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The Commoner
VOLUME 3, NUMBER 5.
THE RATIFICATION BY THE SENATE OF
tho Alaskan boundary treaty docs not ncces
surily mean that tho dlsputo has boon submitted
to arbitration. On tho contrary, the representa
tives of tho administration havo taken pains to
Bay that "arbitration" Is not intended by this
troaty. Tho treaty provides for a joint commis
sion to bo composed of threo men chosen by tho
United States and threo by Great Britain. Tho
Issuob aro to bo subm't ted to this commission and
unloss at least one member representing tho
United States or one member representing Great
Britain shall yield tho claims mado by his gov
ernment, thon no result will be obtained. Because
there Is no seventh member empowered to cost
tho deciding voto, and perhaps on the theory
that tho threo mombors representing tho United
States will not yield, tho representatives of tho
administration claim that they are correct in their
contention that tho question affecting tho Alaskan
boundary has not been submitted to arbitration.
If It bo well understood in tho beginning that, ir
respective of tho showing to bo mado before tho
commission, neither side to tho controversy will
yield then It is fair to say that tho treaty docs
not. provide for arbitration. And yet if one of
tho representatives for Great Britain should. In
tho, presonco of tho showing mado on behalf of
tho' United States, yield tho claims made by his
government, tho dlsputo would undoubtedly bo
disposed of.
AT THIS TIME THE ALASKAN BOUNDARY
Is practically defined by tho agreement
made between Secretary Hay and Lord Paunoefbto,
October 20, 1899. That agreement is known aa
tho modus vlvendi and it. will bo remembered
that during tho presidential campaign of 1900
it was frequently referred to. Tho modus Vi
vendi involved at least a temporary surrender of;
territory that had all along been claimed and con
coded to tho United States. Tho purport of that
agreemont was well doscribed by tho New York
Sun In its issuo of August G, 1900. Tho Sun at
that timo ontcrod vigorous protest against tho
modus Vivendi and said that it yielded the boun
dary lino that "has remained just whore it is on
all government maps of our possession ever sinco
Alaska bcoamo a territory of the United States in
1867." According to tho Sun, prior to 18G7 tho
lino had remained whoro It was prior to tho
modus vivondi and remained undisturbed for forty-two
years on British maps marking tho limits
of Russian possessions In North America; and
precisely tho same boundary lino appears on
British maps Including oven so recent an atlas as
that which tho London Times published in 1897.
THE AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BE
tween Secretary Hay and Lord Pauncefoto
was bitterly condemned by this Now York paper.
Tho Sun said: "Wo confess our utter inability to
understand tho curious plea put forth by the state
department that, while tho United States sur
rendered not a single inch of territory by this
provisional lino, Great Britain surrenders nine-teon-twontleths
of tho land in dlsputo, and that
tho modus Vivendi is, accordingly, another di
plomatic victory for Secrotary Hay. It Is vory
much as If Great Britain, in bohalf of Canada,
should suddenly demand a readjustment of tho
Malno boundary on tho northeast, claiming all of
Now England and part of Now York up to tho lino
of the Hudson river and Lake Champlain; and if
Mr. Hay should agree to a provisional boundary
lino at tho Penobscot river and along Its east
branch to tho Schoodic lakes, and should then an
nounce his readiness to receivo congratulations on
having induced Groat Britain to surrender nine-teen-twonticths
of tho land in dispute, at tho samo
time removing tho source of irritation in tho re
lations of tho two countries. That master stroke
?n?Si?a? WttU1.(! b0 llUely t0 recoivo clos at
tention in tho United States senate."
T N THE DISCUSSION OF THIS QUESTION BE
J. fore the commission appointed by the Alas
kan boundary treaty, tho modus vivondi cannot
properly bo accepted in evidence. Great injus
?Z d0nVh0 United Statea if tho dispino
bSr 20 eid8SonST ? !in ,f th0 "ASroonieiit of Oc !
S?I ttu ,. Tho boundary line as claimed by
tho United States is tho boundary line as it wS
described in the treaty In which Russia coded
Alaska to tho United States and it is significant
that tho description used in that treaty is identi
cal with tho description of tho boundary lino
agreed upon between Russia and Great Britain 'in
tho treaty mado between those governments in
February, 1825. As a matter of fact in tho
treaty in which Russia ceded Alaska it is ex
pressly stated that the line of demarkation fixed
is described in words identical with tho descrip
tion contained in articles 3 and 4 of tho treaty
between Russia and Great Britain in 1825.
GREAT BRITAIN HAS LONG COVETED A
portion of this territory. In 1824" Russia
was in possession. Tho question was then raised
by tho British ministry and after a series of di
plomatic negotiations the dispute was settled by
tho treaty of 1825. In 1867 Russia ceded Alaska
to tho United States. Since tho treaty between
Russia and Great Britain in 1825 the British min
istry had raised no claim to this territory and it
made no protest when Russia ceded the same to
tho United States in 1867. Indeed tho official
maps of Great Britain and particularly the chart
of tho northwestern coast of this country as pre
pared by the British admiralty concedes the claim
as to tho Alaskan boundary made by the United
States. But when gold was discovered in the
Klondike, the British ministry suddenly found
new interest in this boundary line. Even the Now
York Tribune, pro-English as it is, admits that
not until the discovery of gold in the Klondike
did the British ministry advance a claim to this
territory. Jn tho light of these facts, it is not 'at
all surprising that American statesmen very gen
erally object to any proceeding that might lead to
a surrender of territory to which tho United States
appears to be entitled.
