Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1926-02-05
Secretary Kellogg Goes
Sleep-Walking Again;
Mexico Deserves Praise
BY CHESTER VI. WRIGHT
English Language Secretary, Pan
American Federation of labor.

L
Again Secretary of State Kellogg
comes TO the front with a chip on his
shoulder. In his latest procurement
TO Mexico he has all the atmosphere
of a small boy looking for something
as near as possible to a fight.
The whole mess seems TO grow out
of somebody's alleged fear that the
Mexican government is going to de-
prive American property owners IN
Mexico of some of their property
rights. The charge is made that
Mexico is not keeping the word she
gave when recognition was granted.
II there is any truth in the asser-
ton now made that truth is so deep
below the surface that it is impossi-
Bile to find.
There is not a particle of valid EVIL
dence that Mexico is or intends to re-
pudiate any pledge, or deal with Am
orleans on any other basis than the
basis which the United States state
department has understood all along.
The state department made itself
ridiculous in dealing with Mexico only
few months ago. In that encoun-
ter Gen. Gales came off a brilliant
victor. In this latest fray he is like
ly TO repeat the performance. Secre-
tary Kellogg seems to have the habit
of getting into diplomatic encounters
without adequate grounds.
In the past year--a year of Gales
the achievements of his government
have been little short of amazing. He
has chucked some 1000 gold braid
wearers out of the army and brought
the total strength down to about 40
600. Whe nthe de In Huerta revolt
was crushed the army consisted of
about $4,000 men.
A national bank of issue has been
launched and very soon there will be
in operation a farmers loan bank
where farmers may get loans without
undue red tape and without usurlous
interest rates.
Government expenses have been cut
down ruthlessly--even President Cool
idge might envy the economy record
made by President Gales.
Experimental farms have been es-
tablished-some ten of them-for the
benefit of American agriculture. Real
progress in opening schools has been
made. This has previously been much
talked about, but little more than that.
In diplomacy the Gales record is
as good. Great Britain came into line
and that was no small achievement.
And the charter which Mr.. Kellogg
will remember was big enough VIC
tory for anyone.
The whole show concerning the
present dispute is given away by the
Washington Post, which faithfully
follows the administration in its news
and administration columns but which
was not sufficiently careful on its fl
nancial page a day or two after the
outbreak of the present diplomatic
encounter.
In its discussion of the effect of the
situation on the stock and bond mar
ket it was pointed ont in the Post that
the Mexican Petroleum company had
repeatedly encountered such situa-
tons as Secretary Kellogg seems to
fear, that each time it had taken its
case to the Mexican courts and that
, each time its rights had been sus-
| tanned and vindicated.
Foreign Minister Saenz, in an in-
teryiew in Mexico City, declared that
| if Americans felt themselves aggrie9-
ed the courts would look out for their
interests and that Secretary Kellogg
was seeing spooks. The case of Mex
| lean Petroleum Illustrates what Min
lister Saenz had in mind, precisely.
| 1t is trifle mysterious that every
so often there should be a scare about
Mexico and that the newspapers
should be filled with threats about the
breaking off of relations. 1t. is I'M
fortunate but perhaps not altogether
accidental that the Gaudalajara train
robbery should come during the diplo-
matte outburst. Incidentally, the pa
perS report that the armed men got
into the train, unseen, at Gaudalajara
station. Gaudalajara is city of 1OO,-
900, with very busy station. How
the bandits-Mexican Gerald Chap
mans in the rough-got into a main
line train, bearing rifles, in such a
station is something the newspapers
have not explained, because, perhaps
that isn't the way it happened.
But it is time the United States
government recovered from these
sleep-walking fits about Mexico. Ii
is time that the United States gov
ernment got over the habit of shout
ing 'liar" at somebody every couple
of months. Then when real liar
comes along the state department
will be in better position to get it
self believed.
American labor and Mexico get a.
long without friction, without misun-
derstanding and in perfect accord and
trust and they are never accused of
lyin each other. There is no rea-
son tn earth why the American gov
eminent cannot do as well as the Am
erican Federation of Labor does in
maintaining cordial and constantly
helpful relations with Mexico and the
Mexican people.