Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1914-04-24
pRe s,De,Nr WILSON'S
Address TO CONGRESS

hUUkEoS ~ NUNuNLo0}
Washington, April 2o.-President
laid the Mexican situation
before Congress today in these words:
~dENrLEMEN OF THE CONGRESS-:
ct is my duty to call your attention
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 co-opera-
ton in acting upon it.
'sOn April 9 a paymaster OF the
United States steamship Dolphin
landed at the Iturbide bridge landing,
at Tampico, with waleboat and
boats crew to take off certain sup
plies needed by his ship, and while
engaged in loading the boat was ar
rested bv al officer and squad of men
of the army of General Huerta.
Neither the pavmaster or any one OF
the boats crew was armed.
1.-Two of the men were in the boat
when the arrest took place and wers
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.
s"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 ordered him to return to the land.
Ing and await orders, and within an
hour and half fiom the time of the
arrest orders were received from the
commander of the Huertista forces at
Tampico for the release OF the pay
master and his men The release was
folio wed by apologies from the COM
| mander, and later by an expression
of regret by General Huerta himself.
General Huerta urged that MARTA
| law obtained at the time at Tampico;
that orders had been issued that no
one should be allowed to land at the
Iturbide bridge, and that our sailors
had no right to land there.
| "Our naval commanders at the port
| had not been notified of any such pro-
hibi.ion, and, even il they had been,
the only justi6able 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 arrest
as so 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
ceremony by the military commander
of the port.
NOT A TRIVIAL INCIDENT.
1.-THE incident cannot be regarded
as a trivial ole, 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
attributed to the ignorance or ar
rogance of single officer.
| UNFORTUNATELY, it was not an $50
| lated case. A series of incidents have
recently occurred which cannot but
create the impression that the repre-
! sentatives of General Huerta were
willing to 60 out of their way to show
disregard for the dignity and rights
of this Government, and felt perfectly
safe in doing what they pleased. max
| Jag free TO show in many ways theil
irritation and contempt.
| "a few days after the incilont al
Tampico an orderly from the United
States steamship Minnesota was ar
rested at Vera Cruz while on shore il
uniform to obtain the ships mail anC
was for time thrown into Jail.
IAN official dispatch from this Gov
eminent to its embassy at Mexico
City was withheld by the authorize
of the Geographic servic until per
emptorily demanded by our Charg
ld'Affaires in person.
UNITED STATES SINGLED OUT BY
HUERTA.
$50 far as l can learn such wrong
and annoyances have been suffered tt
occur only against preventative
oil the United States. | have heart
of no complaints from other Govern
ments of similar treatment. >uh,e
quent explanations and formal apollo
gies did not and could not alter thu
popular impression, which il is poss
BILE it had been the object of the Hu-r
tista authorities to create, that The
Government of the United States WIS
being singled out aud might be singled
out with impunitv, for slight anC
affronts in retaliation for its refu a
to recognize the pretensions of Gen.
eral Huerta to be regarded as the
| Constitutional Provisional President
of the Republic of Mexico.
| 1.-The manifest danger of such sit.
uatiou was that such offenses might
grow from bad to worse until sume
thing happened of SO gross and lntol-
| erable a sort as to lead directly al d
| inevitably to armed conflict.
cit was necessary that the apollo
gies of General Huerta and his repi e.
sentative should go much further,
chat they should be such as to attract
the attention of the whole population