nation of 1823, when the King of Prussia had joined with the Emperors of Europe for the avowed purpose of suppressing all republics in general, and those in South America in particular. That "convention" we never held up against the Kaiser, because it was an insanity prevalent at the time in all Europe, and the natural hang-over from the era of absolute monarchs from which that continent was just emerging. But the year 1898 was an entirely different matter.
William McKinley had determined to recognize and establish the independence of the island of Cuba. For a century the Royal Spanish Government had failed to produce anything there except riot, anarchy, misery, and confusion. War was impending. This appeared to the councils of Potsdam to be an opportune moment to assert themselves, and to acquaint the world with three or four self-evident but neglected facts. One was that the pretention of the United States that affairs in America were her sole concern was an imperti-
