Latin American History

70 I lrr, ll,rrr,rrr,t W,rrs

to Matagalpa (whcrc his troops swam lazily in thc Matrrgrrlpl l{ivcr') in olclcr "ro impress the peoplc of all classes . . . that thc U'itcd starcs clocs

'orintend longer to tolerate Central American revolutions." And in cvery rowrl they occupied the marines distributed Red Cross relief supplies.2O

The marines counted thirty-seven casualties in the 1912 Nicaraguan intervention out of a force of eleven hundred; Nicaraguans suffered more than a thousand casualties in the civil war. But rhe Dawson agreements were enforced; Old Gimlet Eye and Uncle Joe had upheld them. In November the long-awaited elections were held. Prominenr Conservatives urged Chamorro, now a war hero, to announce for office, but hc astutely checked with'W'eitzel, the American minister, who politely told him that his candi- dacyviolated the Dawson agreements. Nicaragua needed civilian rule, \feitzel averred, and Chamorro withdrew in favor of Diaz.

In a few weeks the marines and bluejackets departed for Corinto and the ships of the American naval force in Nicaraguan waters, leaving behind in Managua a legation guard of one hundred marines, symbolic reminder of the American military presence in the republic. Before sailing from corinto. Admiral southerland honored the president at a dignified reception aboard his flagship, rhe U.S.S. California.zl

The Nicaraguan inrervention of 1972 was an ominous precedent for American policy, not only in Central America but elsewhere in the Carib- bean and in Mexico, where a few years later a professedly anti-imperialist American president would dispatch a forcc several times larger than that commanded by Rcar Admiral Southerland in Nicaragua ro "reach them to elect good men." Failing in its mediatory role in the arcane and unpredicta- ble world of isthmian politics, the American governmenr sought to direct its influence largely through financial channels in a vain effort to wean the fragile Central American economy from its European sources. \flhen that effort ran afoul of isthmian rrarionalist sentiment, its only recourse was a military one, using bluejackets and marines, who had for years patrolled the isolated port towns of the caribbean coasr, ro inrervene directly in wesrern Nicaragua, ousting the anti-American elemen rc Zelaya hadcommanded and installing political leaders sympathetic to American aims. The bluejackets and marines brought an imposed peace ro Nicaragua for fifteen years, but the presence of American military power did little to instruct the Nicara- guans in the American ritual of electing "good men."

Tur MrxtcnN Cnlsls

I n March 1 9 I 3, when he became the twenty-eighth president of the united

I Srr,.r, tWoodrow'i/ilson gave every indication of a more cordial relation-

.l,ip with Latin Ameri.". fL despised the imperialism of his_age. He had cr.iticized the interventionist policies of his Republican predecessors and

IOoked upon the regular naval patrols of the central American and Mexican

colrsrs, *hi.h T"f, a'.rd Kno* had stepped up, as manifestations of "gunboat

rliplomacy." Privately confessing the limitations of his knowledge of foreign

,,ff"ir. (rhorrgh he was the best-informed president on that subject since

f ohn euinc/Adams), he was sufficiently alert to America's role in the Car-

iblr""rr-rirr.. the Spanish-American \Var to issue a polite condemnation of

clollar diplom".y' Hit secretary of state, \William Jennings Bryan' was evcn

,r-ro.. f.*.rtly outspoken against the machinations of private American capital in the tropict. fn. outgoing team of Taft and Knox' anticipating a ,"u..r"l of their Caribbean poliJi.r, Feared that

\Wilson's rhetoric might touch

off revolutionary explosions throughout the area'

Manifestly, a ,r.* .r" in inter-American relations had arrived. But \wil-

son turned o,rt to b. the greatest interventionist of all in the internal af{hirs

of the Latin American refublics. His Mexican policy alone would earn hitn

the badge of infamy "-ong hemispheric critics of the United States.

The Mexican republic ihat.X/ilson so desperately sought to reform com-

memorated in september 1910 the centenary of the grito de. Dolores, thc

ringing of church bells in the village of Guadalupe signaling the.revolution

"g"inriSp"r,ish rule. In the nineteenth century, the republic had bee' gov-

.ir..d by^r",rants and opportunists; by statesmen with visions of a peaccfirl

,o.i.ty, *h.re politics *orlld be infused with reason; and by despots who

.,rled in the tradition of central authority inherited from the Spanish morlrlr-

chy. American observers considered Mexico an arrogant nation misrulcd by

,,r.h ,r.rr.r.rpulous leaders as the "crimson .iester," Antonio L6pez de Santa

Anna, until the republic lost almost half of its territory in war with thc

71

72 l.hc ll.rnarr.r W,trs

united statcs' Aftc' thar, many Amcricans, notably rising Repubricans likeAbraham Lincoln, thought of,ih.ir rr.ighlro. as a ravaged socicty, wasted byinternecine civir war or prcyed upo., bi E,r.opean interropers. Thc one fig-ure of nineteenth-century Mexicl -ho .onu.y.d "

,t"t.r.ri"rrrik. i-"g. *",Benito lui'rez, who in the rg50s fought,h. po.,"". of the church and mili-tary and in 1867 overthrew Maximf,ian's monarchy. yet Jud.rez,for all hisdedication to political idears Ameri.".r, .tr..rrt "d,

..-"irr.J "J.r,ti"lly ",,i nscrutable Zap otec Indian wi th s uspi ci o n or *yrl,i n g ;;;i;; "',)

r,"rU o r"adeep distrust of the rambunctious *p"Uii. to the north. Jud'rez' at least, made Mexico th. .*"-ple of a ,.publr. that threw offits European trappings. one of his rieutenants in the antimonarchial strug_gle' Porfirio Diaz' who became p.".ia..,, in l gz6, presented to the world astable, prosperous republic. He began by io.,ui.r.i.,g a skepticar Americangovernmenr that the border b.twJ"n the rwo countries must be securedagainst marauders, so that the American army would not have to cross theRio Grande to chase carrre thieves. Indians, or bandits. n..irriri"n-.ri..,

pressures to send patrors into the wastelands of norrhern Mexico, Diaz starredpolicing it with rura/es, who kept ,h" f."." and earned Diaz Americanplaudits. In the 1BB0s, as he centralized his authority, Diaz opened the countryto speculators, engineers, and promoters of

"ti ,r.ip.r.

tV""i." ."rfa U.modernized with foreign t".h.rology

"nd ,"l.nr. The republic joined the listof "civilized" narions o1.r th. g.ld;;;J;J.^t,, ro."rgr, ffi;idd mark_edly; its exporrs diversified. e""a it, ...no-i. ties to the United states mul_tiplied. In 1872, when Judrez di.d, Americans purchased 36 percent ofMexican exporrs; by 1890, 75 prrrrnt. a-.ri."n capital

"rra,i.f,.rotogypoured into mining, ra'roading, and oil e*proration.'Th.;;;."., pr.r-ence was fittingry svmborized i" t ss t *h.,r ,h. N; y";Il"giri"r".. ,.-._porated the Mexican Southern Railroad andnamed urysses s. Grant as itsfirst president. And Diaz patronizingly protected the foreigner, removing legal obsta-cles to foreign concerns ,"rrd

"rru.i.,g " ;;;; supply of unskilled labor fortheir use' privilege wenr ro fo."ig.r..r'to rr.ia.jr.., ,rr"ii, -", -,I-o'tyobserved that Mexico was the plr.rr,.f "li;;, and the srepparenr of Mexi_cans' By 1910, fullv 75 perceniof the mines and 50 percenr of the o'fieldsbelonged to Americans. t

After 1900' as his power became more entrenched, Diaz grew increas-ingly apprehensive about ,,h..r":q. A-..i."n p.esence in Mexico. His cen-tral American gcsrurcs on behariof Zcraya*l." rn part aimed ",

ofh",,i,rgAmcricarl itrfluencc' a'd he provided .ori..rrion. to British oil inrcrcsts as a

Ihc Mcxi< alr (-risis 7"t

,r,.ry ol'cottutcriug the enormous amount of American capital invested in

lvlt'x icrttr Pctroleum' Brrt it was not American capital that

brought Diaz. down eight months

,rlt.'r tltc 1910 celebraJ;;' ilh" aged' he btti-" mellower; his associates'

,r((.rtrlin irbout the succession, bJg".r -"_n.uvering furiously behind the

,,( ( t('s. '['hcy becamt ;;;;;t frlntit after Di'az declared in 1908 in a

l.rrrr.us iutcrview *iti';;A-ttit"" journalist' James Creelman' that he

i,.',i ,.'l,iJ.a Mexico into the rwentieth century and the nation

was now

r, .rtly {or democracy' Hit "ti"'"tnt would coincide with the centennial in

| ,r l 0. I' ,h. "ft.r-"th ;;;h. i"..r"iew with creelman there was a flurry

of

1,,,liritrrl rctivity. Nt*'P;"i; ;fpt""d' and angry voices' silenced 6y Diaz

l,rr rlrilty years. spoke tn""f'fy

"g'in" tht politit"l system the dictator had

r I t .l(c(l. 'lhkcn aback by the rising opposition' Diaz

recanted his retiremcnt pledgc

,'r',1 ,ttruounc.d ht *;;il '?tk "tltttion' It was even argued that he had

1,,r.rrrted the Creelmaninterview only to assuage his foreign critics' "]:f-

lrri.al rnachir,. hastili f"p"ttd for new elections' Diaz did not camPargtl'

l,rrt his running .,t"tt iia'^t'a was rudely received wherever he journeycd'

\i t thcre was no one to lead the opposition' 'l'he man *ht tt;;;dly ttpita Diaz was an improbable

leader' Frrn-

, ist. Madero r,".d;;;;;-f;:i, *" inches tall' sported.neatly trimrnctl

l,r.wtt whiskers, ""a-'plit i" a falsetto voice' He tht'n"td liquor' atc only

v, 11ctables, ".,d pt"t'i[J'pi'itt'"lism' Scion of a wealthy landowning

f anr-

rly in the northern t;;;;'f

';"huila'

he had been an obscure haccnclltkr

rrrrtil 1908, *h." ht;;;f"ntJ " 'fi- volume' The Presidential Succcssitttt

ol'

/'//(,), which ."ll.d fi' an honest ballot and a single presidential'tcrur- itt

.,tltctwords,..nobossism.,,Thebookwasessentially-anexerciseinnirrctcctrtlr- r.tttrr'/ political [b;;;li* ;iossingover Mexico's profound

economic itt-

,,lrtitics, b,.rt it madt lf"at'l a fol[he'o "nd " p"iidential corrtcnclcr' llc

1il.,r'iously toured tnt-"pt'Utit and even obtained an intervicw with

l)on

l\rr llrio himself. IJut as Madero's reputation grew Diaz

became alarmed about his inlltr-

,.rr, c uncl, using a.";;;;;, hw"prohibiting incitement, had Madcnr ililctl'

lrr thc ccutc,t^ar.tfti*ti.," l" stptt"'bJr' which was supposccl to bt':r

lil.r ilicrrtion .f ,n" "igf"y-yt"'-old-p*lident' there was a violcnt pro-Mrttlcr tr

r l t' t t t. trstLrtt io,t.'ru';";;"it l"tt'' Di"''' reelection was dcclarccl'

Mlrtlcr.o,lrowevcr,hadbeenbailedoutofsanLtrisdePotosipristlttlttrtl r,rlic' r.cfugc i,r.k.;;^*;;rJ. a..t"r.a the electio's

fr:rudule.t, pr.c6irrrctl

., r,.v.,lUrion, ,,,r.t ,o,o.i-iJ*..1f .. prcsidcnr of Mcxico. orossing tlrc |ivcr'

,)lo Mcxico.,, l.r,r:i.' ;;,,r,,,".1 .t,:'',ggr., hc ahnost cluit thc fight wlrcrr irr

The Mexican Crisis 75 74 The Banana Wars

the first engagements with D(azt troops his forces got the worst of ir. He was on the verge of forsaking everything and had in fact reentered the United States when he received news of continuing anti-Diaz unrest in the North, fomented by Pascual Orozco and a cattle rustler turned revolutionary, Pancho

Villa; and in Morelos, south of the capital, by a bronze Indian with deep- socketed eyes, Emilian o Zapata, whose followers were taking over the sugar

plantations. The dictator may have been confused by what seemed to be contradic-

tory American responses. Safe in the United States, Madero plotted against Diaz but scrupulously avoided any action that might be construed as a vio-

lation ofAmerican neutraliry laws. Diaz even dispatched agents to the United States to prod the American government to arrest Madero. Thft, by nature a

social conservative, sympathized with Diaz's predicament but registered his concern about the revolt by stepping up American naval activiry off the Mexican coast and mobilizing 20,000 troops on the Texas border, actions that alarmed Diaz as to the possibilities of an American intervention. Thft had no such intention, but shifting American policy in the final months of Diaz's rule confused the Mexican government and made him uneasy.

In several battles Diaz's forces, led by an officer corps riddled with cor- ruption and inner strife, were beaten by the rebels. Following the loss of Ciudad Juirez in May 19 I I , a battle the residents of El Paso watched from

their rooftop s, Diaz fled the country. He died penniless in Paris four years later, convinced to the end he had given Mexico enlightened rule. In Octo- ber, after the most honest election in the history of the republic, Francisco Madero became president of Mexico.2

Madero had become only the head of government, not the leader of a nation. He ruled with a gaggle of generals of putative loyalty, some of them holdovers from the Diaz era. And in the vast reaches of the North and in the Indian states to the south the violence continued. In December 19 I I there was a revolt in Nuevo Le6n and another in Veracruz in October 1912, the first staged by the opportunist Bernardo Reyes, the second by Fdlix Diaz, nephew ofthe deposed dictator. Both were arrested but escaped execution through the personal intervention of Madero himself. In Morelos, Zapata, whose Plan de Ayala with its direct, radical solution for agrarian rcform frightened Madero, defied the president's authority.

And there was another problem for Madero, though he was slow ttr recognize it: the continual intriguc carried on by thc Amct-icau arnbttssacl<lt', Hcnry l,anc'Wilsor"r. A srnall man with pcnctlating r,ycs ,ttrrl rt tr<lttlriotts rcnrpcr, Wilson wls consiclcrcd thc clc:rn oftthc tlipkrrrr;rtir'r'otps irr Mcxicrr Oiry. I lc hlrl st'rvctl in rlipkrrrrrrti( l)()sts irr ( llrilt';rrr,l Ii'lliirrrrr bclolc t,rliirtll

up his duties in Mexico in 1910. Thus he had witnessed the last days of [ )orr

porfirio's rule and the tumultuous events that swept Madero iuto powcr'. 'fhe powerful American colony in the country liked \Tilson becausc hc

plrt-

tected their interests. Though the ambassador had on occasion complrrinctl

about Diaz's treatment of ,{m.ric"n activities in Mexico, his assessmcllt rll'

Madero, both privately and officially, was unhesitatingly condcmnatoly.

