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The Commoner
VOL. 14, NO. 9
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H
ft ,
because it is writton. Now is
holdon tho ovidonce that in
be-1 line been written, may have been in
his directly a step prompted by tho fear
achievement in Mexico tho president
Accomplished what it took a war to
secure for tho oppressed Cuba. Dip
lomacy records no greater victory.
Dubuqtuo (la.,) Telegraph Herald.
THE NEW DIPLOMACY JUSTIFIED
Tho Moxican problem has not been
solvod. It will not bo solved for
many woary months, and probably
years. Patience and statesmanship
havp not yet accomplished all they
sot out to accomplish, and those who
expect poaco to pervade a bloody land
of revolution as If conjured up by a
magic wand are laying up for them
selves bitter disappointment. We
of the rapidly approaching armies of
Villa and Carranza, but, If we taice
Huerta's own word for It, as written
in his resignation, he steps down
and out mainly because of the "at
titude of a great power on this con
tinent, whoso course culminated in
tho outrago of Vera Cruz." So that
President Wilson's persistent refusal
to recognize the usurper, the mur
derer of Mexico, and the course he
pursued since adopting that attitude,
lie as the chief motive power behind
Huerta's departure from Mexico City.
In the face of the most bitter criti
cisms, and despite a waning confi
dence on the part of many of his
friends and supporters, President
l Wilson remained to the last a firm
still have work to do in Mexico.
Wo may admit this much of the believer in a policy which, it must
indictment brought against the Wil-'now be admitted, saved thousands of
son policy by his enemies in their
frenzied efforts stopping at nothing,
to minimizo tho great triumph of the
man of patience and forbearance and
adamantine will. Wo may admit this
much withdut joining in tho spirit of
tho criticism, without, admitting the
essential truth . of tho indictment,
wihout losing sigh', of the animus
and partisanry back of it all. Wo
may admit this much with tho knowl
edge that, noth withstanding the ad
mission, the president's policy of
"recognizing no government founded
on usurpation and murder" was tri
umphantly vindicated when Made
ro's assassin and Mexico's dictator
abdicated his power and fled from
tho country ho had plunged into civil
war.
Huerta's flight is a triumph for
tho Wilson policy not because it
brings peace for it has not yet
brought peace but because it has
made known to Mexico and to all
America, that in this hemisphere a
government founded on "usurpation
and murder" cannot stand. It is a
triumph for tho President's policy,
because it Is proof to revolutionists,
in Mexico that a revolution, to be
successful, must bo a revolution of
tho people. It is a triumph because
it brings conviction that a barrack
room conspiracy, ending in the as
sassination of tho constitutional
ruler, can never, bo a success again in
Mexico. It is a triumph, because
now all factions and all leaders of
factions in Mexico know that, unless
thoy have regard for human rights
and national and international mor
ality, thoy can never hope for vic
tory or long-continued power. It is
a. triumph because, whatever the im
mediate future may hold for Mex
co, the last assassin-president has
ruled in Mexico City. There'll never
be another Diaz to rob for the Cien
tiflcos; there'll never bo another
Huerta to assassinate and rob for
power and for profit. There'll never
bo another president overthrown by
& shot in the back.
A triumph for Wilson? Yes; but
a greater triumph for Mexico. How
ever slow the process and however
great tho courage and patience re
quired, tho land of revolution is des
tined to be tho land or constitutional
government. The fall of Huerta
brings conviction; it has justified, if
It has not marked the complete suc
cess of, "the steady pressure of mor
al force" upon Mexico and its trai
tors. As for the United States, it is still
it peace with the whole earth. Rich
mond (Va.,) Timej-Dispatch.
American lives and millions of Amer
ican dollars.
We have reached then a stage, or
let us say an era, when diplomacy and
statesmanship have their victories no
less than war. The approaching res
toration of peace to Mexico and her
people must rank in American history
as tho greatest achievement yet re
corded to anv chief executive who
has occupied tho White House chair
since tho days of Washington. We
will not enter into any sordid con
sideration of the political effect of
President Wilson's accomplishment,
but the historian of the future must
write his name more luminously in
the annals of his country.
This is tho day of diplomacy. Our
forefathers built up a mighty nation
with bloodshed and sacrifice-, but they
lived in another age, In another
world; they believed in triumph of
brawn. But we of this period have
mounted to a new world, to a' new
vpnlm of achievement. The valleys
of barbarism lie down and beyond,
the mountains of the civilization of
the 20th century lie before us. The
great struggles of tha years to come
will not be fought out on the field of
battle; the great victories of the fu
ture will be tho triumphs of diplo
macy and mental power. Asheville
(N. C.,) Citizen.
Relieving Americans in Europe
'A Statement by the Federal Relief Board
WILSON'S GREAT VICTORY
The first great success of President
Wilson's foreign policy has been won.
Huerta has been forced out, and that
without involving the United States
in war.
You may think what you like about
the Wilson diplomacy. You may
sneer at It as "amatuerish." You
may call the outcome a lucky acci
dent, and all that. The fact remains
that government based on assassina
tion has been discredited. Huerta
has been compelled to resign. The
United States has not been compelled
to waste American lives in a protract
ed war of intervention.
What Mr. Wilson set out to do has
been splendidly accomplished. It is
the president's victory. Kansas City
Star.
DIPLOMACY WINS '
Even tho most bitter partisan or
urolenUng opponent of President
Wilson will hardly begrudge him the
credit due him in this his hour of
triumph and most signal achieve
ment. The resignation, or rather let
as say tho elmination of Victoriano
Huerta, tho murderous president of
Mexico, to whose reign of terror finis
SPLENETIC
Philadelphia Record: Enlarged
spleen is rather a common ailment
among many of the bull moose in
Pennsylvania, too. Some of the re
publicans also suffer the same way
every time they hear the name of
Woodrow Wilson uttered or see it in
print.