A SNARE DRUM THAT WAS TAKEN FROM
the British at Bunker Hill was recently pre
sented to the G. A. R. at New Bedford, Mass., by
Israel Smith. This drum has beqn in tho posses
sion of Mr. Smith's family for many years. Its
original owner was Levi Smith and the historic
character of tho instrument appears to bo well au
thenticated. THE ISLE OF PINES, TERRITORY CLAIMED
by the Cubans and territory which will
probably be claimed by the United States, Id at
tracting some attention. In the famous Piatt
amendment in which amendment conditions were
set out after compliance with which the Cubans
wore to bo permitted to establish Iheir own gov
ernment, it was expressly stated that tho question
affecting the title to the Isle of Pines should bo
left to future adjustment by treaty. A writer in
5Il?1!LJ?plnion' roferrinS to this territory, says
that though the Isle of Pines has been put po
litically beyond the limits of Cuba's constitution
and is geologically dissociate it is yet historically,
and even physically, closely attached to tho larger
island. It is as a pendant hung from the fair
throat of Cuba. There is a little band of railroad
running from Havana, on the north shore, to Ba
tabano, on the south, and then a string of almost
continuous keys, from Batabano to the emerald
Kinna,lYf Dasu PI Th0 appropriateness of tho
Blmjlo is increased by the island's resemblance at
Ani mTi? ei &$ 3ewel blazinS the sun.
And it is seldom out of the proud ssight of tho
Ri;r "? mQ of PinaY del Rio
al ?i f i de Ca?,allos a always visible if the
day be fair and tho atmosphere clear."
nnHERE ARE 3,200 PEOPLE IN THE ISLE OF
A p, i, ??' m of whom arG wttite- According
cLPbiC 0pinl01l mst of the People camo from
Spain by way of Cuba. At one timo tho island
was knoWn as the Isle of Pirates because it was
ZZ ,? ndez7us of political offenders who
S4?S de n r,banishmt and for criminals
m servitude. It is, however, no longer a piratical
resort or penal colony, but is quite a cSnfortaSo
home for those who have been born in i and a
delightful hosplco for those who may be tramline
that way. It Is pointed out that one-third of the
population of the Islo of Pines live in th0 villago
of Neuva Gerona. Another third live in th vn
lago of Santa Fo, twelve miles away. Tho re-
maining portion of tho population aro scattered
through the habitable parts of the island which
without Cienaga (swamp) have an area of but
little loss than that of Rhode Island. So outsido
of tho villages there Is an average of but one per-
son to tho square mile or one family to every five
square miles.
SINCE THE SPANISH WAR A NUMBER OF
Americans havo taken up their abode in the
Isle of Pines and these are earnestly advocating its
annexation to the United States. Of these people
Public Opinion says: "They have already pre
empted a good portion of the forest land and
productive plain and have begun the planting of
oranges, bananas, and pineapples, in anticipa- .
tion of the day when their lumber and fruit may
be shipped without duty to our ports. They urge
that it is the only tropical territory within the
American system not only climatically adapted
but unreservedly open to American colonization,
the native population bearing so trifling a pro
portion to tho sustaining capacity of the island,
and that tho moral effect of a thoroughly Anglo
Saxon colony in tne midst of the West Indies
would be most wholesome. But the congressional
reason for putting its title in commission was its
supposed strategic value. It can easily be made
impregnable, and it lies not far from the Yu
catan channel, and so along one of the paths to
and from Panama and Nicaragua."
ONE BUILDING IN JERSEY CITY, N. X, AT
tracts considerable attention because of the
fact that it is the home of 3,000 corporations. The
building is eight stories in height and of course
could not accommodate all of its legal tenants if
they were persons rather than corporations. A
large number of these corporations' are repre
sented by a single person.
, 9 8?
A HINT AS TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE
construction of a dam is provided by Les
lie's Monthly in an interesting description of a
dam across the Hudson river at Glenn's Falls In
this way: "To say that 150,000 barrels of cement
were used in making the concrete in which the
SSfSni?!?8 of eranite were laid, to state that
400,000 tons of this same granite were built into
the wall; that 30,000 trees were cut for the wood
work;' that 1,500 men labored for three years to
complete this narrow barrier stretching across
the river, represents only a series of .ungraspable
ideas. The cable ways used to transport buck-
!S ? 2?ment ,and blocks of Btone were the larg
est in the world the biggest 2,400 feet in length
la rfV'40 fe& or fuIly two mile of wire
cinm if m, gisa?Hc, aerial road- Tho finished
dam-it will probably bo completed early next
Ste111,,1 o1!00 feet log' eiBi?e of tte
wate n7Vfthe canal built to condt the
wfll be lK?ewbln?Whee1-, The ereatest height
win be 154 feet, with a width alone the ton of
onns fs1?LiTh?re arVne or Tlo suci?on
dm so miehtf i largerrin l. out none that
Dar so mighty and powerful a river. The nower
developed will be 50,000 horsepower at times."
SO ft
N?vVhPLpnGcHURCJ'1 BENEFIT HAS RECENT-
Setv Sf T i?dUCed the members of the aidso
eggsy la d t tundav de,d,cat8 to chuSh all
of the society Tho ,he?f 0Wned by enbers
from SeMemW ? d?dicaUon covered a period
is to tL formJnfnUary 15- ThG taiSey-
on Thuwday cyeniS of n?B,80ClaI t0 be hild
ber of eggs laid on InmEf" Wf e,Jf whn.n thG nfr-
the sale of aG Samo wmband the proceeds fr
Mr. Cooper recenUyXckerS ThS ISft
festival and social in n!u, modern chu$ch
Young LuttoiSi0 nl. D, an. .artIcle Panted iSftho
cation plan Is attracting muchTtentlon.T
N ttfe- WAHERE
among the nonulaHnn "u,muer of Chinamen
for Leslie's th.,? A wrlt
there are about 100 one nui a estimated that
. l loo'O0() Chinamen in the United
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