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Show 1 AN OPEN LETTER 1 AND APPEAL To the Editors of the Daily and Pell Pe-ll rlodlcal Press of the United States: Realizing the paramount influence H the press of our country has had, and will have In forming public opinion M on the relations of the United States flj and Mexico, wo appeal to all editors H to use their power in the interest of of truth, sincerity und constructive H btatesmanshlp. B The popular conception of the H Mexican situation is based on lutein- H formation and ignorance. Very re- Rig cently agitation and falso Ideas of fl tho personality and alms or tno Mex- tm lean leaders might have forced a fjj war with a people oppressor), Irapov jSE erished and exploited, who should $9 have only patient sympathy, and wtso ft and disinterested help from tho gov- K eminent and citizens Of our country. There is great need for the press to place the facts before our people and to Interpret them In a broad and enlightened spirit. The people can learn the truth only througn the press. The occasion requires reporters trained by experience and study to observe and record the events and movements of real significance. There is equally great ncca for constructive con-structive editorial sen ice to Interpret Inter-pret the facts in the generous spirit of tho true statesman and patnet. The fundamental facts of the situ-atlon situ-atlon are, wo bellee, as follows. Mexico suffers from the misgovern-ment misgovern-ment of centuries. The laud ias been, und is, held in vast tracts by private owners, of whom many oro foielgncrs. While there aro exceptions, excep-tions, nearly all theso land holders have for generations reduced their tennants to peonage, or practical serfdom, and have forced them into Ignoninie and depracd condltUns of life. ho vast natural resources, of Mexico, Mex-ico, In oil nnd minerals, havo been Hindu iner hv concessions to .English, German, French, Dutch and American owners on such terms that tho national na-tional wealth Hows to other lanus, and tho natlvo Mexican labor exploited ex-ploited so that tho workers rontlnuo itnpo erished and unenlightened. Tho dictatorial and autocratic power pow-er of earlier presidents crushed cut tho Democratic spirit and imposed throughout Moxico tho rule of unscrupulous un-scrupulous and all powerful local political po-litical agents, who manipulated dec-tloiiB, dec-tloiiB, admlnlsteicd tho lqvvB to suit tho interests In power, and rulol with ruthless nillltarv authority. Education, marriage and other to-clal to-clal Institutions hae been church monopolies, and thero hae resulted Ignorunco nnd general neglect of what we consider common duties Hf decent llvlnc Insurrection, iovou-lion iovou-lion and local anarchy hao prov ailed ail-ed for a period of years. From the chaos scnio order is grad-ually grad-ually appearing. In tho Judgment of men competent to form an intelligent intelli-gent and talr opinion, tho so .'ailed First Chief and his assistants aro endeavoring honestly and with a fair xneasuro of success to restore gov-omment gov-omment and redress tho ago old wrongs of tho Mexican pooplo. A largo number of tho states aro at peace. As rapidly and Justly as possible land 1 allotted to small holders on tcrmB that guarantee continued con-tinued cultivation of tho soil and tho Independent of tho v.orkors. Tie local political autocrats of tho earlier regime aro being gradually supplanted supplant-ed by duly constituted civil olllcors. I who represent tho best clement in their communities Tho church mon opolies are abridged and education and other Important matters aro placed under" civil authority. In a number of states traltlc in alcoholic drinks has been abolished with Im mediate good results. Thero has developed an lntenso rivalry ri-valry among- tho different states to 'see which can organize tho greatest f number of schools. Already thero arc said to be twenty times as many schools as In tho last epoch of President Pres-ident Diaz, and under tho Intluciico of Carranza fixe i hundred teachers have been sent to the United States to study modern pidagogy nnd school administration. Sceral of tho Btates, chlolly In tho north, near tho United States border, arc unsettled and In lnsur rectioii Roving bands of outlaws aro abroad and lawless leaders are ni.ik- Mile trouble. For a time such men .will make raids and commit depredations not only in Moxico, but occasionally over the border In the United States The boundary between tho United States and Moxico Is 17 GO miles long ns far as from New York to l)enur. Most of this distance Is wild mountain moun-tain and desert country, without any roads nnd with very little water. For hundreds of miles there Is no railroad on the Molcan side, and troops of either country must be transported on the United Status 'railroad. Such a border cannot bo patrolled so ns to prevent occasional Incursions by outlaw bands, and It is more criminal than foolish for the press to urge such chance nets of outlawry out-lawry as a cause of war. These in briefest form nre some of tho facts the people of tho United States are entitled to know. If properly prop-erly presented and supplemented they will revolutionize public opinion. Although thero Is need of cooperation coopera-tion with Mexico for police and patrol pa-trol duty, our country does not need a largo force of young and inexperienced inexperi-enced troops on the border. The army needed Is a force of educators, ed-ucators, teachers, doctors, sanitary engineers, farmers and agricultural experts, who will volunteer for terms of two or threo years In the spirit of I sen Ice such as we rendered Cuba at her time of crisis. It would be legislation leg-islation worthy of our country lor th? government to make a liberal appropriation appro-priation for such cooperation. It could be done by a slight curtailment of the proposed naval program. In conclusion wo again appal to the press of our country not only to evert its power In supplying (in a larger measure) trustworthy lnfoima-tlon lnfoima-tlon about Mexico, but also to take Its tiuo place In guiding the thought of America nnd the world nlong constructive con-structive lines of international service ser-vice and good will. Such an editorial editori-al policy, widespread and consistent, will raise a discussion that has pre sented many unworthy and Ignoblo elements, to a place of enlightened fraternal service worthy the press ol a great democracy. Hsued by tho Sub Committee on Goernmcntal Relations. |