New-York tribune., 1914-07-06
More Light on the Administration
Half.Baked Foreign Policy.

President Wilson'S Fourth of July spee'" az
PHILADELPHIA was full Of glowing PHRASES -
the touch of high feeling and real eloqueN''
looked nj from the point Of vie" OF ~
statesmonship the feeling was aItose'"ei
rarefcd and the eloQuence got nowhere
Mr. Wilson is at his best in dealing WITH aos'i"0'
;doos He is at his weakest when he tries ~
souare his sweeping generazations with the coiN
Iootod facts of international and domestic pon'ics
1bere are messages in the philadelphia speech
rh;ch illustrate afresh his tendency TO confuse the
,.onoro, moral mission of the United States with
tho dinlomatic policy its government must pursue
o. DEALING with other established governments
Th,s confusion cropped out first in the Brooklyn
navv ward address, when the President said that
,ha orr,ed forces Of the United States had gone
into Mexico "to serve mankind In the resolu-
tion passed by Congress authorizing the employ
ment Of force in Mexico nothing whatever was
said about such war of service AS mater
., foot the object of the demonstration against
the Huerta government was explicitly stated 10 oe
the exaction Of some sort Of reparation for 1ndlg
mites to the flag and sovereignty Of the uni'eu
States.
Again in the interview published In Inc Halui-
dav Evening Post" the President thus descrloeu
his private view Of the purpose of interventlon'
MY ideal for MexicO is an orderly and righteous
government: but my passion is for the submerged
81 per cent of the people of that republic VINO are
now struggling for liberty" The achievement OF
liberty by the 81 per cent was to include, ne eA-
nlajned distribution among them OF the land now
held by the great hacienda prOpretors, although
the saving stipulation made that 1T would
not do for us to insist on an exact procedure Tor
the partition Of the land"
At Philadelphia on Saturday the same idea came
70 the fore but with even more startling amplit;
cations Said Mr.. Wilson:
Eiphtv-fve per cent Of the Mexican people have
never been allowed to have look IN with regard
70 their government and the rights which nave
heen exercised by the other 10 per cent -. l
know that the American people have heart which
will beat just strong Tor any other mlAohs any
where else in the world. and when they once know
what is at stake in Mexico they Will know wnat
ought to be done in Mexico. We stand 1or
the mass of men, women and children who make
up the vitality OF any nation
Now. the moral mission Of the United States
NAV be to encourage the of men. women ana
children Of other nations to seek greater measure
Of freedom and equality But the government OF
this country has political or diplomatic mission
10 20 into other countries and reconstruct their
institutions for the benefit Of the submerged ele-
ments. Intervention IN MEXICO TOT SucH purpose
would be no less fantastic than Intervention in
Russia or Turkey. From the point Of view not OF
scholastic idealism but OF practical craftsmanship
we must recognize the right Of other nations to
regulate their own affairs, in so far as such regu
lation involves no injury tc us.
There are many substantial grounds for our in
teryening in Mexico. 1t Is our governments duty
10 protect the lives and property Of its nationals
and the lives and property OF European nationals
since we should be averse to allowing any European
country TO intervene on its own behalf We could
also properly intervene in order TO prevent gen
.e.,! relapse into anarchy Such purposes are well
at.in the scope OF practical craftsmanship. Bat
T.. intervene solely for the purpose Of making the
10 per cent OF the ins divide With the SIS per cent
OF the outs would be TO cut loose from all the
fundamentals Of rational American policy.
Is the United States to start in TO impose its
moral Ideals By force on the rest OF the world? II
60 those ideals would soon lose their lustre They
must make their way through education. not
through force. Their eventual triumph will Ia
aided, not hindered by continuing 70 wrestle
with our own problems and letting other nations
wrsst'e Just freely and restraincdly with theirs