Mexico, he believed, was unready for democracy; Madero, thus, must tlis-

abuse himself of his silly liberal notions and govern firmly' Madero rulccl'

\)Tilson wrote, from day to day, barely surviving; his failure to govctn atl-

rhoritatively, in the tradition of Diaz, lay in the prestdent's charactcr, his

"disorderei intellect" and "dangerous form oflunacy'"3

In February 1913, when ihe president got wind of a plot among his

gcnerals to free ft..y., "rrd

Fdlix Diaz and overthrow the government' Maclcrrr

ilir.o,t.rt.d it, a lapse that foretold his undoing' On the- ninth' the rcvolt- --

what Mexicarrr."il rhe decena trtlgica (the ten tragic days)-was put into

action. Reyes was killed in the ensuing fighting' but Dfaz.capturcd tlrc

ciudadela, the government arsenal. Madero entrusted the defensc o('thc

governmenr-"ia nir life-to a man who had previously saved t6c 'r't'si

ilcnt br.tt who would now betraY him'

victoriano Huerra, who would become \Toodrow lwilsont ttcrttt'sis,

was a more probable leader for the strife-ridden country than thc mrtr lt.'

would betray. Huerta had the blank stare of the Indian and thc awkw,rttl

;"ir-"i" roldi., who had spenr roo many years in the saddle. Madcro rtriglrt

i.rr,r"a. with appeals to intellect; Huerta spoke emotionally' wavi'g lris

,,r-, "rrd

b."tin! ^hls

chest to convey a thought. His oratorical powcrs rtl,rrc

would h",r. -"J. him an appealing figure to a revolutionary gc'c..riorl

.bscssed with the -"r, l."d.i b,rt he had another qualiry that Vo.tlr'w wilsons America, convinced that he was a craven murderet nevcr

rtPllt'cci

rrtccl: a daring, almost reckless, bravery. Huerta cared little for his own srrli'ty

rrrcl even l.rJfo, the lives of others. Once, it was said, hearing a molr otrtsitlt'

ltis hotel screaming for his death, Huerta went to the door and atrtrrlttrtcctl

his presence. Now, in February 1913, bound to defend Madero's governlllcnt,

I Ittcltl

woulcl strike a bargain with Fdlix Diaz. In this sordid episodc I Ittcrtrt rrtrtl

l)(az. would consummare anorher deal-this onc with Hcnry Lanc \wilson'

ln thc fight f<rr Mexico city, the ambassador had turncd thc Allrct'icrttt t'trt

l,rrssy, a fflrtLcsslike strucrurc located at thc juucturc <tf two trtljol' tlltltottglr

l,rrcr,rr.lly a short clistancc llorl thc birttlc zouc, into r rchrgcc cllcilllll)lll('llt' Wils<ln wrts c<ltrvitrcctl M,ttlt'xr wrls tltl<ltrlccl, ancl hc ttrrtclc tto sccrl't

()l llis

vit.ws. I lis tlrrty, lrc 1,.'li.'v.'rl' w,ls l() lt,tstt'n thc incvitrrlrlc tttrtl llrtts s1t'tr't'

76 lltt, lJ,trr.rrr.r W.rrs

Iirrrhcr blo.crshccr. Frc calrcd i' trrc British, spa'ish, and German ministers,whosc 'ario'als'

arong with thore vil.on represented, constituted thc mostinfluenrial segmenrs of fe foreig,r .o--unity in the capital, and laid out apla' for ending the strife. U'd.i \ril';;l prodding, ,h; ;i;;rs pubricrycalled for a cease-fire, then, when vr"J"r. rejected it, a curtailment of thefighting ro a spccified portion.f ,l,..i*' vilson pressed forMadero's ..rignrrio,r.

Yn"r the president haughtilyrefused, the ambassador, enraged, ,.ilr.J'rn. Sr"r. D;;;r:;; a bitterlycritical assessmenr of the situar]on. on F.bru"ry t 6 rx/irson received wordfrom Huerta himserf that M"d.rol t,,r. -igr* be shortry ended, news thatIifred the ambassado.rs spirits. r*" a"yr .,""r".

H;;;;"rr.;il, arrestedMadero' addrcssinq him in thc finar "i.oun,.,. as

"Senor ex-presidenre..'\wilson moved q,dlkly. H" k""*;;; l.rl, Uu..r" and Diaz wanted to bepresident and thar their inevitable 'valry

wourd only make for more rrou_ble' So he hastily arranged " -..,ini u.i"..n ,h.- ir-, ,r,. .-i"rsy. There,with the Americar.r amlars"do, .orr"r.-r,r"aiy looking

";, ;;;; generalsnegotiated what Mexicans consider an alriance as odious as the Nazi_sovietnonaggression pacr on the eve of porandt dismemberm."r'r"'ig:q-_rh. Pact,of.the Embassy' Huerta would b..;;. provisional president, and. D iazwould have a major rore in the serecti";;;;" ."bi;;;:i;;,ii'"n.r*".d,\wilson wrore a boa.stful accounr .'ri. ,"r" in the crisis and his success inrestoring peace ro the capital. . The deposed president and his vice_president, pino Sudrez, were stillprisoners in the Nationar palace. v"a.rofrr-ily feared for his life, and hismother beseeched vilson,o i,rr....d.. il\rir;;';;.j';.;i;nctorily,

seemingly unapprehensive about Mad..o, ,"t .y "nd

presuming, as did oth-crs' that he would probabry be sent i"r. .rir.. on February 22, Huerta and,an oFficial enrourage of rhe new regime "pf."r.a at the washingtonk Birrh-day party ar rhe Ameri.rn .n.brrrylr-r,.ii ,r. evening, *o ..i, wirh threeguards in each sped away.frl- il,. p"1".. with rhe 6;;"; p*ria.., ."avice-president ofMexico. Arriving

",itr.i, of the penitentia.y, the guards ::T,il:il:: ::Tffi i:Jif.'Jnth

e"cars an d' us i n g the gr a re " i,t' i." ir i*r,,,

. The official explanation of the deaths herd that Madero and su;irez hadperished in the cross fire berween ,rrJ gr"ra. and a band determined tofescue them' The American press was u'fir-ty suspicious, however; somcnewspapers were arready referring to th. "-urder,,'of one'nr."L"" p."ri_denr by his successor' Denying

""'y *r.,tga"-g, Huerta privarcry ramcrrrcr,that he had done onlv."h"r."Mri".;l;?";rg.d him to do to Fdlix Di:rz.Ambassador \wilso', .".nrr.ri,rg frorn the i'itiar shock of thc kiti'gs, rcc_

Ilrt' Mt.xit arr (.risis 77

,,rrrnrcnrlccl plolnpt rccognition of Huertas government. ButTaft and Knox

lrt.sitrrtccl, awaiting a satisfactory response on the settlement of an increasing

rrrrrrrbcr. uf claims with Mexico. clearly, they would have moved on the

.rrrrllrss:rclor's strong recommendation, but before matters could be settled

.rntl I lucrta recognized, \iloodrow t$Tilson was inaugurated'

'l'hc new American president already had a reputation for stern views

, r rr.l rr pcrsonality that brooked little criticism, especially if the critic failed to

1,' ,,r1., ,lr" truth as it was revealed to him. Much has been made oflvilson's

1,,', it.nic"l bent of mind and its impact on his Mexican policy. He certainly

i,,.licved Huerta to be an "immoral" man, and his refusal to grant Huerta's

t,ovcrnmenr the diplomatic recognition so earnestly championed by the

.,,,,lrassador (and the British minister to Mexico) rested in Part on his own

, onviction that Huertawas a murderer. But\Tilson's assessment of the Mexi-

(irt) siruarion in spring 1913 went much deeper than his revulsion toward

I lrrelta. He intended to influence the course of Mexican history, to educate

rlrc Mexican people, who, he believed, deserved a better society and cer-

r.rinly a -o.. d...r, leader than the hawk-nosed general now claiming that t listinction.

'fhe policy that evolved would be called "watchful waiting," political

l)rcssure reinforced by the military presence of the United States in thc Gulf

.,1, Mexico and along the long Texas-Mexico border. An American naval

lirrcc had been patrolling the Mexican coast since the fall of Diaz rwo yclrrs

bcfore, and the General Board of the Navy was continually updating its

lxrsic Mexican war plan, which had been drafted several years before Dfaz's

.rvcrthrow and called for the occupation ofVeracruz and several other polts'

Across the broad Gul[ at Guantdnamo, a marine brigade readied fol arr inv:rsion of Mexico. Army planners also figured prominently in prcparrr-

t ions for conflict with Mexico; indeed, the Army tffar College advatlcccl ttrr

rrn-rbitious proposal that anticipated not only the landing of forccs at Vct'rt-

cruz but ".r "rr^,rlt

against the capital (as \Winfield Scott had donc in I fl47

,ltrring the Mexican tVar) and the occupation of large areas in norfhctrt Mcxico.5

A wcek after the inauguration, secrerary of State Bryan, rcflccting tlrc

scnrirncnrs expressed by\Tilson in a major address, declared that thc Ulritccl

Starcs would not recog.rire a government that did not rule with thc conscttt

of, t[.rc govcrncd. 'fhe administration would in fact extcnd t'ccogtlititltt ttl

,,.*,.gi,r-r., ir-r Pcru and china that failed ro mcct that tcst, l'rut it w,ts r.e.lily-apparcut that the principlc applied to Mexico.

tVilson cottltl ttot

,.'.',,rrip,,l,rtc t[c l)cruviar.r encl Chincsc sitttations; rnanifcstly, hc lrclicvctl lrt'

.otrlrl irrfltrcrtcc wltrtt Illpp.'nccl rlcxt cl<ltlt' in Mcxic<l'

7ll llrt. li,rrr.rrr,r W,rrs

Disrr:rsring thc Amcrica' ambassador but u'abrc ro repracc hirn be- causc such a movc would imply recognition for Huertat government, .Wil_ son senr a .iournalist, \Tilliam Bayard Hale, as special

"_--irr".y to Mexico,

the first of almost a dozen execurive agenrs the presidenr s".rt th".e. H"le was to reporr on conditions and, specifically, to check out thc persistent reporrs about the role ofAmbassador \7ilso.r in the rragic ten d"y, of F.bru- ary. Hale arrived to find an embassy halfheartedly pr.irrng vilsons condi- tions for recognition: new elections and Huertat'pi.dg" tf,"t h. would not be a candidate. If these were mer, \Tilson offered ,o -.Ji",. berween Huerta and his numerous enemies. Halet report on the Mexican situation also in- cluded an indictment of Henry L".r. \xlilront role in Maderot ouster and death. The ambassador was ordered home for consultation and, back in\washington, dismissed from the diplomatic service, convinced to the end that the origins of Americak troubles in Mexico lay in the rcfusal ro recog- nize Huerta.6

Late summe r 1913 found another \filsonian emissary in Mexico, JohnLind, former governor of Minnesota, who had been sharply critic"l of Henry Lane \7ilson. Lind knew little Spanish and was notoriously anti-catholic, but he was a political crony of bryan's and enjoyed the presidentk confi- dence because hc had no Mexican connecrions

"ri *". th"refor., in vilsont

mind, objective. The United Srares, Lind was informed, was slowing irs arms shipmcnts to Mexico-arms Huerta used to fight his snsrnis5-xnd increasing its political pressure. Lindt mission was ro convince the Mexican leader that thesc actions did not consritute intervcntion and that the crisis could be resolved if Huerta accepted mediation (which would mean recog- nizi'g the belligerenr srarus of the rebels), established a provisional govern- ment (which meant forsaking power himself), and held a new el..tioJ1*hi.h Huerta already planned to do). Huerta insisted on recognition as the initiar step in the reconciliation. Elections were held in o.to['"r, but the circum_ stances were so irregular as to invite \wilsont condemnation.

vilson renewed his campaign to purify the Mexican politicar house. fu.t:u: over the recognition of Huerta by serreral E,r.op."r, governments, he declared, in a major speech in Mobiie, Alabama, th"t tlti,, America must free itself from European economic intrusion. Boldly he announced, "The united States will never again seek one additional fott of territory by conquest."TThe British.were the first to comply. sometime later the presi- dent got an agreement that, in exchange for his ruppor, for equal tolls in the Panama canal, scheduled ro open ii t9t4, Lo.,ior *o.rli adhere to his Mexica' policy. Thcre was anothcr dema'd for Huerta's retirement. reirr-

Ihc Mt'xit lrr ( risis 7t)

lirrccrl by a clclcgation of European diplomats in Mexico City clclivcrirrg :r

,pt'cial rppcal to Huerta to step down.' Ilu.'ria

'ow faced an even more ominous threat in the North i. tltc

l)r,r so11 of Venustian o Carranza, an aging patriarchal general with a ftrll bcar tl

rvho had proclaimed himself chief of the Constitutionalist rcvolutiott' ( lrrrranz-a had his own emissary in \Washington, Luis Cabrera, who cn-

rhrrsiastically promoted the Constitutionalist cause with detailed rcports olr

Mcxican social and economic conditions. Pleading for American rccogtri-

tion, the Constitutionalists were rebuffed, but they did get somcthiug jtrst

.rs bcneficial-a lifting of the arms embargo that had been imposed ftrllow-

ing thc failure of Lind's mission.8 'lb reinforce his diplomatic pressures on Mexico, \Toodrow \Tilson lurtl

rrr his command a powerful naval force patrolling Mexico's Gulf coast.'l'hc

nrost impressive aggregation of warships cruised off Veracruz; thcit' corn-

nrander, Rear Adm. Frank Friday Fletcher, remained alert throughottt tltc

rrncertain days of 1913 to the problem of seizing Mexico's most vitrrl polt'

rrn assignment made more dangerously probable by the president'.s rtttrclcttl '

ing pressures on a government the United States steadfastly refusccl to lct'

ognize as legitimate.- Fletcher had been in Mexican waters long enough to realizc thrrt tlrt'

situation in the country was infinitely more complicated when vicwt'tl :rt

close range. The General Board's war plan for taking Veracruz sce urctl 1,tc .ir. e.,orrgh; the problem lay in the execurion of the plan, as any intcllig,'rrt ntilitary tactician realized. A short time after Maderot murder, whcn lt'cl

ings ashore were running srrong, he wrote to Adm. Charles Badgcr, corrr

,.,-,anding the Atlantic Fleet: "It would be quite unfortunate if wc h,rtl t.t' land agalnst the consent of the lMexican] authorities. The tcmpcl ol'tlrc

1r.opl. i, such that it would undoubtedly result in war." In a calctrl,rtctl n',ou.,o convince port authorities of the firepower at his disposal-'rncl th.'

