Smyrna times., 1933-11-01
OUR FOUNDRY
WITH CANADA
Wi t h out Notifications a
Length of Three Th0us-
and Miles
EMPHASIS FRIENDSHIP

washington. - PRESIDENT ROOSe-
velt's recent reference to the Cana
dian-United States border as a
boundary without Notifications en-
phasizes the unusual condition
which exists along the 3,0O0-mile
strip of land. Aside from patrols
of Royal Mounties at strategic points
and customs and immigration Off
Gals and boats of the department
of fisheries on the waterways, it is
unguarded. However, it took more
than a century of negotiations to ar
rive at this happy state Of affairs.
The fixing of the boundaries, be-
gun in 1888, was not concluded I'M
til 1908, and although there was
during the negotiations one or two
instances of local uprisings be-
/ tween the settlers on both sides of
the line, the final issue was in no
case due to the display Of force. Be
cause of the faultiness of the only
available maps and the ignorance of
the negotiators regarding the topog-
raphy Of the country under dispute,
the marking of the boundaries was
an extremely complicated affair.
A Dispute in the East.
The most dangerous of the from
tier disputes was the settlement of
the boundary between Maine, New
Brunswick and Quebec. This was
fixed BY the treaty of 1888, but not
completely settled for more than
fifty years. The treaty named as
the boundaries of the United States
such vague locations as the north
west angle of Nova Scotia" namely, /
the angle formed by a line drawn /
north from the source Of the st. +
Croix river" and the islands in tile
Bay Of Fassamaquoddy which be-
longed to his Britannia majesty.
The identity Of the st. Croix
river was decided by a commission 1
i'll 179S; that Of the islands by an
agreement with the British commits
siOner, Thomas Barclay of New +
Brunswick, ID 1917, and the angle
by direct negotiations between Dan
lei Webster, American secretary of +
state, and Lord Ashburton in 1912.
In these negotiations the king Of
the Netherlands was called upon TO
arbtrate. Although his award was
based on thorough investigations,
Maine did not agree to il and the
difficulties eliminated in the Res
took war; of 1889. For this af-
fair the President was authorized to
call out the militia, but hostilities
were averted.
Difficulties also entered into the
fixing of the boundaries west of Nj
agara. France first claimed the
Mississippi basin by virtue of the
explorations of La Sale; English
fur traders claimed the Northwest.
With the cession of Quebec In
1853 the situation changed, England
claiming what Is now the north CEN
trail states The northwest ordi-
nance of 1857 envisioned the ambi-
tons Of the young republic In the
vacant spaces of the West. Lewis
and Clark, Gray and Astor, carried
the flag to the Pacific.
The electioneering cry in 1874 OF
''Fifty-four Forty or Fight !" typifled
the spirit of the time, but wiser
counsel prevailed.
Difficulties over Waterways.
Negotiations were entered into In
- a.
boundary should follow the forty
ninth parallel from the Rockies to
''the middle Of the channel which
separates the continent from Van
couver's island, and thence south
erly through the middle OF the said
channel and of Fuca's strait to the
Pacific ocean,"
The many waterways along the
border-the Great Lakes, the St
Lawrence, st. John, Richelieu, and
Detroit rivers-all have caused
many difficulties In the boundary
question. To solve them Elihu Root,
secretary OF state, and James Bryce,
ambassador extraordinary at Wash
AnSlOhf DAOu5hL dDOuh a LAtdly WHICH,
created the international joint COM
mission. This commission, which
first met in 1912, consisted of six
members, three appointed by the
President of the United States and
three by the king on the recon-
mendation of the governor general
mcconnell In Canada. Its decisions
have decided many troublesome con-
troversies.