The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1916-07-01
Shall He Volunteer?
BY Or. FRANK CRANE
Copyright. 1915. by Frank Crane)

| want to enlist. Will you please state,
yes or no, would you advise me to go sol
diering in the present Mexican crisis?"
My answer is: Yes. And / will tell
you why.
Whether war making is good or bad
depends entirely upon what it is all
about, and whether the matter could
have been settled some other way.
Read MIR. Lansing's last note to Car
rama; go over all the official moves of
President Wilson since the beginning Of
his term, and you will see these facts:
]. The United States has acted To-
ward Mexico with unvarying SELF
restraint. generosity, and patience. It
has never bullied, threatened, nor aimed
to give offense.
2. Our government has repeatedly
declared that we do not seek to conquer
Mexico, we want no inch of her terri
tory, and We stand ready to help her
bring order to her distressed people.
3. Outlaw bands have repeatedly in
vaded our territory from across the Mex
lean border and committed outrages. A
the existing government of Mexico did
not restrain these marauders, it became
necessary to send our troops into their
country to dispense and punish the Grim
inals. That is the only reason our troops
entered Mexico, and the only reason they
remain there. When the Mexican au-
thorities show they are willing and able
TO prevent their bandits from crossing
our border and committing crimes, we
will gladly get out. We don't like the
job, and do it only because we have to.
These are the plain facts. The mis-
chief on both sides, those here who cry
for Intervention and those there who fan
the flame of anti-Gringo hate, are the
usual flies and mosquitoes that infest
every situation, and have nothing to do
with the case, except to complicate it.
You will therefore see that your enlist
ment to serve in Our army in its dealings
with Mexico amounts to exactly the same
as if you volunteered as policeman or
special deputy in case a group Of hood
ums were making unlawful disturbance
in your own town
We have no quarrel with Mexicans.
Our quarrel is with outlaws and crimi-
nails. who have no country, and we will
have trouble with the Mexican govern
ment only in case it seeks to prevent
repression Of these criminals.
This is not war, in the sense that
Europe is at war; It is big posse or
ganized to keep the peace.
Thanks to President Wilson's infinite
patience and steadfast adherence to
friendliness toward Mexico. the young
volunteer may rest assured that he Is not
going into any war to subdue a neighbor
people, to do them any wrong, nor indeed
to treat them any differently than we
would treat the citizens of Illinois II they
should break out in criminal violence.
The fight in Europe is due to militar-
ism, to the fact that all countries there
were immense armed camps. There ID
no militarism here, and will not be. Our
army exists only to keep the peace.
Even il we should have to conquer
Mexico, to compel her people to observe
law and order, we should not retain It
We handed Cuba over to the Cubans. We
will give the Philippines to the Filipinos
in due time. And IL we take Mexico It
will only be to deliver it promptly to the
Mexican people whenever they can con-
duct civilized government.
You 20 as soldier of democracy. You
know exactly what the row Is about. You
90 not as one of the whipped tanizaries
of a military autocracy for purposes you
know not what; but you go as citisen
soldier for definite purpose, a purpose
that is just, intelligent, and humanel
Go!
And when you get through you can
come back home and go to work. In this
country soldering is an emergency, not
life job.