Daily Kennebec journal., 1916-09-01

in the face. He kissed that hand when
it was red with the blood of American
men, women and children, who had been
murdered and mutilated with. as Presi-
dent Wilson. through his Secretary of
State says, ruthless brutality"
In all this shameful history of Mr.. Will
sons dealings with Mexico during the
past three years, nothing has been more
shameful than his conduct at Tampico.
At that time the particular bandit Mr..
Wilson was favoring happened to be
Villa This, however, is of NO conse-
quence. Mr.. Wilson has sometimes helped
the different Mexican leaders of bandits
against one another; now Villa against
Huerta; now Carranza against Villa; but
he has never stood up effectively for
American rights against any of them.
When he has ventured to take action
against any of them, he has always hasti-
ly abandoned the attempt as soon as the
resistance by the bandit involved became
| serious.
Foreign Ships Rescued Americans.
At Tampico there was a general move
ment Of attack by the Mexicans on
Americans and other foreigners. We had
squadron Of American warships in the
neighborhood. The Wilson administra-
ton declined to permit this quadron to be
used to defend the lives of American
men, and the honor Of American women,
and the commanders Of the German and
English ships at Tampico had to step in
and perform the task our representative
had so basely abandoned. At the very
| time that the Mexican mob had surround
| ed the building in which the Americans
| had taken refuge, and was bowling for
| their blood, the American fleet, in spite
| of the protests of the American naval
commander, and in accordance with wire
| less orders from Washington, was forced
| to steam out of the harbor and leave the
Americans to be massacred by the MeXi-
| cans, or rescued by the Germans and
| English. The case has been set forth in
!, full, and without successful contradiction,
| by an expert in naval matters, Mr.. Reur-
| erdahl. l wish to say with all gravity
and in all seriousness that in this case
| the offense of the murderous Mexican
mob was not as serious as the offense of
| the American administration.
| On August 9th, 1918, President Wilson
said with marked oratorical effect: 1--WE
shall vigiantly watch the fortunes of
/ those Americans who cannot get away
! from Mexico" "Vigilant watching
'watchful waitng'-the phrase matters
nothing for there never is any deed to
back it up. Three years have passed
since the date of this grafton; three years
| of incessant elocution on the part of Mr..
| Wilson; three years of repeated invoca-
tions to humanity and peace by Mr.. Will
| son: and Mr. Wilson still continues to
"vigilantly watch the fortunes of those
| Americans who cannot get away There
| are not many of them left now. Hun
dreds has been killed, and Mr.. Wilson has
watched their fortunes as disinterestedly
as if they had been rats pursued by ter
riers. This administration has displayed
| no more feeling of responsibility for the
American women who have been raped,
and for the American men, women and
children who have been killed in Mexico,
! than a farmer shows for the rats killed
! by his dogs when the hay is taken from
barn And now the American people
are asked to sanction this policy In the
name of peace, Righteousness and hu-
manity!
Kept Country unprepared.
Throughout this time President Wilson
| in pursuance of the policy he enunciated
In his message to Congress in December,
1914 has kept this country unprepared to
f! fight any foreign foe. But he has allowed
all Of the factions in Mexico to prepare
themselves to kill American soldiers and
American civilians In his message above
! quoted he says that he will Follow the
| best practice of nations in matters OF
neutrality by forbidding the expectation
of arms and munitions of war of any kind
| from the United States to any part of the
Republic of Mexico" This was Au-
gust 9th, 1913. On February End, 1914.
he changed his mind (Mr. Wilson may
have a single track mind, but as has
been remarked, in that event he possesses
! unexampled switching facilities) and lift
ed the embargo on arms and munitions.
On February 5th the papers published the
news of the great rush of arms and am
munition across the border to the Mexl-
can armies. A couple OF hundred OF
American soldiers, sailors and civilians
we're killed or wounded during the next
two months. And on April 23rd, 1914 Mr..
Wilson again changed his mind and or
dered that the embargo on arms be re-
stored But on May 18th he changed his
mind again, and the embargo was lifted
so far as shipments to Tampco and other
Mexican ports were concerned. On May
9th, the cargoes of arms which we had
refused to allow to land at Vera Cruz
were accordingly landed elsewhere and
sent to Huerta: while on June End, the
Carranzistas got theirs through Tampico.
On September 9th, the embargo was lifted
everywhere, and during the next few
months military supplies of all kinds
crossed the border for all Of the Mexican
factions.
On October 29th, 1915. when all the fac
tions had been amply supplied, Mr.. VIII
son again restored the embargo as to all
factions, excepting the Carranzistas. On
October Goth last, therefore, Mr.. Wilson
specifically permitted arms to be sent
the adherents of the very same Carranza,
who according to his own Secretary OF
State, in the month of September, 80 days
previous, on four specific occasions. in
vaded American territory and butchered
American citizens, mutilating them before
or after death. On the date when this