Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-08-18

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tions. They will pe able to underbid
the American lines in this trade. They
| Will be able to drive the American
owners to the wall All, they say, we
only want this provision for two years.
Fellow citizens. 1t is the old story OF
| the camel getting his head under the
tent. Once having poked in that men,
Der OF his body it is only a short
while before the entire carcass
gets within the tent. This law,
| II enacted, will result in the to-
| tai disruption of the American coast
wise trade, trade that has given us
practically the only American Mer-
chant Marine we have and that ought
to be maintained under all circum-
stances and under every condition.
The foreign policy of this Admins
tration has made us the laughing
stock of the world. The whole
thing would be humorous If it were
not so intensely pathetic and tragic.
Take the Mexican situation for exam
| pie. What business had we to inter-
fere in the internal affairs of a sister
| Republic? None whatever. We would
resent the interference of any other
power on earth In our affairs and
properly So The Mexicans are just
as jealous of their rights and their
country's honor as we are of our rights
and our counuy's honor. For upwards
of a year the Administration was re-
sponsible for the drifting towards
anarchy of things in Mexico. The
President called his policy one of
'watchful waiting" l say it was a
policy of deadly drifting" Finally
the port Of Vera Cruz was seized for
the ostensible reason that a German
steamer was about to land a large
cargo of munitions of war for the
! Dictator-Huerta. On the day the
American sailors and marines landed
in that old Mexican port II of our
boys were killed outright and a goodly
number We're wounded, more or less
seriously. OF the latter three have
since died. But what was the ulti
mate result of this sacrifice of human
| life? Within a month after these
brave boys had been sacrificed upon
the altar of their country, the very
munitions of war that were refused a
landing at Vera Cruz through the eff
forts of this Administration were sue
cessfully landed further down the
|
fell into the hands of Huerta and his
men. l charge that the blood of these
boys cries to heaven at the folly and
the mistakes of this administration.
But that is not all. Latin America is
and has been suspicious of our coun-
trymen. What has the Administra-
ton done to allay that suspicion?
| Nothing whatever. On the contrary
its acts have tended TO emphasize it.
On August 9th, 1918, the President of
the United States addressed the two
Houses of Congress assembled in joint
session. In that address he an
nounced that il would be his policy
and that of his administration to treat
all factions upon terms of entire
equality in Mexico. He would play no
favorites in that distracted country.
He also announced at the same time
that he had sent Hon. John Lind of
Minnesota to Mexico as his personal
spokesman and representative In
Mexico. A few weeks ago there APP
peared in the newspapers of the
United States certain correspondence
that had passed between the legal
representative of the Constitutionalists
in the City of Washington and the
first chief of the revolutionalists, Cen
eral Carranza- In that correspond
ence the legal representative an
nounced that he had been informed by
Mr.. Lind who, as l have just stated,
| was the acknowledged and avowed
spokesman and representative OF the
President of the United States in
Mexico, that notwithstanding the en-
barge on the shipment of arms from
the United States to the Republic to
the south of US. If the Constellation
alists were to send such arms as they
required in small vessels from ports
on the Gulf of Mexico, preferably
| Pensacola or Mobile. to port in
Cuba, and if on the arrival at the lat
ter place the ship should change it's
course to the mouth of the Rio Bravo,
which is the Mexican name for the Rio
Grande, and sho'i land the arms and
munitions of war on Mexican terri
tory, this Government would not in
terfere with such an arrangement.
That statement of the Presidents per-
sonal spokesman and representative
has never been denied by any official
connected with this administration.
1t stands forth boldly as an instance Of
bare-faced double dealing that is
bound to still further arouse the sus-
picions and the hatred of the Latin
American countries. And we are not
done with Mexico yet. l venture the
prediction that on account of the I'M
warranted interference on the part of
this Administration in the political af-
} fairs of the Republic of Mexico the
time will inevitably come when we will
) have to interfere to maintain law and
} order in that unhappy country. All
} of that could have been avoided II we
had staid out originally and it was the
} part of wisdom and craftsmanship to
have staid out of that unhappy land.
To mention the Democratic platform
in Washington nowadays is to arouse
storm of jeers, and laughter. 1t has
been violated so repeatedly and so
constantly that even the Democrats
, look upon 1t as a joke. The most
glazing instance Of reputation is the
Panama Canal tolls plank. Not alone
did the DemOcratic pIatfOrpo decla re