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 Copy 2 
 
 Senator Lodge 
 
 Past and Present 
 
 By 
 
 y 
 
 Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan 
 
 New York 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 All America National Council 
 MuNSEY Bldg., Washington, D. C. 
 
 ''Future generations will decide whether the 
 Senator really expressed his views in the historic 
 contest against the League of Nations or in the 
 Washington Conference from which he emerges 
 the protagonist of the Four-Power Pact, the 
 so-called Limitations of Armament Treaty, the 
 Chinese Nine-Power Treaty and the other com- 
 pacts with imperialism that bind us on lines 
 against which Washington warned us on so many 
 occasions.'' 
 
Gin 
 
 June -: 
 
 .LtCl 
 
Senator Lodge — Past and Present 
 
 By Hon. Daniel F. Cohalan 
 
 New York 
 
 ''My desire is * * * that mine adversary had written a book.'' 
 
 Job xxxi: 35. 
 
 IN the great fight against the League of Nations, few men 
 stood out more courageously against open attack and in- 
 sidious wiles than the distinguished senior Senator from 
 Massachusetts. As Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee 
 of the United States Senate, he was made the target upon which 
 were dulled the weapons of most of those who sought to draw 
 us away from the great policies that had made us secure from 
 foreign attacks and domestic intrigue. 
 
 At the head of a splendid body of men, he fought a long drawn 
 out. tiring, irritating campaign ; marshalled his forces with con- 
 summate skill ; and emerged a victor in the greatest parliamentary 
 contest in the history of our country. He was abused during the 
 campaign, as probably no other senator was, but in the end, he 
 triumphed. It seemed as though he had won for himself one of 
 the great places in our history. But one cry persisted, even after 
 the shouting had died away, and that was the bitter, insistent taunt 
 of his adversaries that he had been animated throughout, not by 
 patriotism, but by a blind devotion to partisan ends. His enemies 
 were powerless to prove their claim to be justified. His friends, 
 including the hundreds of thousands of his countrymen who had 
 been won for him in this fight for American ideals, indignantly de- 
 nied the charge. The cry, however, never ceased. 
 
 Can it be that his actions in the Washington conference have 
 proved the truth of the charge levelled at him? How can he 
 reconcile his position then, and his advocacy of the proposed 
 treaties just sent to the Senate, with his actions and arguments 
 of the recent past? 
 
 Much may be pardoned to the exigencies of party and to the 
 change in position made by a man who has now to carry the re- 
 sponsibilities of power, but how can he explain away his con- 
 sidered judgment and his settled convictions of other years, as 
 
 3 
 
written into his '"George Washington?" Extracts and opinions 
 therein expressed are the strongest proof that can be brought 
 against either the patriotism or the statesmanship of his present 
 position. The volumes on Washington, as written by Mr. Henry 
 Cabot Lodge, and pubHshed by Houghton, Mififlin Company, Bos- 
 ton and New York, in the "American Statesman Series," were 
 copyrighted by him in 1889 and again in 1917. They are the ma- 
 -terial from which future generations will decide whether the Sena- 
 tor really expressed his views, in the historic contest against the 
 League of Nations with its entanglements, from which he helped 
 us to escape, or in the Washington conference from which he 
 emerges as the protagonist of the Four Power Pact, the so-called 
 Limitation of Armament Treaty, the Chinese Nine Power Treaty 
 and the other compacts with imperialism that bind us hand and 
 foot on lines against which Washington warned us on so many 
 occasions. 
 
 The American Viewpoint. 
 
 Let us examine Senator Lodge's "George W^ashington," and 
 bring before the light of day, not things said of Mr. Lodge by his 
 enemies, but by Mr. Lodge, for and by himself. Mr. Lodge wrote 
 this book, it is true, before he became a member of the Foreign 
 Relations Committee of the United States Senate and long before 
 he became a convert to the policy of an alliance with royalty. 
 
