The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1914-04-23
MEXICAN MESSAGE
OF THE PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT PERSONALLY AP-
PEARS BEFORE A JOINT sEs
SION or CONGRESS-
CLAIMS NO GOVERNMENT
Tells Of Affronts and Indignities Put
on United States BY the
Huerta Regime.

WaShlBgInO.- -FTeStQelL wilson an
swered Huerta's defiance BY asking
congress assembled in joint session,
for approval to use teh armed forces
Of the United States in such ways and
to such extents as may be necessary
to obtain from General Huerta and his
adherents the fullest recognition Of
the rights and dignity Of the United
States"
The president did not ask for any
appropriation of money at this time,
nor for authority to call out the Ma
tional Guard.
The president spoke as follows:
Gentlemen Of the Congress-:
ut is my duty to call your attention
to situation which has arisen in our
dealings with General Vitcoriano
Huerta at Mexico city, which calls
for action, and to ask your advice and
cooperation in acting upon it. On
the 9Th of April paymaster Of the
United States ship Dolphin landed at
the Nturbide bridge at Tampice, with
whaleboat and boats crew to take
off certain supplies needed by his ship,
and while engaged in loading the boat
was arrested by an officer and squad
of the men of the army of General
Huerta. Neither the paymaster or
anyone Of the boats crew was armed.
Two Of the men we're in the boat when
the arrest took place, and were oblig-
ed 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 Etates. 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 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 commander
of the Huerta forces at Tampico for
the release of the paymaster and his
men. The release was followed by
apologies 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 Itur-
bide bridge and that our sailors had no
right to land there Our naval COM
nanders at the port had not been noti-
fed of any such prohibition and, even
if they had been, the only justihable
course open to the local authorities
would have been to request the pay
master and his crew to withdraw and
to lodge a protest with the command
ing officer of the fleet. Admiral Mayo
regarded the arrest as so serious an.
affront. He was not satisfied with
the apologies offered, but demanded
that the flag of the United States be
saluted with special ceremony by the
military commander. of the port.
"The incident cannot be regarded as
a trivial one, especially as two of the
men arrested were taken from the boat
itself that is to say, from the terri
tory of the United States; but had it
stood by itself, it might have been at
tributed to the ignorance or arrogance
Of a single officer. Unfortunately it
was not an isolated case. a series Of
incidents have recently occurred which
cannot but create the impression that
the representatives of General Huerta
show disregard for the dignity and
rights of this government and felt per
fectly 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 United
States ship Minnesota was arrested at
Vera Cruz while ashore in uniform to
obtain the ships mail and was for a
time thrown into jail An official dis
patch from this government to the en-
bassy at Mexico City was withheld by
the authorities of the Geographic sery-
ice until peremptorily demanded by our
charge d'affaires in person.
eThe manifest danger of such q
situation was that such offenses might
grow from bad to worse until some
thing happens of so gross and intolre-
able a sort ais to lead directly and in
evitably to armed conflict. It was
necessary that the apologies of General
Huerta and his representatives should
60 much further; that they should be
such as to attract the attention of the
whole population to their significance
and such as to impress upon General
Huerta himself the necessity Of seeing
to it that no further occasion for ex-
plantations and protested regrets
should arise.
~such a salute General Huerta has
refused. and haxe come to ask your
approval ana support in the course /
now purpose to prusue.
eOnly part Of the country is under
his control. If armed conflict should
unbappily come as a result of his at
titude of personal resentment towards
this government we should be fight
ing only Geaeral Huerta and those who
adhere to him and give him their sup
mort and our object would be only to
restore to the people Of the distracted
republic the opportunity to set up