The Washington times., 1920-06-07

me cOulu tell where III WOulu
just as things were getting duh. ]
must cultivate II carefully. II man
age right, ! can stick In the worlds
headlines for a month or more"
Diplomatic Delays.
Diplomatic proceedings, like legal
proceedings in court, have their de-
lays and postponements. do not
know the usual time allotted for re-
1 plying TO a diplomatic communica-
tion. Call II ten days. II was ten
days OF keen amusement and sntici
patton for Don VenustiRno. First he
| would see Cabrera, his Mephistophe-
, les, and then would call council OF
''licenciados." "doctors-of-iaw," pro-
| fessional squsbblers OF the district
| courts, expert In nosing out the triv-
ial excuse, the fantastic objection. the
microscopic point of legality. Their
masterpiece OF deliberate absurdity
would be ready on the tenth day, and
1t would reach Washington at two
| minutes before midnight. Fifty
years ago. and again one hundred
years ago. the United States Govern
ment took the position now main
| tained by the Mexican republic The
Z
I Germs.
, Washington. irritated at the delay.
would Immediately reply: "Omitting
| your review OF ancient precedents,
kindly give a definite answer to the
demand now in question"
Another smile of Don Nenustiano
Another council OF "licenciados"'
Another interval of ten days
! And then: "ln reply to note .397.
"e beg to point out that on the point
It raises. the United States Supreme
Court ruled in 1927 - ."
! Weeks and even months would go
| oy IN this nervous expectation. A
matter that two serious business men
could have settled in Ave minutes
would assume the proportion of a
world crisis. Newspapers would is.
sue extras. People in the United
States would begin TO speculate on
| the chances OF war. Parties in Mex
: leo would talk Of Citing together to
resist Intervention. likely to break
On the following day
| Meanwhile, in the presidential pal.
ace in the Mexican capital. a vener-
able old man would be winking slyly
behind a pair of blue glasses and
! stroking a white beard in wise sat
/ isfaction.
| Don Nenustiano would always yield
in the end before public tension be-
came overstrained and the game got
too dangerous He would do simuly
! what had been asked in the first
| place: but II would be thought in
Mexico that he had done much less
and that. thanks to his energy and
skillful doplimacy, the American in
! vasion had been stopped on the
threshold of the country and at little
cost to the dignity of the nation.
knew what He Was Doing.
The "oid man" knew what he was
about. and he knew his people well
| ] have heard his most relentless foes
say ce him: "Old whiskers Is a
-" (and here the worst of epithets
and the most atrocious slander). but
you've got to give him credit for one
| thing: Hes a patriot, and he has kept
the Yankees out many times No one
could handle the international sltua-
tion better
And CarranZas admirers would
imagine in all good faith that in
! Washington President. Cabinet. Sen.
ate and House were seeing with ter
ror in their dreams the red-white and
green nose. and white beard and the
ogre-like smile OF Don Nenustiano.
| That is the way with Mexicans
They escape from the cruel realities
which surround them by caressing
the illusion that they are first in
something. Thus can be explained
Cabrera's complacent disparagement
OF Chile and Argentina, the iron
heel that is depressing Cuba. the
tyrannical imposition OF English
uLoh Havana's schools, and the
flight of American craftsmanship be-
fore the terrible CarranZa.
| Unfortunately. however. don Venus
tiano had trained a school and Gre
ated a succession in Mexican d!plo-
macy. All who are to follow him
have learned the lesson that the
incident must be cultivated" AS new
disputes arise with the United States
their solutions win be deferred as
long as possible that somebody may
be able to pose as the savior OF his
country
And II some general-president Is
unlucky enough not to come by an
! incident honestly. he will be quite
capable Of making one for himself.
am well aware that for some
months to come there will be no
cultivation OF incidents" in Mexico.
Carranza himself did no such garden
cal and insecure, he was staying in
Vera Cruz and needed American sup
port. He began the game long after
/ ward. when he thought himself
! solidly established in power.
Obregen's Prospective Attitude.
Obregon and his friends win be
very deferential. very polite, very
| humble even, IL necessary. toward the
| United states. Their position has not
yet been consolidated. Their govern
ment has not yet been recognized by
| other nations. A corpse Is standing
in the way-1tho corpse OF "old man"
Carranza. go the corpse of Madcro
rose menacingly In the path of
Huerta.
Besides, there Is question. a
question OF the frst Importance,
which dominates all other Mexican
questions and demands an answer
urgently
Mexico. which might be the richest
country In the world. NeNt TO tho
United states, Is in a very precarlous