Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 May 1916 — Roosevelt Forgets. [ARTICLE]

Roosevelt Forgets.

In Colonel Roosevelt's address to the Methodises the other evening - h:s latest concio ad clerum—he apparently followed the model of Lacordaire. For it was of him that Guizot wrote: “His history and theology were full of originality. Indeed, they were absolutely original, for he invented them as he went on. This gave-.his sermons the charm of perpetual novelty," To the credulous Methodists Mr .Roosevelt made this statement: I w as President seven and a half years. This nation during all that time " ter for one moment permitted any power to wrong this country or to w rong Americans either*, in their perors or proper*y or to make us recreant. to our duty to others; and yet during those seven and a half year? not one shot was fired by any man in American uniform against any foreign foe. and not one American man, woman, or child was slain bv representatives of any foreign nation.” His reference was to Mexico. Very well, turning to the Tribune index for H"M, under “Mexico. " We find the entry, July 22, “Two Americans Shot.” In the year 1905, the record ‘or January 1S is, “I. A. Sanger Murdered." and for January 22, "Yaquis Kill Four Americans.” But the tell-tale year is 1-900. The “insults” to our flag were piled thick. Here are some of the entries: “American Fishing Boats Seized"; “American Fishermen jailed”; “American Sailors Charge Tortures.” It was in June of 1906 that occurred the

crowding “infamy"*—as Roosevelt : would have called it if it had taken ; place under Wilson. Read this: j “How Americans Died at Canenea." . And then, oh, shame-faced Americans, read this: “Root Denies Ameri-, can Troops to Cananea.” There had been a murderous out-! break at the Cananea mines, Several Americans, killed. What did he imperiled American snirviv.or* B do? They sent to Washington, through the American consul at Can ' tinea, a telegram urgently calling for help. Even the Mexican governor Ts Sonora was reported as asking that the Cn.ted States government : «nd in a military force. But what happened*. Why. Secretary Root • on- ! suited the chief of staff, and “tbe law officer of the war department’** B —: j think of the disgrace of actually looking ni) the law!—-and decided that American troops “must nor cross the line." Imagine it,'..Uncle Sam ( l etting on a pigtail like that, when j RooseveP was President ! | That this was a cowardly and abijeef policy, we know on the highest , authority. For r it was Mr. Roosei velt himself who laid down the eter- | nally righteous principle in -that : same speech of his to the Methodists, j Referring to the tact that Americans j had been killed in Mexico, while j Wilson was President, he said: “If, I the very first time such an incident | occurred, we had acted with instant decision and crossed the border, not within two or three days, but 30 afterward, had inflicted imj mediate punishment on the offenders, I punishment of a kind which would I "nve shown the extreme unwisdom of repeating the offenses, there would never have been a repetition of the j offense. Certain foolish pacifists at home would undoubtedly have been j lackadaisical over the action hut it I would have saved hundreds of lives ” : Alas, my brethren, the very first time was when Roosevelt was Presid< nt, and instead of acting with inj ctant decision and crossing the border in 30 minutes, he paltered with the affair like a lackadaisical pacifist, and would not send the troops at all though they were demanded by the beleaguered Americans at Cananea. The great doctrine of 1916 was trampled upon in 1906 by the very man wiio now propounds it. —- New York Post.