The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-04-22
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plain that it was directed against him.
He expressed the highest regard for
h president and the highest con-
fdence in his purposes"
But We are not asked to express our
confidence in him." he continued. 1--WE
are asked as a part of our duty here
to declare a certain course Of action in
certain conditions to be justified. We
are called iron to do our duty to the
hundred million people of this country
and our duty to the civilized world"
The resolution, Senator Root said,
called for "forcefuI armed compulsion
of the de facto government Of a friend
ly nation to make amends for an in
suit to the flag of this country"
we cannot justify this" he contin-
ued, ION our confidence in the presi-
dent. We must justify ourselves be-
fore the conscience of the people Of our
country and before the eyes of the
cation? Mark you, l do not say there
Is. no justification. I ask what it is"
Senator Root reviewed the Tampico
incident as the aVowed Classification"
by the president. He said the Incl
dent was an insult to u flag"
Immediately made. The officer who
on Az CA CS AAANSN%
The commandant at Tampico apollo
gized and General Huerta also apollo
gized. These amends were not Sufti-
cient to the commander of the. Ameri-
can vessels and he demanded a salute
to the flag" .
Senator Root said he agreed that
the amends were not sufficient as COM
ing from a de facto government" al
though they would have been sufficient
coming from an individual. A dis
pute arose, he said, as to the details
of further amends. the customary and
usual incidents surrounding such a
salute" ,r: .'. .
This was the matter in dispute be-
tween this government n the de
facto government of Mexico, and this
is the justification on which the reso-
luton now before the senate is based.
"This justification, it seems to me,
Is painfully inadequate. II this Is all
there is. between this government n
the poor harried people Of Mexico, 1T
is painfully inadequate. But is this
all?
1--WE learn tonight that Vera Cruz
has fallen; that four American mar
ines lie dead; that a score lie suffer-
ing from wounds. Is there nothing
else but his dispute of the number of
guns-the, form and ceremony of a sa-
lutte to justify the sacrifice Of the
American lives?
Deeply as the president desires to
limit the scope Of his action - the
maintenance of peace. all history sug-
gests that onc lighted the fires OF wal
cannot be quenched at will. 1t is war
in it's essence that we are to o to
justify tonight. What the result OF
these incidents no nan can tell. Men
will die-men dear to us will die be-
cause of the action we are to tax to-
night. American homes will be, desc
late; American children will go
through life ~fatherless, because Of the
action we will take tonight, and when
they turn back the page to find why
their fathers died, are they to find that
it was. about the number of guns or
the form Of salute2
"We are to justify. What is the
Justification? Is there none but that?
| We are representatives OF the great
| democracy that prides itself before
the world that it's demands can DC
peaceful and just. Is there no JusLl-
fcation that we can lay before the
world, before the Judgment seat OF
history, except a dispute about tne
number of guns? /.
AS Senator Root paused, he raised
| his hands h~eavenward and turning to
the senators about him, said:
"How can we Justify ourselves II
we have not justification?
"But that is not all. II it had beer
all the president would not have come
to the congress yesterday. IL 1t had
been all we would not have been dis
cussing this subject here tonight.
Back of this incident, back of the
| special circumstances Of the resolution
reported by the committee is a great
array OF fact"
Senator Root asked what would
have been done if a similar incident
had occurred in an English, French
and German port? He said that any
such dispute could be settled by peace
full negotiations.
'If this dispute was all.,' he said.
there should be no difficulty in reach
ing a peaceful conclusion.
IF this be all, how can we justify
in our arrogance. our present attitude
toward bankrupt, weak, despairing
Mexico, If this be all? But this is
not all. There is matter of justifica-
ton. And the senator from Massa-
chusetts has sought to lay 1T before
the senate in his substitute for the
preamble OF the resolution.
Lying behind the insult to the Am
erican flag 4 are the American
Lives destroyed. others reduced tx
property because Of the destruction