Arizona republican., 1916-09-01

lesslv and abandoned ignobly; it was war which failed war which did damage both to the Mexicans and ourselves, and which in its outcome reflected infinite dishonor upon our nation. But it was a war, never theless
 Again, in March last, Villa made raid into American territory. He wa5 bandit leader whose career of suc- cessful infamy had been greatly aid ed by MT. Wilson's favor and backing. He was at the head of Mexican sol diers, whose arms and ammunition had been supplied to them in conse- quence of Mir Wilson's reversing Mir. Taft's policy and lifting the embargo against arms and munitions into Mex ico. They attacked Columbus, New Mexico, and killed a number of ci- williams and a number of United States troops On the next day the presi- dent issued an announcement that adequate forces would be sent in pur- suit of Villa with the single object of capturing him." On April Sth, the announcement was made from the White House that the troops would remain in Mexico until Villa was cap tured. It was furthermore announces in the press dispatches from Wash ington that he was to he taken dead or alive" Fine words! Only-they meant nothing. He is not dead. He has not been taken alive
 On May 12, the pursuit of Villa was
 formally abandoned. On July l, the
 official figures of the dead and woun-
 ded during this futile expedition were
 published and they showed that the killed and wounded included one hun
 dred and sixteen United States sol 1iers and ninety-five American civll- ians Since then the Mexicans have killed many more: l notice, for ex- ample in the press, that at Decatur,
 Alabama there has just been buried Claude Bates, an American soldier, who died July 24 of wounds received two days previously in a fight with Mexican bandits. Every week l have
 seen press statements of the killing of American regular soldiers or American 1 civilians on the border. l do not know | the total number of these killings since | June 1, but they include the CarriZal 1 massacre However, even before June 1 1, in this futile expedition against Villa
 more Americans had been killed and
 wounded than in all the fights by land and sea during the Spanish war; save
 only the battle of Santiago itself.
 In other words, during this murder
 ous peace" of Messrs. Wilson and Carranza, in less than three months
 more American blood was shed than in the destruction of the Spanish fleet at Manila and than in the destruction of the Spanish fleet off Santiago; anC
 than in the taking of Manila; anc | than in the fight at Guasimas; 1T
 short, in all the operations combined during the Spanish war, save only the l To of Go
 yet there are persons who seemingly
 take comfort in speaking of one set O
 operations as being war, and wht
 praise the other set as being part O our policy of peace"-the bloodstaineC
 peace of Messrs Wilson and Carranza
 You do not have to accept my state ment of condition in Mexico. Accep
 the official statement of President Will sons secretary of state to CarranZa or June 20th last which runs as follows
 For three years the Mexican re
 public has been torn with civil strife
 the lives of Americans and other alien have been sacrificed; vast propertie accumulated by American capital ant
 enterprise have been destroyed or ren dered productive; bandits hay
 been permitted to roam at wi 1 throughout the territory oontiguou | to the U nlIeQ SIdIeS anu lO SelZc, Wllil
 out punishment or without effectlv attempt at punishment, the propert of Americans, while the lives of citi . zens of the United States who ven tured to remain in Mexican territor or to return there to protect their in , terests have been taken, in some case barbarously taken, and the murderer have neither been apprehended no brought to justice. It would be diff : ! cult to find in the annals of the histor . of Mexico conditions more deplorabl than those which have existed ther , during these recent years of civil wa ! It would be tedious to recount in stance after instance. outrage afte , outrage, atrocity after atrocity, to il
 lustrate the true nature and extent ( !, the widespread condition of lawless ness and violence which have prevaile'
 During the last nine months in par T ticular the frontier of the United State ' along the lower Rio Grande has bee ' thrown into a state of constant appre : hension and turmoil because of tf e frequent and sudden incursions int !, American territory and depreciation u and murders on American soil by Mex - can bandits, who have taken the live : and destroyed the property of Amer . can citizens, sometimes carryin : American citizens across the internf
 tional boundary with the booty seize !