The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-06-25

or drive back into the hands of pur
suing soldiers, Mexican political
refugees who were fleeing for safe
ty to this country. Many of these
were arrested and others were
driven back, and as a result were
killed.
For good many years the Amer
lean people have been proud that
they harbored such patriots AS
Schurz, Kossuth, Garibaldi and
Palma. President Magoon of the
liberal party, and his followers who
are in the penitentiary at Florence,
Ariz., are just as true patriots as
any of these. And yet, in 1908. it
was given out from Washington
that our government was dissatis
fled with. the existing laws protect
ing political refugees, that the de-
sire of the government was to ex-
tradite the Mexicans as common
felons.
The cases of prosecution against
the Mexican political refugees are
and always have been decided by
the attorney general of the United
States himself. When in 1908, |
called upon Oscar Lawler, then the
federal district attorney for the dis
trict of Los Angeles and protested
against the Mexican prisoners be-
ing placed "incommunicado," which
means out Of communication with
all outside persons, he said to me:
"The order for this comes direct
from Washington. We are doing
this at the request of the Mexican
government. They have accommo-
dated US and it's no more than right
that we should accommodate
them"
BY the collision of American Of
ficials Mexican political refugees
have been extensively deported to
Mexico; first by the immigration
officials as undesirable" immi-
grants" and second by the use of
groundless charges of felony eman-
ating from Mexico. and third, by
outright kidnapping, and fourth by
the means l have mentioned, by
chasing them back as they were
crossing the Rio Grande river. In
this country they have been i'm
properly imprisoned on many and
various charges, prominent among
them being murder and robbery y
committed in Mexico and cOnspir-
acy to violate the neutrality laws.
could fill this page with a mere
enumeration of instances. Many OF
the readers will remember the case
fDeLara, whom there was a con-
spiracy to deport as an allen anar-
chist" in October, 1909. DeLara was
not an anarchist. Moreover, having
resided more than three years in
this country, he was not subject to
deportation on any grounds. But
undoubtedly he would have been
deported had not the American peo-
pie protested in a most vigorous
way. In this case the American peo-
pie protested loudly. because De-
Lara was so well known.
AS to kidnapping, several instances
the conspirators were caught In the
act, but never were any of them
punished for their crimes. Note the
case of Manuel sarabia for example,
who was kidnapped by American off.
eiaIs at Douglas, Ariz., and carried
into Mexico and turned over to wait
ina officers there. The affair be-
came known and Sahara was res
cued because some one heard his
cries In the night. Tho chauffeur
of the automobile that carried him
across the line made clean breast
Of the affair, duplicating the Mex
lean counsel as the ringIeader of the
plot, and others as helping and be-
ins paid for their part in 1t. But
the power Of Diaz in the United
States is such that though the Grim