The Washington times., 1914-04-28
HOW NOT TO DOIT.

1t begins to be reasonably certai
that Huerta will collapse and b.
eliminated without the necessity o
an American army marching from
Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico.
But even if that much is accom-
piished, it will be only a beginning
After Huerta, what? and who?
The suggestion of Felix Diaz ha!
been repeatedly broached, apparentl!
in all sincerity, by people who either
don't know or can't understand tina
he has made a record of treachery
incapacity, cowardice, or something
much like it, that puts him entirel!
out of consideration as a possible
provisional president.
De la Barra likewise has been per
sistently suggested. He is JUS
about as impossible, because the con
stitutionalists consider that in effect
at least their regime was betrayed
during the provisional presidency OF
De la Barra following the flight Of
Porfrio Diaz from the country. DE-
la Barra is one of the old cientiico
aristocracy, incapable of understand,
ing or sympathizing with the basic
aspirations of the Mexican people
unwilling to realize that the millions
of its downtrodden masses could be
made into good and useful citizens
if they were given 4 chance. They
are fighting for that chance, and it
will never do to place over them a
man who IS utterly incapable of un-
derstanding what it is all about.
Now comes the proposal that Por-
firio Diaz be summoned back and
made the ad interim president. This
is the worst Of all, and the least
likely to be attempted. He is old,
he did not prove strong in the final
test that the revolution of 1910
brought to him, and he likewise is
without grasp of the vital needs of
economic reform for the country.
The only thing that can command
confidence, and assurance of fair
chance, for the new regime that
must follow Huerta, is to place at
the head of the government men in
sympathy with the things for which
the Madero revolutionists and the
Villa constituticnalists have fought;
men with records so we'll known to
the people of Mexico that there can
be no doubt of their allegiance and
their fidelity. It will not be easy to
find men with such records who at
the same time will possess the quail
ties of craftsmanship and under
standing needed in doing the con-
structive work that lies ahead.
But the peaceful solution Of Mexi-
co.'s problem depends on finding such
men, and then getting them into
control. To get the wrong men, to
make another such mistake as was
made in the case of De la Rarra, will
mean nothing less than that the new
era will start without the confidence
of the public and with every prospect
IF renewal of the revolutionary dis
turbarces just as soon as pretext
may be afforded for it.
The outlook for peaceful settle
ment of immediate difficulties is
better, on the whole, than at any
time in months; that is, for the
United States being saved from the
necessity of plunging farther into the
1norass. Villa is proving himself
the strong man. the clear-sighted
man, the man with both the sense
ard the courage to avow himself the
friend of the United States. Villa
is apparently the man on whom de-
pendence can he placed for sound
counsel as to selecting a temporary
and he is going to
be in position to make his counsel
heard. He is not ambitious for the
presidential office; he has said so
when nobody on this side
the Rio Grand" was willing to be-
lieve him. Now we are coming to
him better, and he looks
like the one great element of hope
in the situation. T!e knows his Mex
leo, and his Mexican people. He
knows whom to trust and whom to
discard. If he will cooperate sin
ccrely and earnestly with this Gov
ernment, it should be possible to set
ur a provisional government that
could safely bridge the gap to re-
turn Of constitutionalism
MEXICAN MENACES.