Iropelessness of Mexican defenses against it-Fletcher invitcd Vcllct ttz's rrrilitary and civilian leaders aboard the Wrmont, his flagship'

convinced of his military superiority-he was already consiclcriug tlrc

trsc of bombs and machine-gun-bearing planes to frighten the Vcr:rct ttz,tttos

l}om the city in order to avoid a general bombardment from thc big gttrrs ol

his ships-Fletcher was perplexed about thc coursc his civilian ctlltrtrr,tlttl.'t'

in chicfwas pttrsuing. Huerta cannot quell his cnemics, Flctchcr olrst'tvt'tl

ip latc Augrrst, but if hc falls (and\Woodrow\Tilson hacl clcclrtrccl ltc tttttsl

lirll) thc cotrntry will bc plungcd into Furthcr anarchy. A jtrnior o[]iccr'orr lris

stu11, assigncd to esscss thc 1l<lliticrrl situation ir-r Mcxico irt crlrly stlllllll('1,

ll(l llrt, li,rrr,rrr,r W,rrs

hacl arrivcd ar co'clusio's rnarkcdly cliffcrc'r fi-om thosc of thc prcsidc't. fhe "chaotic co'dirio's" in Mcxico, the report said, would conrinuc ,,ur_

less there is some radicar change in the attitude of the united States Govern_ menr'" fhe only hope for a stable Mexico was Huertat survivar; the only hope for his survival was American recognitio n andAmerican financial, diplomatic, and "if n...:r":y.. military .,ripo., ro a man the president of the United States devoutly believed .",

" -urd.r.r.But a rear admiral in the United states Navy did not make poricy for \Toodrow \x/ilson. Fletcher dutifully sent th. ."po.t ,o ,n. ,....rlry of th" navy and resumed his,"warchful waiting" on the Mexican coasr. Th... *"r, however, a naval tradition he intendei to uphold; when in November aconstitutionalist force pressed against "virtually undefended,, Thmpico, Fletcher informed the constitutlnalist commander: ,,I shall safeguard American andforeign lives and their non_military properq, fi;; ,"h".ff..r, of fyour] attack."e

In the same month the secrerary of state informed the American chargd d'affaires in Mexico, Nelson o'shaughnessy, that a special-.*"g.l"a u*" senr ro represenrarives,ofother*nations, excepti'g Mexico and, iicxpricably, Turkey. Entitled simply "Our purpose, i., M.*iJo,,, it read l,r'p"rr,'

usurpatio's like that of General Huerta menace the peace and deverop- menr of Amcrica as

'othing else coulcl. . . . It is th" p,,.po.. of ,h" U,.,i,.d

Statcs thcrcfore to discredit and defeat sucir usurpations whenever they occur. The prcsenr policy of the Governm.nt of thc United States is to isolate Gcneral Hucrta entirely; to cut him off from f.*ig" ,y_p",ry *a aicl from domestic credit, whether moral or material, ar.rd to force him out.

o'Shaughnessy read the message carefully, noting its deliberate direct- ness, its lack of nuance, its moralir,t ,on". Huerta was a menace to democ- racy and decency; if he wo.uld nor volunrariry step down for the good of his counrry and of \Testern civirization, then,

", ary"., put it, "it *fll become

the duty of the United states to use less p."..fui -."rr ro p.r, rri-'o.,r."roThis was uncommonly forceful l"rgu"g. .o-ing from a man with a pacifist reputation, but O'Shaughnessy."air"J th"t behlnd ,hor. r,"rr, *ood, ,rood an equally determined \Toodrow \wilson. The chargd *",

" ..,ltiu","d -".,with European rasres and disposition, a Republican"heritag., l"a or_"*irf

connecrions wirh Theodore Roosevelr, -or. thrn enough ; ;;k.l;_ ,rr- pect to twilson or Bryan and probably enough to result in his dismissar wereit not for the preside'tt predicamcn, oru.irig unabre to namc a new ambas- 'sador' o'shaughressy a'd his sophisricated"wife, who would rater writc a

llrt' Mt'xrr ,rtl ( tisis lt I

r,.vc:rling mcrnoir of their Mcxican sojourn, movcd easily amorlg tlrc

llrrcttistr*rs, ancl Huerta himself exhibited a noticeablc fondncss firl tltc

, lr,rlg{.1

ilut in spring 1914 O'shaughnessy's personal contacts in thc Mcxrcl'

11'u.r,.,,r.,.,r, ,..-.d of little utility. The president of the united Statcs, pcr-

,,,,r"lly directing American policy toward Mexico, had resolved on a coursc

1,.,,.,., *hi.h thi would b. iittl. deviation and no retreat. By political prcs- ,trr.c and ad,roit maneuvering he had brought the British governmcnt' uutil

rr.w suspicious of his "rr",ri on Huerta, to a point of acquiescencc i' his

l.,,.lcrship. yet in a curious way tyilson clung to the belief that he was rcsist-

i,'g irrtervention. In a press conference on February 26' I9l4' alluding to r.rnors of marines being dispatched to Mexico, the president callcd t6c

,t.ry ,.nothing but y".,ri." (In fact, a marine mobile regiment had bccrr .lisjatched to-p".rr".ol" in late l9l3 for possible deployment in Mcxico.) Wl1..,

" reporter brought up the Nicaraguan involvement of 1912, which

,rl,rr.rg with the Boxer R.b.llion served as historical analogue to thc cttrrctrt

, r.ru6l. with Mexico, \Tilson expressed ignorance about the reasons fi>r tlrc

intervention. To a reminder that James Buchanan had recommeuclctl ttr

(iongress in 1859 the passage of a law authorizing the president to usc Irrili.

,,,ry"for.. in Mexico during a time of civil war in that country' Wilsolr

,"rpo.,d.d, "I saw that m.ri"ge. It was just like saying' '\7e Yill courc itt

.,,ri",. "r*r,

but please consider this just a polite call.' " Asked if the prcscrrt

situation with Mexico warranted such a step, \Tilson snapped, "\ilc cotrltl

go through the motions' but it would be war all the same'"12'' R.rp"onding to a letter from his secretary ofwar, Lindley Garrisott, w6rr

,,rongly aduo."-t.d intervention as the only recourse in Mexico' \ililsorr

dcclared:

\we shall have no right at any time to intervene in Mexico to dctcrt.uirtc

the way in which the Me*i.an, are to settle their own affairs. . . .'l'he rc arc

in my judgm.nt no conceivablc circumstances which would make it right

fo, u, io dlre.t by force or by threat offorce the internal proccsscs o[w6,rt

is a profound revolution, a revolution as profound as that which occttrrctl

in France.lJ

llut in the fall of 1913 \wilson had informed the secretary of thc llritislr ambassador to the united States: "I am going to teach the South Aurct ic:ttt

rcpublics to clect good men!"1'* \Tilson was not going to commit the first act, howcvcr; Httcrtl wtlrrltl

Ilrvc ro cl<t sor-ncthir.rg"so clcspicat'rlc, so outrageotts, and somcthing that wotrltl

The Mexican Crisis B3 B2 The Banana Wars

be such an affront to the laws of nations and proper international behavior

that American retaliation would be manifestly justifiable. Huerta's internal

srrength in March 1914 was ebbing on every front. In the south the Zapatistas

."rriJd on their struggle for agrarian reform virtually oblivious to the pres-

ence of fed.eral authoriry. Three constitutionalist armies advanced from the

north: one toward Monterey and Thmpico; a second aimed at Torre6n, cen-

ter of the Mexican cotton kingdom; and a third on the west coast. Late in

the month, Pancho villat "r-y ro,rt.d the federals from Torre6n and opened

the path toward the capital itsell Though Villa was soon defying cattanza

hirnself, creating a rift ln the Constitutionalist cause, Huerta seemed to be

in the worst ,ha'pe of all. He could not last much longer as Mexico's "pre-

tender," and 'iTilson knew it.15 Yet, surprisingly, the incident that would precipitate American action

occurred ,to, by Hrr.rt"', hand or even by lwilsont but by an unthinking

Huertista officer in tmpico and a zealous rear admiral in the American navy.

In the nineteenth century Thmpico had been a rypically somnolent Mexican fishing village. But oil had been discovered in the region, and the

town had g.o*-., r"pidly into a small ciry of 30,000 with a sizable foreign

populatioria.td "

piorp..iry symbolized by the mushrooming oil refineries

".rd *"..horr., of s,"ndard oil, National Petroleum, and other compa-

nies.16 The American inhabitanrs, second in importance in the country to

the American colony in the capital, knew only too well that the constitu-

tionalists wanted to take this rich prize from Huertat forces'

The American residents of Tampico were continually reassured by an-

other powerful force, United States naval vessels, part of a constantly chang-

ing ,r,r-be, of ships of the Atlantic Fleet patrolling the Mexican Gulf coast.

L",-command of the Fifth Division, which anchored in Thmpico, was Rear

Adm. Henry T. Mayo, a veteran of forry years who had languished in the

ranks until ih. pr.uior* year, when Josephus Daniels, \Wilsons secretary of

the navy, imp...s.d with his administrative abilities, made him his personal

aid. a.ri q,-rickly promoted him to rear admiral. Owing to difficulties of

.o--rrrri."tionwith the naval sration in Key\rest (and in keeping with the

nineteenth-cenrury tradition allowing a ship's commander considerable lati-

tude in his decisions), Mayo had the aurhority to act on his own judgment

in an emergency, though in unusual circumstanccs hc was expectcd to com-

municate ,-hro.igh Re"r Admiral Fletcher, commaudcr of thc Fourth Divi-

sion at V"racrtrr. Somc of the vcsscls ir.r thc Arncl'icatl fot'cc, sttch ls thc

Fhtrir/a,lllctchcr.'.s flagship, hrtcl thc lltcst lrrclio cottrtttttlticati<ltrs ctlttiPtllcttr'

6trt ,.,vt.1 tlr..sc hlrl,, r,,,,1q..r,l'orrly tw() ()r tlrlcc llttttrllt'tl rrrilt's. Ilr rr clisis,

then, Mayo must use his "best judgment," as George Dewey had done at

Manila Bay in 1898, and consult tWashington later'17

On April 9 a parry of seamen from the Dolphin' one of Mayot ships

",rcho..d ai1i*piio, was arrested by a Huertista officer and marched through

the ciry. The Americans had arrived at the dock in a whaleboat to purchasc

garoline from a German civilian who had heard about the difficulties thc

boQhin'sofficers were having in procuring supplies and had offered to scll

them several cans he had stored in his warehouse. The boat had docked lcss

than a hundred yards from a bridge heavily guarded by federal forces aud,

though the Americans were flying their flag, they had been arrested by a

,.,.r,rJ.r, Mexican officer for trespassing into that part of the ciry without

special permission. As soon as tire military governor of the city' Morelos

i^r^go)^,learned of the arrest, he apologized, explaining that the arresti.g

,oldilr. were members of the state grra.d, uninformed in the rules of war'

and ordered the immediate release of the American prisoners'

The whaleboart crew had been detained little more than an hou! rncl

rlo one in the American parry seemed dissatisfied withzaragozas oral apol-

ogy. ButAdmiral Mayo .onrid...d the incident a grievousinsult not otrly t. Iri". .o--"rd but to the United States. \without consulting Fletcl'rcr or, indeed, anything but his own conscience' he dispatched a brisk^notc to 'l,aragozasi"ti.rg-th"t the Mexican commander's apology was insufficic.t. A

p.opi, ,.rpor,ri he wrote, demanded a written apology' the hoisting o('tlrc

Arnerican flag at a prominent spot in Thmpico, and the firing of a twcnty'

one-gun salute by Mexican troops.

