Arizona republican., 1914-10-05
WRESTLING ID
 THE LOBSTER

Following the publication of the pro- Gressve state platform. the Mesa Tr- bUne indulged in severe criticism or the strictures in the platform upon the democratic state and national admin istration. Replying to these criticisms a progressive of the south side ad- dresses the following open letter to the editor of the Tribune:
 Mesa, Ariz., 10-2-14. Editor Tribune:
 Our genial but overwOrked editor, who for many months has been writ ! ing so many heavy editorials with q pair of scissors and pasting them reg ularly in the bosom of the Mesa Daily Tribune has heard the vigorous call from the Bull Moose clan.
 And the best thing about it is that he has read the progressive platform with the result, with scissors avaunt, and with his mighty pen in hand he charg- les the Bull Moose with all the venom and courage contained in the memor- 1 able We charge, we charge, we charge" which went laundering down the corridors of the Republican plat
 
 Full Moose to pluck a few hairs from the end of his tail.
 l The first progressive plank to eX- cite his rage is the simple one wherein we pledge ourselves to redeem the fair name of our state so that the finger icf scorn can no longer be pointed at the scandal in the management of our states institutions. Then he demands that we become explicit and tell them Iall about it.
 Can't do it brother, because we were not mixed up in the dirty mess; how ever, we can direct you to the place. For instance, you might read the re- port of the legislative committee, who spent thousands of dollars of the peO- ples' money and wasted the major per ton of the time they should have been passing constructive legislation" who investigated the management of our prison by your democratic governor also the minority report of the board of control who investigated the scan dal at the F't Grant industrial school. As these documents came from dem ocratic sources you will have no req
 son to doubt their correctness. Again, this editor protests because the pro- , gressives condemned the democratic administration for it's weak and vacil | lating foreign policy, and he is sure we should rejoice with the democrats as he expresses it, in the presidents mar velOus success in adjusting the Mex ican problem
 , But what are the facts, are we to in dorse the presidents use of power to : meddle about who should rule Mexico, l which was none of his business. Whiie refusing to use any power to protect American life and property, which was
 decidedly our business? Are we to endorse the proposed plan where the
 state department has been using it's energy to devise some method for turn ing over to some Mexican military chief more than million dollars now l held in American hands at Vera Cruz,
 while refusing to use any of it's energy ! to devise an honorable method by
 which this money could be used in pay
 ment to our citizens whose property
 was destroyed or confiscated, or to the : wives and children of those Americans ! who were so ruthessly murdered by
 this untable race, when it is in line , with international custom for nations :. to capture custom houses and use the
 proceeds to recompense it's own citi-
 zens when justice would be rendered
 thereby? Our dealing as a whole with l 1 Mexico stands out as miserable fiaS- l co, and there is but one question that ;a1 h.. T mi, icfr tion to a logical conclusion; namely, Q "the insult to our flag. The navy and g army were mobilzed and used, as We = supposed to right that wrong but what
 was the. result? We gave r American = lives and expended millions of treasure = at Vera Cruz and settled the account 7 with humiliating diplomatic defeat a at Niagara Falls, and the ledger was n balanced by permitting the culprit who
 offered the insult to sneak out of his V country under the very shadow of the ;. guns of our battle fleet It is the mar : vicious success in adjusting the Mex 2 ican problem" you would have the pro- r gressives endorse. Your claim that a . vigorous policy would have precipitated = war is an illusion, as was demonstrated Il at the beginning of this revolution Il when some Americans and two Ger
 mans were slain at about the same = time. Mexico offered ''manana." while t the commander of the German warshir }. immediately landed marines and said; ,. i've will stay here until you pay us it $2O,000 each for our subjects slain a Within A hours Germany had collected
 $40,000 and the killing of Germans g ceased at once. There was no war and a today Germans are held in higher re- d spect there than Americans. We ac- . cepted 'manana" with the result that s the killing of Americans and the de-
 Struction of their property continued