| Show subjects of consideration by the president in his speech trusts must be held an control chautauqua N fi august 11 president roosevelt arrived here at on a special car aver the chautauqua traction line the presidential train arrived at lakewood at a ro over the erie railroad and was placed upon a siding the trip from east waverly the last previous stop was without special incident during the night after the arrival of the train at lakewood one of the secret officers was robbed of a valuable watch chilo asleep at 7 president roosevelt appeared on the platform of his car for a breath of fresh air the rain which had been falling for several hours was then coming down in torrents and the hills about lakewood reverberated with almost continuous rolls of thunder the chautauqua committee composed of bishop john H vincent dr george T vincent ira miller and J C neville waited upon president roosevelt at after an exchange of greetings the president was escorted to a private car on the trolley line and the short trip to tha assembly grounds was begun As early as 8 as many as persons had assembled at the camp theater to secure seats the route over which the president came to the grounds had not been public and only a few hundred leopla greeted him when the car arrived at the road gate the party at once entered carriages and were escorted to the hall where a breakfast was given by the chautauqua trustees about p m the chautauqua and republican leaders from western new york were presented there was no speech making but president roosevelt held an informal reception and greeted many of the guests well known to him the breakfast was served in the department part ment of domestic science the waiters being young women of well known chautauqua families at the president and party were taken tor a thirty drive through the chautauqua grounds escorted by a guard of honor As the president alighted from his carriage he discovered a bright 2 year old child waving an american flag in the arms of his father ah said the president there is a little who Is going to grow into a good american citizen and to the delight of the father and mother the president chucked the future amer lean under the chin through a line of boys and girls the president was escorted to the assembly amphitheater the way being strewn with flow ersi when he appeared on the platform president roosevelt was greeted by people with cheers and the chautauqua salute bishop vincent introduced president roosevelt to the great andl ence in a few simple sentences the president was given an ovation he spoke as follows today I 1 wish to speak to you on one feature of our national foreign policy and one feature of our national domestic policy the monroe doctrine is not a part of international law but it Is the fundamental da feature of our entire foreign policy so far as the western hemisphere is concerned and it has more and more been meeting with recognition abroad the reason why it is meeting with this recognition Is because we have not allowed it to become fossilized but have adapted our construction of it to meet the growing changing needs of this hemisphere of course means death whether to an individual a government or a doctrine it is out of the question to claim a right and yet shirk the responsibility tor exercising that right when we announce a polio such as the monroe doctrine we thereby commit ourselves to accepting the consequences of the policy and these consequences from time to time alter let us look for a moment at what the monroe doctrine really Is it forbids the territorial encroachment of non american powers on american soil its purpose is partly to secure this nation against seeing great military powers obtain new footholds in the western hemisphere and partly to secure to our fellow republics south of ua tha chance to develop along their own lines without being oppressed or conquered bynon american powers As we more and more powerful our advocacy of this doctrine has been received with more and more respect but what has tended most to give the doctrine standing among the nations Is our growing will dingness to show that we not only mean what we say and are prepared to back it up but that we mean to recognize our obligations to foreign peoples no less than to upon our rights we cannot permanently adhere to the monroe doctrine unless we succeed in making it evident in tho first place that we do not intend to treat it in any shape or way as an excuse for aggrandizement on our part at the expense of the republics to the south of us second that we do not intend to permit it to bo used by any of these republics as a shield to protect that republic from the consequences of its own misdeeds against foreign nations third that inasmuch as by this doctrine wo prevent other nations from interfering on this side of the water we shall ourselves in good faith try to help those of our sister republics which need such help up ward toward peace and order As regards the first point we must recognize the fact that in some south american countries there has been much suspicion lest we should interpret tho doctrine in some way inimical to their interests now let it be understood once for all that no just and orderly government on this continent has anything to ear from us there are certain of tho republics t ot us which have already reached mich a point of stability or wt that they arc although as yet hardly con 1 scio uil amon the guarantors guaran tors of this doctrine no stable and growing american republic wishes to see bome great non american military power acquire territory in its neighborhood it Is the interest of all of us on this continent that no buch event should occur and n addition to our own republic there arenow already republics in tho region south of us which have reached a point of prosperity and power that enables them to be considerable factors in maintaining this doctrine which Is so much to the advantage of all of us it must be under stood that under no circumstances will the united states use the monroe doc aa a cloak for territorial aggression should any of our neighbors no matter bow turbulent how disregardful of our rights finally get into such a position that the utmost limits of our forbearance are reached all the people south of us may rest assured that no action will ever be taken save what is absolutely demanded by our self respect that this action will not take the form of territorial aggrandizement on our part and that it will only be taken at all with the most extreme reluctance luc tance and not without having exhausted every effort to avert it As to the second point it a republic to the south of us commits a tort against a foreign nation for instance as wrongful action against the persons of citizens of that nation then the monroe doctrine does not force us to interfere to prevent punishment of the tort save to see that the punishment does not directly or indirectly assume the form of territorial occupation of the offending country the case Is more difficult when the trouble comes from the failure to meet contractual tr obligations our own government has always refused to enforce such contractual obligations on behalf of its citizens by the appeal to arms it is much to be wished that all foreign governments would take the same view but at present this country would certainly not be willing to go to war to prevent a foreign government from collecting a just debt or to back up some one of our sister republics in a refusal to pay just debts and the alternative may in any case prove to be that we shall ourselves undertake to bring about some arrangement by which so much as is possible of the just obligations shall be paid personally I 1 should always prefer to see this country step in and put through such an arrangement rather than let any foreign country undertake it 1 I do not want to see any foreign power take possession permanently or temporarily of the customhouses custom houses of