,L, ,h. time of the Thmpico incident \Wilson was vacationing i. Wt'st

virginia. Information ..".h.d him in piecemeal fashion, but thc first sl<cl-

.t"l"o,rtline of the affair aroused his fury at the Mexican govcrnlnctrt rttttl

cspccially at Huerta, who, the president believed, was somehow culp:r[rlc'

Ai ."ch rt"g. of ..r"luarion *ithin the Arnerican bureaucracy, militt'y rrrrtl

civilian, the Mexican commander's actions appeared morc hcinotrs rtrrtl

Mayo,s demands more justifiable. Fletcher, on learning of Mayo'.s l'csPons("

l.,"iof .o.rrre upheld his fellow officer, even to the point of addi'g_tlt.t tlrc

situation warranted retaliatory action, perhaps the seizurc of a Mcxicrtrr

guuboat.l8 o'Sharrghncssy, still functioning as American chargi in thc crlPitrrl, tlit'tl

,rs tlclicatcllias;,ossiblc tn ""gntiai" a satisfactory scttlcnlcllt' llttt irr lt'ss

tl.r,r' ,r wc"l. tfic1'rrr-rpico inciclcnt was tr:rr]sforl.nccl irtttl sollrctllil)g, {rtl tttott'

orlrittttus thrrtr rt sttrpitl rlristrrl<c lry an obscttrc Mcxicrttt rlllicill' llttt'tlrt's rrriristt.r'6f'lirrc.igrr lt.l,rtiorrs rrow t'xplrtirrctl thrrt'lirrrrpico lrrrtl bc.'tr, rtltcl

,rll, rlttlcl si,'1i.'t,y rt'lrt'ls (rvlr.,, lrc,r.ltlctl 11r'lttritottsly, wt'tt'ctlttippcrl rvitlr

84 l.ht' ll,rn,rrr.r W.rts

weapons procurcd from the Unitcd Statcs), and precipitatc actions thcrc by federal officers were understandable.'fhe Mexican minister cvcn suggested a plausible solution to the crisis: a salute rc rhe Dolphinby a Mexican gun- boat or battery followed by a salute to the Mexican flag by the Dolphin's guns. The entire incident, he explained, had provoked an outburst of Mexi- can chauvinism among all classes.l9

But an American salute of the Mexican flag would have meant recogni-

tion of Huerta's "illegal" government. The president actually believed the incident at Tampico was, by itself; trivial and so stated to a delegation from the House and Senate Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations committees. The real issue was the "studied and planned exhibitions of ill-will and con- tempt for the American government on the part of Huerta."20 Col. Edward House, \Wilson's confidant and advisor on matters of state, alluded to an- other problem that helped explain why the Thmpico affair had generated a war crisis. Until recently naval commanders had been allowed to use their good judgment in such situationst Mayo had had that authoriry atTampico. But the rear admiral also had contact with Fletcher at Veracruz, who could relay messages to \Tashington. Mayo should have used the wireless, House wrote, for modern communication had done away with a commander's re- liance on his own judgment. "Such things were as obsolete as the duelling code."21

Among the patrolling naval forces off the Mexican coast in April 1914 there was a ominous urgency about reports from the situation ashore and \Tashingtont reaction to them. A determination to "do something," even if it meant a military response to what the president of the United States in- formally called a "trivial" incident, seemed to be the only justifiable recourse. Aboard the Prairie, which had transported the weary marine mobile regi- ment from Pensacola after arduous navy maneuvers at Culebra to Veracruz, news of the Thmpico incident interrupted the dreary routine of shipboard life in Mexican waters. Expectation of American retaliation for the "insult of the flag" relieved the boredom. Frederick Delano, the mobile regiment's adjutant, wrote ecstatically: "Chance we may go to Thmpico and stir things up a bit-I hope we do, for this is no end monotonous and all hands are sick of it."22

VrnncRuz

lnFebruarylgl3anAmericannavalofficer,assessingtheprobablcrcsis- lH::';i;;;; ;;;';vention in Mexico' observed

that the turbttlcttt

oolitical conditions i"^;;;-;t;"try would probably prevent a

'succcssfult#ffi;"J;;r;"iv.r".r"'. The inabiliry to hold the port against

an at-

tack, he went on' *"*fa ait*tt *itna'"*"i of Mexican forces into tlrc inte-

rior, out of reach tf " ^;;i;;*b"td*tnt' to hold off an American advrttrcc

on Mexico Ciry' Concluding on an omino,us note' he warned:

"Priclc ot'

blind sense of dury -;;;;"t";ttempted defense against landing'"'

Now, in ,rr. *"ttL"i" d;;ft;lthe Tampicolncident and Huclt:is

haughry defiance "f A;;;;"iil;yo', d.-"nd, ti',e "pride" and

"blind sc.sc

of duty' seemed " -";;;;;;"p'i"tt thar"cterization of the mood in \(aslr-

ington than of ,n"t i't fJliit".City Huerta had not only defied an Arneri-

can admirar; he had.orr,r.ri,,.d an-unforgivable iniury to the United strrtcs'

its president, and its;;ilH;i"t" *i""a*"' tht nature of the rctalia-

tion and the Place of executton'

Tampico, ,it" of tfttl"tiat"'that had precipitated thercrisis' suddcnly

became the object tf i;;;h;i"""itg by M"yo ""d his staff' Just as quickly'

it was ruled out as a f;;;G.t flr.military assault when it was poi'tctl

out that sandbars p'*t*tJtftt l""'gt' ships.from entering the Pdnuco Rivcr'

and smaller ","ft f";i;;ii"g t" irtt tt"tht'' And there were other

drrw-

backs to aTampico .o.r;"lrhe federals, if attacked by foreign invadcls'

might possibfy,"ttiu"t '"fpt1 f1- the Constitutionalist army advancing

on the city. Mayo t"* tJ'l'iatred a naval barrage to avenge the insult trtrt

rciected ,h^t ,ltt'n"iiut btt"t"t Tampico po"t""td no fortifications rtntl

intcrnational l"* fo'i"de bombardmtnt' of unfortified towns' And' molc

importantly, ,t" "i'Jit*c,f f"*pito would not topple Huerta'2

But Vcracru, *"' ""ott"''-"ttt'' As Mexico's principal porr' it wrrs

vital cconomically and even politically- to-Huerta'' t"tt"' Moreover' as

\Wil-

s.u rcvcalccl i" " P;t; ;JtJ o'.' Aptil 15' there had been an "incident" in

B5

86 The Banana Wars

Veracruz' one in the lengthening list of Huerta's abuses' A mail orderly from

the Minnesota, whichtt'"i '"nei down the coast from Thmpico' had

been

arrested by federal '"ldi;;'-;h; had mistaken the American seaman

for a

Mexican deserterwho;;;;o""d.'htwall of the local post office' An

interpreter *". fit'"lly i"t"gt" irr' and the. matter was cleared up in a short

time. The ,.po,t of thJ"'*it Uy the American consul' lVilliam

\W' Canada'

it"o.r.t.tt .iti,rr.a tr't details'so as to make the entire affair appear as an-

other of the dictator's ;"fft";'' one carried out by a nameless Mexican func-

tionary' The presiden' tct"ta have read an accurate version of the story in

the New york worldor nprit 12, which correctly inrerpreted-the arrest as

inconsequential, " uit* i"it' t""^t"td by Admiral Fletcher's official

investi-

gation. But there h"d b;; still another injustice' On April 11' a petty bu-

reaucrat in Huertas tt"t"it tfnte had ielaytd transmissio:-t^f

: coded

airf",.ft from Bryan to the embassy' O'shaughnessy' exPectrng a message'

calledthetelegraph"Ott""t""alt"'ntdofth"edelay'EdithO'Shaughnessy appropriately th""J;i;;^tt'i'

:'intiat"t" as "less than nothing.''r

But'Wilson h"i;;t made up his mind' It mattered little that

O'shaughnessy, for tf" fit""i*t it' h'i' otherwise undistinguished career'

was performing " no;btt role in his unceasing appeals to

Huerta to bend' at

least a little, ,o tftt p'"tiatttt" dt"'"ttd'' Ut""*" tttmed as adamant as

\Wil-

son. He wouta ,"f"tt tttt A-t'it"t' flag l/an American warship offtmpico

would simultaneoui;;;;;;. r,,.,r""r. \(hen an ecstatic Bryan brought

the news to th. p.erijent, the crisis momentarily appeared to take a turn for

the better, but within a day.wilson rejected the proposal of simultaneous

salutes as woefully ""'"it"Uf" for the injury to the American flag'

As com-

manderinchiefhewasalreadymassing".rirru"rio,-rarmyonMexico'sbor- ders and had order.dlhe Atlantic

Fleet to reinforce Mayo and Fletcher in

the western Gulf' That weekend (April 1B-19) two seemingly

unrelatedrnessages clicked

off the telegraph "ttit"' at the St"tt DJp"'tment' .One

came from

O'Shaughnerry i" ttit-tutoit"t' capital' 'aying that]vte11c'an guns atThm-

;;;;""H t^t"tt 't't n-t'itan flag and would firey'rsr if there was

a Prom-

ise to return,h. r"rr.r," from May"o, warships But the concession was so

worded that acceptance implied recognition of Huertas government' some-

thing'wilson h"d;t;;;'it*i:tttl The second telegram arrived from

Canada i,t v.r".'u' lt"'fy .,,''S"ta"y' It reported the unloading of a steamcr

laclcn with amm'-rnition ancl almost t^ttt"ily mcntioned thc cxpcctcd-i::::

<rf ,rnorhcr.u"rr.l, ,1l. Ypirattua (which (lanrrcla misspcllccl lltirangr' catlsln!l

r..rrlirsi.rr rllllolrg i,.,.jrr",r,,,,,.,.,.'.,rt .l.rl., tr.yi'g t. l.crrtc its rcgist'y), crrr'-

ryirrll ,150 ""t1t;"t"i,t"tt ""tl I5 rtrillittn trrrtlttls ol :rttlttlttttitiott"'

Vcracruz ll7

This news galvanized the Sta.te and Navy dcpartmcuts iuro

ectiorr'

Flctcher must move promptly at Veracruz.to interccpt rhe

Ypimngt's cargo

and prevent ,t" -""itio'it /'orn gt"i"g into Htte'ias hanJs''Wilso.

had

left for'West Virgint" t;;;^;il'""oo""of april 18 to bring his ailing wifc

back to'Washington, b*;t Ct"t*f Board of the Navy had met

in emcr-

uency session tt'"t "'oltti"g *J -""fa convene again the

following day'

il"J"y]il;ul," tnt g"*i"fritt of recommendations on Mexico' rangrng

fi'om some kind of repiit"l atiampico to.a much larger operation'

a landing

at Veracruz coupled with an army.invasion across tit nio Grande'

By latc

Sundav, the various proposals had^been set aside in favor of

a limited oPcrlr-

,inn "i

Veracruz 'o

t"k""h" wharf and customhouse and intercep t the Ypi-

rdnga'sarms' Hastily disp^tched orders went ot" to M"yo atTampico

to srril

tor Veracruz ro ,.i,.,roii'J;ffi;;;pelling Mayo to aba"o"l :l:

Arncri-

can colony in T"-pi-'-to ,t. ir-,."ioui. *."ih ofihe Me"ican population"'

tWilsondidnot"t""'to\TashingtonuntilearlyMonday'April20'llc

breakfasted with his ;J;""0 ;t"1 tht rest of the morning shaping

his

soecialaddressontheMexican-situation,scheduledfordeliverythatlrlicl.- ,',oon b.fo,t a ioint session of Congress'

The message was csscrttilrlly :r

summing-up of tht "*t'-ulated g'itu""tt' 'g"i"tt

Fiut't"-t'lltt "ttt"''1

clraft, \Tilson h"d *;it;;; that thJincident "was of no great rmPortarr(c

but scratched "tl,.h.;.;;;;il replaced them with "the incidcnt

clrtrror

bc regarded ", " ,ri ri"i#."-ifr. r.i^te-of Veracruz offered

the bcst cotrrs('

lor relaliation ""d' h;;;;";;J' could.be undertaken without

signilicilrrt

loss of life. The "J;';;.:;-*.nd.d was not a declaration of wilr

lrtrt

onc that would i'' # J"i;;; ;" armed conflict.of T"'1::i:.l.nscrotrs proPortions' ntt"tit" *"s not making

war on Mexico or its pcolllc' tltc

prcsident ,"id, "ptlii* 'nt at*J::" * had continually bccn 'ral<itr1"

rluring the past y."i."t;.*i."ns could setde their internal affairs withorrl

,,.,triie inteiference'6 -fheHouseofRepresentatives,moresensitivetothenoticeablyllclligcr.crrt

r'.od in ,n. .o,rr,,r'|l:;..di;;;a ,n. ,.rot*ion "justi$'i'g' r':rthc' thrr.

"rrtrthorizing" tnt p"'idt"ii "" of force aqainst Mcxico' btrt

tltc Sctt:ttt'

.lcbatcd ,t. ,rr."r,lrl;.u ilil."."i* "a'd

"diourncd wit'otrt t:rl<i'1i

,rcri.n. rly the r,-.';;;;;;;;r. finalry"rendered its approv':rl' At'ct icrttr

tl(x)[)s *.t." tl"^dy ashore at Veracruz.' ',l.hat night #,rr". *", "*"kencd by a courier with anothct' tclcgtrttrt

lirr'r..rucl". Th.;;"i.i. l."r"f hai alludcd to i' his

't'cvi.tts

tc'.tt

'vrts irrclcctl

't't" Vii'l'"g)'' tlttth..'t t".st la.d as

quicldy t]: l-':]t:il.'lt'

li.u.tlccl lry ,,;r;;,i;.., co'(l.cror., '"r,r,t,r (lortis, in t r t 9, Vct rtct rrz ltrrtl

lristrrir rrlly rr"",.' , ir,' ,,ir.', riu..'.,l'Mcxicrtrr itlvllclct's'

\With M.tr't ( )r'izrtgrr :rs

tt9BB The Bar-rana Wars

backdrop, the city offercd the viewer from the sea a panorama of pastcl buildings, imposing monumenrs, and graceful plazas with flourishing palms. On arriving, howevcr, the visitor was immediately engulfed by the over- powering stench from garbage littering the streers and wharves and the sight of milling vultures thronging the waterfro't. The zopilotes were prorccted from human menace by a city ordinance, for these disgusting birds consti- tuted the municipality's only reliable sanitary brigade. At the garbagc dumps theywere joined in the feasting by packs of stray mongrels. Admiral Fletcher's objcctive, the cusromhouse, srood along the waterfront with most of veracruzt other important public buildings-thc Terminal Station, cable and telcgraph offices, post office, and power plant-and thc Naval Acad- emy, a quadrangle of rwo-story barracks.

The admiral'.s staff had drawn up a tentative plan for a landing a week before , on April 13, when Fletche r organized a naval brigadc divided into a marine regiment under Lt. Col. \Wendell C. Neville, commanding the mo- bile regiment that had arrived aboard the Prairie from Pensacola, and a seament regimcnt under Lt. Comdr. Allcn Buchanan of rhe Florida. All told, Fletcher could counr on a landing force of more than a thousand men and fifry-two officers from the Florida and its sister ship, the Utah. The landing parties would be put aboard whaleboats and towed by motor launch to pier 4, whcre the large oceangoing vessels regularly docked.

