The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1914-03-19
SENATOR FALLS SPEECH.

Senator Fall in his speech in the
senate favoring armed Intervention in
Mexico told his hearers that his de-
mand was fully justified under
President McKinley's war message
and invited them to read that mes
sage substituting the word Mexico"
in every place where the president
wrote Spain
The suggestion may be good one,
but it is certainly not sufficiently in
elusive. Why did the senator not go
a step further and invite his hearers
to read history of the Spanish
American war? The war with Spain
was little war. 1t lasted less than
five months, but nearly 5000 men
were killed or died of disease and ac-
cidents during that time on the
American side alone, and when the
bloody work was done, the Spanish
ships all sunken or captured, Cuba
liberated and Porto Rico annexed
this country turned it's attention to
the subjugation of the Philippines.
Who knows how many badly armed
and badly differed natives American
soldiers had to kill before that work
was accomplished sufficiently to in
sure peace anywhere in the Islands?
The American people never found
themselves in business they would
more willingly have quit but could
not than the pacification of the Pri-
lippines 1t is fifteen years since the
battel of Manila Bay was fought and
we are still shooting Moros now and
then. The Spanish war left the
United States with modified pro-
tectOrate over Cuba and Philippine
problem which is not settled and will
not be for years to come. It is with
in the possibilities, and some profess
to think it within the probabilities,
that the Philippines will involve the
country in another war sooner or
laser.
These are merely few of the
salient points as to the consequences
of the Spanish war Intervention in
Mexico means war with the Mexican
people. There is no reason to be-
lieve that the Mexicans can be paci-
fled more easily than the Philippines
and certainly they cannot be whipped
as easily as Spain was. If the coun-
try were occupied the occupation
would necessarily extend over long
period and saddle upon this country
tremendous list of duties and re-
spOnsibilities. We could not set up
q government in Mexico and leave it
to care for itself. The United States
would have to defend and protect it,
though the whole course of our Next
can policy up to this time has been
to frown upon any government in
Mexico which is not of the Mexican's
4 choosing Nobody can even guess
what Intervention would cost in
blood and treasure.
Senator Falls speech was made in
the senate and nominally to the sem
ate, but in reality it was speech to
the American people. He admitted
this by insisting that he would deliv-
er it in open session. 1t constitutes
an invitation to the American people
to demand from the president and
congress course of action under
which the American Army must re-
sumo the business of killing men en-
gagged in defending their own soil
from invasion. The consequences of
the policy he advocates are as unfore-
seen as were those of the Spanish
war, yet the senator advises the
American people to rush in against
the advice Of those they have chosen
to lead them and those whose knoWl-
edge of the facts is greater than that
of anyone else in the country.
This is something the American
people will never do. If the president
and his advisors should finally con-
clude that there must be Intervention
the people will flock to the support
of the government. They will not
be run off their feet by jingoes and
hotheads. They will bear in mind
what war means by remembering not
only the Maine, but also the graves
in Arlington Louis Republic.