The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1916-09-05
PAGE NINE

hands upon many of our industries,
! and subjected us TO the shame of di-
visions Of sentiment and purpose in
which America was Contemned and
forgotten. It is part of the business
Of this year of reckoning and settle
ment to speak plainly and act with
unmistakable purpose in rebuke OF
these things, in order that they may
be forever hereafter impossible. am
the candidate of a party. but | am
above all things else an American
citizen. neither seek the favor nor
fear the displeasure of that small alien
! element amongst US which puts loyal
ty to any foreign power before loyalty
| to the United States.
While Europe was at war our own
! continent, one of our own neighbors,
was shaken by revolution In that mat
! ter, too, principle was plain and it was
| imperative that We should live up to
| It II we were to deserve the trust of
| any real partisan of the right as free
men see 1t. We have professed to
| believe, and we do believe, that the
people Of small and weak states have
the right to expect to be dealt with
exactly as the people of big and pow
erfu states would be. We have acted
upon that principle in dealing with
the people of Mexico
our recent pursuit OF bandits into
| Mexican territory was no violation OF
that principle. We ventured to enter
Mexican territory only because there
were no military forces in Mexico that
could protect our border from hostile
attack and our own people from vio-
lence, and we have committed there
no single act of hostility or inter
| ference even with the sovereign au-
thority of the Republic of Mexico her
self. 1t was plain case Of violation
of our own sovereignty which could
not wait to be indicated by damages
and for which there was no other
remedy. The authorities of Mexico
were powerless to prevent 1t.
Many serious wrongs against the
property, many irreparable wrongs
against the persons, of Americans
have been committed within the ter
ritory of Mexico herself during this
confused revolution, wrongs which
could not be effectually checked so
long as there was no constituted pow
er in Mexico which was in a position
to check them. We could not act
directly in that matter ourselves with
out denying Mexicans the right to any
revolution at all which disturbed us
and making the emancipation of her
own people await our own interest
! and convenience.
} For it is their emancipation that
they are seeking,-blindly. it may
be, and as yet Intellectually, but with
a profound and passionate purpose
and within their unquestionable right.
apply what true American principle
you will,-any principle that an Am
erican would publicly avow. The peo-
pie OF Mexico have not been suffered
to own their own country or direct
| their own institutions. Outsiders,
men out OF other nations and with
interests too often alien to their own,
have dictated what their privileges
and opportunities should be and who
should control their land, their lives,
and their resources,-someo OF them
Americans, pressing for things they
could never have got in their own
country. The Mexican people are en-
titled to attempt their liberty from
such influences; and so long as have
anything to do with the action OF our
great government l shall do every
thing in my power to prevent anyone
standing in their way. | know that
this is hard for some persons to un-
derstand; but it is not hard for the
plain people OF the United States to
understand. It is hard doctrine only
for those who wish to get something
for themselves out OF Mexico. There
are men. and noble women. too. not
few. of our own people, thank God,
whose fortunes are invested in great
properties in Mexico who yet see the
case with true vision and assess its
Issues with true American feeling.
The rest can be left for the present
out OF the reckoning until this en-
shaved people has had its day OF
struggle towards the light. l have
heard no one who was free from such
influences propose interference by the
| United States with the internal af-
fairs of Mexico. Certainly no friend
Of the Mexican people has proposed it.
The people OF the United States are
capable OF great sympathies and
noble pity in dealing with problems
of this kind. As their spokesman and
q r,errasaptafiva hava triad 70 act ia