Evening star., 1926-09-17
KILLING MAY ALTER
!. MEXICAN POLICY
RoSerthal Murder Expected
to Prove Acid Test of Gales
Attitude on America.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The murder of Jacob Rosenthal by
Mexican bandits may be the turning
point in American policy toward
Mexico
Impatient over the failure of the
Mexican government TO respect the
legal rights of American property
owners, the Washington Government
has never been able to make that a
paramount issue. Now that the
protection of human life-has been
violated in region supposedly under
the control of the Mexican admins
tration. there is much more of an in
sstence that satisfaction be given.
For years when conditions in
Mexico were unsettled the Wilson ad
ministration was bitterly attacked in
the press and in the two houses of
Congress for failing to secure protec-
tton for the lives of Americans.
Acid Test for Gales.
Since the Republican administration
has come into power there have been
a number of murders and kidnapings,
but the European war took good
deal of ardor out Of the members OF
Congress who used to favor physical
intervention.
No such fragrant case as the murder
of Jacob Rosenthal has arisen. how
ever, at a time when the relations were
strained for other reasons. The Incl
dent is unqueStiona bly, going to fur
nish an acid test of the Gales gov
'ernment's attitude toward the Ameri'
can Government The United States
has on more than one occasion coun-
seled with the Mexican authorities in
kidnapping cases. In every instance 1t
was agreed that the ransom would
he paid and punitive measures taken
afterward. Just why the Mexican
officials went ahead in their efforts
to punish the criminals without OBJ
tanning the rescue of the American
is not clear to the authorities here.
Experience in past cases has taught
that the sure way to save the life of
kidnapped American is to pay the
ianSom and pursue the bandits to re-
cover the money.
Situation Is Aggravated.
The Mexican situation has been ag
Cravated by the death of Jacob Rosen
thai. The Mexican government prob
ably will present regrets, as in the
past. but the inability of the fedora
authorities to guarantee protection to
tourists is dsconcerting to the Amer
lean Government. which had come tC
believe that the Mexican government
had reached a degree of stability
which would make incidents of this
character few and far between. The
record shows that banditry has been
thriving in Mexico, and that while
not many Americans have been killed,
A large number have been molested
The region in which the murder OF
Jacob Rosenthal occurred is one that
has in recent years been slowly com
ing under the control of the Mexico
City authorities. 1t was here that the
forces of Emiliano Zapata held sway
so long that banditry began to be the
occupation of many of his former fol
lowers. In this section of Mexico
trainloads of people have been burned
TO death. and many foreigners have
been captured 1t is one of the most
beautiful parts of the American con-
tinent, and in the days of DiaZ was
the mecca of sightseers. The Rosen-
thai episode proves that southern
Mexico is far from normalCy, and
that warnings to American citizens to
keep out of that section are likely to
be issued through the Consuls.