The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1914-05-21
Our Duty to Refugees.
portland Orseonian)

Bitter criticism by American refu-
gees from Mexico Of the government
for abandoning them to their fate with
the alternative Of flight, leaving all
they have behind them, has started
discussion of the duty which this gov
eminent owes to it's citizens who So
journ in foreign lands. Are these
Americans to be left to take their
chances or is our government to fol-
low them up with it's protection, to
avenge their wrongs and to punish
their oppressors?
The former view is held by the
Springfield Republican, which says:
when Americans go to Mexico to
do business and live there year after
year as alien residents, acquiring pro-
perty and in other ways stalking their
fortunes on the character of the gov
eminent which the native population
provides, they deliberately assume
risks which they can not thrust upon
the government of the United States,
which in the last analysis is the peo-
pie Of the United States. Their pro-
perty in Mexico pays no taxes for the
support of the government of their
own country They go to Mexico
purely for the money they can get out
of Mexico, and to assume that the
rest of us-100, 900 or so-must go
to war to afford them a security which
Mexicans themselves could not hope to
obtain, is unreasonable in the ex-
treme."
That seems reasonable on it's face,
but if that policy had been followed
from the foundation of the republic,
where would the American nation
have been today? This nation is
founded on the instinct of the adven-
turers of all nations to move on in
to new lands and to push the frontier
before them. If the first adventures
who colonized the Atlantic coast and
the western slope of the Alleghenies
had followed the Republicans theory,
the frontier would not have advanced
beyond the Ohio river. American set
tiers in Tennessee and Kentucky and
in what were called In early days the
Northwest Territories would have
been abandoned to the British. Ore
gon would have become a British col
ony and the British flag would have
cific coast. Texas would not have been
annexed, the Mexican war would not
have been fought and California and
the southwest would still have been
Mexican territory.
The very nature Of growing, thriv-
ing expanding nation, which abounds
In energy and enterprise, requires it to
keep advancing. Its advance neces-
sarly brings friction with Incidence
and inefflciency. Shall it's virtues fall
back before these vices or shall it
sweep them away? Shall the pioneers
in the onward march be left to perish
or shall the main army sustain them?
True, the pioneer must take some
chances which the stay-at home es-
cApes He always ,.as taken them
without complaining 1t was little
enough that was done for him in the
west, but he asked little-only that |
when he had carved out the rough |
outlines of station the nation would |
reach out and take it in. But when
the policy of the United States gov
eminent provoked the violent enmity |
Of the people among whom he lives |
against every American citizen, for no |
other reason than that he is an Amer
lean, does the government incur no
greater obligation than to say, "Aban-
don all you have and flee for your
life?"
Is man to sacrifice the fruits Of a |
life's work to the policy of his govern
ment?
why should the government pro-
tect or avenge these American expa- |
triates at the expense of millions? |
They pay no taxes" That is in sub
stance what the Republican says. Per-
haps not directly, but they have made ,
market for American goods wherever I
they have gone. Had it not been for
the Americans who began developing
Mexico under Diaz our trade with that
country would not have attained its
great volume. The worldwide COM
merce of Great Britain has been built
up by such men and by the govern
ment which has thrown the Union
Jack around them. These expatriates
are the advance agents of American
commerce; wherever they go American
goods follow Should not the Stars
and Stripes protect them as the Union
Jack protects the wandering Briton?
The American people are called up
on to choose between two policies. One
is summed up in the words: "Flee
from Mexico; we can't protect you"
The other IS in the words: "Perdi-
CARTS alive or Raisuli dead" Which
do they prefer?
PHOSPHATE ROCK.