Life — April 30, 1914 — page 21: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DEACON TOOTHAKER PASSED THROUGH THE VILLAGE IN HIS NEW TRAP SUNDAY AFTERNOON. war may come, likely enough, as the issue of present circumstances, but there is no present sign that it will really be “war with Mexico”, or pass beyond the dimensions of a little diffi- culty between the United States and General Huerta involving possibly a temporary occupation of ports and a blockade. It is Huerta’s finish that seems to be in sight; not war. No one oan say beforehand just where a rolling ball will stop, but no disposition for war is visible in our present administration, nor does the temper of our people in- vite anything like a conquest of Mex- ico. We want the Mexicans to work out their own problem. We will help them if we can, but certainly we do not want to hinder them even by too much help, VERYBODY is very sorry for Corporation Counsel Polk that he has a bullet hole through his chin. Everybody seemed to like Mr. Polk hefore he was shot, and has thought of him since then with a regard quick- ened by solicitude. Heaven knows why a crazy old man should have wished to shoot at Mayor Mitchel, but it is a very ugly trick to shoot at Mayors, and all the general influences that seem to have a bear- PINE RIDGE NEWS ITEM ing on it are being attentively scru- tinized. It is a pretty general sentiment that the worst influences on unbalanced minds to which our community is sub- ject are the publications of Mr. Wil- liam Hearst. They have been of late in the canal tolls matter as inflamma- tory and as outrageous as mischief could make them, contributing to dis- order in feeble faculties, though not especially directed against the Mayor. The I. W. W. is more directly con- cerned as the inspiration of the shot that hurt Mr. Polk. People of average sense read a lot of violent and foolish talk, and think of it as only foolish talk. But presently some one is shot by a crazy or half-crazy man and then the talk gets to seem more serious. Brother Eastman, of The Masses, might profitably take notice of this phenomenon, Haywood’s declaration in a Carnegie Hall meeting that a general strike of mine workers would follow a declara- tion of war with Mexico is highly en- tertaining. If that should happen it would help considerably to disclose where we are at in current domestic activities, and whether Congress and the President or the I. W. W. are run- ning the country. If Bill Haywood, Max Eastman, Frank Tannenbaum, Alexander Berkman and Wild Joe O’Carroll are the real power in our affairs, it is time we knew it. LONG LIVE THE DEACON! T is a pity that the consequences of General Huerta’s calculating ob- stinacy should snatch away all the headline space from the canal tolls dis- cussion, But though the canal tolls matter may doze, it will not be put to sleep. Only one question about it is important: Is there due ground for the opinion that the provision for free tolls for our coastwise ships is a viola- tion of the Hay-Pauncefote treaty? There are, of course, grounds for that opinion. It is held by Mr. Choate, Mr. Root and many other Americans whose views on the subject carry as much weight as any views can carry. To be sure the view opposed has respectable and substantial backing; but the case being what it is, we have only the choice whether to repeal the provision or arbitrate the question. We have no right in such a matter to be judges in our own case. Talk about full control of the canal, sovereignty in the Panama zone, and the effect of tolls on railroad competition, is all be- side the mark. The thing that is im- portant is whether our word, when it is given in a treaty, is to be considered good, or not. If not, a great deal of time and thought is being wasted in drafting treaties and having them adopted. comicbooks.com