The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-13
A COMBINE OF "NATIONS. -


which Governor Crcel, now Governor of
the Mexican state of Chihuahua and
former Minister from Mexico to tho
United States, is about 10 make. pro.
vidrd il is anything more than prac.
teal enforcement Of the treaty of 1907
meant to secure peace and order in Cen
tral America. IL appears from the
statement of Representative Sulzcr OF
New York who introduced the rcsolu-
iion empowering President Taft 10 have
Iclaya arrested aud tried for murder,
that Governor Crccl is about TO propose
a Joint protcctoratc by the United
States and Mexico over all of the Cen
trail American states. The idea is to
insure by such a protcatoratc and the
supervision chat would cnsuc. stable,
civilized form of government in those
ructionary states. 1T is not likely, how
ever, that those states would submit 10
ANYTHING of the kind except by force,
and they would undoubtedly resist so
lonb as they were able. There is moth
ing for the United States to gain by
any such an interference as that and
VIC should suppose that the proposition
would be percmptorily rejected If
made.
At The same time, there is no doubt
but that there should bc something
done to insure stability and order. IN
the government of the people of those
states. There is constant trouble with
all of them. Guatemala appears ready
every once in a while for n fight with
Mexico, and there is internal trouble
constantly there. Honduras is n hot.
bed of insurrcction. Costa Rica is rs
bad. But probably Nicaragua is the
worst of all
Perhaps tho best thing that could he
done would be 10 give Mexico a pro
tcctora;c over those regions, the United
States keeping its hands off. but keep
ing Panama out of the Mexican juris.
dictiou. One source of trouble in that
part of the world all the time is Brit.
iSh Honduras. which is felt by the peo.
pie Of all that region TO be an unjust
intrusion by Great Britain that should
he Withdrawn. There is little likcli-
hood Of this. however; so that what
ever is done will have to be done with
out counting British Honduras in.
Probably, however, the whole matter is
academic and is not likely TO be fol
lowed by any practical act. for the
United States is not in the least like
~ 20 take part in such slaughter as
would inevitably cusuc, and Mexico is
not able to assert and maintain its
dominance over those states. But a
proposal 10 enforce arbitration rs per
treaty, and peace and order under the
treaty is clearly in order.
In the meantime, the affairs Of Mica.
ragua have taken 4 very decided turn
IN Zclaya S favor, and against the in
surgcnts, il the report of the battle
said TO have been fought is correct.
This will complicatc matters very ma
tcrialiy. The note of Secretary Knox
distinctly favored the insurgents as
against the government Of Zclaya: and
now if we are going TO back up Sec
rotary Knox, we must come TO the re-
lltI VI lNt insurgents, WHICH NbNlN
be the same thing as intervening to
overthrow the established government
of Nicaragua. To be sure, We could
plead a cause for IT; but in the same
way we could give a cause for the
Intervention in the affairs of any Of
the Central American states all the
time. And If we did intervene. on oc-
casion taken up by ourselves we would
fully Justify the complaint of the
Latin-American peoples that the real
effect and meaning Of the Monroe Doc
trine is TO assert the supremacy Of the
United States over all of Latin Amer.
lea II might, IN fact, not be a bad
thing TO SO construc the Monroe Doc
trinc; but so far the United States has
always cmphatically protested against
any such Interpretation of it, and dis
claimed any such assertion of control
as such an Intervention would imply.
II is evident, however, that If Zelaya
is able TO put down the insurgents,
Secretary Knox has placed this country
in false position, and one that may
require nasty little war TO clear up.