Since we arrived here we have learned
that the American people do not want war,
and especially the working people.
-Carlos Lovera
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Hellraisers Journal, Wednesday August 16, 1916
From The Masses: Robert Minor on Mexico and American Politics
From the International Socialist Review:
In this months Review, George P. West reports on a meeting held recently at the headquarters of the American Federation of Labor between American and Mexican labor leaders. Yesterday we presented part one of the article by West and today we conclude with part two.
FACE TO FACE
By George P. West
[Part II]After answering many questions from the newspaper men, the Mexican delegation, through Mr. Lovera, questioned the correspondents.
[He asked:]
Why is it that there is such a difference between the feeling of the American people and the way the American press expresses itself? We all see that the American people do not want war, yet the press talks as if the people wanted war. Pictures of Villa and Carranza shaking hands and saying: “Now we’ll clean up the gringoes.” Is that the way to keep peace? We know that Villa is dead or has left the country. Carranza would not accept his services. The Carranza army shoots every Villa bandit they can catch.
When Carranza ordered the release of the prisoners, the papers said: “Carranza backs down.” They should have told the truth, that Carranza realized it would not be justice to keep prisoners when war had not been declared.
Will you adjust your conduct to the feeling of the American people? We know that the American press is more powerful than that of any other country. We know the great power of the press. You might say that you lead public opinion. They don’t do that in Mexico. We tell our people that the American people don’t want war, but there is no one to say that in America.
War means crushing our revolution. It means crushing our ideals. It means the occupation of Mexico after a little struggle.
Lovera was interrupted here by Colonel Martinez.
[He said:]
I don’t agree with you. It would not be so easy as that. We are united. The women and children will fight. It would be a long struggle.
Why should the United States make war on us? Villa’s army is gone. He is dead or has left the country. His last stroke was to start trouble between the United States and Mexico. The American people ought to be more lenient. The Mexicans are doing all they can. How long did it take you to capture the James boys? Yet our land is different from Missouri and Kansas. It is mountainous and thinly settled and there are many wild places.
Lovera said:
We think the real bandits are in Wall street. To catch them the United States would have to send a punitive expedition to New York. We hear talk about going to Mexico and helping them, paying the Mexican laborers real money. You can pay real money to labor without going to Mexico. Why don’t the Americans start here? How about Colorado?
The American people are very good and very kind and very civilized. We saw them in Mexico whipping the people and doing things such as were not done since the Spanish inquisition.
Our aim is not to do away with the Americans, but to get the rights of free speech and free assemblage, the right to strike, a free press, and also to get rid of the big ranches. For many years they have been taking the land away from the people, so that the people had to work in the mines and big plantations and mills for a few cents a day or starve. We want to change that.
All of the Mexican delegation now in Washington are men of intelligence and ability, and of influence in Mexico. They have a fine feeling of brotherhood with the workers of every country, and are filled with zeal for the upbuilding of a great Mexican labor movement that can form part of a Pan-American Federation of Labor.
After leaving Washington, Lovera and Pages will go to Central and South America to further cooperation between the labor movements of every American country.—From Committee on Industrial Relations.
[Emphasis added.]
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SOURCE
The International Socialist Review, Volume 17
-ed by Algie Martin Simons, Charles H. Kerr
Charles H. Kerr & Company,
July 1916-June 1917
https://books.google.com/books?id=SVRIAAAAYAAJ
ISR Aug 1916
https://books.google.com/books/reader?id=SVRIAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb&pg=GBS.PA69
“Face to Face” by George P West
https://books.google.com/books/reader?id=SVRIAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&source=gbs_atb&pg=GBS.PA100
IMAGE
Masses, Dems Rpbs Hang Mexico, Robert Minor, Aug 1916
http://dlib.nyu.edu/themasses/books/masses064/24-25
See also:
“Hellraisers Journal: From the International Socialist Review: “Marching Through Mexico” by J. K. Turner”
http://caucus99percent.com/content/hellraisers-journal-international-socialist-review-marching-through-mexico-j-k-turner
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Internationale in Spanish