Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-04-24
wilson WAR MESSAGE
He Plainly Sets Forth Basis for
Complaint in Mexican
Troubles.

Washington, April 2O.-At 8 o'clock
b. M. sharp, President Wilson delivered
lis 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 and his
adherents the fullest recognition of the
rights n dignity of the United
States.
President Wilson laid the Mexican
these words:
Gentlemen of the congress:
1T 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
cooperation in acting on it.
ON n 9Th of April a paymastef Of
the U. S. S. Dolphin landed at the
1turbide bridge, landing at Tampico,
with a whaleboat and boats crew to
take off certain supplies needed by
his ship and while engaged in loading
the boat was arrested by an officer
and squad of men of the army of Gem
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 cave it and submit
to be taken into custody, notwithstand-
ing 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 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, n within an hour and
a half from the time of the arrest, or
ders We're received from the COM
mander of the Huertista forces at
NJ M pion for tho 80 Of tho Wv e. Il
ter and his men.
The release was followed by
apologies from the commander and
later by expression of regret from Cen
eral Huerta himself. General Huerta
urged that martial law obtained at the
time at Tampico, that orders had been
issued that no one hould be allowed
to and at the Iturbide bridge n that
our sailors had no right to land there.
Dur naval commanders at the port had
not been notified of n such
prohibition. 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 a protest with
the commanding officer of the fleet.
Admiral Mayo regarded the ar
rest as a serious affront, and he was
not satisfied with the apologies offered,
but demanded that the flag of the Uni
- CNs1NSS IN illttS WIZ boDSAASil
ceremony by the military commander
of the port.
The incident canno 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 it
stood by itself, it might have Deer at
ributed to the ignorance or arrogance
OF a single officer.
Studied Insults.
UNFORTUNATELY, it was not an iso-
lated case. A series OF incidents have
recently occurred, but which cannot
but create 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. making
free to show in many ways their irrita-
tion and contempt. A few days after
the incident at Tampico an orderly
from the United States ship Mime
sofa was arrested at Vera Cruz while
ashore in uniform to obtain the ships
mail, n was for a time thrown into
Jail. An official dispatch from this
government to it's embassy at Mexico
City was withheld by the authorities
of the Geographic service until per-
emptorily demanded by u charge
d'affaires in person.
$50 far as I can learn such wrongs
and annoyances have been suffered