The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-08-01
men's c1othinq reduced

excuse of the Secretary of the Navy is an extraordinary commentary. Our ships, 1t seems, had been ordered to Vera Cruz, but as it appeared that they were not needed, the order was rescinded. Then, we are told, our admiral was faced with this remarkable dilemma: If he attempted to go up the river at Tampico and take our citizens on board the word of az gressive action, as the secretary called it, would have spread to the surround ing countrY.' and 1t was almost certain that reprisals on American citizens would have followed and lives would have been lost. We had so incensed the Mexicans that we could not rescue our own citizens at Tampico, save at the risk of the murder of others. We must take Vera Cruz to get Huerta out of office and trust to other nations to get our own citizens out of peril. What a travesty of international policy!
 Destroying the government of Huerta we left Mexico to the ravages of revolu- tion. I shall not attempt to narrate the sickening story of the barbarities com- mitted, of the carnival of murder and lust. We were then told that Mexico was entitled to spill as much blood as she pleased to settle her affairs.
 EMBARGO vACILLATION
 The administration vacillated with re- spect to the embargo on the export of arms and munitions to Mexico Under the resolution of 1912 President Taft had laid such an embargo. In August, 1915, Pres- dent Wilson stated that he deemed it his duty to see that neither side to the strug- gle in Mexico should receive any assist ance from this side of the border and that the export of all arms and muni- fn Mox<fc0 t4 i'll February, 1914. the embargo was lift ed. In April, 1914, the embargo was re- stored. In May, 1914, it was explained that the embargo did not apply to American shipments through Mexican ports and ammunition for Carranza was subsequently, landed at Tampico. In Sep tember, 1914, the embargo was lifted on exports across the border; thereupon mili- tary supplies reached both Villa and Car ranza. In October, 1915. an embargo was declared on all exports of arms ex- cept to the adherents of Carranza- There was an utter absence of consistent pol icy.
 For a time we bestowed friendship on Villa. Ultimately we recognized Carranza, not on the ground that he had consti- tutional government, but that it was de faoto government The complete failure to secure protection to American citizens is shown exclusively in the note of the Secretary of State of June 20. 1916. in which he thus described the conditions that have obtained during the past three years:
 For three years the Mexican republic has been torn with civil strife; the lives of Americans and other aliens have been sacrificed; vast properties developed by American capital and enterprises have been. destroyed or rendered nonproduc- tive; bandits have been permitted to roam at will through the territory contiguous to the United States, and to seize with out punishment or without effective at- tempt at punishment the property of Americans, while the lives of citizens of | the United States who ventured to re- main in Mexican territory or to return there to protect their interests have been taken, in some cases barbarously, and the murderers have never been appre- hended nor brought to justice . <. It would be tedious to recount instance after instance, outrage after outrage, atrocity after atrocity, to illustrate the true nature and extent of the widespread conditions of lawlessness and violence which have prevailed
 TROOPS INTO MEXICO
 "The Santa Ysabel massacre, the raid at Columbus, the bloodshed ct Carrizal are fresh in your minds. Aft CT the Columbus raid we started a punitive expedition.' We sent thin line of troops hundreds of miles into Mexico, between two lines of rail- way, neither of which we were al- lowed to use and which we did not feel at liberty to seize. We were re- fused permission to enter the towns. Though thus restricted. the enterprise was still regarded by the Mexicans as menace. Our troops faced hostile forces and it is not remarkable that our men fell at Carrizal. What other result could be expected? We were vir- tually ordered to withdraw and with out accomplishing our purpose we have been withdrawing and we are now endeavoring to safeguard our own ter ritory. The entire National Guard has been ordered out and many thousands of our citizens have been taken from their peaceful employment and hurried to the Mexican border
 The administration was to seize and punish Villa for his outrage on our soil It has not punished any one: we went in only to retire, and future movements are apparently to be determined by joint commission
 "rhe nation has no policy of aggres- sion toward Mexico. We have no de- sire for any part of her territory We wish her to have peace, stability and prosperity. We should be ready to aid her in binding up her wounds. in re lieving her from starvation and dis tress. and in giving her In every prac- ticable way the benefits of our dis interested friendship. The conduct of this administration has created diff culties which we shall have to sur mount. We shall have to overcome the antipathy neediessly created by that conduct and to develop genuine re- spect and confidence.
 "We shall have to adopt new pol icy, a policy of firmness and consis- tency through which alone we can pro- mote an undying friendship. We de- mand from Mexico the protection of the lives and the property of our eft izens and the security of our border from depredations Much will be gained if Mexico Is convinced. If we conten-