The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-09-04
OUR TROUBLES WITH MEXICO.

| A special Washington dispatch to the New
York Sun gives in substance the recommends
ton of o special agent of the treasury, who
has just been on mission to the Mexican
border, in regard to the best and most salts
factory mode of arriving at a solution of our
troubles along the Rio Grande. He has
travelled along the border from the Rio
Grande to the Colorado and found affairs in a
most lamentable condition, and he declares
that something should be done by both gov
ernments to ameliorate the growing bitter
ness and evaporation. "There are better
ways, he thinks, of accomplishing this than
by the marshaling of troops as a menace on
the border. The high tariff on the products
Of the countries engonders and encourages
smuggling. This, he suggests, Is one Of the
principal and overlooked causes of trouble on
the border. Almost everybody Is in sympa-
thy with the smugglers. He advances the
assertion that the only effective cure, the
most permanent and peaceable solution to
the entire problem is reciprocity between the
two countries by means Of a treaty Of COM
merciaI amity for free admission into both
countries across the border OF their respective
products He concludes by asking: Have not
England, France and Germany quietly OBJ
tanned possession of the bulk Of the Mexican
trade while the United States has been settling
her border difficulties by correspondence,
commissions threats and armed encount-
ers p"
The suggestions of this Treasury agent
may be very excellent as far as they CO. but
the robbers and cattle thieves, who are the
chief source of our border troubles, belong to
a class Of people upon whom reciprocity and
commercial treaties would have but little
effect The only emollients for these profess
sional bandits are the halter and gunpowder
and a mutual compact between the two gov
ernments to exterminate them, is about the
only sort of reciprocity that will get rid Of
them. AS for our trade with Mexico, but
very small proportion of that will be carried
on across the Rio Grande. This Mexican
trade has been lost for reasons with which
the border raids have had nothing to do. If
it is recovered, the bulk Of 1t will come
to New Orleans, by sea, from Vera Cruz
and other Mexican seaports. The re-estab-
lishment Of our Mint will do more to revive
this lost commerce than any other one thing
that we can do. 1t will establish, al the
nearest commercial centre to Mexico, a mar
ket in which the $40, 1000, 900 of silver annually
produced by the mines of that country will
be exchangeable as commodity for what
ever merchandise that country may demand.
We are decidedly in favor of reciprocity and
a comm erclal treaty with Mexico, but about
the only effect it will have in settling the
border troubles will be thatby closer relations
and freer intercourse a disposition on the
part Of the Mexican government may be
created to assist the United States in exter-
minating the hordes of thieves and murder
ers who now find an asylum on Mexican ter
ritory.
Commenting on the recommendations of
this treasury agent, the New York Times
sneeringly observes that his conclusion is
that, since this smuggling cannot be broken
up, we might as well have a reciprocity
treaty which would be free trade with Mex
leo, and thus legalize the existing commerce,