The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1914-04-21
WILSON ASKS AUTHORITY
TO USE ARMY AND NAVY
In Dealing With Huerta and His
Adherents.
EXPLAINS THE SITUATION.
Incident at Tampico Not to be Re-
garded as Trivial One"
Says the President.

Wilson laid the Mexican situation
> before Congress today in these
words:
Gentlemen of the Congress:
1T is my duty to call your atten-
ton to situation which has arisen
in our dealings with General Vic
toriano Huerta at Mexico City, which
calls for action and to ask your ad-
vice and cooperation in acting up
on it. On the 9th of April a pay
master of the U. S. S. Dolphin landed
at the Hurbide bridge at Tampico
with a whale boat and boats crew to
take off certain supplies needed by
his ship, and while engaged in load
ing the boat was arrested by an Off
Ger and squad of the men of the
army of General Huerta.
Neither the paymaster nor any
one of the boats crew was armed.
To of the men were In the boat when
the arrest took place and were
obliged to leave it and submit to be
taken into custody, Notwithstanding
the fact that the boat carried, both at
her bow and at her stern, the flag
of the United States. The officer
who made the arrest was proceeding
up one of the streets of the town
with his prisoners when met by an
officer of higher authority, who or
dered him to return to the landing
and await orders, and within an hour
and a half from the time of the arrest
orders were received from the COM
mander of the Huertista forces at
Tampico for the release OF the pay
master and his men.
"The realise was followed by apo
logies from the commander and later
by an expression of regret by General
Huerta himself. General Huerta
urged that martial law obtained at
the time at Tampico; that orders
had been issued that no one should
be- allowed to land at the Hurbide
bridge; and that our sailors had Vpo
right to land there. Our naval com
manders at the port had not been
notified Of any such prohibition, and,
even II they had been, the only justi-
fable cause open TO the local author
tiles would have been to request the
paymaster and his crew to withdraw
and to lodge a protest with the COM
manding officer OF the feet Admiral
Mayo regarded the arrest as so ser
of hot Hn
fed with the apologies offered but
demanded that the flag OF the United
States be saluted with special cere-
mony by the military commander OF
the port.
INCIDENT NOT A TRIVIAL ONE.
"The incident cannot be regarded
as a trivial one, especially as two OF
the men arrested we're taken from
the boat itself-that Is TO say, from
the territory OF the United States:
but had 1t stood by itself, it might
have been attributed to the ignorance
or arrogance OF single officer.
Unfortunately, II was not an isolated
case. A series OF incidents have re-
Gently occurred which cannot but
create the impression that the rep
resentatives of General Huerta we're
willing to. go out OF their way to
show disregard for the dignity and
rights of this government and felt
perfectly safe in doing what they
pleased, making free to show in
many ways their irritation and con-
tempt. 10
"a few days after the Incident at
Tampico an orderly from the United
States Steamship Minnesota was ar
rested at Vera Cruz while ashore I'm
uniform to obtain the ships mail and
was for time thrown into Jail. An
oficial dispatch from this govern
ment to the embassy at Mexico City
was withheld by the authorities of
the telegraphic service until pre-
emptorily demanded by our charge
d'affaires In person.
SUCH WRONGS ONLY AGAINST
THE u. s.
$50 far as / can learn, such wrongs
and annoyances have been suffered to
occur only against representatives of
the United States. / have heard of
no complaints from other govern
Continued on Page Eight.)