And State Papers 125 



Republic must in every way take the lead in the 

 Western Hemisphere. He felt that this Republic 

 must play a great part among the nations of the 

 earth. The last four years have shown how true 

 that feeling of his was. 



He had always hoped that we would have a pe 

 culiarly intimate relation with the countries south 

 of us. He could hardly have anticipated no one 

 could have the Spanish War and its effects. In 

 consequence of that war America's interest in the 

 tropic islands to our south and the seas and coasts 

 surrounding those islands is far greater than ever be 

 fore. Our interest in the Monroe Doctrine is more 

 complicated than ever before. The Monroe Doc 

 trine is simply a statement of our very firm belief 

 that on this continent the nations now existing here 

 must be left to work out their own destinies among 

 themselves and that the continent is not longer to be 

 regarded as colonizing ground for any European 

 power. The one power on the continent that can 

 make that doctrine effective is, of course, ourselves ; 

 for in the world as it is, gentlemen, the nation which 

 advances a given doctrine likely to interfere in any 

 way with other nations must possess power to back 

 it up if she wishes the doctrine to be respected. We 

 stand firmly on the Monroe Doctrine. 



The events of the last nine months have ren 

 dered it evident that we shall soon embark on the 

 work of excavating the Isthmian Canal to connect 

 the two great oceans a work destined to be, prob 

 ably, the greatest engineering feat of the twentieth 



