Minister Swenson to the Secretary of State
Copenhagen, November 3, 1902.
Sir: Referring to my No. 280, dated the 28th ultimo, I give below a translation of the essential parts of the speech delivered by Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Deuntzer in the Folkething, Oct. 23, on the rejection of the treaty ceding the Danish West Indies to the United States.
It has been painful for me to participate in the debates which have taken place in the other House on this subject. As that branch is not represented in this chamber, I shall refrain from alluding to it in strong or disparaging terms. I commit no indiscretion, however, in confessing that the whole manner in which the subject was treated in that body has not only surprised me but has grieved me deeply. I hold, without reference to details, that whatever differences of opinion may originally have existed with respect to the proper action to be taken in this matter, such a point had been reached with the conclusion of the treaty, approved by those factors in both Houses whose advice it was practicable to procure, that all internal differences should have been dropped, and we should have had the feeling of acting on a matter which concerned a foreign Government, and in which the other party to the treaty could not be expected to distinguish between the Ministry with its adherents on one side and its political opponents on the other. A foreign country is compelled to look upon the Danes as a nation which in the present case entered upon negotiations, which it zealously carried on for many years, under different Ministries, finally, concluding a treaty, but which in the end would not stand by its word. And it witnesses the pitiful spectacle that the Folkething decides the case by an overwhelming majority, in favor of friendly international relations; while the other House rejects the treaty by a tie vote, which under the rules kills it. This is to me the worst side of the affair. Whether it will result in political complications I dare not venture to say; and I beg your honorable body to note that I have not in debate uttered a single word in this or in the other House that I can not stand by or which is not absolutely true. Neither have I at any time referred to international relations, expressed the least apprehension on that point, or suggested possible dangers in that direction. I have refrained from doing so intentionally, being convinced that every man who has a desire to take an active part in the politics of his country must realize that even if certain means and methods are permissible in domestic politics, the situation is different when a foreign country is involved. Duty demands unity of action in such a case. That duty has not been fulfilled in the present instance; and here is the result. * * * It is a work which has been prosecuted for forty years, well-nigh uninterruptedly, which was taken up by three successive Ministries of the Right; and there is little doubt that if a Ministry of that party were now in power the matter would long ago have reached a different solution from the present one. It is not a question belonging to the Left. On the contrary, the structure that they have destroyed is of their own building; and their own efforts now lie shattered at their feet. * * * It can not be demanded that the Ministry, and especially not that I, shall bear any responsibility for the improvement or welfare of these islands. * * * I do not believe that anything can be done that will prove of actual benefit to them; nor do I believe that the legislative branch of the Government will give its consent to sacrifices of any importance.
I have [etc.]