The citizen., 1911-04-21
CONGRESS SHOULD PREVENT
WAR WITH MEXICO.


One of the greatest blunders that any
President ever made was made when
President Taft ordered the army Of
twenty thousand men to the borders of
Mexico.
The blunder consisted in the fact,
first, that there was not, and had not
been the slightest necessity for sending
the American soldiers down there,
and in the next place it was sug-
gestion of, and an inspiration, TO inter
venton. and war with Mexico for whrch
there was not. and has never been the
slightest necessity, nor even the merest
excuse or justification.
And in addition to this, sending the
army down there. will cost the American
people millions Of dollars. which will be
an absolute and inexcusable waste Of the
peoples monev.
1t was a blunder on the part Of the
President to send the army down there
for the reason assigned or intimated, for
the President never gave any good or
valid reason for this action. because the
exigencies did not demand it. A few
little towns and villages over the Mex
ican border, so close to the little towns
and villages on the Mexican side where
engagements took place. may have
had thrown into them stray bullets from
a fight or a skirmish on the Mexic
side, but this was no excuse for the
presence Of an army Of twenty thousand
men.
The reasons or excuses given by the
President for sending the army to the
Mexican border were too triAing to merit
any consideration.
But sending the troops there was a
means Of melting war by inhmnng and
exciting the minds of our own people
as well as the minds of the people of
Mexico Whereas if the President had
paid no attention to the tufing skirmish-
ing along the border, the Mexicans Of
themselves would have ceased from the
inherent danger of it Of their own accord.
But the President has not given to Con-
gress, or the country at large. directly or
indirectly. any satisfactory or sufficient
reason for his action. The only thing that
he has said was obtained by what he has
since said to the Governor of Arizona.
his own appointee. in a recent conversa-
ton on the subject ofpreserving order and
protecting the towns and villages on the
Mexican border. These towns and VIII
lagos have frequently been subjected to
more disorders and disturbances from
the Mexicans than they have suffered
since the insurrection or rebellion has
been in progress.
But the real truth of the matter is that
the President has done all that he can to
bring on war with Mexico. He has
marshalled the army and set all Of the
machinery in action for war. but he has
steadily kept from the people the reasons
and influences which induced him TO
take the action that he has taken. The
real truth is, as it will be discovered
later on, is that the big money interests
have large holdings in Mexico and want
them protected, and with the protection
OF the government want to very largely
increase these holdings. Mexico is a
very rich country and the big monetary
interests see great opportunity to ex-
plot that great country, and want this
government to get control Of that country
SO that the exploitation can be carried on
in perfect safety. 1t is the same influence
that led this country into the war with
Spain in regard to Cuba.
The special interests wanted the
chance to make money which the war
would bring, and the chance to exploit
the country after the war was over. This
is exactly what followed, and the big
protected interests made vast sums Cf
money out of the war They sold rotten
meat and supplies to the government,
and after the war was over exploited
the Cubans, and then and now are ex-
plotting the Philippine Islands, poor and
miserable as those islands are.
Mr.. Cleveland resisted all of the de-
mands of the big interests and refused to
bring on war with Spain in regard to
Cuba, and if his wise and patriotic course
had been followed out there never
would have been any war with Spain,
and the Cubans would have won their
Independence themselves, and this coun-
try would have been saved millions of
dollars that the war cost, and the hun
dreds Of millions that the Philippine Is