Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 201, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 August 1915 — Arms For Mexico. [ARTICLE]

Arms For Mexico.

Indianapolis Star. The disclosures made by the correspondent of the Philadelphia Ledger, who has been investigating conditions in Mexico for that paper, show a strange state of affairs in connection with the shipping of arms into that country. It is a condition that is nothing less than scandalous and the administration is shown to be encouraging, a traffic that not only permits bloodshed to go on among the natives but provides them with weapons to be used against our own soldiers. When Mr. Wilson became President an embargo established by President Taft against the shipment of arms into Mexico was in operation. It was vigorously enforced all along the border, United States district attorneys, without fear or favor, prosecuting American shippers who tried to smuggle the contraband goods across the line. This embargo had effectually checked an anti-Madero revolution engineered by Orozco in Chihuahua.

A very short time after the change of administration the United States supreme court declared the joint congressional resolution authorizing Taft to declare the embargo to be legal. About the same time a Hucson grand jury indicted a big eastern copper company for selling cartridges to Villa agents. The district attorney notified the legal department of the government of this, adding the statement that he expected the indictment of a certain other firm. Promptly came a telegram from Mcßeynolds saying that indictment of last named firm was of doubtful propriety as it had voluntarily notified department of its shipments of ammunition. In the end all the indictments were quashed, contrary to the wishes of the district attorney. In the course of a few months Arizona and Texas district attorneys appointed by Taft made way for others who took no interest in enforcing the embargo and even before the latter was formally lifted by Wilson the traffic in arms went on almost unrestricted. Since the embargo was removed ,of course, the Mexican factions have received all the munitions they could pay for and because of this they have been enabled to carry on the bloody conflict While our troops occupied Vera Cruz the - administration permitted the unloading at Tampico of 3,000,000 rounds of cartridges and in July just past, on the very day when President Wilson hinted at intervention, a million cartridges are said to have gone to Villa by way of El Paso. Our soldiers are said to be very bitter over this aid to an enemy that they have confronted and may have to face in a more extensive way. A very small percentage of the marine who were at Vera Crus and whose time has expired have re-enlisted. Their belief in this country has weakened, and who can wonder?