 Strange to say, in that day (1889) he devoted a chapter of 
 Volume n. to a study of "Foreign Relations" from an American 
 viewpoint — from the viewpoint of Washington. As he calmly 
 viewed the history of our country, and marveled at the strength 
 of the rock upon which it was founded, Mr. Lodge said : 
 
 "Our relations with foreign nations today fill but a slight 
 place in American politics, and excite generally only a languid 
 interest. We have separated ourselves so completely from the 
 affairs of other people that it is difficult to realize how large a 
 place they occupied when the government was founded." ( Page 
 129). 
 
 He wrote this, however, before the Rt. Honorable Arthur J. 
 Balfour, Sir Auckland Geddes. et al.. renewed the attempt to reduce 
 this Republic to the status of a British colony. He pointed out 
 how difficult it was, when this country was overrun with Tories, 
 (to w^hom Washington referred as "execrable parricides" and 
 "abominable pests of society"), to make the people realize that they 
 were really a free and independent nation, although Washington 
 continued to force the thought home. Said Mr. Lodge: 
 
 4 
 
"Within fifteen years we had been colonies, and all our politics, 
 except those which were purely local and provincial, had been the 
 politics of Europe ; for during the eighteenth century we had ])een 
 drawn into and had played a part in every European complication, 
 and every European war in which England has the slightest share. 
 Thus the American people came to consider themselves a part of 
 the European system and looked to Europe for their politics, which 
 was a habit of thought that was both natural and congenial to 
 colonists. We ceased to be colonists when the Treaty of Paris 
 was signed ; but treaties, although they settle boundaries and divide 
 nations, do not change customs and habits of thought by a few 
 strokes of the pen. The free and independent people of the United 
 States, as there has already been occasion to point out, when they 
 set out to govern themselves under their new Constitution, were 
 still dominated by colonial ideas and prejudices. * =•' * What 
 our actual relations with other nations should be, was something 
 wholly vague, and very varying ideas were entertained about it 
 by communities and by individuals, according to their various 
 prejudices, opinions and interests. * * * The one idea, how- 
 ever, that the American people did not have on this subject was, 
 that they should hold themselves entirely aloof from the old world, 
 and have with other nations no relations except those born of 
 commerce. It had not occurred to them that they should march 
 steadily forward on a course wdiich would drive out European gov- 
 ernments, and would sever their connection with the North Ameri- 
 can continent. After a century's familiarity, this policy looks so 
 simple and obvious that it is difficult to believe that our fore- 
 fathers could even have considered any other seriously; but in 
 1789 it was so strange that no one dreamed of it, except perhaps a 
 few thinkers speculating on the future of the infant nation. It 
 was something so novel that when it was proposed it struck the 
 people like a sudden shock of electricity. It was so broad, so na- 
 tional, so thoroughly American, that men still struggling in the 
 fetters of colonial thought could not comprehend it. But there 
 was one man to whom it was neither strange nor speculative. To 
 Washington it was not a vague idea, but a well-defined system, 
 which he had been long maturing in his mind." (Pages 129-131.) 
 
 Into Every European War. 
 
 The charge has frequently been made, in recent years, that it 
 is the aim of Great Britain to make the United States of America, 
 a colony once again, and to i^ndo the work of the JReyolution. Mr. 
 
Lodge paints an elocjuent picture of the United States, fifteen years 
 after its independence was wrested from the Empire. He calls at- 
 tention to the fact that the people were so accustomed to being 
 drawn into "every European complication and every European war 
 in which England had the slightest share," that they began to feel 
 that they were, in reality, a part of Europe. 
 
 Are not the treaties which Mr. Lodge now sponsors, another 
 attempt to reproduce this condition? Is it not the hope of Eng- 
 land, that once we begin to play a part "in every European com- 
 plication and in every European war in which England has the 
 slightest share," that we, too, will forget that we are a free and 
 independent nation, and not having a Washington to lead us, will 
 fall again into the trap so nicely baited by British diplomats, as- 
 sisted by weak-kneed Americans, brothers in spirit of the men into 
 whom Washington had to labor to instil the spirit of independence? 
 
