The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1914-04-23
WAR MESSAGE
He Plainly Sets Forth Basis for
Complaint in Mexican
Troubles.

Washington. April 20.--At 3 o'clock
p. m. sharp, President Wilson delivered
his message to congress-, asking for
approval to use the armed forces Of
the United States In such ways and
TO such extent as may be necessary to
obtain from General, Huerta n his
adhereuts the fullest recognition of the
rights and dignity of the United
States.
President Wilson laid the Mexican
situation before congress today in
these words, .
Gentlemen OF the congress-:
ut is my duty to call your atten-
ton to a situation which has arisen in
our dealings with Gen. Victoriano
Huerta at Mexico City, which calls
for action and to ask your advice and
cooperation in acting on 1t.
."On the eth of April d paymaster of
the us. S. Dolphin landed at the
Iturbide bridge, landing at Tampico,
with a whaleboat and boats crew to
take off certain supplies needed by
his ship n while engaged in loading
the boat was arrested by an officer
n squad OF men of the army, of Cen
eral Huerta. Neither the paymaster
nor any one Of the boats crew was
armed. Two of the men were in the
boat when the arrest took place and
were obliged to leave 1t and submit
to be taken into custody, no~twithstand-
ing the fact hat 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 the streets Of the
town with his prisoners when met by
an officer OF higher authority who or
dered him to return to the landing and
await orders, and within an hour and
q half from the time of the arrest, or
ders were received from the com-
Tampico for the release Of the paymas-
ter and his men D..
THE release was followed by
apologies from the commander and
later by expression of regret from Gen
eral Huerta himself. General Huerta
urged that martial law obtained at the
time at Tampico. that orders had been
ISSUED that nj one should be allowed
to land at the Iturbide bridge Int that
our sailors had no right to land there.
Our naval commanders at the port had
not been notified Of any such
prohibition, and, even IL they had been
h only justifiable course open to the
local authorities would have been to
request the paymaster and his crew to
withdraw and to lodge a protest with
h commanding officer of the fleet. b
Admiral Mayo regarded h ar
rest as a serious affront, and he was
not satisfied with h apologies offered,
but demanded that the flag Of the Uni
ted States be saluted with special
ceremony by the military commander
of the port.
This 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 1t
stood by Itself, it might have bee at
tributed to the ignorance or arrogance
of a single officer.
Studied insults.
Unfortunately, IL was not an iso-
lated case. A series nf incidents have
recently occurred. but which cannot
but Great the impression that the rep
resentatives of General Huerta were
willing to go out of their way to show
disregard for the dignity and rights OF
this government and felt perfectly safe
In doing what they pleased, roaking
free to show in many ways their i!rrita-
ton and contempt. A few days after
the incident at Tampico an orderly
from the United States ship Mime
sofa WIS arrested al Vera Cruz while
ashore in uniform to obtain the ships
mail, nj was for a time thrown into
jail An official dispatch from this
government to its embassy at Mexico
City was withheld by the authorities
of the telegraphic service until per-
emptorily demanded by our charge
d'affaires in person.
$50 far as l a learn such wrongs
and annoyances ave been suffered