Evening star., 1918-06-11
TALK
ASSURES MEX|CANS
Speech Delivered to Editors
Sets Forth U. S. Aims
for Peace.
CHAMPION OF NATIONS

By the Associated Press.
HAVANA, June 11.-President Will
son. in his address to the Mexican
newspaper editors in Washington last
Friday expressed sincere friendship
for Mexico. His address. which Is
printed in the morning newspapers
here today follows in part:
II have never received a group OF
men who were more welcome than
you, because it has been one OF my
distresses during my presidency that
the Mexican people did not more
thoroughly understand the attitude of
the United States toward Mexico. l
think I can assure you that that at
titude is one of sincere friendship.
THE policy of my administration
toward Mexico was in every point
based upon the principle that the IN.
ternal settlement of the AFFAIRS OF
Mexico was none of our business, tnat
that we had no right to interfere with
or dictate to Mexico in any particular
with regard to her own affairs. Wnen
we sent troops into Mexico our SIN
cere desire was nothing else than 10
assist YOU TO get llu Va u AAA~.A 'A-o
was making the settlement or your
affairs for the time being Impossible.
We had no desire to use our troops
for any other purpose and was IN
hopes that by assisting IN tnat way
and thereupon Immediately WltnoIa"
ing I might give substantial trutn VI
assurance that I had given your gov
ernment through President Carranza.
German Work Distresses.
"At the present time it distresses
me to learn that certain influences
which I assume to be German in
their origin. are trying to make
wrong impression throughout Mexico
as to the purpose OF the united
States, but to give an absolutely I'M
true account of things that nap
1--WE are the champions OF those
nations which have not had the mill
tary standing which would enable
them to compete with the strongest
nations in the world. and l look
forward with pride to the time which
l hope will come when we can give
substantial evidence not only that
we do not want anything out OF this
war. but that we would not accept
ANYTHING out of it; that it Is abso-
lutely a case of disinterested action.
And If you will watch the ATTITUDE
of our people you will see that moth
ing stirs them so deeply as the as
surances that this war, so far as we
are concerned, is for idealistic OBJ
jects.
Proposed Agreement.
Some time ago I proposed sort
of pan-American agreement. I had
perceived that one of the difficulties
of our past relationships with Latin
America was this: The famous Mon
roe doctrine was adopted without
your consent and without the con-
sent of any of the Central American
or South American states. we saio:
we are going to be your big brotner
whether you want us to be or not
1--WE did not ask whether it was
agreeable to you that we should be
your big brother. We said we are
going to be. Now that is all very
we'll as far as protecting you from
aggression from the other side o.
the water was concerned. but there
was nothing in it that protected you
from aggression from US and ! have
repeatedly seen an uneasy feeling on
the part of representatives or the
states of Central and South America
that our self-appointed protection
might be for our own benefit and our
own interests and not for the inter-
ests of our neighbors. So have
said:
Urges Common Declaration.
"Iet us have a common guarantee
that all Of US will sign a declaration
of political independence and terri
forial integrity Let us agree that II
any Of us, the United States included,
violates the political independence or
territorial integrity of any. OF the
others. all the others will jump on
s.Now that is the kind of agreement
that will have to be the foundation
of the future life of the nations OF
the world, gentlemen.
"The whole family of nations Will
have to guarantee to each nation that
no nation shall violate in political
Independence or its territorial in
tegrity. That is the basis-the only
conceivable basis-for the future
peace of the world, and I ,lust admit
that l was anxious to have the states
or the two continents of America
show the way to the rest Of the world
as to how to make a basis for peace.
peace can only come by trust. II
you can once get a situation Of trust
then you have got situation Of
permanent peace. Therefore. every
one of us owes it as a patriotic duty
to his own country to plant the seeds
of trust and of confidence instead of
the seeds of suspicion and variety
of interest. ."