsettIed."
by DAVID LAWRENCE.

insistence by certain members of the
United States Senate on a reservation
to the peace treaty which would give
this country alone the right TO inter
pret the Monroe doctrine The note
addre ssed to the Department of State
ny the government of Salvador asking
tne United States TO uefine at tai,
time It's Interpretation of the Monroe
doctrine MEANS am assured by one
OF the ministers who is in touch with
tne views of other governments. that
Central and South American republics
VIII not enter the league of nations
!! they must sign away 10 the ,nIs.u
States the sole right of determining
what the Monroe doctrine means with
out any understanding in advance of
what it does include.
The situation is a direct outgrowth
OF the Senate debate. and reports here
indicate that the prospect of bringing
the american countries into the
the purposes and motives of the
United States as revealed by the dis
cusslon III the American Senate.
Suspicion Aroused.
To the original statement by Presi-
dent Monroe of our national policy of
preventing European countries from
this hemisphere, the republics south
of us have no objection. But they
have watched the Monroe doctrine in
terpreted variously by republican and
democratic administrations in sucn
fashion as to- evoke suspicion on the
part of their peoples that the Monroe
doctrine means to the United States
a bulwark against European inter-
ference, but the privilege of doing as
We please south OF the fiio Grande.
South America has not forgotten
Eiihu Roots refusal to make the
Monroe doctrine a common principle
of international und Outstanding in this
hemisphere nor has President koose-
Veits remark about the use of in
ternational police power" been dis
missed from the sensitive minds of
Latin American statesmen. hTey are
gratified that the United States keeps
Europe out of this hemisphere, but
worried over the repeated interfer-
ence by the United States in what
The question asked by Salvador was
prompted by the fear that with the
United States out of the league Eu-
rope would be left to determine what
constituted IAN impairment of the
.'alidity of such regional understand
.ngs as the Monroe doctrine" as the
covenant now reads.
There is no objection to the state
ment that the United States alone
shall be permitted to enforce the
Monroe doctrine. but there is decided
aversion to leaving blank just what
the future Interpretation of the doc
trfne shall be.
The moment any Central or South
American countries sign the condi-
tions Of the covenant of the league.
they would. of course. accept the
principle that the Monroe doctrine
s,~ A,,H T.
added saying. as Senator Lodge and
the foreign relations committee has
framed it. that the Monroe doctrine.
as interpreted by the United States
alone. is outside of the jurisdiction of
the league. the southern republics
on the contract They say it would
be a plain admission on their part
that the United States alone can in
terpret the Monroe doctrine as 1t
pleases.
Quotes President's Words.
It will be noted that President Wilson.
impressed, no doubt. by the arguments
of Latin American diplomats at the
Paris peace conference, used less harsh
language when he referred to the doc
trine as "a regional understanding" ;"
That would seem to imply that there
must be two parties at least to an un-
derstandng and that the disputes would
be worked out purely Dy
countries without interference by Euro
pean members of the league.
This is a logical consequence Of the
Wilson policy toward Latin America re-
vealed from time to time in the last
seven years. On one occasion Mr.. Will
government to pledge itself to guarantee
the territorial integrity and political
independence of the republics south OF
the Rio Grande. This pledge was ac-
companied by a reciprocal pledge TO
enter into a mutual promise to respect
each others boundaries. but failed owing
to the outbreak of tn European war,
which upset all diplomacy in this hem
isphere.
Mr. Roosevelt's policies were not in
tended to hurt the feelings of Latin
American peoples. but his annual
message to Congress in 1904 still is
regarded by statesmen south of US
as likely to be in the mind of his
intimate friend and party colleague,
Senator Lodge of Massachusetts. In
Chronic wrongdoing, or an i'm
potence which results. in a general
loosening of the ties of civilized Sc
ciety, may, in America as elsewhere,
ultimately require Intervention by
some civilized nation, and in the
western hemisphere the adherence Of
the United States to the Monroe doc
trine may force the United States,
however reluctantly, in fragrant cases
of such wrongdoing or impotence. to
power. 1t is a mere truism to
say that every nation. whether in
America or anywhere else, which de-
sfres to maintain it's freedom, its in
dependence. must ultimately realize
that the right of such independence
cannot be separated from the response
bility of making good use of it,
Proud NATIONS Would Resent.
The trouble is that while the forego-
applying to backward countries like
Haiti or Santo Domingo, it is resented
by proud and well developed nations
even smaller countries whose civiliza-
ton and culture has reached a develop
ment as advanced as our own.
South America would prefer that the
American republics should enter into
a regional understanding about affairs
roe doctrine shall merely be under
stood as applying to European inter-
ference and non-coloniZation as origi-
nally phrased by President Monroe.
They will never agree to a blanket
giving tie United States
alone the right to interpret the doc
trine.
They are much more likely to in
sert reservations Of their own. reserv-
ing the right to be consulted and to
dissent from any Interpretation of
the Monroe doctrine by the United
States or any other power which
threatens their territorial integrity,
political independence or sovereign
rights. Thus are the effects of pro-
tracted debate N the Senate disclos-
ed. Europe is disappointed over
Americas delay. Central and South
America is suspicious. Some declara-
ton by the Senate and executive
branch of the government on the true
direction of our foreign policy will