Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-03-19
WORST Of PUZZLES
MEXICAN PROBLEM is MOST AN
MOVING TO CONGRESS AND
ADMINISTRATION.
NO ONE SEES THE SOLUTION
President Still Sticks to "Hatchful
Waiting" and Can Find No Sign
That the People Demand
Armed Intervention.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washing ton.-The Mexican prob
lem is worrying the administration
greatly, and this is known to be a
fact although Mr. Wilson keeps up a
brave face and insists that his policy
Of watchful waiting in the end will
win. The members Of congress ire
spectiVe Of party say that the admin
istration's problem also is their prob
lem, and that while all of them may
not agree with what the president is
doing, patriotism will make them
stand back of him as long as there
is reason in his course"
No administration probably ever
was confronted by so puzzling a prob
lem as that which now looms before
Woodrow Wilson in the country south
Of the Rio Grande The shadow of
great big question mark lies athwart
the White House and the capitol.
The thought of Intervention is abhor-
rent to the administration, to con-
gress and probably to the American
people. General Wood believes that
it would take 100000 men to do the
initial fighting in Mexico and then to
garrison the country. The arms
which have been sent into Mexico
from the United States for the use Of
the federals on the one side and of
the constitutionalists on the other
probably would be used against the
invading army and American soldiers
would be killed by weapons which
Americans put into the hands Of the
Mexicans.
Officials here think there is no pop
ular demand for invasion of Mexico.
The attitude Of the country toward
war seems to have changed within
the last fifteen or twenty years. Pop
ular opinion, it is generally believed,
sent our army into Cuba and our navy
into Cuban waters in the year 1898.
The administration, which keeps its
hands on the pulse Of the people,
apparently does not feel there the
throb which denotes demand that we
intervene to save the Mexican stu
alton"
No One Knows What to %.
Lacking intervention, what shall
the United States do? The wisest
heads in the foreign relations commit
tee affairs of the senate and in the
kindred committee of the house ap-
parently contain not even the germ Of
a thought which put into words and
then into action might bring a happy
answer to the pressing question. No
one in official position knows what
to do. The tension has become such
that unquestionably every man in Of
fetal life in Washington hopes that
day will bring forth something which
will force some kind of peaceful &C
ton which will bring about a settle
ment. No administration official and
no official outside of the administra-
ton apparently wishes to intervene in
Mexico, but actually there are men
on the verge of turning loose a de-
mand for Intervention simply to end
the doubt and anxiety of the present
occasion.
President Wilson took high moral
ground when he refused to recognize
Huerta. He is still on morality's noun
tain and he cannot get down without
risking the neck Of the administration.
Unquestionably Mr.. Wilson was led
to believe that Carranza and Villa
were, by comparison with Huerta,
gentlemen of high aims, tender con-
sciences and a patriotism which con-
Germs itself with the good Of it's COM
mon people. Enough has happened
recently to give the administration
a second thought on the subject, but
second thoughts are of no service, be-
cause If high moral ground is the
proper station for the American adj
ministration when viewing Huerta, it
is also the proper ground for the
viewing Of Carranza and Villa.
No Official Wants Intervention.
Congressman say, 1--WE are not get
ting anywhere IF there were only
some way out of it," say the members,
and they look into each others faces
hoping to see there some CLEAN of
enlightenment, but not a spark is
struck. We won't, and we can't, let
1OACAS1 udIlOilo oSlI40 H. WE CduuOL
settle it quickly ourselves without
sending an army into the southern
country to meet the consolidated
forces (foT they would be cOnsolidat-/
ed of Huerta, Carranza and Villa
armed with rifles sent into Mexico for
the purpose of settling a civil war
No official here wants it settled this
way.
Huerta, Carranza and Villa are
looking at Uncle Sam across the dis
tances and saying What are you GO
ing to do about it?" and each one of
them knows that Uncle Sam does not
know what he is going to do about it.
He wishes he did.
President Fast Worker.
A Republican senator, one of high
standing in his party, said the other
day that he had been at the White
House to see the president on bust
ness four times since last March and
that not ones had he been asked to
sit down. But" added the senator,
'Iet me say that the president stood
himself throughout the time of our
interviews"
Now, this experience of the Repub-
lican senator does not mean that
President Wilson is discourteous. and
especially it does not mean that he
singles out Republican senators for
Shifting the Responsibility.
An old story is recalled