The Cordova daily times., 1919-07-10
THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1919
THE UNITED STATES IN MEXICO

once more CldSuluS Will IuS MSAI-
cans, despite our efforts to maintain
peace and to establish League of
Nations to assure permanent peace
FOR the world we have a chance to IN
dulge in some moralizing and much
hard thinking.
By way of parenthesis it may be
remarked that the American people
are getting into fiery furnace of con-
troversy over the League of Nations,
and are displaying bitterness of feel
ing which should be avoided. The
supporters of the league bristle with
rage at every criticism, and cry out
on partisanship, although the Demo
cratic chairman has challenged the
party issue. Very wisely the Repub-
lican chairman declined to accept the
dare. Surely the American people
have not become so sensitive that they
can not endure criticism without de-
manding a duel to the death.
The League of Nations is not a par
tisan issue, and should not be dis
torted into one. Up to date both sides
Or rather the three sides-have been
sincere, but there is danger of hypOc-
risy The defenders of the league are
trying to assume for political purposes
%hot yryh0 10 a
1utely or who continue to criticize the
covenant are animated solely by po-
litical animus. They take this unfair
position in face of the fact that the
original covenant which they defended
has been radically altered, although
they were Willing-almOst ferOciOusy
wilIing-tO accept it word for word.
If we are to arrive safely at some
desirable goal, now is the time to hold
our tempers and to argue this ques-
ton to the end as dispassionately as
possible Thus we shall be doing our
country a patriotic service and our
selves no end of benefit.
This by way Of prelude to a discus
sion of the Mexican affair. The ten
dency will be to make partisan cap
ital out of the invasion of Mexico,
to so read events that they shall re-
fleet evilly upon the administrations
handling of the problem. If it is to
be war. and constant turmoil in Mex
leo, with our army involved, criticism
will have a legitimate place, but it
should be kept studiously within the
bounds Of reason and fair play.
If we remark, therefore, that had
the administration adopted six years
ago the forceful policy now being fol
lowed there probably would be no war
fare today, we are emphasizing an
error of judgment which deserved
criticism, but it is an error in which
thousands of US shared. We have
learned more about the Mexican lead
ers and they more about us. We are
less paCifistS than we were in those
days If we confess frankly we shall
say that we look with less horror on
the shedding of blood in a rightful
cause. And some of us may be so
much less idealistic than we were that
we shall boast of the tendency of
Americans to assert their rights by
arms when necessary.
At the risk of evoking cries of pain
and accusation from the defenders of
the League of Nations, may we not
ask what help such league can be
to us in an imbroglio like the pres
ent?
If we should invite the Carranza
government to join the league for the
purposes of the dispute, as one of the
covenant articles permits, of what
avail would it be? Our troops have
not been fighting the Mexican govern
ment, but the revolutionists who at
tackled Ell Paso and killed and wound
ed some of it's inhabitants.
Suppose that we had adhered to the
spirit of the provision which requires
three months cooling period" be-
fore going to war At the end of such
a period the number of dead and
wounded Americans probably would
reach into the hundreds.
Would the, league solve for us the
Mexican problem? Would it prevent