The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1914-04-21
Mr.. Wilson Told Law Makers
That the Crisis Was Forced
by Gen. Huerta
NO ENMITY AGAINST
THE MEXICAN PEOPLE

Mean War-United States Singled
Out for Afronts in Retaliation by
Huerta Regime.
President Wilson laid the Mexican
situation before Congress at Washing
ton yesterday in these words:
Gentlemen of the Congress: 1t is
my duty to call your attention to a
situation which has arisen in our deal
ings with Gen. Nictorano Huerta at
Mexico City, which calls for action. and
to ask your advice and cooperation in
acting upon it. On the 9th of April
| a paymaster Of the United States
steamship Dolphin landed at the Itur-
| bide bridge landing at Tampico with a
whalebOat and boat : crew to take
off certain supplies needed by his ship,
/ and while engaged III loading the boat
| was arrested by an officer and squad of
men of the army of Gen. Huerta.
! Neither the paymaster nor anyone of
] the boat 5 crew was armed Two of
! the men were in the boat when the ar
! rest 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 of higher authority
who ordered him to return TO the land
ing and await orders and within an
4 hour and a half from the time of the
! arrest orders were received from the
| commander of the Huertista forces ut
| fampico 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 Gen. Hucrta himself. Gen.
Iluerta 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 Iturbiae bridge,
and that our sailors had no right TO
land there. Our naval commanders at
the port had not been notified of any
such prohibition, aud. even If they had
been, the only justifiable course open
to the local authorities would have been
70 request the pavmaster and his crew
to withdraw and lodge protest with
the commanding officer of the fleet
\ Admiral Mayo regarded the arrest as
50 serious an affront that he was not
satisfied with the apologies offered, but
4 demanded that the flag of the Unitet
1 States be samted with special ceremony
by the military commander of the port
Incident Not Trivial
4 1.-THE incident cannot be regarded a
trivial one especially as two OF TIL
men arrested were taken from the boa
itseIf-that is to say. from the terri
4 tory of the United States, but had /
n stood by itself, it might have been at
h tributed to the ignorance or arroganc
3 of a single officer. Unfortunately. i
was not an isolated case. A series o
y incidents have recently occurred whic
cannot but create the impression tina
4 the representatives of Gen. Huert;
n were willing to 90 out of their way t
] show disregard for the dignity an
4 rights of this government and felt PEI
q fectly safe in doing what they please,
8 making free to show in many way
n their irritation and contempt \ fe
u days after the incident at Tampico a
III orderly from the United States steam
& ship Minnesota was arrested at NeI
Cruz while ashore in uniform to oil
tain the ship mail and was for a tin
4 thrown into Jail. An official dspatc
d from this government to its embassy
& Mexico City was withheld by the a
\ thorities of the telegraph service unit
4 peremptorilv demanded by our charz
d 'affares in person. So far as | ca
4 learn, such wrongs and annoyane,
4 have been suffered to occur on
against representatives of the Unite
III States. / have heard no complain
from other governments of simil
treatment. Subsequent explanation
4 and formal apologies did not and ecu
a not alter the popular impression (whi,
\ it is possible it had been the object
the Hnerista authorities to Great
that the government of the Unit
might be singled out with impunit
for Sights and affronts in retaliati
1 for its refusal to recognize the prete
sions of Gen. Huerta to be regarded
the constitutional provisional pre-
8 dent of the republic of Mexico.
Danger of Such Situation.
1.-The manifest danger of such a 5
zAs uation was that such offenses mig
= grow from bad to worse until son
-. thing happened of so gross and int
II cradle a sort as to lead directly n
inevitably to armed conflict 1t W
necessary that the apologies of G,
Huerta and his representatives shol
II go much further; that they should
such as to attract the attention of I
II whole population to their signifean
and such as to impress upon G.
II IIuera himself the necessity of sect
to it that no further occasion for
II plantations and professed regrets shol
arise. l. therefore, felt it my duty
II sustain Admiral Mayo in the whole
II his demand and to insist that the f
H Of the United States should be salut
II in such a way as to indicate a n
II spirit and attitude on the part of
II Huertistas.
II Such salute Gen. Huerta has
LII I !, II