STRENGTH
Dr. Lyman Abbott, the anti-suffragist,
said at an anti-suffrage tea in
New York:
"They call woman tho weaker sex.
Yet I have known more than ono wo
man to bend a man's will during his
life and break it after his death."
Washington Star.
The federal relief board is prompt
ed to make this statement by several
recent occurrences. The prominent
Americans who chartered and return
ed on the Principe di Udine, from
Genoa, were uninformed concerning
the relief work, and requested an
interview with a represontatve of the
state department; and after learning
the situation, they not only express
ed themselves as entirely satisfied
with the conduct ol the work on be
half of the government, but stated
that if they had had any idea of the
magnitude and complexity thereof,
and of the means tiiken to handle it,
they would not have desired to make
any suggestion, and would have rest
ed content. Recent correspondents
and visitors to tho various depart
ments, after they havo learned some
cning concerning, the relief work, ex
pressed themselves in a similar vein.
Fr'.m all, these sources came the
suggestion that the people of the
country had no conception of .the na
ture, character and extent of the
work involved, and that it would be
a satisfaction to the people of the
country if they were informed of
what the government had done and
was doing.
The departments concerned in the
wori have been so busily engaged
that no thought had been given to
this aspect of the matter; but it
seem-3 reasonable, and in response
to such suggestions this statement is
made. It is our desire to satisfy
those who really wish to know the
facts, and to give them some idea of
what we were confronted with and
what we have done to meet the con
ditions. We do not, of course, ex
pect to be able to satisfy those who
are determined to find fault; upon
such, facts make no impression and
existing conditions are ignored.
Wiihout the slghtest warning, this
country was confronted with a situ
ation which was without precedent,
was entirely unique, and for which
it neither had, nor could have had,
any pre-arranged machinery. From
the time of the declaration of war by
Austria, which was followed some
few days afterwards by numerous
other similar declarations, every ac
customed method of business was ut
terly discolated. Financial agencies,
transportation systems, on land and
sea, and cable and interior lines of
conr-unication in Europe were all
thrown into utter confusion.
Although no record is kept of the
average annual tourists from Amer
ica to Europe, we were informed in
itially that there wer about 150,000
such. They were scattered over the
whole continent of Europe and in
the British Islands. Cables to some
of the countries were rendered use
less. The existing cables were so
overburdened that messages were de
layed for very long periods of time.
By reason of the mobilization going
forward in p: .ctically everv Euro
pean country where Americans were
traveling, all the customary and nor
mal ways of life were disarranged.
International credits at first entirely
ceased. It was thought at that time
that only the actual physical gold at
any place involved in the war area
would be useful for Americans, and
for a time all bankers and express
com: anies who ordinarily pay trav-
.. - i lutiL or travelers'
checks, ceased doing so.
It roes without saying, of course.that
the government was not charged bv
law with responsibility with resnect
to the financial condition and trans
portation facilities available to its
citizens who were touring the coun
tries in question. However u
K,?:WLth" " Bhouia
in the matter. No red tape or cir
cumlocution or suggested freedom
from responsibility on behalf of the
government was allowed to stand in
the way for a moment. Congress im
mediately appropriated $2,750,000
for the relief, protection and trans
portation of the Americans who were
marooned abroad. The president im
mediately turned over to the depart
ment; .which could most readily
handle the situation the execution of
the details. These departments were
the state, treasury, war and navy.
For every American thus maroon
ed, there were numerous persons in
this country interested in his where
abouts and welfare. Very naturally,
under the conditions described, there
was great apprehension and nervous
ness among those in America concern
ing their freinds and relatives' thus
marooned in Europe. The depart
ments' were lite ally swamped by in
quiries in person, by telephone, by
telegraph and letter. During the first
several days, by reason of the dislo
cation of the systems of communica
tion, and the overburdening of those
that still existed, the sending or ob
taining of information was at all
times difficult, and was often impos
sible. Machinery had to be devised
in each of the departments involved
to handle the unique situation con
fided to its management. It was real
ized that the first and most import
ant thing -was to place at the dis
posal of the Americans in Europe
the necessary money with which to
support themselves until they could
obtai i transportation home. It
will be kept in mind, as above stated,
that for some time after the outbreak
of war none of the accustomed meth
ods of transferring money from
America to -Europe, or of those in
Europe securing money there, were
available.
The next important thing was to
get information concerning the
whereabouts of Americans, and their
needs. This, it will be readily per
ceived, was no slight undertaking.
Traveling Americans do not, as a
rule, carry passports and are not,
therefore, registered and are not ac
customed to report to any of our offi
cials abroad; and the only way to
ascertain where they were, and what
was their condition, was either to sit
down and wait until they came and
reported to some diplomatic repre
sentatives, or to use all available
means to send out and find where
they were and hov they were.
The next most important thing, after
supplying their immediate needs, and
getting information from them and
to them was to secure the opportun
ity for their return to this country.
Initially it was supposed that this
would have to be done wholly by
transportation seni from this coun
try. At that time the German liners
had stopped; the French liners were
not sailing, and all of the larger ships
customarily sailing between this
country and English ports had sus
pended their sailings. There were
only six ships all told, owned by an
American company and sailing under
the American flag, in trans-Atlantic
service. The onl.- other passenger
ships under th ) American flag cap
able of transporting passengers across
tne Atlantic were ships then engaged
in coast-wise trade. These were
small in size, almost wholly devoted
to carrying cargoes, and with pas
senger accommodations of the most
meagre description. This was the
only source from which the govern
ment had to draw.
Enough has been said to show what
the situation was, and what had to
be dealt with.
So soon as it was possible to do so,
two ships of the navy were made
v nuu ui uie government