Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-04-21

1 the paymaSter and MS men. Inc re-
lease was followed by apologies from
| the commander and later by an ex-
| preston of regret by General Huerta
himself. General Huerta urged thai
martial law obtained at the time al
| Tampico; that orders had been issued
! that no one should be allowed to land
at the Iturbide Bridge and that oui
sailors had no right to land there. Our
| naval commanders at the port hao
not been notified OF any such prohibi-
/ ton, and, even II they had been, the
only justifiable course open to the To-
cal 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 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 COM
mander Of the port.
Not Trivial Incident
1.-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 it stood by itself, it might have
been attributed to the ignorance or ar
rogance of a single officer. Unfortu-
nately it was not an isolated case. A
series of incidents have recently occur
red which cannot but create the i'm
hot h. ,xof 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 irritation and con-
tempt. A few days after the incident
at Tampico an orderly from the U.
S. S. Minnesota was arrested at Vera
Cruz while ashore in uniform to OBJ
tain the ships mail and was for a
time thrown into JAIL An official de-
spatch from this government to it's
embassy at Mexico City was with
graphic service until peremptorily de-
manded by our charge d'affaires in
person. So far as l can learn, such
wrongs and annoyanees have been
suffered to occur only against repre-
sentatives of the United States.
have heard of no complaints of Other
governments for similar treatment
Subsequent explanations and formal
apologies did not and could not alter
the popular impression, which it is
possible. 1t had been the object of the
Huertista authorities to create. that
the government Of the United States
was being singled out and might be
singled out with impunity for sights
and affronts in retaliation for its re-
fusal to recognize the pretensions of
General Huerta to be regarded as the
Constitutional provisional president of
the republic of Mexico.
Danger Threatened
The manifest danger of such a sit
uation was that such offences might
grow from bad to worse, until some
thing happened of so gross and intoI-
cradle sort as to lead directly and
inevitably to armed conflict. II was
necessary that the apologies of Gem
erai Huerta and his representative
should go much further. that they
should be such as to attract the at
tention OF the whole population to
their significance and such as to i'm
press upon General Huerta himself
the necessity of seeing to II that no
rurther occasion for explanations and
professed regrets should arise. /.
therefore. felt it my duty to sustain
Admiral Mayo in the whole of his
demand and to insist that the flag of
the United States should be saiuted in
such way as to indicate q new spir-
it and attitude on the part of the
Huertistas.
Such a salute General Huerta has
refused. and I have come to ask YOUR
approval and support in the course
/ now purpose to pursue.
Doesn't Want War
This government can. I earnestly
hope, in no circumstances be forced
into war with the people Of Mexico
Mexico is torn by civil strife.
IF we are to accept the tests of
its own Constitution, 1t has no gov
eminent. General Huerta has set his
power up in the city of Mexico, such
as it is, without right and by meth
DDS for which there can be no JUS
tification. Only part of the country
is under his control. If armed con-
fict should unhappiiy come as a re-
suit OF his attitude of personal resent
ment towards this government, we
should be fighting only General Huer-
ia and those who adhere to him and
give him their support and our OBJ
Jeet would be only to restore to the
people of the distracted republic the
opportunity to set up again their own
laws and their own government.
But I earnestly hope that war is
not now in question. 1 believe that
l speak for the American people when
say that we do not desire to con-
troll in any degree the affairs Of our
sister republic. Our feeling for the
people of Mexico is one of deep and
genuine friendship and everything
that we have so far done or refrained
from doing has proceeded from our
desire to help them, not to hinder or
embarrass them. We would not wish
even to exercise the good offices of
friendship without their welcome and
consent. The people Of Mexico are en-