The Washington herald., 1916-04-14
Another Insult from Mexico.

thS HaSslOu VI Wal Oi pSdScs Inc Hotc duuiSooSu
to Secretary Lansing by Aguilar. Carranza's see
retary for foreign affairs, which was made public
yesterday, discloses If it be truthful statement
that the United States forces, far from being in
Mexico under an agreement providing for CO.
operation with the de facto government, are there
in defiance of its protest formally made two days
after Gen. Pershing's army crossed the border
without notice to the Carranzs government
The administration having permitted the puni-
tive expedition to proceed then in defiance of
Carranza's objections, it would appear strange
should it be ordered to return now merely be-
cause of renewal of those objections, and for no
other reason The troops may. however, be with
drawn without disgrace even if without glory also
Aguilar's note and the text of the War Depart
ments order to Gen. Funston, made public last
week, point the way to safety without actual dis
grace Funston was told that the troops would
be withdrawn to American territory "as soon as
the de facto government of Mexico is able to re-
leve them of this work" and that "in any event.
the work of these troops will be regarded as
finished soon as Villas band or bands are
known to be broken up" And now the de facto
government, in the note to Secretary Lansing
sets forth that "the expedition has fulfilled its
object in far as lit will be able to do So" and
that "the party headed by Villa has already beeh
dispersed" and MexicanStroops are pursuing them,
and more forces being sent to exterminate
them.
Even though the American people were led
to believe that we had undertaken to get Villa
dead or alive" these were not Funston's orders
The orders that actually given him have
been fulfilled and if corroboratfon is needed we
have it from the Carranza government; so that
our troops, having galantly performed the duty
actually demanded of them, even though Villa has
not been killed or captured, may be withdrawn
honorably, though the nation experiences a
sense of humiliation No one doubts that they
would have done more if it were humanity possible
in the unprepared condition in which they were
sent into a hostile country in pursuit of band of
murderers and robbers, in the face of the oppo-
sition of the very government which owes its
existence to the support given it from Washing
ton.
Not very many Americans will deny that an
other humiliating blunder has been made in
Mexico Wholly unprepared for war our army
sent into that country in defiance of the pro-
tests of the de facto government, an act of war
in itself; and having become invaders we have
permitted month to pass without taking any of
the steps to prepare ourselves that situation of
our making imperstiyely demanded. The
National Guard or volunteer army should have
been on the border weeks ago; it should now be
ready for active service at an hours notice In
stead we have not even gone so far as to restore
our crippled aeroplane equipment. Pershing's
army was sent to invade a country whose govern
ment and people were known to be hostile and
no preparations made to equip it properly
or to re-enforce it. 1t has been placed in peril
and left there. Now the Mexican government has
demanded that it be withdrawn, and until we do
withdraw soldiers or send an army to their
support their peril will increase daily.
We have learned nothing from our years of
dealing with the treacherous Carranza; we have
not prohted from the lesson we should have
learned when we went to war with Huerta in
behalf of Carranza, and we quickly forgot
Carranza's naughty demand for the withdrawal
of Funston's army which followed when it had
served his purpose. We have simply sent an
unprepared army in again to make another demon
straton against enemy of Carranza who was
once his companion in arms. We have invited
another insult, and it has come
The country has been misled and probably
Congress has, too to the circumstances under
which the punitive expedition entered Mexico
1t not welcomed by the de facto government
and we are now told that it regards it as hostile
Unless the President withdraws it-a step for
which the country may have been prepared by
publication of the Funston .orders-we shall very
quickly be headed toward war with Mexico, and
Congress will be called upon to act with a full
knowledge of the entire situation. 1t will have
to determine whether our military establishment
is in condition now, after years. of precious time
has been lost to begin the prosecution of war
without prospect of swift disaster; and it will
have to determine how long it will require to
raise and equip army for the field. If
we cannot, within the space of very few weeks,
| equip ourselves to cope with the forces of Car
rama, united with those of Villa, then Congress
will doubtless recognize the danger and the folly
of resisting the demands set forth in the note
of Aguilar a....