New Britain herald., 1916-06-20

and no effort was made to stop him by the officers of the de factO govern ment stationed there.
 Our Only Course.
 ! In the face of these depredations, not only on American lives and pro- 1 perty on Mexican soil, but on Ameri- can soldiers, citizens and homes on American territory, the perpetrators l of which Gen. Carranza was unable l or possibly considered it inadvisable 1 to apprehend and puniHl the United States had no recourse other than to | employ force to disperse the bands of Mexican outlaws who were with in | creasing boldness systematically raid 1 ing across the international boundary. 1 The marauders engaged in the at i tack on Columbus were driven back l across the border by American cav
 airy, and subsequently,, as soon as sufficient force to cope with the band could be collected, were pursued into Mexico in an effort to capture or de- stroy them. Without cooperation or assistance in the field on the part of the de facto government, despite re- peated requests by the United States, and without apparent recognition on it's part of the desirability of putting an end to these systematic raids, or of punishing the chief perpetrators of
 the crimes committed, because they menaced the good relation of the two countries, American forces pursued
 the laWless bands as far as Parral,
 where the pursuit was halted by the
 hostility of Mexicans, presumed to be
 loyal to the de facto government, who
 arrayed themselves on the side of
 Outlawry and became in effect the
 protectors of Villa and his band.
 Carranza Opposed Any Expedition
 In this manner and for these rea- sons, have the American forces en-
 tered Mexican territory. Knowing
 fully the circumstances set forth, the
 de factO government cannot be blind
 to the necessity which compelled this
 government to act, and yet it has seen
 fit to recite groundless sentiments of
 hostility toward the expedition and
 to impute to this government ulteriOr
 motives for the continued presence of American troops on Mexican soil. It
 is charged that these troops crossed the frontier without first obtaining the
 consent or permission of the de facto government. Obviously, as immediate
 action alone could avail, there was no opportunity to reach an agreem ent
 (other than that of March 10th-13th, now repudiated by Gen. Carranza,)
 prior to the entrance of such an eX- petition into Mexico if the expedition
 was to be effective. Subsequent events and correspondence have demon
 strated to the satisfaction of this government that Gen. Carranza would not have entered into any agreement providing for an effective plan for the capture and destruction of the Villa bandits.
 Every Barrier Employed.
 While the American troops were moving rapidly southward in pursuit nature of the agreement that occu- pied the attention of General Car ranza, rather than the practical ob- 1 ject which it was to attain-tlle num- ]! ber of limitations that could be inn posed upon the American forces to impede their progress, rather than the obstacles that could be raised to pre- vent the escape of the outlaws. It | was Gen. Carranza who suspended 1 through your note of April 3 all dis | cussions and negotiations for an ] agreement along the, lines of the pro- tocols between the United States and l Mexico concluded during the period 1 1S82-1896 under which the two coun- tries had so successfully restored | peaceful conditions on their common boundary. It may be mentioned nere that, notwithstanding the statement in your note that "the American gov- ernment gave no answer to the note 1 of of hi replied to on April 14th, when the department instructed MT. Rodgers by telegraph to deliver this governments answer to Gen. Carranza. Shortly after this reply the conferences be- tween Generals Scott, Funston and Obregon began at Ell Paso, during which they signed on May 2 a pro- ject of a mem orandum ad referendum, regarding the withdrawal of Amer ican troops. As indication of the alleged bad faith of the American government, you state that though Gen. Scott declared in this memo randum that the destruction and Gis- persion of the Villa band had been accomplished" yet American forces are not withdrawn from Mexico. It i1 only necessary to read the memo randum. which is in the English Ian- guage, to ascertain that this is clearly a misstatement, for the memorandum states that The American punitive expeditionary forces have destroyed Or dispersed many of the lawless ele- ments and bandits, or have driven them far into the interior of the republic of Mexico," and further, that the United States forces were then Carrying on a vigorous pursuit of such small bands of bandits or la WlnSS elem fS