The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-23
PRESIDENT TAFT EXPLAINS.

President Taft, on his return from
his Southern vacation, has taken the
trouble TO mako another explanation
Of his policy towards Mexico. There
has been curious indefiniteness about
all this matter that has puzzled the
people and, we cannot say that Presi-
dent Taft's latest explanation does
much TO clear up the uncertainty.
He says, as Of course he would be
obliged to say, that he has no designs
upon Mexico by way Of Intervention
or invasion. AT the samo time he
speaks Of "somc overt act on MeXi-
can SOIL - of reports that conditions
in Mexico were approaching such
chaos, that American lives and prop
erty might be in jeopardy" and he
uses other expressions of the same
character.
Then, after laying the foundation
upon each, for the active move one
would suppose he intended to proceed
with saying that the troops were sent
TO tho Mexican border to meet such
emergency, and that, in case of the
chaos, jeopardy, and overt act men
toned, the troops would be sent over
the border to restore peace and order
and avert the jeopardy, he doesn Z say
it. but switches off to the declaration
that there will be no move TO the
Mexican border ''unless outragcs so
gI.- n. &. L.
Of protecting force occurred - lie
follows this, however, by saying that
even then he would not think of act
ing without the consent of Congress,
and adds that the limitations upon the
power of the President to commit an
act that might be interpreted as an
act Of war, are so well defined that
Mr. Taft has been amused as to re-
ports of what he proposed to do with
the army after it was modified.
All this, however, merely adds to
the confusion If the President
thought it necessary to have troops
on the border Immediately available
on the emergencies which he defines
and yet felt that he could not lawfully
use them for peace or protection, or
do anything that might he interpreted
as an act Of war without the permiS
sion OF Congress, then he is in the
position OF a man who stands ready
for n scrap, but with his hands tied,
so that he cannot fight. If it is true
that nc cannot do the very things that
he apparently prepared to do by send
ing the troops to the border, then the
question occurs again, why did he send
them? And, if the troops are there
to correct any such abuses as he men
toned, what is the use Of them being
there, if they cannot be used for the
very purpose in view? Since Con
grcss is not in session to make the
authorization declared to be essential,
the President g explanation is ridicu
lous.
The whole matter appears to he a
curious mixture of appearance and un-
certainty, aud every time that an eX-
planation is vouchsafcd from Wash
ington, it not only overturns every
other explanation previously made, but
adds to the confusion and indefinite
ness of the whole situation. it is not
usual for President Taft TO speak in
such an uncertain and ambiguous tone
as he does in this interview. And we
much prefer to believe that he has
a definite aim aud object in view, and
chaos, overt act, and danger, so fla.
grant as to call for the presence Of a
protecting force, give immediate or
ders for the relief that would he re-
Qzired, without any action of, or au-
thority from Congress, in the full GER
tainty that Congress would approve |
and ratify whatever he might do.