The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-03-27
WILSON AND MEXICO.

Mexican policy Golfers deives
deeply in criticism, That publica.
ton in its current issue says: "0i
course, TO say now what thoughtful
observers generally acknowledge
that President Wilson's Mexican
policy has been a mistake from the
starts a matter OF hindsight
President Wilson, In adopting his
Mexican policy. could have had the
benefit OF a wise statesman familiar
with diplomacy \ and international
law at the head of the state de
partment. He did not have this
aid. II Is only fair also to say
that at the beginning Of HIS ad'
ministration, at the time Wilson
adopted his policy, men experienced
in international law were shocked,
and predicted the very middle that
has now come to pass. The ad.
minlstration's foreign policy at the
beginning could fairly be summed
ND I'm one sentence: 'Huerta Is an
ASSASSIN. and do not like assas-
sins Let us all admit that at
the time most Americans praised
this policy aRd were rather proud
OF H.
Let us be fair to Wilson. He
refused recognition to Hherta bel
cause he believed -Huerta was an
assassin, and he wished to express
his disapprobation OF a government
founded on assassination. To take
this position was the highest Kind
Of personal morals. But to act as
II this were the whole OF foreign
policy had drawbacks. II failed to
take into account a multitude OF
considerations which trained dipio.
mats would have remembered In
addition, II failed 90 take into
account the special nation we are
dealing with in this case. and the
special moral standards Of that
nation-standards very different1
from our own. All Mexican politics
is a matter of factions and leaders.
Some OF the rebels In the north
call themselves constitutionalists.
This Is a joke There are about as
many real constitutionalists in
Mexico as there are monarchists In
the United States. Few persons in
the United States, the administra'
ton least of all, seem 10 realize
the composition Of Mexico. There
are less than half a million whites,
less than one in thirty. About a
million and a half are of mixed
breed; the remaining thirteen
millions are Indians. What the
United States most needs In Mexico
is government that viii maintain
order. The way to secure this
would have been to give a guarded
recognition TO the man who had a
government and an army and was
maintaining order. That Huerta
has been able to do so well under
the appalling handicap Of our dis.
approval shows what he could have
done IL we had recognized his as q
government de facto.
1T must be admitted that a year
OF Mr.. Wilson's mistaken policy has
cost some things that can never
be recovered. OF course, n we
should reverse Il or modify Il
now, we might be able TO avoid
the Intervention which Is the logical
end OF such a policy. But. even
so, certain number of Americans
have lost their lives in Mexicos who
would have been living today n
Wilson had adopted a better policy.
For the Mexicans themselves, civ.
ili1ation has been nieasurabiy set
hack by the turbulence which would
have been restrained n Wilson had
dealt differently with the defacto
government which he found there
when he came into Office. Most
serious OF all we have forfeited the
confidence OF Latin America as far
south as Cape Horn to such a de.
gree that we shall not be able to
win II back until another genera.
tion grows up They have seen us
adopt toward Mexico q policy of
which the logical end, 10 persons
who know the situation, rs interyen-
tion. Can they be blamed for sus-,
peeting-what Is in fact preposter.
ously untrue-that the policy was
adopted in order TO bring about I'm
tervention9" Golfers deals IN as
charitable an article of criticism.
as is possible Under the eircum-
stances.