But Flctcher had'ot anticipated having to land on such short notice. Thking thc customhouse would not be such a formidable task, provided of course hc could be assured that there would be no resistance. He did not want to commit his forces until thc Ypiranga docked; if wamed, the ship carrying the arms and munitions Flctcher had to intercept might suddenly alter course and put in at another Mexican port. But Fletcher now had another worry, as it turned our, an overriding en6-1hs weather. Storms blew up quickly in the western Gull and Vcracruz often lay in their path. And on this gray morning the wcather seemed ro worsen with cvcry minutc's delay. In a storm, nonc of the launches could be scnt inro the i.ncr harbor. About nine o'clock in the morning, detecting a sudden shift i' thc wi'd, F'letcher decided to send his landing party ashore.T

The landing had not been unexpectcd by vcracruz-'.s dcltc'clcrs. -l-hc

lo- cal Mcxican commander, Gen. Gustavo Maass, a comical figr,rrc with rr b..sh mustache who borc a vague resemblancc ro Kaiscr \wilhclrn Il o{r(icr.rrrrrny, in an ir-rformal couvcrs:rtion witlr (]anacla hrrcl confl.sscrl tlrc lropclcssrrcss ol- l-rolcling Vcractuz against un Atncricrrn <lccrrprrrion. 'l'lrt, grrrrs ol Atlrrril,rl lilctchcrls wrrlslrips, Mrr:rss lrrrtl s:rirl, r'orrltl ('ilsily (l(,srrr)),tlrc tiry ol 40,(x)() rvirlrirr ;t li'rv lrottrs. I)rrrilirlly, ( l:rtr;rtl;r lrrrtl rcl,ry,',1 rlris st.rrrirrr<.rrr tp lris

superiors. Peering through his field glasses from the roof of the Amcricrrn

.orl.ul"te, he watched with an inner rcassurance as the launches pullcd away

from the Floridawirhtheir trailing convoy of bluejackets and marines. Ilav-

ing anticipatcd what was now happening, hc had already warncd Amclicrrrr

residents in Veracruz to take passage on the steamers Mexico and Espcnrnz,t,

tied up at the pier. At 9:30 an American naval officer, capt. Henry l-lusc, had appeared at the consulate to say thar the landing would commcncc about eleven o'clock. Canada was instructed to inform Maass by tclephonc

that the landing party intended to scize the customhouse, telegraph 'rrttl cable offices, and the railroad yard, where three locomotives stood rcacly t<r

take the Ypiranga'scargo and other vital supplies into the interior. Thc lantl-

ing force would not firc if not fired upon, Huse stated. A few minutes after eleven, as the Florida's regiments wcre towccl prrst rr

British man-of-war (whose seamen cried out, "Give 'em hell, Yanks. giv(.' 'cm hell"), canada left his observation post ro call Maass. Hearing rhc rrovs

of the invadingYankees, thc general exclaimed, "No, it cannot bcl" (lrrrrrrtlrr

made a second call, to the port collector, who also cxpressed amazclllcll( il(

what was happening and demanded time to close his office and rttslt lr.,rrr,'

to his family, and a third ro veracruz's police chief, who calmly plctlgt'.| r.,

assist in maintaining order, a commitmcnt, Canada wrotc in his olil.i.rl reporr in August, that was not kept. The first shot fired ar rhc Anrt'r'ir.rrrs

."-. fronl the weapon of a white-uniformed srreet-comer policer.rrrrrr.rl The Florida's conringent had no way of knowing that Gcfrc|rrl M:r.rss

had alrcady made preparations for a fight. Maass had anticipatccl thrrt Iris

superiors in Mexico iity *o.rld prob"bly order him to withdraw rvirlr lri.' force to Tejeria, a small town on the railroad about te n milcs fi-om Vctrrt t rtz.

But he had also surmised that he must put up somc show of rcsistrtttit'ttr

give himself timc to evacuate and to makc a gesture of clefiancc olrtlr.'irr

,r"d.rr, for national honor and his own reputation. Addressing his tttt'tt itt

patriotic language, he declared that anyone who wishcd coulcl volttrttt't'r' t.,

go down to the wharf and resist the invadcrs. He also orclcrctl tltt't.'l,,tt,' lrnd armirlg of thc rayados (literally, "striped ones") ofrl-a (lrrlcr,r nrilit,rry prison.

I{obcrt Murray, one of thc dozer.rs of forcign jotrlnrrlists itt V't,tttttz, joinccl a crowd of curious Mcxicans at'rcl Atnct'icatrs rtt the wrrtct liottt rv.rt. It

ing thc boatlorrds of mariues ancl bh-rcjackcts plow throtrglr tlrt' t lr,rp1,y rv.r

rc;s t()ward picr 1t. It was a "show," Murlay lcclrllctl yc:tts lrttt'1, t'xc'ttt(ttl itt ,t

11)ltill(. r))rlnnc.r. Mrrrlrry h,rtl lrrrstctrcd tlowrr to tlrc wlrrtll'to liivt'rv,tt ttilrl'. t,r

tlrr, Arrrt.r'it:rrrs :rlit r s1ryirrti,l,,z,'tts ol'Mt'xitltt tivilirtrts rttttl s,rltlit'ls, s,rtrr.' ,rrrrrt.rl rvillr trv..,r,,l ll,r,.' rill,'s,rrrrl l,rtlt'rt rvitlr t,rrtrirlll'lr,'lts, t,rrrrt'irt11

Verac ruz

I lrc ll,rrr,rrr,r W,rrs

firrrn housc to housc, looking lirr covcr'. l;rrrntically hc tliccl t<l shour rrn alarm to thc approaching launchcs.e

Discmbarkin g, rhe Floridas landing force, checrcd by the Amcricans in thc onlooking crowd, stepped briskly up the concrere sreps to thc wharf, regrouped, and divided. One regiment, under Neville, moved our ro rake the cable office, power plant, railway yard, and srarion house. Neville was experienced in this kind of activiry; he had been taking towns in rhe Philip- pines, China, and the Caribbean since the turn of the cenrury. Perched once more on the consulate roof, Canada spied a carriage with three Mexicans and a machine gun racing into the railway yard. They quickly unloaded the gun and gave every indication of using it, but Neville's conringent occupied the yard and station without incidenr. The Mexican locomotives, however, had already gone, and the marines found no one in charge inside the sta- tion. The cable office was also taken without any firing, though the squad dispatched to seize it had to stop ar the consulate and ask for directions.

The seamen's regiment, under Lt. Richard \Wainwright, Jr., had the prin- cipal assignmsnl-1hs seizure of the customhouse-which turned out to be more hazardous. During the landings Maasst volunreers, the rayados, and ordinary Veracruzanos who joined them, had been scurrying up ro rooftops or nestling behind windows and watching the bluejackets and marines or- ganize and move out along the waterfront. Some of the Mexicans had in- vaded the Hotel Diligencia, a favorite of the American tourists, and the Municipal Palace. One group of the newly created resistancc had even lugged a one-pounder artillery piece to the top of the lighthouse. The advance unit moving toward the customhouse gor within one block of its objective when the first shot was fired. The shot signaled a barrage of rifle fire from what seemed to be every direction. Atop the Hotel Terminal, American guests who had joined the naval signalmen ar rhe outser dashed downstairs to their rooms. The most concenrrated firing seemed to be coming from the light- house, the Hotel Oriente, the customs warehouse, and the Naval Academy. A few rounds quickly silenced the artillery piece in the lighthouse. In the yard of the academy a young Mexican naval artillery officer, Josd Azueta, son of the Mexican commodore, directed a machine-gun crew raking the pier with fire. A boatswain's mate replied with several rounds at the Mexi- cans, hittingAzueta, who managed enough srrength to inspire the others to continue firing. \When their lcader lapsed inro unconsciousness, they car- ried him inside. Azueta died later from his wounds and was immortalized as one of Veracruzt most valiant defenders.l0

In the city and on Fletchert ships there was undersrandable confusion. At the street corners along the waterfront squads of marines and bluejackets

Vt't,tt tttz

lrrrllicrl abottt, l<loking anxiotlsly {ilr Mcxicln snipcrs. N<l stloltcr wottltl .,rrc llc silcncccl by Arncricau firc, it sccmed, tharl anothcr thlcc or firrrr' woulcl commcncc shooting. The planning undertaken by Flctchcl tn,l lris srlll firr what was supposed to be a relatively simple oPeration was ltcing, {j rrstratcd by countless unknown Mexicans lodged in the houscs, hotcls, lncl public buildings of Veracruz.

Assessing the day's events, Fletcher decided to increase his forccs ashort'. 'l-l-re utah had spent most of the morning of April 21 preparing ro gcr un-

tlcrway for Puerto Mdxico, 125 miles south ofVeracruz' to intcrccpt I Itrcrtris

arms shipment if the Ypiranga changed course for that porr. Bur by clrly rrFte rnoon it was clear that the (Jtah's contingents were needed to rtssist t |tc

trnits pinned down in the city. One of the relief companies, comtnrtntlctl lry

lins. Paul Foster of the (Jtah, arrivedto find that the seament rcginlcrlt hrrtl

rlt last entered the customhouse but was still receiving fire from stripcrs otl

thc roof. Foster sent reinforcements to clear the roof and anothcr gl'()tll) t()

take the warehouse next door. They were barred from entry by two t'ttot '

rnous iron doors but broke through by picking up railroad rails rtntl rrsirrli

them as battering rams.11 By midafternoon of the first day, the invaders had taken rhc crrsr0rrr

house, their original objective, and the surrounding area but not tltc l)l:rzrt

de la Constituci6n or the Naval Academy. The cadets of the acadcmy' cr)rtr

lating the niiios hertiico.i of Chapultepec of lB47 who had perished clc{l'rr.l

ing the Mexican capital against the American army of \finfield Scott, [rl.l sniped at the [Jtah's launches as they came ashore and were continuillg, t()

rake the waterfront with fire. Fletcher was in a quandary: He did not wrlnl

ro carry the fight into Veracruzt streets and houses, nor did he wish to trst'

his big guns in a bombardment. Three picket launches carrying onc- pounders had set out from pier 4 in an effbrt to silence the Naval Acadcnry

inipers but had been struck several times by rifle fire and the one-pottnclct'

arrillery piece the cadets were using. To protect the launches, the Chcstu

had opened up with its three-pounder guns against the academy. Even during all this furious shooting, American authorities ashorc wcrc

still trying to negotiate. Captain Huse and Canada vainly searched all aftcr-

noon for Veracruz's mayor who, they believed, might be able to call ofF tlrc

city's volunteer defenders. They finally located him at home, barricadccl in

his bathroom. Mindful, apparenrly, of an 1862 federal law prohibiting Mcxi-

can public servants from aiding an invader (which had been passed wl'rcn

the French sent an army into the Mexican interior), the mayor denied respoll-

sibility for the actions of the citizenry and graciously deferred to the chicf o{

police. But the American searchers found the police station abandoned.ll

.)l

F

t

1)',2 I lrt' li,rrr,rrr.r W,rts

During thc mclcc ashorc, rhc Ypiranga suddcnly appcarccl irr thc otttct' harbor. It was immediately boarded by an American naval officcr explaining

what was happening in the port. The ship's papers revealcd that thc arms cargo had actually been purchased in New York, but Huertat agents had cleverly routed the arms through Hamburg, Germany, to avoid the Ameri- can embargo. Ordering the Ypiranga to remain within gun range of the (Jtah,Fletcher dispatched a hasty cable to \Washington, explaining his deci-

sion and noting the day's troubles. The admiral's casualties at this point were two dead and twenty wounded. \Wilson was deeply shaken by the news

of American losses; and Bryan now had to explain to the German ambassa-

dor that Fletcher had exceeded his instructions. The Ypiranga was techni- cally free to sail from Veracuz with or without its cargo. In the curious aftermath of this incident, the Ypiranga's captain chose to remain at Veracruz

for several days. After taking on refugees and other supplies, the ship sailed for Thmpico and Mobile, then, mysteriously, for Puerto Mdxico, where its lethal cargo, the putative reason for Fletcher's invasion, was unloaded into Huerta's hands.l3

As darkness fell on Vcracruz, the sniping died down. Vithin the ciry there was now greater alarm over the activities of wandering rayados, the released prisoners from the military stockade, who invaded houses, assaulted Veracruzanas, and committed numerous robberies. Fletcher had no inten- tion of withdrawing to pier 4; rather, he was determined to augment his forces ashore. At the power station, American soldiers kept electric lights on, illuminating the broad expanse of the waterfront. After midnight the Chestels captain, exhibiting some tricky maneuvering, brought his ship into the inner harbor and landed another contingent of marines (including the perennial banana warrior, Smedley Butler) and bluejackets. A few hours later Vice-Adm. Charles Badger's warships, which had been racing to Veracruz, fi nally arrived.

Fletcher had no way of knowing it, but a significant portion of his organized resistance in the city had already departcd. In the early evening Commodore Azueta, who had delivered an emotional appeal to the Naval Academy cadets earlier that day, received orders from General Maass to with- draw to Tejeria. Azueta was determined to march out of Veracruz, but the entry to the academy was covered by American guns, so the cadets chopped

a hole through the rear wall. They assembled outside, out of view of the Americans, and marched through the streets, picking up another group of volunteers on the way, and finally reachedGjerfa about midnight. As Fletcher

and Badger pored over their assault plans in the early hours of the morning

Vt't,tt tttz 9:l

trl'Alrril 22, thcitopposition ashorc cousistcd only of disorganiz'ccl blncls of

s rt ipc rs.

At claybreak, launches from Badger's ships began dockinq ":

pi::4' dis-

.. lralging more marines and blueiackels' Fletcher now surmised that Veracruz

lrrcl<ccl a'y organized ;i;;;t' The task at hand' then' was clearing out thc

snipcrs, aroused Uy a"y'U""ft, still lodged-in the houses and on the hotcl

,.,,iri.p, Naively' i1.,.'rt., persisted in iht btlitf he could find a cooperativc

Mcxicanofficialtoassistinmaintainingorder.oneofthearrivingrcgi. nrcl-rts, under Capt. E' A' Anderso"' to"t'i"ttd that the

wharfwas now s:rfc'

bcgan marchi.rg to*"'d the Naval Academy' Anderson was something of a

lcgend in the navy (he wore a \(est lndies medal with five bars)' but hc had

ncvcr fought "

t"rra.ng"gt^tnt' Though.warned about Mexican firc by an

:ridc, he refused ,o ,t"itlot'ts ahead' A! the front companies madc thc tttt'tr

.. calle Francisco canal, the entire regiment was suddenly raked with flrc'

'l'hcre was.r,..r.o"f*iott' nt the rear of the column men began shooting

,rimlessly ahead, narrowly missing their comrades in the advance ttt.tits I'rrc-

i,r,, For cover. Hastilu i.itt*i"i"g that the fire came from the Nrvrrl Acrrtl-

.,i;ffi;;" ,rg"iJ,r.. shipsi' the harbor. There commenccd a firri.rrs barragefromthegunsoftheSanFranciscoandtheChester,whiclrlltrrrl. rneled the academy f- n"t minutes' This second' more devastating'

shcll

irtg."-pf.*ly demolished the inside of the building and was unncccsslry'

for Azueta and the ..rfr-n"a already departed. The firing from the acrclcrny

on this morning *"1.i"rr. been the *ork of " fcw straggler s or ra\adTs. Jt'cl<

l.ondon, arriving i" i;;";t;; t; rePort on the occupation'.visited thc rcrttl-

crny and assessed,nt Jt"tt"tiot' t*dt' the gaze ttOiiiT*::t:i*,:jl:: t)lo;rr_o,-rt window sills. The inside of the

srrucrure was a mass of crllmt)rc(r

plaster and smashed il;"|;i";r. Some of the shells had plunged complctcly

through the outer structure, flo*" "t'o" the patio' and.exploded in thc

rooms on the.,f,.t 'iJ" .,itht qt'"d'""gle' "Suih"' mused London' "is t'c

cfficiency of twentieth century war machinerv'" 14

The Americ""';;; Ino" of tht "to"i day clearing the hotcls ancl

houses of snipers. p"I p^"i etster with a comPany of blueiackets t:-.lll.'