 Washington or Lodge. 
 
 Washington never believed that this country, once established, 
 was a part of Britain, or that it owed anything to that Empire. 
 Mr. Lodge writes of the Father of our country: "Before he had 
 been chosen President, he wrote to Sir Edward Newenham : 'I hope 
 the United States of America will be able to keep disengaged from 
 the labyrinth of European politics and wars ; and that before long- 
 they will, by the adoption of a good national government, have 
 become respectable in the eyes of the world, so that none of the 
 maritime powers, especially none of those who hold possessions in 
 the New World or the West Indies, shall presume to treat them 
 with insult or contempt. It should be the policy of the United States 
 to administer to their wants without being engaged in their quar- 
 rels. And it is not in the power of the proudest and most polite 
 people on earth to prevent us from becoming a great, a respectable, 
 and a commercial nation if we shall continue united and faithful to 
 ourselves.' This plain statement showed his fixed belief that in an 
 absolute breaking with the political affairs of other peoples lay the 
 most important part of the work which was to make us a nation in 
 spirit and in truth." (Pages 131-132). 
 
 Would Senator Lodge now have us believe that he has risen, 
 superior to Washington, to guide us away from that "absolute 
 breaking point" with Europe, and to bring us again, into "every 
 European war" in which England will have a share? Or would Mr. 
 Lodge have us believe that he fitly summed up the situation, when 
 he wrote of Washington: "No man lived more loyal than he, or 
 
 6 
 
more true to the duties of gratitude ; but he looked upon the world 
 of facts with vision never dimmed nor dazzled, and watched it in 
 silence, while others slept and dreamed." (Page 137.) The 
 British diplomats, at the Washington conference, evidently 
 "dazzled the vision" of America's chosen spokesmen, who "slept 
 and dreamed" while Balfour wove the net into which America 
 was to be delivered — a colony once again ! 
 
 When Senator Lodge wrote his "Life of Washington," he 
 had no doubt of the wisdom of the action of steering the American 
 bark clear of foreign craft. He said: "In July, 1791, he (Wash- 
 ington) wrote to Morris: T trust we shall never so far lose sight 
 of our own interest and happiness as to become unnecessarily 
 a party to these political disputes. Our local situation enables 
 us to maintain that state with respect to them which otherwise 
 could not, perhaps, be preserved by human wisdom.' He followed 
 this up with a strong and concise argument as to the advantage 
 and necessity of this policy, showing a complete grasp of the sub- 
 ject which came from long and patient thought." (Page 140). 
 
 Clear and Well Defined. 
 
 Senator Lodge takes care to point out to the reader of his 
 interesting volumes that the policy of keeping aloof froni all 
 foreign alliance was not born with the proclamation of neutrality, 
 but came into being when the first President took hold of the 
 reigns of government. He makes this clear, when he writes : 
 "The policy of separating the United States from all foreign 
 politics is usually dated from what is called the neutrality proc- 
 lamation ; but the theory, as has been pointed out, was clear and 
 well defined in Washington's mind when he entered upon the 
 presidency. * * * A few extracts from his letters will show 
 the completeness of his policy and the firmness with which he fol- 
 lowed it whenever occasion came. * * '^ Washington (seeing 
 trouble ahead in France decided that) * * * England, if pos- 
 sible, was to be made to understand that the American policy was 
 not dictated by anything but the interests and the dignity of the 
 LTnited States, and their resolve to hold aloof from European com- 
 plications. In June, 1792, he wrote to Morris: 'One thing, however, 1 
 must not pass over in silence, lest you should infer from it that Mr. 
 D. had authority for reporting that the United States had asked the 
 mediation of Great Britain to bring about a peace between them 
 and the Indians. =*< * * You may be fully assured, sir, that such 
 mediation never was asked, that the asking of it never was in con- 
 
templation, and 1 think I might go further and say that it not 
 only never will be asked, but would be rejected if otTered. The 
 United States will never have occasion, I hope, to ask for the inter- 
 position of that power, or any other, to establish peace within their 
 own territory.' Here is again the same note, always so true and 
 clear, that the United States are not colonies but an independent 
 nation. * * * It was a fact not understod at home and not 
 recognized abroad, but Washington proposed to insist upon it so 
 far as in him lay, until it was both understood and admitted." 
 (Pages 141-143). 
 
