d to answer off-hand that it must
possess this stentorian power when there is any question about national
honour--when the country for whom it speaks is insulted or bullied, or
defrauded of its just rights; when treaties are torn up and disregarded;
when its plighted word has been given and another nation acts as though no
such pledge had been made; when its territory is menaced with invasion and
so forth.

[15] As a matter of fact, the United States are opposed to the Capture at
Sea principle.

PROTECTION OF FINANCIERS

But these justifiable occasions do not exhaust the whole field. Sometimes
diplomacy is brought to bear on much more doubtful issues. It is used to
support the concession-hunter, and to coerce a relatively powerless nation
to grant concessions. It backs up a bank which has financed a company to
build railroads or develop the internal resources of a country; or to
exploit mines or oil-fields, or to do those thousand-and-one things which
constitute what is called "peaceful penetration." Think of the recent
dealings with Turkey,[16] and the international rivalry, always suspicious
and inflammatory, which has practically divided up her Asiatic dominions
between European States--so that Armenia is to belong to Russia, Syria to
France, Arabia to Great Britain, and Anatolia and I know not what besides
to Germany! Think of the competition for the carrying out of railways in
Asia Minor and the constant friction as to which power has obtained, by
fair means or foul, the greatest influence! Or let us remember the recent
disputes as to the proper floating of a loan to China and the bickering
about the Five-Power Group and the determination on the part of the last
named that no one else should share the spoil! Or shall we transfer our
attention to Mexico, where the severe struggle between the two rival Oil
Companies--the Cowdray group and the American group--threw into the shade
the quarrel between Huerta and Carranza? These are only a few instances
taken at random to illustrate the dealings of modern finance. Relatively
small harm would be done if financiers were allowed to fight out their own
quarrels. Unfortunately, however, diplomacy is brought in to support this
side or that: and ambassadors have to speak in severe terms if a Chinese
mandarin does not favour our so-called "nationals," or if corrupt Turkish
officials are not sufficiently squeezable to suit our "patriotic"
purposes. Our armaments are big not m