Saturday news. (Watertown, S.D.) 19??-19??, 1916-06-22
The MEXICAN SITUATION.

two years that we shall become in
volved in the Mexican embroglio.
The "watchful waiting" policy
which President Taft inaugurated was
emulated with broader scope by Pres
ident Wilson.
1t was not and is not one which
would tend to inspire confidence on
the part of the average Mexican in
the craftsmanship of a great country,
such as America is presumed to be.
But, to add to the complication,
President Wilson played fast and loose
with Villa, and has never shown firm
ness in dealing with Carranza.
1t was not until confronted with a
situation arising out of the necessi-
ties of the hour. based largely on po-
litical considerations, that President
| Wilson began to manifest a disposi-
ton to be decisive.
Uncertainty, indecision, want of q
settled policy, characterized all the
earlier administrative movements
with respect to Mexico.
Huerta had to go, so the American
administration announced. Huerta
went!
But there was no successor. Villa
was lattered and practically fawned
upon. His advice was sought by req
resentatives of the American govern
ment. He was fraternized with and
made much of, only to be cast aside
for Carranza, whose capacity to gov
ern had been lacking at every step.
Then Villa dashed across the Dor
der and slew American soldiers. The
demand arose for his punishment.
Carranza government, such as it was,
gave no evidence of a desire to bring
the Mexican bandit to bay.
Finally Carranza's permission was
sought for the United States to dis
patch American troops in search of
the man who had been the American
governments %confidante.
Having practically demonstrated
our inability to catch Villa, and hav-
ing been refused permission to pro
coed further into the interior, Uncle
Sam was invited by Carranza to
vamoose. OF course, we didn't-we
merely parleyed and gave further evil
dence of indecision.
Then Carranza informed US that we
must git" or fight. Still we parleyed
without either withdrawing our
forces or telling Carranza to seek the
hotter climates.
If we were going into Mexico at
all, we should have gone there pre-
pared to carry out our mission. If
Villa were the chap we were after,
we should have gone after him. When
Carranza told us to halt WE should
have either gone ahead after our
"prey" or skedaddled back to our side
of the fence.
But we did neither. We did as the
president had been doing from the
beginning of his administration with
regard to foreign affairs: we hest
tated, halted between two or more
opinions, pointed our noses down in
Mexico in one direction and then in
another.
OF course, we are going to fight if
CarranZa insists upon it. But there
wasn't any semblance of logic for our
putting troops in Mexico at all unless
we intended to chase Villa until we
find him. To put military forces there
and keep them there, long after they
had ceased any well directed effort to
find what they went there to get, is
but equivalent to nagging and teas
ing a little chap that we want an ex-
Gus for whipping until he is goaded
into an overt act which supplies the
excuse we have been looking for.
If Teddy Roosevelt, or Mr.. Hughes,
the late Grover Cleveland, had been
president for the past four years we'd
had Mexico either pacified or whipped
ere this.