 Has anything occurred since the time of Washington, to cause 
 the American people to alter their opinion in this regard? Has 
 the United States any "territorial possessions now or hereafter to 
 ■be acquired," for help to hold which they must appeal for aid to 
 Europe, to Great Britain, to Japan or to France? Is it possible 
 to conceive, in a vision not "dazzled" by European diplomacy, 
 of a situation in which the United States would have to appeal 
 to Europe for help in maintaining peace on our shores? Surely, 
 such a condition is impossible, save in the minds of those repre- 
 sentatives of America who prefer to "sleep and dream." while 
 the enemies of democracy are awake and at work ! 
 
 Thought Only of the United States. 
 
 Dealing with the proclamation of neutrality, and with the war 
 between France and Great Britain. Mr. Lodge wrote: "When 
 the moment came, the policy long meditated and matured 
 was in force. The world was told that a new power had come 
 into being, which meant to hold aloof from Europe, and which took 
 no interest in the balance of power or the fate of dynasties, but 
 looked only to the welfare of its own people and to the conquest 
 and mastery of a continent as its allotted task. The policy de- 
 clared by the proclamation was purely American in its conception, 
 and severed the colonial tradition at a stroke. * * "^^ For twen- 
 ty-five years afterward the American people slowly advanced to- 
 ward the ground then taken, until the ideas of the neutrality proc- 
 lamation received their final acceptance and extension at the hands 
 of the younger Adams, in the promulgation of the Monroe doctrine. 
 The shaping of this policy which was then launched was a great 
 work: of far-sighted and native statesmanship, and it was pre-emi-; 
 ently the work of the President himself." (Page 145). 
 
 Is Mr. Lodge now ready to tell the world that the great power 
 that came into being with Washington, died with the advent of 
 Harding?; That the nation is now "concerned with the balance of 
 
 8 
 
power and late of dynasties" and no longer looks "only to the wel- 
 fare of its own people and to the concjuest and mastery of a con- 
 tinent as its allotted task?" 
 
 How history does repeat itself ! Mr. Lodge declares that a 
 Secretary of State, in other days, was more interested in the affairs 
 of another country, than he was in the affairs of his own. "Jeffer- 
 son," he says, "either from timidity or from a very unworthy pref- 
 erence for another nation's interest to the dignity of his own coun- 
 try," had acted contrary to the principles of Washington : "The 
 Secretary of State had not been considering the affair from an 
 American standpoint" (the case of the "Little Sarah"), but "Wash- 
 ington had what Jefferson seems to have totally lost at this junc- 
 ture — a keen national feeling, and it was touched to the quick. 
 The truth was, that in all this business, Jefferson was thinking too 
 much of France and the cause of human liberty in Paris, while 
 Washington thought of the United States alone." (Page 154). 
 
 Wise and Dignified Neutrality. 
 
 Is it not indeed time for the present servants of the people, 
 who are in high places, to lead us back from the debauch of sen- 
 timentalism in which we have been indulging for some time past 
 and make us realize once more that we can best contribute to the 
 welfare of mankind and to the progress of the world by preserving 
 our own interests and minding well our own business? We are 
 told now that we have entered upon a new era and though we are 
 the most formidable industrial competitor of England, we never can 
 have war with her. She will not press any selfish interest as against 
 us. How delightfully naive ! How clearly on another occasion 
 Washington pointed out "but it is a maxim, founded on the uni- 
 versal experience of mankind, that no nation is to be trusted farther 
 than it is bound by its own interest ; and no prudent statesman 
 or politician will venture to depart from it." (Vol. I, Page 248). 
 
