The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1914. MEDIATION—AND AFTER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2144, 9 May 1914, Page 4

The Dominion. SATURDAY, MAY 9, 1914. MEDIATION—AND AFTER

I The offer of Argentina, Brazil, and | Chile,' the A.B.U. States of Latin- . America, to act as mediators in the j, dispute between Mexico and lh« United States has considerable significance, apart from the actual pro'b- " km with which they have to 'deal It may he the beginning of a new era in the ■ international affairs of the American continents, Whatever the immediate result of the effort to ?„ bring about a settlement of the h Mexican difficulty may be, the in* a direct consequences of the action of y the South American States, arc- likely ® to prow of far-rcacliiii.g- importance. . T lie re. car, be no doubt that. LatinAmerica has a good deal of syiouathy with Mexico in its quarrel with its great northern neighbour. There.-is . a growing Ming ©f resentment in r. South Amerka at tiio continual <sxV knsion ;of the Monroe Doctrine gii-- " ing, rts it does, increasing opporfcunities for interference in the domestic concerns of the nations of Latinji America. ,m:easur.ey }t may be '■* saicl to place theni iti a state of 'tttte- . lage. They object''to the assutoption by the Lnitecl States of the • right to establish a sort of protectorate oi'er then), and to become the mc-ral policeman of the tpq continents. There is a decided inclination on tho part of the Latin States to tell their big brother in tire north to .mind his own business, and to allow them to manage their own affairs; in their, own way. A lew days ago the views of a South American dipio- - matisfc were quoted in Thk Dominion. He pertinently asked whether the people of the United States would s think intolerable far another nation « to step in "to redeem them" il they • should happen to lite passing throJigh ii disturbed perim! in their political > development. The- nations of LatinAnieHsa now have extensive trade relations with. European countries, t. and the !atest interprelaliens of the Monroe Doctrine seriously hain- ,' P%L growth of their commerce. J, These new developments of the Monroe ■ Doctrine are being watched with interest also by several of the European Powers, which are ijoit* eernetl in many important financial '• enterprises in various parts of South - America. ' pjiEsiftm Wilson recently dc'.ela.red that it is the dirty ®f the United States to assist the I.atin- - Ajßij.ricans "in thoir eniaßfiluatio.n 5 from the materia,! interests. of other '• nations." He went on to say that t btates that obliged to gr.inl. coisrcs- . sons are. in the position that foreign'in;l:erests are. apt. to dominate- thsif inter- ■ csts, Such a ;tate. of things is aj.i to become »>ioleraWe. It is fjiinifeipatiort . from this inevitable BiibonlinalHin that 'We deem it our duty to assist. This sounds very Sne, hut the Wash•iugfon authorities hate .flow to-face the? fact tfcat ttie p'riiieiprtl 'States of Lntin-Amcricß are inclined to hug their chains, and eenamiy show no great desire fer the sort of ottiandnatiott described By Mb. Wil-sdn. .Indeed, they seem mure afraid of the domination of the United States • than .possible subordination to European. countries. 'Foreign capital i has done a great deal for' them, and - ;s still urgently needed to help (hem i fn the development o! their untunl resources. It is even hinted that if tho capitalists of the big northers RaptthHc. had been a little'.more suecessful in securing ooßees?ions there ' would not - baye been so much taik about "emancipation from tlio material interests of Other nations. H . Rightly or wrongly, South Amerl- • cans have serious doubts' as to the disinterestedness of the United States. In an article in the Fori- : virjhih/ Review, Mr. R. j. Mag Hugh states that they' are not at all grate* fui for the declarations from Wash" ington eoacerning the "morality, not ■ expediency'' policy. "They see the. ;; United States in possnSfion of nearly | ■ a million square mites that aiiee be- • longed to Mexico; they see that she. , owns Porto Rico, has established a. ; close protectorate ovet Cuba, holds S, I .receivership iii' Sa.nt.o Domingo', and ;, . . . assisted [n the establishment of ■ ■ the Republic of Panama,, and th.eß took control of the Canal Zoiie." In view of all those .facts it is not surprising (hat . Latiii-Ameriea is anximisty wonderini? i how much further their enterprising neighbour Will proceed, and their di.sfritietudc is iuit. likely (o be allayed by ' Mn. Tin's sofnewhat alariuiiig anftounfienwrit- that "the _ frontiers of the United Sinter virtually extend to Tierra Bel Fuego," or Mn.. Wji,son's idea of commercial and financial "emancipation." ' PitOFfisson Gill. ■ of Lii Plata, declares that this policy of, tutelage can not be carried out without giving grave offence to the national feclitses of the people of Argentina. Aiifitljer L&tin-Aineri-caii writer quoted b.v Mr. MaoHi-gh is oven move emphatic. He says: Away, thfcn, with this heitcvolent Mwrwe Doctrfnc! ]t is very far from a doctrine by which all interests may ba protected, or may be held equally sacrcd in ail Ihe eomttries it concerns. " Instead of that is a doctriue of -absorptions and nimihilates the interests of tile* par* ties affoeted. The North Am-eriean ilaCi trine of liegomony iii tho 1-,'itin Republiu will rob these pe&ples of their sovereignty at; feme and abroad. North Ainerjean Inrperittlism will force them to sacrifice their. iiidepemleiice to the c-Xpans'loji flf the United States ever the wlwlo eflntinent. Tiie doetrino of jlonroo is the shield and buckler of United States aggression; it is a sword suspended j>y a hair- over their Latin oSfttinent. Such utterances as these points to a growing feeling of opposition to the elaim-' of the United States to act as the dictator and moral guardian of the two Amerieas, and the co-operative mediation of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile in the present trouble between the United States and Mexico is not without feigni*'' ticanee in this connection, Indeed, we' are told that this action is re.'garded in Paris as the first indication of a- collective South American policy, which is Considered to be likely to lead to the establishment of a balance of power in the New World. It is'a remarkable'' fact that the three ■mediatory nations are tho very Powers which . have been showing .the riiost pronounced signs, of revolt against the recent extcii' siotia of the Monroe Doetriiie, and it is possible that the United States may before very Jong be compelled to .reconsider the whole position as regards its relationships with the South American Republics, some of which are growing into great and powerful' ' They are determined to maintain their national independence, and are not likely to svihmit tamely to outside interference cither in their dtimostic aKairs or their foreiga policy.