The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-05-01
PRESIDENT WILSON'S ExPLANA-
TON TO CONGRESS
The way the Trouble Started

from the president which was as fol-
lows:
"Gentlemen of the Congress:
sit is my duty to call your atten-
ton to a 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 upon
it. On the ninth of April paymas-
ter of the United States steamship
Dolphin landed at Iturbide bridge at
1ampico with a whalebOat and a
boats crew to take off certain sup
plies needed by his ship and while
engaged in loading the boat was ar
lrested by an officer and squad of men
|of the army of General Huerta
Neither the paymaster nor any one of
the boats crew was armed Two 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
lof higher authority who ordered 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 release was
followed by apologies from the COM
mander 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
Iturbide bridge and that our sailors
had no right to land there. Our
naval commanders at the port had
not been notified of any such prohibit
tion, and even if they had been, the
only justifiable course open to the
local authorities would have been to
request the paymaster and his crew
to withdraw and to lodge a protest
with the commanding officer of the
fleet.
Admiral Mayo regarded the ar
rest as SO serious an affront that he
was not satisfied with the apologies
offered but demanded that the flag
of the United States be saluted with
special ceremony by the militery
commander of the port.
The incident cannot be regarded
as trivial one especially as two oil
the men arrested were taken from
the boat itself, that is to say, from
the territory of the United States;
but had it stood itself it might have
been attributed to the ignorance OF
arrogance of a single officer.
Unfortunately, it was not an iso-
lated case. A series of incident
have recently occurred which can
not but create the impression that
the representatives of General
Huerta were willing to go out of
their way to show disregard for the
dignity and rights of this govern
ment and felt perfectly safe in doing
what they pleased, making free to
show in many ways their irritation
and contempt.
"a few days after the incident at
Tampico, an orderly from the U. S.
S. Minnesota was arrested at Vera
Cruz while ashore in unifor INTO OBJ
tain the ships mail and was for a
time thrown into jailf
An official dispatch from this
government to its embassy at Next
co City was withheld by the authori-
ties of the telegraphic service until
peremptorily demanded by our
charge d'affaires in person.
80 far as I can learn, such
wrongs and annoyances have been
suffered to occur only against repre-
sentatives of the United States.
have heard of no complaints from
other governments of similar treat
ment
Subsequent explanations and for
NAL apologies did not and could not
alter the popular impression, which
it is possible. it had been the object
of the Huertista authorities to create.
that the government of the United
States was being singled out and
might be singled out with impunity,
for sights and affronts in retaliation
for its refusal to recognize the pre-
tensions of General Huerta to be re-
building was done. If there ha