 It was with difficulty, says Mr. Lodge, that Washington im- 
 pressed the importance of a "wise and dignified neutrality" upon 
 the people, so recently released from the subservient chains of an 
 Empire. "To develop a policy of wise and dignified neutrality," 
 wrote Mr. Lodge, "and to impress it upon the people, was a great 
 enough task in itself. But Washington was obliged to impress it 
 also upon his own people, and to teach them that they must have 
 a polipy of their own toward other nations. He had to carry this 
 through in the teeth of an opposition so utterly colonial that it 
 
cuuld not grasp the idea of having any policy but that which, from, 
 sympathy or hate, they took from foreigners." (Page 160). 
 
 Crooked Politics. 
 
 The "crooked politics" of Europe never faded from the mind of 
 Washington. "A little more than a year after he came to the presi- 
 dency, he wrote to Lafayette: 'Gradually recovering from the dis- 
 tresses in which the war left us. patiently advancing in our task of 
 civil government, unentangled in the crooked politics of Europe, 
 wanting scarcely anything but the free navigation of the Missis- 
 sippi, which we must have, and as certainly shall have, if we remain 
 a nation.' Time and peace, sufficient for the upbuilding of the na- 
 tion, that is the theme everywhere. Yet he knew that a sacrifice 
 of everything for peace was the surest road to war and ruin.'" . 
 
 (Page 162). 
 
 England Disliked Us. 
 
 Mr. Lodge comments on the favorable treaty made with Spain., 
 bv Thomas Pinckney in 1794, but adds, rather ironically, it would 
 seems, in the light of his latter day attitude : "There was, how- 
 ever, another nation out on our western and northern border 
 more difficult to deal with than Spain ; and in this quarter 
 there was less evasion and delay, but more arrogance and bad 
 temper. It was to England that Washington turned first w^hen he 
 took the presidency, and it was in her control of the western posts 
 and her influence among the Indian tribes that he saw the greatest 
 dangers to the continental movement of our people." (Page 166). 
 Mr. Lodge explains that with the arrival of George Hammond, 
 minister from England, about the time of the appearance of Genet.. 
 the French minister, began "the long series of mistakes made by 
 Great Britain in her dealings with the United States. But Ham- 
 mond and the English ministry could not see the full scope of the 
 neutrality policy in its national meeting, and they very naturally 
 failed to perceive that it marked the rise of a new power wholly 
 disconnected from Europe, to which their own views were con- 
 fined. * * * They saw Washington adopt and carry out a 
 policy of dignified impartiality. * * * The remembrance of 
 old injuries and of the war for independence were still fresh, and 
 the hatred of England was well nigh universal in the United: 
 States." (Page 168). 
 
 The United States of America, not then being a rich country,, 
 or holding the promise of becoming a powerful ally, British minis- 
 ters did not court the favor of our representatives. Indeed, Mr. 
 Lodge is authority for the statement that Mr. Hammond, the 
 
 10 
 
British minister of that day, assumed "a disagreeable tone with a 
 strong flavor of bullying," which perturbed Washington not at all. 
 Says Mr. Lodge : "When from a sense of national dignity and of 
 fair dealing, the United States stood apart from the conflict and 
 placed their former foe on the same footing as their friend and 
 ancient ally (France) a very small allowance of good sense would 
 have led the British ministry to encourage them in so doing. By 
 favorable treatment, and by a friendly and conciliatory policy, they 
 should have helped Washington in his struggle against popular 
 prejudices, and endeavored by so doing to keep the United States 
 neutral, and lead them, if possible, to their side; but with a fatuity 
 almost incomprehensible, they pursued an almost opposite course. 
 
 Our Vessels Seized. 
 