Utah tookr.he Municipal Palace on the plaza' From the tower of the munlcl-

pal building the Amtric"ns were able to open uP on the remaining suipcls

l,,.p,ft. U;r.f nifigt"ti'' while a squad of marines' who had a reprttati.rr

firr being -or. p,oLtJ"' i" b""ki"g down doors' burst through thc cn-

traltce. Inside they found American women tourists tending Mexicrrn

wouncled. As the ngh,irrg moved into theciry Mexican women and youngcr'

r.ncn occasion"lb p;k;d";; *."p.r,, "nd began firing randomly. Sevcral o[]

94 The Banana Wars

the women, on close inspection, rurned out to be men who neglected to pull their pants' legs above the hemline. Some of the bluejackets, nervous under more than a day ofsniping, even fired at their fellowAmerican invad- ers. Frederick ("Dopey') \fise, whose marine unit did not ger ashore until the major buildings had been taken, went from door to door, vainly search- ing for snipers. \fise's men found none, bur they were pinned down under withering fire from American bluejackets atop the Hotel Diligencia who had mistaken vise'.s outfit for the enemy! Tiaditional rivals for the glory in such imperial venrures, the marines and bluejackets seemed to maintain their rivalry even when fighting for the same thing.r5

In a ciry swept with fear of bombardment or sacking by the invader, it was understandable why veracruzanos behaved the way they did during the first days of the occupation. And it was equally understandable why the bluejackets and marines, assigned by their governmenr with the simple task of taking a customhouse, should grow increasingly apprehensive and then vengeful when their comrades died from snipers' bullets. The seizure of the ciry had produced war's tragicomic moments. Most of the American invad- ers had never been in combat. one marine, whose unit burst into the Hotel Mdxico, came face to face with a terrified Mexican gesticulating wildly and gibbering in Spanish. The marine froze until the lieutenant bellowed, "shoot him!" He recalled: "I was standi.g. . . so close. . . that I couldnt raise my gun to my shoulder. But I put it up as far as I could and fired. The bullet struck him right in the heart, and I remember that he stared ar me in sur- prise and then he fell back-dead. It was the first man I had ever shot and I felt mighry queer."16 In another instance of defiance of the invaders, a bald veracruzano, casually reading a newspaper on his second-story veranda, abruptly jumped to his feet, pointed a revolver in the general direction of several American soldiers, and fired. He then sat down and resumed read- ing. After the man repeated this several rimes, a bluejacket shot him.

There was no formal surrender of the city. The Americans simply ex- tended their patrols until they reached the sand hills marking the outskirts of veracruz. outside the municipal buildings and the hotels and on the street corners American invaders were transformed into sentries, policing the bewildered Mexicans who began emerging from hiding. By afternoon of the third day, the journalists were our looking for stories. one spied a

'cr-vous bluejacket stopping an old man and his son trying to get from thcir house to the corner. The American sailor refused to let thcm pass. scarcl-rir-rg the eldcr man, he found rwo bottles. I.formcd by thc Mcxicl' that thcy containcd rncdicinc for his.sick daughtcr, thc blucjacl<ct hurlcrl rhc bortlcs t<l thc pavcnrcnt.I7

Veracruz

In the seizure of the ciry Americans suffered sevenreen killed and sixty-

three wounded. No accurate count of Mexican losses was possible, though a

United States naval doctor, using the number hospitalized as a guide, esti-

mated the defenders had 126 killed and almost 200 wounded, but he ne-

glected to count those who received no medical treatment or who were kill.d

".td hastily buried. some of the bodies of those killed the first day

went unclaimed. In the fetid atmosphere they began to decompose rapidly.

For sanitary reasons, American patrols began loading the corpses on carts

and ferrying them to central locations for rapid interment. Others werc

disposej ofl., -or. expedient fashion. One unit from the New Hampshire plled its cartload ofcorpses atoP creosoted railroad ties and set them afire. ^Ens.

Glenn Howell passed the funeral pyre of five Mexicans, detecting the

unmistakable stench of burning flesh. "It was nor a pleasant sight," he re-

membered. Though forbidden, some of the Americans took photographs of

these public cremations. Others posed with their weapons in the hunter's

position, with their kill lying before them.18

95

Tur Rurcns oF VrnncRuz

-T-he seizure of Veracruz precipitated hemispheric and even internationll

I ;tr;;;i;;_;;;,. A'm"jor Guatemalan newspaper re.ferred to thc

n..rrp",io., as nothing more than an "international incident"' but a Mcxi-

:;;;;;t, .r.,d.r.t".td"bly, called:h: h"9-i:p an "international crimc'" Ilvctr

from the remote p.rrp..tit" of Tokyo' tVilsont decision' which hacl bcen

.ffi.l"lly described by tVashington as a reprisal' looked morc lil<c tlrt'

pr.ria..,i, det.r-i.tatio,, to p""i'h the Mexican people by taking a port i.tt

of their territory.r In Argentina' which vied with ihe Unittd Statcs ftrr lc:rtl-

ership in the Pan-Amer["t"y"ttt', one political review ran a cartoolr show

*g Jr.f"kive uncle Sam demandi.,g of "r, abused Mexican: " 'Salutc rrry

n"'g fif.. i, deserves or I'll take off you, h"t *ith a cannon shot!' " Thc l'c.g,rrc

nil"tirr A-.rican Solidariry hostile to American penetration of t6c trrr'it s,

cleclared: "\wilson h"s con.pired with bandits and allied with traitols ttr

fbment the internal revolution in Mexico.''2

The president ,..forrd.d to these-denunciations of his action in crlrrillly

f-crvent language. L.ri th"r, a week after Admiral Fletcher's blucjaclccts lrrrtl

stepped "rlio.."",

pier 4 on the Veracruz waterfront' \Wilson gavc 1l' cllro'

,iur-r"l"rr.rrrn.nrofhisMexicanpolicytoaSaturdayEuening-l)aslcol'r'c- ;p;;.;,. "My ideal is an orderly and righteous governmcnt in Mcxico"'

,Lid w,ilron, speaking with a f"tt to t"tt'-th"t sinewy cords showctl olr tlrt'

,t.p. .f ftit n..k, "brr, my passion is for the submerged cighty-fivc pcl'ccrrt

,,rt',tr" p".pte of the n.p,,Ltit, who are. now struggling-for libcLty'" Witlr

rhcse words hc brought " .l.n.h.d fist down with such florcc thirt thc blow

sSool< thc d"rL, ,."ttiring its contents' Then' his passio' cx6trustcd' "lrc srtt

6.ck i' his ch^ir a,rd hai'f .losed his eycs. His fi'gcrs laccd ancl i'tc'6tctl' .['hcn

hc l.rcgan to talk, clcarly, simply, with a clarity oFclictiorl' :r sc(ltlcn(('

.,1: rl.,,r,,gl.,t in.l a l'ci.lity nf .*pr.rri,r,'t tl',"t scctnccl cvcll 'llorc rct'rt'lirttrlc

rlrrrn it ,".lly*., *lr.,r.',,,rr1r,rrcrl with thc rntttltliccl sPccclt <lf:rltrttty ol'ottt

st:ltcsnlclt."t

I lrr, ll,rrr,rrr,r W,rr,, Ilrl l(trlt'rs ol Vt't,tr tttz

l',,1v(.r() tlrt.Strrtc l)cprttrtrtcttt) welc rifc tltr'<ltrghtlttt thc city. So the lllllrllle

1i,,..., ,.,,.,.1.,.,f1;hn l.cjcunc (o1c of'Iilrr ltrturc Marinc oorps comfilandants

l)ril (iciprlrirlg ir.r tl.rc vcr.acruz afhir) advanccd to thc sand hills marking thc

,,rb.n ituu,iiarics aud bcyond to thc Pumping stations at E'lTejar and EI

( irrltr>, which proviclcd the city's water supply' Later, after the army took

ovcr in Vctacruz, a guard of 250 marines remained at El Tejar' The Mexi-

cans tricd to frighten them away and cut off the water to the ciry, but the

nrrrrinc.o-*",*1., sent a call for help and soon received a reinforcement of g60 men. After that, the Americans used a biplanc-fitted with pontoons

fbr landing in the harbor-to survey Mexican trooP movements as far as

trvcnty-five miles inland.6 -fh. ,..,o."rion of authoriry in veracruz proceeded in a legally haphaz-

ar.d fashion. Flctchcr had orders to work through Mexican city officials so

that thc United States, to use the State Department's phrascology, might .,indicate to the Mexican people . . . the policy which this Governmcnt clcsires to pursue at Veraciuz."T But F'letcher had to find municipal em-

ployees *iilir-rg to serve; they refused to cooperate with the invaders because

of f.". of reprisal and punishment under the old law prohibiting any Mcxi-

can official from assisting an invader. while canada was jubilantly report-

ing the resumpriorl of noimal urban life (as evidenced in the giving of daily

.Jn..r* in Veracruz's plazas by military bands from the American ships)' Fletcher despaircd of maintaining ordcr. on the morning of April 26,he reluctantly declared martial law.8

Alreacly the Americans in veracruz were indicating by their improvised

rule how they intended to run things. Following Fletcher's decree they be-

gan disarming the civilian population and startcd cleaning the city. \within

i day of his "r"ri,r.l

Ensign Fort.. of th. [Jtahbecame sanitary officer and ad

ho. p.ouort marshal. H-e released the Mexicans imprisoned in the dank cells

of the Municipal Palace, organized them into sanitary brigades, and had

them clean the places of thcir confinement. Lacking authorization to con-

vene courrs-maitial, he dispatched the disheveled Mexicans brought before

him by patrols to sanitary Jetail in the area around thc palace or to picking

,rp th. bodi., of Veracrtiranos still lying in the streets. Foster worked "day

",-,d ,-,ight" and by the third day of the occupation was rcceiving pleas

"from

all oveithe city'to get the strectcars running, the lights turncd on, et cetera

-all in the belief that an ensign in the Unitcd States Nar,y had "unlimitcd

authoriry and manpow.. .o "..o-plish all of the near miracles requested."

Richard Harding Davis, describing Foster's frenetic pace during the early

days of the o..'.rf"tio,1, called him thc "Boy Poo Bah ofVera Cruz," becausc

th. .nrigr-, *", 'gr".tirlg permission to open shops, to move families or to

() r)

lllscr'vlrcrc ilt Mt'xico tlrc lrrntlirrg plccipitrrrcrl violcrrr orr([rur.sts;rg;rirrst AItrct'icatl lcsi(l('l)ts. Irr'lirrrrpir'o tlrc rrriliL:uy g()vcrll()rr iulrici[):lting rrrr inv,r- sion by Arncrican fbrccs, callcd for public resisrancc. on April 2 I , as'ljlctc6cr'.s t.oops wcrc goi'g ashorc, Admiral Mayo withdrew all his vcsscls fro' thc Pdnuco Rivcr i' prcpar:rtion for gctting underway ro vcracruz, lcaving thc American rcsidcnts in Thmpico unprotected. Thc Mcxican crowds that lormed

afrer the gove.ror's decree venred their ragc by throwi'g srones ar the Southcrn Hotcl, at Sanbornt, and at thc Americar-r .or-rrul"t.. M"yo decided to risk an cvacuarion and solicited the aid of officcrs of tltc Dresc{en, a German cruiser, and a British war vesscl. The Americans wcre rhus cvacu- ated from Thmpico with thc assisrance of rwo European ships. Later the rcfugees praised the Dresden'scaptain, who had traincd hi, g,.rn, on th. South- c'r_ Hotel, threatening to fire on the gatheri'g mob if ii co'ti'ucd its as- sault on thc America's huddled i'side. But toward their own governmenr the 2,600Thmpico refugees became quicldy embittcred; th"y*.I persuacled to leave hastily, assuming that Mayo woulcl the' attack the city. ieft virtu- ally dcstitute by their sudden departure, they werc se't by Mayo to Galveston, whcre they werc cluarantincd while thc governor of Tcxas iebated whcrhcr to accept thcm.4

In the Mexicar-r capital crowds of angry Mexica's harassed foreigncrs, not o'ly Americans but Germa' and British reside'ts as well. Mobs troke windows of hotels catcring ro tourists and attacked the American club a'd prominent American-owned businesses. I. desperation the American col- ony organized its own defense force, anticipating cvacuation to vcracruz or, omir"rously, an America' drive from the coast to takc the capital. The British chargi, Sir Lioncl cardc., an old hand in the British diplornatic servicc in ce.tral America bcforc his arrival in revolutiorary Mcxico, bcgan evacuat- ing British citizc's. Most of the carly arrivals fi-om Mexico city iirto veracruz werc British and Gcrrnan nationals, but carden madc an .ifo., ,o arrangc for safc passage for Americans as well. To disrupt the traffic, a Mexican force tore up the track a fcw miles outside veracruz, piled the crcosotcd crossties in huge sracks, and set them ablaze.t

As happcned i' othcr Amcrican rnilitary inrerventions in the carib- bean, thc occupying force operated without precisc insrruction from \7ash- ington. fhc original goal of seizing rhe cusromhouse was quickly modified by the fierce rcsistance of the Mexica's themselv"r, .o th"t Admiral Fletcher, using his "good judgment," shifted his objectivc to securing thc city. The regular Mexican garrison, retired atTejerfa only a few milcs ourcide vcracruz, obviously posed a threat. Lcss than thrce days after the i'itial fighting, ru- mors of a counrerarrack f.om Maass'.s six thousand men (the erti-It. canada

I00 I lrt' ll,rrr,ur,r W,rrr

rnakc llttsiucss trips, to holcl nnrrillgcs ancl lirnclals, ro go ro scl with lislring craft, or to lcavc fbr inland dcstinations."e

