The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1916-03-10
THE GOVERNMENTS DUTY


great deal of lurid language has been
emitted by supposed statesmen and
others concerning the duty of the
government to protect the rights of
its citizens in foreign countries. Most
Of the indignation displayed by these
orators has been reused by the out
RACES said to have been practiced
upon American citizens in Mexico.
1t is burning shame" and to the
everlasting disgrace" of our gov
eminent, say these fervid declaim-
ers, that the rights of citizens of the
United States have not been properly
safeguarded in Mexico.
This kind of talk eliminated the
other day in demand for informa-
ton from the State Department as
to the number of citizens murdered
in Mexico since the war began, six
years ago, in that country. The re-
port has been received. The State
Department reports that within the
last three years so far as the depart
ment has information, 76 citizens of
this country have been murdered in
Mexico, and that during the previ-
Gus three years AZ citizens of the
United States were murdered.
Now no right thinking person is
lacking in the deepest regret that
these citizens of this country lost
their lives. Furthermore almost
everyone will admit that it lis the
duty of a government to protect its
citizens so far as is possible, no mat
ter where they may be. If, as a mat
ter of fact, this government has not
given its citizens in foreign countries
as much protection as was possible,
consistent with the general welfare,
then the government has failed to do
its duty. But is not the govern
ment under as great obligation to
protect the rights of it's citizens at
home as in foreign countries? 1t
would seem, indeed, that it is under
rather more obligations to protect
the citizen at home than abroad.
During three years, according to
the report provided by the State De-
partment, 76 citizens of this country
ventured into the war zone of MeXi-
co where there really is no RESPONSE
BILE government. They were muir
dered.
During the first ten months and l 8
days of 1915 70 citizens of the
United States, we're lynched. They
were charged with various offenses,
of which they may or may not have
been guilty, but whether guilty or
innocent they were entitled, under
our law, to fair trial before an un
prejudiced jury. In more than half
the cases the crimes charged, even If
the persons lynched were guilty,
were not punishable by death under
the law. 1t seems, then, that two
more men have been lynched in the
United States in a little more than
ten months than were killed in three
years in Mexico. All of these except
one we're lynched in the Southern
states.
However, there has been no indi-
cation so far as have seen of any of
these indignant gentlemen rending
their undergarments and frothing at
the mouth because these IS citizens
have been denied the rights guaran-
teed to them by the Constitution.
The Is were murdered by mobs, but
no effort will be made to punish the
murderers. Not a political orator
will lift his voice in the United States
Senate or in the House of Represen-
tatives to demand that some action
be taken to punish the mobs that
committed these murders.
Solomon said that the eyes of the
fool are in the ends of the earth.
Our statesmen seem to be able 20
see wrongs inflicted on United States
citizens abroad but either they do not
see or they are too cowardly to men
ton the wrongs done to American
citizens at home. Their eyes, like
the eyes of the fool, are in the ends
of the earth.-T. A. McNeal.