Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-07-27
Declares Americans
in Danger in Mexico

CONTINUED From Page One.)
Mexico in which conditions today
are much alike they were in your
own west not so many years age.
Your army was kept busy for two
generations by the Indians and BAN
dts of the west. Within my own
memory the border districts of Mex
leo were raided almost constantly
by Indians escaping from reserva-
tons on your side of the border~Co-
operation of the two governments
| Greatly of 1882 in the matter of
pursuit of bandits and cattle thieves
across the international line resulted
in the suppression of most of these
disorders in the early SOS, culminat-
ing in the capture of the Apache,
Geronimo, and his band of CHR
icahua Indians by the forces of Gen.
eral Miles in 1886.
I'VE are now trying to arrange
for renewal of the former system.
Foreigners in Mexico today are &C
corded every protection. In the few
/ disturbed areas they are occasionally
| made the victims of bandits, but in
every case the government is devot
ing the utmost energy to the pursuit
and punishment of the criminals. In
such areas the foreigner undergoes
a risk that he assumes when he en-
tiers such an area and his peril is no
greater than the danger to Mex
leans.
Few Wandering Bandits.
"A few wandering bandits scat
tered over an immense and
sparsely settled country-a country
of mountains and wilderness in
part-can keep great many troops
busy in pursuit as your own western
experiences have demonstrated. The
Mexican government today is
spending two-thirds of its national
income on the pursuit and punish
ment Of bandits. 1t has an army of
over $4,000 men engaged in this
work and the troops are ever on the
heels of these bands. The whole
business is in process of being
wound up at this time. Zapata and
many other bandit chiefs lave been
tracked to their camps and killed.
Other small bands are breaking
UP. The Mexican government today
is making a showing in this ire
mendous task of pacification which
compares favorably with the effort
of any government which has ever
been confronted with conditions at
all similar.
Mexico has never repudiated
any of her international obligations
and will meet every debt which is
due. She has the resources to dis
charge every obligation without |
making any serious drain on her =,
national wealth and as fast as these
assets become available with the |
revival of industry she will meet |
her obligations. In the oil regions |
there has not been one instance of |
confiscation, nor are the companies |
paying royalties. In 1918 they pro-
duced 100000 barrels of oil out |
of a potential capacity of their
wells of over 580000.000 barrels
Their own published balance sheets
show their prosperity and profits.
Intense Press Propaganda.
"The very intense press propa-
ganda of these days, when the prin-
cipal bandits are being killed, cap
tured or are surrendering to the
government forces or disbanding, |
and when the pacification of the
country is in sight, is interpreted in
my country as the last effort of ex-
patriates, members of the older
regime of Mexico and their power
full confederates and politicians in
Europe and this country to precipi-
tate armed Intervention; as they feel,
that when the complete pacification,
the rehabilitation of the industries
now in suspense, the intensification
of commercial relations and the gen.
eral development Of the wonderful
resources of the country are accom-
plished facts. their dream of the re-
turn of an obsolete despotic system
of government, and the embodiment
Of two nations in armed conflict, will
be a thing of the past"