Had \iTilson rurned affairs in Mcxico over complcrcly ro his 'cw

cor'- mander in vcracruz, Frederick Funston, America' rroops would havc marchcd on rhe capital. Funston was probably thc army'.s most flarnboyant officer of the prewar generarion. He had advanced in the service through .rt unusual route. Born in Iowa six months after the civil \i/ar ended, hc n.a grown up in Kansas and attended the srate university, where he studied botany. veighing only one hundred pounds and standing five fect, five inches tall, Funston gained a reputation as a scrappy fighter. Hc joincd the Agriculture Department, participated in the famed Death valley expedition of 1891, and navigated a canoe fifteen hundred perilous miles down the Yukon fuvcr. \fhen the cuba'insurrecrion broke out i' 1g95, he volun- tcered for Gen. Miximo G6mez's arrillcry brigadc, served for eighteen months, but deserted the rebel causc after the revolutionary junta rcfused him leave to thc Statcs ro recovcr from his combat injuries. \fhen war crupted between the U'ited States and Spain he sailcd for the philippincs as a vol- unteer under Maj. Gcn. Arthur MacArthur. He distinguished himself in the insurrection that brokc out i' thc Philippines after McKinley proposed an- nexation of thc archipclago and seemcd destined for a regular commission, though a gcneral in thc regular army declared: "Funston is a boss scour- thatt all." Funston madc himself useful once more when, in a brilliantly executcd ruse, hc and six comrades captured the Filipino rebel Emilio Aguinaldo. Thc brazcn act earned him McKinley's praise and his long-sought commission.l0

oncc veracruz became an occupied city, the administration had to de- cide which scrvicc could better carry our the rolc of occupier. In cuba-in thc occtrpations of both 1899-1902 and 1906-1909-the army, reinforced by a brigade of marines, had represented American military authority within the country. Funston had lost out in his ambition to be suprcme military commander in cuba in 1906. since then he had languished in the ranks (though hc had found time to writc his memoirs, Memories of Two wars, published in 1 9 I 0). 'fhe rense Mexican situation in early I 9 l4 iound him a brigadier general commanding an invasion army poised along the Rio Grandc. vhen the president decided to namc him military gwernor in veracruz, secretary of the Navy Daniels asked for retcnrion of Fletcher, ar- guing that Funston was "Rooseveltian in methods . . . fand mayl do some- thing that may precipitare war." Daniels may have had some insight into Funsto't ambitions. Less than a week after he bccame military gou..no., Funston proposed an expedition of seven thousand soldiers and marincs, its

I lrt' littlt'r.' ()l Vll'rr lll/ llll

srrl.,lrlicsl.l.ttletltltttltt.trtlttryt.ltilt.tllt<lll.rt..rrs.tl.,.ttrtltltrctIlrytll..Mt.rit.ttts

'rnrl nttllt'tl rrlollg thc t';t;f' horscs

lrltl tnul':s' Such rr v'tsr tttttltrt'rliirrg'

*l'icl', r,,'-,e *.ptbrit* t'il;f*';had been advocati.g' w.ttl'l

'rtvt:

nrctlllt tl'rc navys tt"'*Otio'l of shore dury in Veracruz' But Fut-tsttltl

wrrs

couvinccd'is pla' was ;i#:;i'; ;;;i T attack on veracruz bv Maass's

:rrrny, duri'g *hith tilt ti;;il;;*;t''.''t""i''g over their rcccut lttt-

rnilirrtiorr"' would lisc up against-the A.merican ottu"pit"'

"Mcrely givc tlrc

ordcr,,, he wrote .."fi;;";fy to rhe adjutanr general' "and leavc thc rcst

ttr

ttt'"ti',.n,,-, a week of the landingVeracruz-

was returning to normal' "1'hings

arc really pr.try q'''ltt "^'"o^'i'-tJ h;t now"' wrote Fred Delano to his nrothcll

"a shot is the excepti;;; th"" only at night' The natives arc prctty rvcll

cowed in some "'pttt'' tU"j ""

btgin']ing'to realize that we arc t'tttt trlrtli-

in* *r. on them PersonallY"'r^' o F u n,, o n, ,.,' i l l,

" ;;;" J; n m c n t, o r m o' :l l i Til :.:';"J: :i :"r:5' i ;

"i

: l i' thc nary on May 2' Vherc possible.'rthe

ctr

cans of, as they *"* ."ii.Jt"1h. offi.i"l reporrs, "natives." But so trlrttry

ol

veracruz,s former municipal bureaucrats ,.i.rr.d to serve that

Fr'lnston ll'rtl

to relv on Army oft"t" io fill civilian posts' By every standard of thc t'lll

::.::i ;; il;il;i;;;;;';'"'' th"' hastilv appoinred ciry btttc'ttt' r rt'

savc a good accountt;iif^.h-.-"iut'- Tht pot''t 1t* t'ustoms

c.llt't tt'r

i*ho hrpp.'''td t" #;t";;'i^tri"ttl' r"' t*"'-'plt' dutifully coutttccl'vcrl'

pcso in hi, pn"t"ioi.ti;;';ot ;"d-ser the -o"ty aside until it w:ts tlt'tt r

i;;;;;',h fund's might properlv be used'11

The Mexican fear of-retaliation once the Americans departcd

rlutl tlrc

understandaUft '"f"*itt t" *"'t for an occupation governmen't

iucrcrtsctl

Funstons burdens. Thus the army major appoi,r,.d 1.

r"3;r"i;; vct'rtclttz''s

public educational ;; t;;ilio""'of th'

"op"ning :f fttt sch.rtls lrtrt

edded lugubri..rt;1;;;'i.* .r the former teachrers .*ld b. Perstrit(lf(l r()

resume thti' d''titt' Ticl" *ft" agreed to teach under the military llovcl

rr

mcnt did so without pay-thc inFerencc being that tl:l *t:t t)ot reirlly

serving tht Y"nktt' if lniy '"ttiucd no salary' Ii the public salcty tlivi'i"rr'

the number of Mexicans employedwas muchhigher; 50 perce.t.of

vclac'trzls

srrccr parrols *"r.';;;;.i .tr"ri.r.i,f potl....n.i' Bu, thcv opr''rirtttl

under scvcrc *r.ri.;;;;",h.y .nuld "r.r.r,'onry civilians ill 'l"r

rrrilir'rry

pcrsonnel. A.d ;.;;;; ,o-lo,r,por, themselves dcFerenrially irt t'c

'r(\ encc of r.rniFo,-tj'AJ*it"n''

"The 'spig' policemcn have to salttte "ttl

officers,,, on. -"rin. ,tationed i.v.r"..rrr"nior,.d, "and they canllot rllI('sl

:rn enlisted -"l1 f";;;';;;r. pirr, n. ir'[r;cl not allowed to ancl sccott'l

he is not able to'"15

l0'2 I ltt, ll,ttt,rtt,r W,rrs

MilitaLy govcnrnlcnts can oftcn cxhibit patclnalistic or cvcll puritlnicxl tcrnpcramcnts. lVood's rcgimc in Cuba had had such a rcputarion, ancl thc second Cuban occuparion of 1906 had demonstratcd a puritanical dcrncanor, though it was dulled considerably by Magoon's vapiditics. Most who ob- served Funstont proconsuls In \,/s1as1u2-even the staunchest critics of American intervention in the Caribbean in thi5 s1x-\Msre impressed with the labors of the occupation government and, above all, its patent fairness. One who visited the city during these days and went away with a favorable judgment was Jack London. To London, Veracruz was an unkempt mesrizo hovel that the Americans were desperately trying to clean up. The occupiers ("white-skinned fighting men who know how to rule as well as fight") brought decency and order to rhe ciry. City streets were now "quiet and seemly." The military government had weeded our the "rifF-raff" and the "able-bodied loafers." At one inferior court established by the Americans, London ob- served a "blonde lawgiver," a .45 automatic strapped to his waist, dispens- ing justice in several cases simultaneously-1e an accused thiel an Indian woman charged with public drunkenness, and a brothel q\Mns1-[sf6re pro- ceeding with a stern warning to a hotel keeper about "unclean premises" and a sermon to another man on the subject of wife beating. The Mexicans hauled before this military solon were raucous and garrulous, but the Ameri- can lawgiver remained patienr and certain in his dury.16

In the spirit of municipal reform, American rule emphasized public order and, manifestly, honesry in public office. Graft was endemic in Vera- cruz, but the Americans strived to pur a srop to official malfeasance. Sub- orning of policemen and judges virtually ended. Stolen goods were now recovered; before the occupation, it was said, one could find stolen property only at the petry bazaars around town. The police could no longer be bribed, and citizens arrested for some violation of ordinance left the courrs dumb- struck over not having ro pay for their freedom. The provost courts tried criminal cases (there were rwo murders in the city during the seven-month occupation) and, because it was presumed the decrees of civil courts could be voided after the Americans left, heard civil disputes as well. Virtually every imaginable civil conresr made its way into the provost courts; six thou- sand rent-dispute cases clogged the legal channels created by the American proconsuls.lT

OccasionallyAmerican regulations clashed with local custom. The mili- tary government prohibited the "so-called sport" of bullfighting, punishing violators with a thousand-peso fine and six monrhs' imprisonment ar hard labor. \When July 4 approached, however, the judge advocate consented to a request from a group of enthusiastic promorers who wanted to celebrate the

I lrt' littlt'r's ol Vt't,tt tttz I0:|

Arrrcr.icrrn lnclcpcnclcncc Day with a bullfight. IIc agrcccl, pr'ovitlc.l tlrc

Mcxicrrr.rs.mpl,ry.d amateur matadors. Funston placardcd thc city wirlr sigrls

'r.6ibiti.g rpirii.,g in public places and warnings against durnpi'g gil'l)il!.:'('

irr the strcets.ls '['hc proconsuls pointed ro sanitary measures as the hallmafl< ofttlrcil'

,,,1", .,]d ,ightly so. Veracruz had a rePutation as one of the filthicst o{:irrtct'

rrrrio'al pJ.,r,'"rrd the task of sanitizing its streets and public 'laccs

w,rs

,r,.,1. -or. difficult by the influx of some 15,000 refugees frorn thc. rcvolrt

,i,,,.,"ry rorment in the .ountryside and the_political disconte nt iu thc c:rPi-

r,,1. -I-h. number of prostitutes rose to such an alarming numbcl th:rt tlrt'

,,..upi.r, were compelled to institute strict regulations for thc oPclrlti()ll ()l'

lr.rr.lcllos, medical examinations for venereal disease, and' using 'rD oltl

Mcxican law, registration of prostitutes with the police' Finding thc lrottscs

in thc old distrilt dilapidatei and unhealthful, Funston creatcd l rrcw tlis trict where prostitutio; was tolerated in Veracruz's suburbs'le

T-o w.ek. after Funston became military governor the Dcpat'trrrcnt ol'

l)Lrblic \(/orks, responsible for municipal sanitation, proudly altnottttt ctl ";l

carefully pla.,n.d .a^paign against dirt and rubbish." Teams of itrslrct tots

visited each house, *"r.riig tlie occupants about new penalties ftrr tttl. l,'.trr

premises and improper disposal of gerbage' The department b:g1l its srrrri

i."ry."_p"igr, *irh $to,oob in hastily appropriated funds. \With this rrrrrrcy

it l",r,..h.d "n

enthusiastic effort to rid the ciry of disease and filth. I{cst;ttt

rants (whose menus theretofore had offered "chicken cooked iu its owrr

,noi.t';; and public buildings were now required to install flytraps a'cl tlis

pore of g"rbage in sealed.".-nr. Er.rrt,rally, such measures were extcr.rclctl to

priu",. ,".rid.I...' Veracruz was woefully short of garbag€ cans'^so t6c cli.ct'

tor of public health requisitioned 2,500 cans from the united Statcs, whiclr

*.r. iirp.n.ed to V.ra.ruzanos at two dollars each' The zopilotes paicl thc ultimate compliment to the sanitary campaign; finding nothing to

sctvcllg('

on the streets or along the wharves, they abandoned the ciry'

All this *", i-pi.rrive, yet the American occupiers seemed to clcny their Mexican subjeits personal dignity. Martin Luis Guzmdn in his

classic

account of the revolu tion, The Eagte and the Serpent' remembered thc jtrtlg-

ment of an aged Veracruzano:

This military occupation is a preview of what may happen on a large r

scale.Fromthematerialstandpoint,theNorthAmericanshavemade'or' pretendtomake,certaincontributio'-ts'certainunimportantextern-alim- prou.-.rr,r. For instance, they have screened the market place and

mcat

markettodoawaywiththeflies.Itisnotmuch.Butspiritually.....Ib

105 Thc Rulers oi Veracruz

1O4 The Banana Wars

unclerstand what this means spiritually-leaving out the basic factor of

the humiliatio"-"i;;" h"t to do i'ub"'ut *h"t happe's wbe' one of

the officers u. soldic's of the invasion dismounts at the door oFa store or

bar; thc bystanders nght fclt the honor ofholding the horses.bridle' and

for the tip. tWhen the "officer

or solclier comcs out' he gcts on his horsc and

throws the lackeY a coin'20

'fhe taking of Veracruz had little immediate effect on Huerta's grip on the

Mexican presidency. Ui' f"p"f"tity' which had steadily declined through-

out the prcceding y."t, tti*ttl to t""l"tt noticeably as the American mili-

,".y f"r,i*a i., ft"oia on the cou.try's second-most-importa.t city' Expecting

Huertas political "".;;;; p'"i"-o' at least to acquiesce in-his bold

stroke, \Tilson receivcd a blow that was as damaging to.his r.csolve as the

newsofcasualtiesofApril2l.ViththeexceptionofPanchoVilla,thcrcvo- Iutio'ary chicFtains .J"j.-".a the Unitei States. Bryan sent

a personal

irsscsslnent justilying A'tt"'it"" policy to Carrattza' but the first chief of thc

Constitutionalists was irnpl"t"blt' In reply he denounced Huertas crimes

"r-rd,h.r-rdenouncccltheAmcricangovernmentforitsinvasionofMexican soil. Onc of C"r.".,,J "idt' "'ggtst"ed

a' appeal to the American people to

avoid an "unjust war" against Mexico'21

Taken aback by th.'h..,-,irpheric criticism of the landing, 'wilson wel-

comedanoPportunitytodemonstratethathcwasrrotwagingwaragaitrst ,h. Vt.ti."r-, i.opl.. Fb"' tl"y' aftcr the first troops

we nt ashore at Veracruz'

representativ., of a'gtJn"lrt'"'it' an<l Chile (the ABC powers) proposed

mecliation of th. di,i'"t' Y/ilson cagerly accepted; under Pressure from the

Britishchargd,Huertaagreedtoapeace.,o"ft'".'tt'ButCarranzareacted suspiciously; *h.,l ,ht i-"di"to" asked him to suspend hostilities

during

thenegotiations,he."ll.d.h.requestaninconveniencearrdcontirruedthe struggle against Huerta'

