The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-04-17

BY John e. Nevin, staff correspond
ent of the United Pressl
WASHINGTON, April 1.-THE
United States intends to be prepared
to adopt stern measures in Mexico to
enforce it's future demands. 1t will
accept salute from Huerta as ending
the Tampico incident. The salute
will be returned, gun for gun, although
in doing so there will be an apparent
violation OF national regulation. But
this country will not withdraw. its war
vessels from the vicinity of the Mex
| lean coast and from now on there will
be maintained at sea as we'll as on
the Texas border an adequate force
! to compel respect for Americans and
to protect all foreign interest should
grave necessity arise. This was the
Interpretation placed today by army
and navy officials on the fact that al
though Secretary Bryan and Dictator
/ Huerta have agreed to the salute to
end the Tampico incident and Bryan
isays that is the only matter unsettled.
lnot only are the ships continuing on
their journey, but the Virginia, Rhode
iIsland and Georgia. still at Charles
town navy. yards, are to proceed to
y + 6. esic5 as so5E as tisey can 8 etF reaes
for sea.
President Wilson has been told
that the end of the Huerta regime Is
no longer a question OF months but
almost OF days. The flower OF the
dictator's army has been crushed in
the fighting that has followed the
iTorreon campaign. Villas force is
being augmented daily by those who
want to be with the winner. And ad-
vices here indicate that unless all
Isigns fail, he will be pounding at the
defenses of Mexico City within a
fortnight.
No one here wants to forecast what
the outcome of that final struggle will
Ibe or whether, should the constitu-
tionalists win. Carranza and Villa
will be willing to set up a govern
iment that this nation can deal with
and recognize Because of this the
Wilson administration will concen,
trate it's forces close to Mexico for
any action that may become neces-
Esary.
The cabinet today considered the
entire Mexican situation and the de.
jvelopments Of the last few days.
Secretary Of State Bryan promised
; a statement outlining the agreement
with Huerta as soon as all the de-
tails can be cleared up.
! There are many questions in con
nection with the developments Of the
Hast three days over which haze
of mystery still hangs. No one YET
knows whether Charge O'Shaughnessy
who is admittedly very close tc
Huerta, proposed the exchange Of
| salute plan as means of settling the
difficulty or whether it came origin
ally from Huerta himself. 1t was
} said today that II this is not cleared
up voluntarily by the state depart
iment or white house. senators ane
| representatives interested will ask fol
\ particulars There was much doubt
, today regarding whether this salute
can properly be fired by the American
warships. Paragraph 120 of the Unit
ed States naval regulations reads az
\ follows:
mo salute shall be fred in hono1
: of any nation or of any official of an,
nation not formally recognized by thu
| government OF the United States
Certain senators opposed to th'
administration were urging today tha
, this regulation would be violated i
, our ships at Tampico returned th'
proposed salute from the garrison
, there. But this was not the view o
, ithe president and his advisors. The.
, held that as the salute was al
"amende honorable" for an affront, !
, must be met with proper acknowI
. edgement and they insisted that
would not be Huerta or the govern
ment he represented that would b.
, saluted, but the entire Mexican pee
. pie.
/ Now that the acute tension ha
i. worn off. officials were counting tn
| cost OF the naval demonstration.
D will run above million dollars bu
, poo ona yet has heen able TO figure tn