Evening star., 1923-11-23
HUGHES TO CLARITY
MONROE DOCTRINE
Latin America Awaits Speech
in Philadelphia as I'M
portant Statement.
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.


regard to American foreign policy in
general. and concerning the Monroe
doctrine in particular. will be made
by Secretary Hughes in Philadelphia
on November 80. The occasion will
be the impending Tooth anniversary
of the Monroe doctrine, which is to
be commemorated by the. American
Academy of Political and Social
Science.
DR.. Leo s. Rowe, director general
Of the Pan American Union, has been
president Of the academy since 1909.
and will preside at the forthcoming
commemoration. The Monroe doc
trine's exact centenary falls on De-
cember 2, .but the anniversary VIII
be celebrated a day or two earlier
because the I'd of December is
Sunday.
The day after the Secretary Of
States address Latin American diplo-
mats accredited to the United States
will continue the cornmemoratory eN-
ercises in Philadelphia. Among those
who will speak are DR.. Jacobo Farela.
minister OF Uruguay; Dr. Ricardo
Alfaro, minister of Panama, and Dr.
Salvador Cordova, minister Of Hon
duras.
Address Stfrs Interest.
Extraordinary interest will attach
to Secretary Hughes address because
of it's delivery on the eve Of the as
sembIing Of Congress. 1t may be that
1t will strike the keynote for the
Coolidge administrations interna-
tional program. 1t was on a similar
occasion-the meeting of the Amer
lean Historical Association at New
Haven on December %, 1922-that
Mr.. Hughes enunciated American pol
icy toward the European reparat!ons
problem. On account of the historic
nature of the Monroe centenary. 1t is
rather with regard TO the United
States present-hour Interpretation OF
the doctrine that interest mainly pre-
walls.
1t is an open secret that Latin Amer
lea is not satisfied with the concep-
ton of the Monroe doctrine that In
siStS upon its purely unilateral char
acter-that is, d dogma OF. by and FOR
the United States alone. The sister
republics of the Americas favor BIZ
lateral Monroe doctrine-that Is,
dogma that is a sort of partnership
affair. They are inclined to resent the
big brother" idea that the traditional
view of Monroeism represents.
Opposition Ii Voiced.
Especially. Latin America does not
like the implication that succeeding
administrations at Washington have
read into the doctrine, whereby the
United States arrogates to itself
even if IL does not actually exercise
the right to maintain internal order
in other American republics. Richard
Olney. when President Cleveland's
Secretary of State, dispatched his
famous Venezuelan note to Lord
Salisbury in July. 1895. cateGorically
set up the contention that the United
States regarded its authority ''sov-
ereign over this continent"
Twenty-six years later, in 1919,
when the covenant of the league OF
nations was formulated at Paris.
President Wilson succeeded in having
written into it an understanding that
the Monroe doctrine constitutes a
regional understanding" to which
the signatory powers pledge their as
sent. Seventeen Latin American
are tied to it, while we, through
failure TO ratify the treaty OF Fer-
sailles, are not bound by il.
Scope of Doctrine.
If Secretary Hughes makes any
concession to the Latin American
view in his Monroe centenary address.
it will mark a vital epoch in Pan
American affairs. At the recent con-
ference in Santiago, the United States
indicated no readiness to part with
any proprietary interest in the doc
trine. Our delegation re-asserted the
principle that 1t IS sacrosanct part
and parcel of American foreign poll
icy'' Of which no vestige can be
yielded.
Some Of the United States foremost
Pan-American authorities disagree
with that view. They insist. in the
first place, that it is impossible to