¹ This fact is. noted by Richard Olney in an article entitled, “International isolation of the United States” in the Atlantic Monthly. Vol. LXXXI, p. 577Google Scholar.

² The published volumes of Foreign Relations are quite as likely to mislead as to inform. Witness the Clayton-Bulwer correspondence where asterisks indicate important facts omitted and chance phrases give a partial idea as to the nature of those facts.

³ Because of our isolation and complete detachment from “world-politics” and the intrigues of Europe, we have not yet developed a corps of editors and correspondents trained in diplomatic affairs such as have made famous the London Times and the Spectator.

⁴ Most books on Central America are rather travellers' notes than close studies of actual political conditions. The delightful books by E. G. Squier and John L. Stevens, both formerly in the diplomatic service, are unfortunately out of date. Doctor Karl Sapper, the German scientist, has written two good books entitled “Mittelamerikanische Reisen” and “Das Nordliche Mittel-Amerika.” Perhaps the most suggestive recent book is “Central America and its Problems” by Frederick Palmer, the journalist, whose analysis of existing conditions and estimate of American diplomacy show keen powers of observation and insight.

⁵ Political principles play but little part in elections. The system of “personalism,” or “caudillaje,”—of devotion to personal leaders rather than to principles,—has been the curse of Central American politics.

⁶ In certain states the Indians predominate overwhelmingly, but the ruling class is an oligarchy of mixed blood—the “ladino.” The pure Spanish element is very snail except in Costa Rica where the Indians were never numerous. The Statesman's Year Book gives the population as follows:

Costa Rica, total, 351,176; Aborigines, 6,289. Nicaragua, total, 600,000; bulk of population is Indian, mulatto or of mixed blood. Honduras, total, 500,000; bulk of population is Indian and mixed blood. There are 90,000 uncivilized Indians. Salvador, total, 1,116,253; Ladino, 772,000; Indian, 234,648 (an obvious error). Guatemala, total, 1,882,992; 60 per cent, are Indian.

⁷ The original Federation formed at the time of the separation from Spain, lasted nominally until 1839. The separate provinces had long enjoyed practical autonomy under Spanish rule and had no real sentiment of political solidarity.

⁸ The Spanish-American mind seems unable to respect law in the abstract. With him, power, authority, is law. He regards the judicial code as a mass of conflicting rules which may be interpreted according to the whim or prejudices of the judge. The contrast between the Latin and English systems of jurisprudence is well brought out by Logan, W. S. in the Forum, Vol. XXVIGoogle Scholar. “The basic difference between the two systems of jurisprudence is that the one accords privileges, while the other protects rights.”

⁹ “Byways of War, The Story of the Filibusters,” by James Jeffrey Roche.

¹⁰ “Gringo” is said to have had its origin during the Mexican War, from the first two words of a popular song “Green grow the Rushes,” sung by the American soldiers and imperfectly caught by their enemies, the Mexicans.

¹¹ The archives of every Legation are full of complaints made under oath in the form of affidavits, which as ex-parte statements of alleged facts, seem to call for diplomatic action. But on careful, dispassionate investigation, it is often discovered that the complainant has been in the wrong and entitled to little sympathy. One alleged victim of official outrage admitted that at the time of the incident, namely 7 a.m., he had had two cocktails! Yet such instances are often adduced to show that Americans in Central America do not receive adequate protection.

¹² Some men seem to act on the principle that “a good claim is better than a bad business.”

¹³ The writer regrets that most of the observations made in this paper rest on personal experience rather than on documentary evidence. Very little of this nature is ever published in the Foreign Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States.

¹⁴ It must be remembered that the American official has not only the strain of responsibility, but that he is often living in tropical surroundings that undermine both health and nerves. Climate plays a most important part in Central American diplomacy as it doea in other tropical countries. Allowance should ever be made for the over-heated state of mind that is liable to characterize certain diplomatic negotiations. In fact, following the British custom in India, no American official should be kept too long in a tropical post.

¹⁵ A curious extra-official function of American representatives in Central America which is often most exacting, is the protection of the interests of the Chinese who are quite numerous. This is by request of the Chinese government and with the consent of these Republics. See Foreign Relations. 1903, p. 572.

¹⁶ Foreign Relations, 1907, p. 627.

¹⁷ This subject has been fully and admirably treated by Señor Alejandro Alvarez of the Chilean Ministry for Foreign Affairs, in the American Journal of International Law for April, 1909, and in his book published in 1910, “Le Droit International Americain.”

¹⁸ Wilson. International Law, pp. 43–49.

¹⁹ The term American can hardly be appropriated exclusively by the United States. Spanish-Americans differentiate by denoting citizens of the United States as North-Americans.

²⁰ The decisions of the Venezuelan Claims Commission, 1903, contain much valuable material on this subject.

²¹ The Hague Peace Conferences; A. Pearce Higgins, pp. 180–197.

²² Moore's Digest of International Law. Vol. V., p. 260.

²³ Costa Rica has not had a revolution for nearly thirty years.

²⁴ The contradictory rulings of Bayard in the Gamez case (For. Rel. 1885) and of Blaine in the Barrundia case (For. Rel. 1890) regarding the right of asylum on merchant vessels, are to be explained by the fact that Bayard assumed Central American states to be on an equal footing with other nations, while Blaine accorded them only a qualified status as regards the application of the principles of international law.

²⁵ For. Rel. 1906, p. 851. This treaty was signed on the high seas in rather rough weather, which circumstance led some rabid critics of the United States to seriously-intimate that the peace delegates had been deliberately carried out to sea to coerce them into the signing of a treaty they would not have signed on land. It is probably true that their respective governments would very likely have preferred to have been able to control by telegraph, their discussions and decisions.

²⁶ For. Rel. 1907, pp. 636–727.

²⁷ The question of Mexican relations towards Central America is important as well as delicate. By reason of its frontier with Guatemala, Mexico has peculiar interests which cannot be ignored. The attitude of Mexico as expressed by President Madero in a recent message to the Mexican Congress is as follows. “My belief is that a Central American union, alone means the establishment of permanent peace in these countries.” Boston Transcript, Dec. 18, 1911.

²⁸ In view of the long and arduous efforts of American diplomacy, from the time of the Clayton-Bulwer treaty, to eliminate British interference in Central-American affairs, it is difficult to understand the reason for the joint action of England and the United States in this instance as well as the action of England in the previous revolution in Nicaragua, in preventing the capture of Greytown by the revolutionists.

²⁹ The texts of the conventions negotiated with both Nicaragua and Honduras for the adjustment of financial difficulties, are given in Supplement of A. J. I. L. October, 1911.

³⁰ Wilson and Tucker, International Law; p. 87.

³¹ Senate Doc. No. 25. 34th Congress, 1st Session.

³² For. Rel. 1881, p. 816.

³³ See For. Rel. 1907, pp. 721–727, for arguments presented by certain delegates at the Washington Conference of 1907, in favor of the union as the only thorough solution of the Central American problem. An enthusiastic convention of journalists from the five republics, held recently in Salvador, adopted resolutions in favor of the union.

³⁴ Students of conditions in Central America may well be inclined to recognize some force in the theory advanced by Benjamin Kidd, namely: “… that the European races will gradually come to realize that the tropics must be administered from the temperate zone.” (“The Control of the Tropics,” p. 85.) But the United States cannot act on any other assumption than that all of the republics of Central America are as capable of self-government as Costa Rica has proved itself to be.