MY RECOLLECTIONS OF WILLIAM 11-1879-1903 247 



done, for retirement into a palace at Paris, with ample 

 funds for enjoying the pleasures of that capital, after he, 

 like so many others, shall have been, in turn, kicked out 

 of his country by some new bandit stronger than he. 



So far so good. If the citizens of Venezuela like or 

 permit that sort of thing, outside nations have no call 

 to interfere; but this petty despot, having robbed, mal 

 treated, and even murdered citizens of his own country, 

 proceeded to maltreat and rob citizens of other countries, 

 and, among them, those of the German Empire. He was 

 at first asked in diplomatic fashion to desist and to make 

 amends, but for such appeals he simply showed contempt. 

 His purpose was evidently to plunder all German sub 

 jects within his reach, and to cheat all German creditors 

 beyond his reach. At this the German Government, as 

 every government in similar circumstances is bound to do, 

 demanded redress and sent ships to enforce the demand. 

 This was perfectly legitimate; but immediately there 

 arose in the United States an outcry against a &quot;violation 

 of the Monroe Doctrine. &quot; As a matter of fact, the Mon 

 roe Doctrine was no more concerned in the matter than 

 was the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints; but 

 there was enough to start an outcry against Germany, and 

 so it began to spread. The Germans were careful to 

 observe the best precedents in international law, yet every 

 step they took was exhibited in sundry American papers 

 as a menace to the United States. There was no more 

 menace to the United States than to the planet Saturn. 

 The conduct of the German Government was in the interest 

 of the United States as well as of every other decent gov 

 ernment. Finally, the soldiers in a Venezuelan fort wan 

 tonly fired upon a German war vessel whereupon the 

 commander of the ship, acting entirely in accordance, not 

 only with international law, but with natural right, de 

 fended himself, and knocked the fort about the ears of 

 those who occupied it, thus giving the creatures who di 

 rected them a lesson which ought to rejoice every think 

 ing American. At this the storm on paper against Ger- 