an american republic in order to enforce its obligations and the alternative may at any time be that we shall be forced to do so ourselves finally and what is in my view really the most important thing of all it is our duty so far as we are able to try to help upward our weaker brothers just as there haa been a gradual growth of the ethical element in the relations of one individual to another so that with all the faults of our christian civilization it yet remains true that we are no matter how slowly more and more coming to recognize the duty of bearing one an others burdens similarly I 1 believe that the ethical element is by degrees entering into the dealings of one nation with another under strain of emotion caused by sudden disaster this feeling Is very evident A famine or a plague in one continued on page 3 continued from pago two country much sympathy and some assistance from other countries moreover we are now beginning to recognize that weaker peoples have a claim upon us even when the appeal Is made not to our emotions by some sudden calamity but to our consciences by a long continuing condition of affairs 1 I do not mean to say that nations have more than begun to approach the proper relationship one to another and I 1 fully recognize the folly of proceeding upon the assumption that this ideal condition can now be realized in full for in order to proceed upon such an assumption we would first require some method of forcing recalcitrant nations to do their duty as well as of seeing that they are protected in their rights in the interest of justice it Is as necessary to exercise the police power as to show charity and helpful generosity but something can even now be done toward the end in view that something for instance this nation has already done as regards cuba and Is now trying to do as regards santo domingo there are few things in our history in which we should take more genuine pride than the way in which we liberated cuba and then instead of instantly abandoning it to chaos stayed in direction of the affairs of the island until we had put it on the right path and finally aavo it freedom and helped it as it started on the life of an independent republic santo domingo has now made an appeal to us to help it in turn and not only every principle of wisdom but every generous instinct within us bids us respond to the appeal the conditions in santo domingo have tor a number of years grown frn bad to worse until recently all society was on the verge of dissolution fortunately just at this time a wise ruler sprang up in santo domingo who with his colleagues saw the dangers threatening their beloved country and appealed to the friendship of their great and powerful neighbor to help them the immediate threat came to them in the shape of foreign intervention the previous rulers of santo domingo had recklessly incurred debts and owing to her internal disorders she had ceased to be able to provide means of paying the debts the patience of her foreign creditors had become exhausted and at least one foreign nation was on the point of intervention and was only prevented from intervening by tho unofficial assurance of this government that it would itself strive to help santo domingo in her hour of need of the debts incurred some were just while some were not of a character which really renders it obligatory on or proper tor santo domingo to pay them in full but she could not pay any of them at all unless some stability was assured accordingly the executive department of our government negotiated a treaty under which we are able to help the dominican people to straighten out their finances this treaty is pending before the senate whose consent to it Is necessary in the meantime we have mad a temporary arrangement ran gement which will last until the senate has had time to take action upon the treaty under this arrangement we see to the honest administration of the customhouses custom houses collecting the revenues turning over forty five per cent to the government for running expenses and putting the other fifty five per cent into a safe deposit for equitable division among the various creditors whether european or american accordingly as after investigation ti their claims seem just the custom bouses offer well nigh the only sources of revenue in santo domingo and the different revolutions usually have as their real aim the obtaining possession of these customhouses the mere tact that we are protecting the customhouses custom houses and collecting the revenue with efficiency and honesty has completely discouraged all revolutionary movement while it has already produced such an increase in the revenues that the gov arment la actually getting more from the forty five per cent that we turn over to it than it got formerly when it took the entire revenue this is enabling the poor harassed people of santo domingo once more to turn their attention to industry and to be freo from the curse of interminable revolutionary lutio nary disturbance it offers to all bona fide creditors american and european the only really good chance to obtain that to which they are justly entitled while it la return gives to santo domingo the only opportunity of defense against claims which it ought not to pay for BOW if it meets the views of the senate we shall ourselves thoroughly examine all these claims whether american or foreign and see that none that are improper are paid indeed the only effective opposition to the treaty will probably come from dishonest creditors foreign and american and from the professional revolutionists of the island itself we have already good reason to believe that some of the creditors who do not dare expose their claims to honet scrutiny are endeavoring to stir up sedition in the island and are also endeavoring to stir up opposition to the treaty both in santo domingo and here trusting that in one place or the other it may be possible to secure either the rejection of the treaty or else its amendment in such fashion as to be tantamount to rejection under the course taken stability and order and all the benefits of peace are at last coming to santo domingo all danger of foreign intervention has ceased and there is at last a pros hect that all creditors will get justice no more and no less it the arrangement Is terminated chaos will follow and it chaos follows sooner or later this government may be involved in merlou i difficulties with foreign governments over the island or else may be forced itself to intervene in the island in some unpleasant fashion under the present arrangement the independence of the island la scrupulously pulou sly respected the danger of alo of the monroe doctrine by the intervention of foreign powers vanishes and the interference of our government la minimized BO that we only act in conjunction with santo doni ngo authorities to secure the proper administration of the customs and therefore to secure the payment of just debts and to the santo dominican government against demands for unjust debts the present method prevents there being any need of our establishing any kind of protectorate over the island and gives the people of santo domingo the same chance to move onward and upward which we have already given to the people of cuba it will be doubly to our discredit as a nation it we fall 0 o take advantage of this chance tor it will be of damage to ourselves and above all it will be of incalculable damage to santo domingo every consideration of wise policy and above all every consideration of bids us meet the request of santo domingo as we arc now trying to meet it so much tor one feature of our foreign policy now for ono feature afy our domestic policy one of the main features of our national governmental policy should be the extort to secure adequate and effective supervisory and regulatory control over all great corporations doing an interstate business much of the legislation aimed to prevent the evils connected with the |