 By similar conduct England had brought on the war for inde- 
 pendence, which ended in the division of her empire. In precisely 
 the same way she now proceeded to make it as arduous as possible 
 for Washington to maintain neutrality, and thereby played directly 
 into the hands of the party that supported France. The true 
 policy demanded no sacrifices on the part of Great Britain. Civility 
 and consideration in her dealings, and a careful abstention from 
 wanton aggression and insult, were all-sufficient. But England 
 disliked us. * * * She did not wish us to thrive and prosper, 
 and she knew that we were weak and not in a position to enter upon 
 an offensive war." (Pages 169-170). Thus did Mr. Lodge correctly 
 describe the attitude of England toward America, and the descrip- 
 tion fits her as well in 1922 as it did in 1776 or in 1794, the only dif- 
 ference being that we were then an infant nation, which England 
 was anxious to destroy; today, we are a powerful nation, and she 
 would do by diplomacy and the wiles of state-craft, what she 
 could not do on the field of battle — destroy us as a nation, and 
 make us a colony, dependent once again upon her. 
 
 There was a time when we had no navy "with which to re- 
 taliate" upon England, and Mr. Lodge writes of this day: "On 
 November 6, 1793, a British order in council was passed, but not 
 immediately published, directing the seizure of all vessels carrying 
 the produce of the French Islands, or loaded with provisions for 
 the use of the French colonies. The object of the order was to 
 destroy all neutral trade, and it was aimed particularly at the 
 commerce of the United States. * * * Our merchantmen and 
 traders had been quick to take advantage of the opening of the 
 French ports, and they had gone in swarms to the French Islands. 
 
 11 
 
Now. without a word of warning, their vessels were seized by the 
 cruisers of a nation with which we were suposed to be at peace. 
 Every petty governor of an English island sat as a judge in ad- 
 miralty. Many of them were corrupt, all were unfit for duty, and 
 our vessels were condemned and pillaged. The crews were made 
 prisoners, and in many cases, thrown into loathsome and unhealthy 
 places of confinement, while the ships were left to rot in the har- 
 bors. The tale of the outrages and miseries thus inflicted on citi- 
 zens of the United States without any warning, and by a nation 
 •considered to be at peace with us, fills an American with shame 
 and anger, even today. If our people remonstrated, they were told 
 that England meant to have no neutrals, and that six of their 
 frigates could blockade our coast. * * * The truth was that 
 we were weak, and this was not only a misfortune but apparently 
 an unpardonable sin. England could not conquer us, but she 
 could harry our coasts, and let loose her Indians on our borders ; 
 .and we had no navy with which to retaliate." (Pages 171-172). 
 
 Interests Preserved by Falsehood. 
 
 What a pity that the members of the American delegation at 
 the Washington conference, did not have the opportunity to read 
 Mr. Lodge's opinion of Britain, before the star chamber session 
 from which came forth the mysterious four-power pact! Mr. 
 Lodge not only calls attention to the real love England has ever 
 held for America, but also calls attention to the fact that, when 
 •cornered, her statesmen do not hesitate to forsake truth, if by that 
 method they can bolster up the interests of their country. 
 
 Commenting upon the war-like attitude of a supposedly 
 friendly nation, Mr. Lodge writes : "About the same time (that our 
 •commerce was being destroyed) a speech^ was reported from 
 Quebec, in which Lord Dorchester told the Indians that they 
 should soon take the war-path for England against the United 
 States. Lord Grenville denied in Parliament, and subsequently to 
 Jay, that the ministry had ever taken any step to incite the Indians 
 against the United States, and the authenticity of Lord Dorches- 
 ter's utterances had been questioned in later days; but it was not 
 •disavowed at the time, even by Hammond, in a sharp correspond- 
 ence which he held on that and other topics with Randolph. This 
 speech was probably made, even if it was not authorized, and it was 
 certainly universally accepted at the moment as both true and 
 .authoritative." (Pages 172-173). 
 
