tin-American doctrine to the British
Foreign Office, with results that appear in his letters of this period.

_To the President_

6 Grosvenor Square, London,
Friday night, October 24, 1913.

DEAR MR. PRESIDENT:

In this wretched Mexican business, about which I have read columns
and columns and columns of comment these two days and turned every
conceivable proposition back and forth in my mind--in this whole
wretched waste of comment, I have not seen even an allusion to any
moral principle involved nor a word of concern about the Mexican
people. It is all about who is the stronger, Huerta or some other
bandit, and about the necessity of order for the sake of financial
interests. Nobody recalls our action in giving Cuba to the Cubans
or our pledge to the people of the Philippine Islands. But there is
reference to the influence of Standard Oil in the American policy.
This illustrates the complete divorce of European politics from
fundamental morals, and it shocks even a man who before knew of
this divorce.

In my last talk with Sir Edward Grey I drove this home by
emphasizing strongly the impossibility of your playing primary heed
to any American business interest in Mexico--even the immorality of
your doing so; there are many things that come before business and
there are some things that come before order. I used American
business interests because I couldn't speak openly of British
business interests and his Government. I am sure he saw the obvious
inference. But not even from him came a word about the moral
foundation of government or about the welfare of the Mexican
people. These are not in the European governing vocabulary.

I have been trying to find a way to help this Government to wake up
to the effect of its pro-Huerta position and to give them a chance
to refrain from repeating that mistake--and to save their faces;
and I have telegraphed one plan to Mr. Bryan to-day. I think they
ought now to be forced to show their hand without the possibility
of evasion. They will not risk losing our good-will--if it seem
wise to you to put them to a square test.

It's a wretched business, and the sordid level of European
statecraft is sad.

I ran across the Prime Minister at the royal wedding reception[34]
the other day.

"Wha