The confere,t.t L["t' on May 20 at Niagara Falls' Canada' choscn af-

ter Huerta insisted on ""

ntutt"l site ' From thre beginning session until thc

final mecting more than a month later' the mediators tried vainly to grapplc

with a lengthening li" of i"t"'' not only the seizurc of a Mcxican city by

American for.., b.r, the struggle still going on in Mexico' Thc Unitccl Statcs

declared that its ".rio,-r ",

V.r?r.r, ,..-t.d ,rlti-"t.ly on the rights and cltrtics

of states .r,-r.1., i.rt.rr',ational law; Hucrtis call for atr armisticc' thc Statc

l)cpartmc.t ^"r""n.;:I,;as sttpcrflttotts bccrrttsc l)o wllr 6.cl bce rl tleclrrrctl'

()rrt[rcntggirrg.,ul.,l..,.,ftlu.,t".rctirctrrctltlr.tllrlptllitics'whiclrwilstlrr lr,rtl rrrcl..virrtir.rgly 1i'.rrr,,"rl sirrcc ltis.rvtt i.:rtr1',ttt',r1,

rlrc c.rrli'tt'cs lr'ttl tt'

,rrr,.rr,l rvitlr rlrt.,,i,,',,r, itrrrtr.v.rlrlt'lirrt..l ( ':ttt'tttz't' rvllt"lt''l'rlt'tl tlr'rl

hc would neither negotiate peace with the dictator nor permit an election

in

which Huerta o, urr..ot followers participared. on the qucstion of Ameri-

can evacuatio., orv.r"lr"r, wiLr." .,."jf".tly refused ro compromise' In

the cnd, as John Li"d i;J;ttaittta itt April ('The mediation willdrag on

for weeks without ,.."i;i:;;;1o,1fe....^"djourned with little to show for

their labors. Thcy declared that Mexicans must dccide on the issue of a

Mexican provisional got""'-ttt' but' once installed' it would be recog-

niz-ccl by the United States'22

In thc final pttt;i;ithe Niagara Falls conference' the Americ:rn del-

cgate added " di,.l"i-t' ito- n'yan that nothing in the document'consti-

tuted diplomatic recognirio" of H''"""'.gout"-"rr-t'-"' a parting insult to the

Mcxican leader\filsoil;ili;pracabri opposed. The conference did not

cncl the Veracruz ";;;;;"' ""tht agcgout"l-"nt' had naivcly prc-

sumecl they might ".ffiiirh, nor did it reroncile Huerta and carrauz.a.

'l'he latter, importuncd by \Wilson to negotiate with thc dictator' rcfusccl

ancl awaited Huertis resignation' That came' finally' on July 15'23

\When th. Ni"g"o Fill' to"ft""cc held its final sessions' Veracrttz' wrts

baking under the i00d%;;t days of summer that annually drove thc city's

rvcalthier families i,-,ro hiin.r.o.r.,.ry. Amcrican rule had settled into clft'rrIy

routine. The marine brigade' now commanded by a burly imperialist o{'tlrc

brrnana *"rr. Li,,l.,orr'it;11., Tazcwcll \waller-each name reprcscntirrli 'r

{rrrcoldVirginiafamily-campeditrcanvastentsstakedolltolltlrclrillsrlrr th.'outskirts of ,o*n'-?ht -"i'lt' cursed the sand

morc than Mcxicrtttt (}t

cvcn the temPerature, because it got into everycrevice cllbldf ."ti{

clothirrli'

occasionally "

aif"pia"..i lorryfrequisitio,r"d locally in thc i'itial tl.ys 'l

occupation, "U.S' M;;;;tto'p'1' t''''dtly painted on its sidc' pttttcretl 'rl'rrt1"

tlrccity,snarrow,.,*.EvcnFunstoo,'.,,u"llyfreneticpaccslllcl<crrctlirr Vcr.lcruz_,s summer -;;;;,h;rgh the military governor

pcrioclicllly slrt"'li

t'c political ,.""" *],il1;i;;;."" of th. .,ul.rous jor.tr'r'rlists wlr. lr:rtl

t;rlicu to writing t'i*"ff/()inmerican rule' Mostly' as Jack l'otrtlott soott

rt':rlizecl, military ,();tt;;;' in Veracruz had becomc boring' l;rctl I )t'lrrrr< I'

rvlttlwrotcirrsightfullcttersaboutoccupatiolllifc'rctairrcclhisllrirlrirr Arttericau ;r.t.,''t"li'it'^;it-" p"opte.of

Vera Cruz rcalizc tllrlt Ircv('t lrt'l.r''

lr.rv.' tltcy bccu so *tii gt""'""I a'''d "tt bittcrly opp.sccl to otrr lt''rvirr1"

( .rtr't s:ty I blan're thcm.''14 vcracr.uz. ,_,,", ,]i.*, havc bccn so

,,rrbly govcrnccl,".but irs lcsitlt'rrts w( l('

rr0t ..lrittcr.ly

<11-rposccl" to Amct'ic:ttr cvltcttrrti<ltt' As thc stll)ll)l('I W()l('()ll'

Wils.' li.rscll'{i'lt ,ri*.',:t,,f 'lcsstrrcs

lirr withclrarvi'g 6is tr..'s {i..r lvlt xi

,.rrrs.,il. llttt't trtr",,*tl."tt lit""tl""ut"trrtl htrtl tlcPtrltt'tl.tlrc(()rllltly'('rttl'ttlz't

rrrl,.,l ,,t,rv, [.,rrr lrt. ,,,ir,.,,,...f l,y',1..,,..,., r..lirsirrli i,, lr.,l.l tlr,'cl,''. ti.rrs Wils.rr

&

106 The Banana Wars

advocated. Carranza argued that Villa andZapata, who defied him as they had Huerta, must first be dealt with before Mexicans enjoyed the demo- cratic luxury of voting for new leaders. Until then, the first chief of thc Constitutionalist army intended to rule as he had for a year-without Amcri- can dictation. He desperately needed Veracruz's revenue, and he pressed for American evacuation of the port, but the wily old chicftain also realized that \Wilsont reason for holding the city had vanished with Huertis downfall. On Septembcr 16, the day of national independcnce. Carranza got an oral commitment of American intcntion to withdraw from Vcracruz.25

The Americans fought for thrcc days to take Veracruz; they would re- quire two months to evacuate it. One cxplanation lay in the predictablc bureaucratic delays that even a small military opcration can entail. Funston could easily give an order and have seven thousand men packed and ready for transport ships in a few days. But he had potentially troublesome mat- ters to be settled. The first was the burge<lning population of refugecs, many of them former Huertista officers, who had been streaming into thc city ever since the American takeover. Some had arrived virtually destitute; oth- ers had brought script that purchased nothing locally. Some were fearful of reprisal and began booking passage on steamers for Cuba, Spain, and thc United Statcs. In mid-October Funston estimated that two thousand had departed since the public learned of the impending evacuation three weeks before.

Funston had a special concern for the Catholic pricsts who had fled the anticlerical fervor of the rcvolution and also for the Mexicans who had served thc occupation government. Though Carranza was pressed to give assur- ance there would be no retaliation against public officials who had worked for the Americans at Veracruz, he refused. Funston drew up a list of 297 Mexicans, most of them employees of the military government, who asked for evacuation. The military governor suggested a temporary sojourn in the United States and return to Mexico when animosities againsr Mcxi- can employecs of the military government subsided.26

Carranza rcmained silent on the subject of reprisals, and \7ilson, cclually adamant, delayed in ordcring the evacuation. tWhen the American cmissary delivered the conditions for withdrawal-no retaliation against Mcxicans who worked for the occupation government, no demaucls for prrytncut t<r Mexico from revenue rcccivcd at Veracruz by Amcricar.r authoritics, ancl crcation of tribur-rals to administcr justicc to thosc still chargccl witlr clinrcs cltrling tl-rc occtrl-lation--(l:rrlrnz:r in trrrtr sctrt tltc rlctttlutcls to tlrt'spccirrl corrvcntionofrrcvoltrtion;rlicstrtcctittglrtAlitrlrsclrlit'rrtcs.'l'lrt'Antcticrtttcott- tlitiorrs {irlrvitlrtlllrv,rl, Irc tol.l tlrt'rlt'lt'1irrtcs, w('r('nl;l(t('rs;rlli'rtirr1,, tlrt"'sov

The Rulers of Veracruz

creignty of Mexico" and could readily be settled by its governmcnr, l)ur il

imposed by the United States, they "constituted an outrage." Capittrlation

to thc United States insulted national honor.27 But the revolurionary delegates, persuaded by the presencc of villrrls

andZapatdsagents, turncd against Carranzaand named anothcr gcucl'rtl ,ts

their leader. Carcanzawas furious; he called his representatives back to thc

capital and declared war on his rivals. Once again Mexico was plut.rgct{ intrr

fratricidal violence. The Constitutionalists, outclassed by the armics of- t hc

convention, retreated, forcing Carranza to flee the capital. Assailccl by tlr.'

other revolutionary chieftains, he decided to accept tiTilson's rcclttilctrtt'ttts

for evacuation, though Carranza's capitulation was cleverly framccl so lts t()

appear to be a response to petitions by leading veracruzanos. on Novt'nr bcr 10 the State Department announced that American trooPs wottl,l l.',rv,'

Vcracruz in ten days.28 The final order for evacuation required Funston to leavc Ve I'rtclrtz rvitlr

all mot-reys in the city's coffers, including customs duties and trlxcs, lt'tttttls

and accounts, and an inventory of goods stored in the custotns wrll('lr()rr\(.

fhough instructed to avoid "any arrangements with . . . Mexican lcl)r('s('rrl

arives . . . that could make ir secm that you are recognizing thc t.ililrr ,,1 Carranza to jurisdiction over the city," Funston had already mct inlirrrrr,rllt'

on November 18 with a correspondent of Isidro Fabela, Carrauz.rts s('( r'( l.rry

of foreign relations, and confirmed the date of evacuation.2') The evacuation was carried out without incident on Novcmbcl' 2.1. St'vt rr

thousand American troops marched through the strects dowl-t ttl thc pit rs,

rvent aboard the huge rransporr vessels that had docked thc nighr lrt'lirr,,

and by 2:00 l.l,r. were gone from Mexican soil. Already Constittrtiorr:rlist rroops of Gen. cdndido Aguilar were moving into the city.'fhcrc wcr c rr l<'rv

random shots in celebration; otherwise, the retreating irnd tlte tlovly,,,.rt pying armies acted with admirable comPosure.

\Within ashort timeVeracruz reverted to its prc-occupatiolt hltrits. li ilt cly and graft reappeared in public affairs, and thc city's rcsiclcnts bt'grttr t, '" irrg thcir garbagc into the srrcets. Thc sanitary brigaclc clissolvctl rvlt,'rr tlr.'

Arrrcricatrs departed aud, in timc, the zopi/otes rctttrtlccl.t0 -l-hc

tcnsion in Mcxican-Americirn afflrirs still dicl not rtbrttt', ltorvtvt't. ( lrrt t anz.l, dlive n out of Mcxico City, took up official rcsitlctrt t' itt Vt t.tt t ttz

rvhilc Zapata and Villa occtrpiccl thc capital. As thc civil rvrrr rrrtictl .rrr' Wil

s()r) olcc nrorc grcw irlitatcrl lvith his fitcti<ltrs rtcighltols, rttttl itt stllrllll( l l,)15, lirlkxvirrgllo{iy, lrrc'sirk'ntirrl rlccl,rlltiorrthrtt Mt'xit.rnssllottl,l st'ttl.'

,,rr'rl,':rtlt.r',r'un)()rsol :rrrotlrct ittlttvt'rt(iotttilcttllttt'tl itrtlrt'Arrlt'tit,rrr lrlili t,rry t.st.rIrlisllnt(.n1.'l Wil,,,,r' ,,,trlitttt.tl trt plollt'l .ritl to (.,ttt,ttlz,t, ,ttr.l

8"

10B The Banana Wars

Carranza haughtily refused it. His generals, notably Alvaro Obreg6n, sub- jected Villa to defeat after defeat. In October, after a collective statement from the ABC powers and several smaller Latin American governments, the United States recognized Carcanza as president of Mexico. Enraged, Villa began his murderous assaults on American lives and soil, which culminated

in the bloody raid on Columbus, New Mexico, and the chase of Villa by

John J. Pershing's punitive expedition into Mexico. Memories of the Tampico affair and the Veracruz intervention soon

faded in American recollection of the history of the banana wars, but among Mexicans the bitterness generated by the seven-month occupation of the nation's major port ran deep for several generations. The American military, whose marines and bluejackets had dramatically affected the course of Nica-

raguan politics only a few years before, had not achieved a similar goal in Mexico. There it was restrained by a determined president who remained almost self-righteously convinced that forceful persuasion was a morally preferable policy to full-scale intervention. Closely supervised by its civilian commander throughout the crisis with Mexico, the military could not carry out its plans for a drive into the interior and the ultimate occupation of the Mexican capital.

This distinction has of course made little difference to Mexicans who persist in excoriating \Wilson "the moral statesman" for the "immorality'' of his Mexican policy. Condemned by Roosevelt for not being tough enough, \filson, despite his sometimes blind stupidity in dealing with Mexico, at least understood the lamentable consequences of his secretary of wart rec- ommendation for a drive on the Mexican capital. Mexico was riven by civil conflict and fratricidal war, but \Tilson realized that an American invasion would have turned the warring Mexicans against the United States and plunged the two countries into a second Mexican-American war.32 In Nica- ragua, full-scale intervention, urged as much by the civilians as by the mili- tary, had apparently worked because, among other things, the United States created a pro-American element, not because it had taught the Nicaraguans to "elect good men." But in Mexico it found no one-certainly not the crusty old Carranza-willing to play the role of lackey. Carranza may not have fulfilled the social goals of the revolution, but he kept the gringos out of Mexico City.

ill

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