 12 
 
Washington had no doubt about the attitude of England to- 
 ward the United States, and though he saw Chief Justice John 
 Jay depart for London, on a treaty-making mission, he was filled 
 with many misgivings, and "the act of sending such a mission at 
 all was very trying to him," writes Mr. Lodge, "for the conduct 
 of England galled him to the quick. He had long suspected Great 
 Britain, as well as Spain, of inciting the Indians secretly to assail 
 our settlements, and knowing as he did the character of savage war- 
 fare, and feeling deeply the bloodshed and expense of our Indian 
 wars, he cherished a profound dislike for those who could be capa- 
 ble of promoting such misery to the injury of a friendly and civi- 
 lized nation. As England became more and more hostile, he made 
 up his mind that she was bent on attacking us and in March. 1794, 
 he wrote to Governor Clinton that he had no doubt as to the au- 
 thenticity of Lord Dorchester's speech, and that he believed Eng- 
 land intended war." (Page 175). 
 
 Agents of Great Britain. 
 
 "Washington wrote to Jay: 'There does not remain a doubt in 
 the mind of any well informed person in this country, not shut 
 against conviction, that all the difficulties we encounter with the 
 Indians, their hostilities, the murder of helpless women and inno- 
 cent children along our frontiers, result from the conduct of the 
 agents of Great Britain in this country." (Page 176). 
 
 Discussing the success of the Jay mission, Mr. Lodge recounts 
 the fact that he was well received in England, and that Lord Gren- 
 ville expressed "the most friendly feelings, and every desire that the 
 negotiations might succeed" — even as Balfour in 1922. "Jay was 
 also received at court, where he was said to have kissed the queen's 
 hand, a crime, so the opposition declared, for which his lips ought 
 to be blistered to the bone." But, adds Mr. Lodge, innocently un- 
 mindful of the part he was to play in the program of 1922, "Re- 
 ceptions, dinner parties, and a ready welcome every where, did not, 
 however, make a treaty. When it came to business (even as in 
 1922) the English did not dififer materially from their neighbors- 
 whom Canning satirized : 
 
 'The fault of the Dutch 
 
 Is giving too little and asking too much.'" (Pages 176-177). 
 
 Mr. Lodge concludes his interesting discussion of "Foreign 
 Relations," in the early days of our history, with some rather 
 caustic comment on the question of the impressment of British 
 seamen, real or pretended, from American ships. He writes: 
 
 13 
 
"The right of search and the right of impressment were simply 
 the rights of the powerful (England) over the weak (United 
 States). * * * when we should be ready and willing to fight 
 we could settle that question. In due time, we were ready to fight. 
 England defeated us in various battles, ravaged our coasts, and 
 burned our capital ; while we whipped her frigates and lake flotillas 
 and repulsed her Peninsula veterans with heavy slaughter at New 
 Orleans. Impressment was not mentioned in the treaty which con- 
 cluded that war. but it ended at that time. The English are a 
 brave and combative people, but rather than get into wars with 
 nations that will light, and fight hard, they will desist from wanton 
 and illegal aggressions, in which they do not differ greatly from 
 the rest of mankind ; and so the practical abandonment of im- 
 pressment came with the war of 1812. The fact was officially 
 stated by Webster, not many years later, when he announced that 
 the Flag covered and protected all those who lived or traded under 
 it." (Page 178). 
 
 Might Against Right. 
 
 There are many Americans who will not agree with Senator 
 Lodge that the United States would ever stoop to imitate the 
 acts of Great Britain which he so carefully describes, sugar coating 
 them with the declaration that in this regard, England "does not 
 differ greatly from the rest of mankind," nor will they agree wath 
 the scholarly Senator from Massachusetts that "most people accept 
 the inevitable when the deed is done." (Page 195). 
 
 The American people, true to the spirit instilled into the nation 
 by Washington and the founders of this Republic, will never accept 
 as "inevitable" the treaties for which Senator Lodge is now chief 
 spokesman, and wdiich aim to do today what England has hitherto 
 not been able to do, all through our history — to reduce us to a 
 position of admitted partnership with, and inferiority to her. 
 Washington and the men of his generation, not only won the 
 independence of our country, but laid down the policies which 
 make easy, its preservation and security. We shall indeed be "de- 
 generate sons of worthy sires," if we permit the blandishments of 
 power or the intrigues of self-seekers to take from us that liberty 
 which it is our interest to preserve for ourselves and our glory to 
 hand down imsullicd to our children. 
 
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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