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Show H THE MEXICAN H EXPEDITION B After thrco years, during which B there has been a dally certainty that ' B what has happened would happen, ' Bj our government lias been forced to BBBJ send troops Into Mexico. What tho BBBJ consequences will bo no ono can JBJ predict. Wo call tho movement a pu- JBJ nltlye expedition. Let us hope It will B bo punltlvo In tho sense nnd dlrcc- JbJ tlon intended, punltlvo of tho wicked- JBJ ness of Villa and not of our own HjBj shlftlessness and procrastination face JBJ to faco with the Inovltnblo. nut BJBB whatever name wo call It, this niovo- HjBj ment of troops Is war. It should bo JbJ tho hopo of all of us that In tho Im- JHJ medlato dangers not to sponk of BjBl tlioso likely to follow, our men will JBJ bo nblo to protect themselves and BjBJ that tho penco policy of disarming JBB our soldiors nnd arming our prob- JBjl jiblo enemies may not lmvo a conclu- JBJ slon too humiliating to think nbout. JBJf t Is comforting nnyhow to seo Mr. BjbJ Hryan waving farewell to tho troops. JBJ Ho ought to know unit thoy nro In Bjl for. His Ond bless you, boys, will bo JBJ n grcnt help to them, no doubt, BJbJ against tho bullets supplied by our BJbJ country to tho excellent Vllln. jBjV We cannot think of this llttlo ox- JbB pedltlnn without anxiety nnd wo can JBjT not help regretting that tho admin- JBjT Istrntlon, by Its postponement of nc- BjBJi tlon hns ennrmnusly Increased tho J difficulties to be encountered. Our BjBB government lias practically armed JBB and equipped n hostllo' army on our BjBJl borders. No doubt the Intclllgenco JBJf and 'xalor of our troops will prevail Jpjt easily, and tho murderous bandit will Bjpj bo captured and his followers dls- JBJf perscd. Hut doos anybody bcllovo JHB our troubles will bo over when Villa BJBjB bus been rounded up? BJBJB And have wo any aisuranco that JBB our forces nro in a condition to deal JBM with tho larger troubles that may JBJT follow? It wns stated In tho scnato IBB recently by Mr. Smoot that two years jT ago thoro wero more Hold guns In JBjS Mexico than our army possesses. BjVS Scnato; Borah doscribed tbo situation BBBBv ' BBBBBBBBft iiKWflBBBBBBBBBBl. BBBk -iHHHHBBBBBJBjr conservatively when ho said in discussing dis-cussing tho so called war bills: "If tbo condition of affairs exists In any mcasurnblo extent ns stated by tho President of tho United Stntes, tho Congress of tho United States Is derelict to tho utmost do-groo do-groo that It has not proceeded woeks ago to meet this situation, which hlght bo Imposed upon us In a fortnight? fort-night? What could it do to meet n situation which might bo imposed upon us even In six months at tho rate nt which wo aro moving? It will tako weoks and possibly months to pass real effective preparedness bills. I repeat that If wo would do our full duty to the situation, no would close congress to tho other affairs af-fairs and glvo seiintors and representatives represen-tatives an opportnlty to bo In nttcn-danco nttcn-danco upon theso committees night and morning, dny after day, until theso bills nro shaped and passed." President Wilson has dono pretty badly about Mexico. It Is his course thero, more than nnythlng olso, that gave rise ond Justification to tho Jibe which Is passed from mouth to mouth' as n description of tho now Wilson dnnco; Ono step forwnrd, ono step backward, hesitate, Bldo step. Tho administration started In wrong Tho nonrccognltion of Huerta so colled was really Intervention, although It was loudly proclaimed as nonintervention. noninter-vention. It wns an nfflrmadvo act, nlthough tho word sounds like a nog-ntlvo nog-ntlvo net. When a now president of tho United States takes ofuco ho does not call tho roll of all the nations. na-tions. He docs not call out: Argentina, Argen-tina, let mo seo your credentials! Urozll, Chllo! nnd so on. Thnt Is not tho process. Do facto governments govern-ments nro recognized automatically ns such. To announce no recognition of any ono government Is n going out of tho way. It Is an act of intervention. inter-vention. It entails responsibility and consequence President Wilson, how-over, how-over, has never acknowledged hli responsibility nnd his wholo career with respect to Mexico has been an effort to dodgo tho consequences or compromise with them. Thero nro some pretty bad things In tho record. Probably tho worst was tho encouragement encour-agement given to Villa about two years ngo. Wilson needed Villa then to 'pound Huertn, and so Villa was taken to tho Democratic bosom as a now nnd heroic Toussalnt I'Omor-turo. I'Omor-turo. Tho embargo on arms and nmmunl-tlon nmmunl-tlon was lifted s0 that Villa fdiould lmvo plenty, and tho very guns and bullets which ho Is using against American soldiers today aro thoso which Wilson, for purposes of his own, allowed hlra to have. At that tlmo tho administration organs thnt reflect tho White Houso or stlmulato . It, wero describing Villa as a second Washington. l It will mnko n pretty mawkish rending If tho Hcpubllcans In tho coming campaign dig up tho things thnt tho friends of Mr, Wilson nnd tho Democratic organs wero Baying about Villa not so many months ago. Tho present episode, oven with Villa caught, won't end our Moxlcnn trou-bio. trou-bio. Carranza cannot koop Ills sent, except with tho support of tho United Unit-ed States, and tho support of the United Uni-ted States Is Intervention, although, President Wilson Is not likely to admit It. Tho administration Is In tho position of a man who Is responsible respon-sible for an act and Is carrying It out, at tho same tlmo not liking It nnd disavowing it. Such a situation handled by n man In such a mood docs not commonly go forwnrd very happily. The main dtffcronco between Villa nnd tho German naval officer who sank tho Lusltnnla is that the former form-er took moro of n chnnco nnd committed com-mitted a moro ordinary crlmo Doth murdered peaceful American citizens who wero living within their rights, but Drynn, Hearst, and tho liyphont.t. es nro all able to view tho massacr-3 nt Columbus, N. M., freo from ony complications of self Interest, foreign for-eign policy, or petty politics. Tho oxecutlvo will probably linvo tho en-tiro en-tiro backing of Congress In sooliig tho matter through. noth of thCBO outrages scorn to lnvo been deliberately planned and ordered for tho ends of their respec-tho respec-tho perpetrators, and tho main difference dif-ference Is thnt tho latter ono cannot can-not bo handled by diplomacy alono. Villa had been a Lorder problem for over a year, but tho administration at Wnshlngton nppcars to hao had no understanding with Carrana regarding re-garding him, and no plans beyond pntrollng tho boundary, so thnt the emergency had to bo met after It had arisen. This will coat us something In time nnd lles. Tho enpturo of Go-ronlrao, Go-ronlrao, tho Apacho chief, was dlfll-cult dlfll-cult enough when Mexico wns at peace under n strong government. Now wo have tho vastly harder Job of running down In bls'own hnunts ono cf the popular leaders of that dlstr.v tea cnutpy. whllo nt tho saino tlmo convincing tho Moxlcnn po plo of tho strength of their own government govern-ment and of our friendliness tovurd them. Truly nn nnxlous task, ns General Funston put ll' , The Mexican Incident Is not clos- ed. even though tho new secretary of war Is reported to have said so. Both tho rights of our citizens nnd tho policies of our government aro yet to bo vindicated 'thero, just ns In tho caso of Germany. Collier's. |