The National tribune., 1909-11-25
NICARAGUA.
A VigorOu, Policy Against Zelaya,
and the Troublesome Elements
in Central America.

+.
far and away the hig topic is Nicaragua.
II belongs to Secretary of State Knox,
who is formulating the Administrator s
! policy toward the Central American
Republic. OF course. he is consulting
with President Taft at every important
step The Administration has virtually
decreed that President Zelaya must get
| out That opens up an interesting sit
uation. Undoubtedly the Administra-
ton will find q way to get the Central
! American President out. but its meth
DDS in arriving at that consummation
will naturally be watched intently.
There are hardly any precedents for the
| United States taking such an attitude
! toward the reyolutionists or toward the
! Government parties to the south, but
| things have come to such a pass and
! Zelava has made himself so offensive
/ toward citizens of the United States
that the Administra ton feels warranted
! in going after him vigorously. His Of
| fenses have been borne with patience
for number of years in the hope that
his course would be run in due time. =
Just the details of the Government
plans for accomplishing the downfall
of Nicaragua's President are not dis
closed. Warships are already guarding
the ports on both the Atlantic and Pa
Cific. 1t goes without saying that ships
CARRYING arms and ammunition to
] ~
unless they escape the vigilance of the
ships of our Navy The Tacoma and
the DesMoines, third-class cruisers,
with a good complement of guns and
I fighting men are off the Atlantic coast
/ of Nicaragua. and the Nicksburg. a
eunboat, has been ordered to the Pa
tific side of the country. The Mari
eta, a gunboat OF $50 tons has also
been ordered from Santa Cruz, Cuba.
up TO Nicaragua. Neither the Revo-
lutionists nor President Zelaya has any
navy worth mentioning and there is no
prospect of a conflict on the water.
An early recognition of the belliger-
ency of the RcVolutionsts is expected
and that will be u blow at Zelaya. BY
one process and another he will
be gradually strangled. The prestige
to the ReVolutiOniSts of moral support
| from the United States will be very ma
| terial. The knowledge that the United
States has taken sides viii! bring over
lot of waveringl ones and all Zelaya's
enemies will come out into the open.
| His cause is already regarded as tot
tering. His troops are represented as
| rapidly deserving.
Secretar. knOX's Program.
| Secretary Knox has mapped out a
comprehensive program of operations
after conference with officials of the
| Navy and State Departments. The
| President approved that program. 1t
takes the authority of Congress to de-
clare war, altho il has long been recog-
niZed that the President can virtually
commit the country to a war without
action of Congress. No one expects,
! however, that actual armed operations
will be necessary to dispose of a petty
| Central American tyrant. Castro, of
Venezuela, was taken care of ultimate
ly by the diplomacy of the United
States and some European Nations,
when he had made it practically impos-
sible to tolerate him longer.
| Probably there VIII be criticism of
/ the policy OF virtual intercession and
| much may be said about the effect of
this example upon our suspicious neigh
! bors in Central and South America.
Those Republics have always been very
sensitive about the methods by which
the United States set up the Republic
of Panama and gave it recognition be-
fore the world. after there had been a
long and fruitless wrangle with Colom-
bia over a cOf-2ession for the construc-
ton of the Isthmian Canal.
But Secretary Knox, from the start,
has been in favor of vigorous dealings
with the Central American Govern
meRts. The persistence of their revo-
! lutions and the tyranny of their rulers
| have become very discouraging to
prominent men at Washington and at
other capitals who have sought to pro-
mote the security and peace of those
! peoples that they might advance in in
! dustry and civilization. The United
States and Mexico are now exercising
a directorate, in substance, over all
Central America. Zclaya has been the
one big obstacle in the way of a joint
program for the pacification of that sec
ton. The other Central American Re-
publics fear him, because of his en-
croachments upon the domains of his
ncighbors and because of his ambition
| TO establish himself as ruler. over
them. Mexico will undoubtedly sympa-
, thize with the course the United States
| is taking and il the worst should come
President Diaz might send a few regi-
ments of his troops down to Nicaragua
| to help the ,Reyolutionists into power
But ii is altogether probable that less
! drastic measures viii suffice.