Connecticut western news., 1914-04-23
FIGHT ON HUERTA,
 DECLARES WILSON
Will ROi Make War on Mex ican People. Y"
TELLS CONGRESS OF INSULTS

President Asks For Use of Armed
 Forces of U. s. In Such Ways as May
 Be Necessary to Obtain From Huerta
 Fullest Recognition of Rights and
 Dignity of This Country.
 President Wilson, leaving the Mexi- can situation before congress, In part said:
 Gentlemen of the Congress-It is my duty to call your attention to situa- tion which has arisen in our dealings with General Victoriano Huerta at Mexico City which calls for action and 10 ask your advice and cooperation in acting upon 1t.
 On the 9th of April a paymaster of the United States steamship Dolphin landed at the Iturbide bridge landing at Tampico with a whaleboat and boats crew to take off certain supplies needed by his ship and while engaged in load ing the boat was arrested by an officer and squad of men of the army Of Gen 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 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 or dered him to return to the landing and await orders, and within an hour and half from the time of the arrest or ders were received from the command CT of the Huertista forces at Tampico for the release of the paymaster and kis men
 The release was followed by apolo- gies from the commander and later By an expression of regret by General Huerta himself. General Huerta urg ed that martial law obtained at the time at Tampico, that orders had been issued that no one should be allowed s0 land at the Iturbide bridge and that our sailors had no right to land there
 Our naval commanders at the port mad not been notified of any such pro Mbition. and, even if they had been. the only justifiable course open to the local authorities would have been to request the paymaster and his crew to withdraw and to lodge protest with the commanding officer of the fleet. Admiral Mayo regarded the arrest as 90 serious an affront that he was not satisfied with the apologies offered, but demanded that the flag of the United States be saluted with special cere mony by the military commander of the port.
 The 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 territory of the United States. But had 1t stood by itself 1t might have Aeen attributed to the ignorance of a single officer.
 Unfortunately it was not an isolated sase. A series of incidents have re- gently occurred which cannot but ere ate the impression that the representa- hives of General Huerta were willing s0 go out of their way to show disre- gard for the dignity and rights of this government and felt perfectly safe in doing what they pleased. making free eo show in many ways their irritation and contempt.
 A few days after the incident at Tampico, an orderly from the United States steamship Minnesota was ar vested at Vera Cruz while ashore in uniform to obtain the ships mail. and was for a time thrown into jail. An sficial dispatch from this government tO its embassy at Mexico City was withheld by the authorities of the tele- graphic service until peremptorily de. handed by our charge d'affaires in person.
 So far as I can learn. such wrongs and annoyances have been suffered tu occur only against representatives of the United States.
 The manifest danger of such situa aion was that such offenses might grow from bad to worse until something Happened of so gross and intolerable q s%BIL dS LO ledu ulEGCLly duu 1uGVlIdDly 10 armed conflict. #.
 This government can. I earnestly Nope, in no circumstances be forced into war with the people of Mexico. Mexico is torn by civil strife.
 therefore come to ask your ap. Proval that I should use the armed forces of the United States in such ways and to such an extent as may be necessary to obtain from General Hu- srta and Lis adherents the fullest rec. sgnition of the rights and dignity of the United States. even amid the dis sressing conditions now unhappily ob- eaining in Mexico.
 |