The Nicaragua Incident.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 30, 1912:
    The influence of the presence of American marines in Nicaragua is restoring a semblance of order. The revolution goes on, and will continue until it is determined whether President Diaz and his adherents or Gen. Mena and his followers shall control the Custom House and other sources of revenue. If the Senate had not suppressed the treaty with Nicaragua which would have given over to a representative of the United States supervision of the customs receipts Mena would never have headed a revolution against the Government. The object of all Latin-American revolutionists is to get hold of the nation's finances.
    Perfectly sound treaties were offered to the Senate by President Taft and Secretary Knox under which both Honduras and Nicaragua would have been enabled to refund their debts, and by which their legally elected Governments would have been strongly protected from insurrections fomented in the United States or elsewhere. The Senate rejected or suppressed the treaties because "Wall Street interests" were supposed to be behind them. But no Senator has suggested a better plan of restoring peace to the afflicted Central American States.
    President Taft's sudden withdrawal of his order for the transfer of the Tenth Infantry to Nicaragua is justified by the latest news from the seat of war. The marines serve every purpose at present. If the troops of the regular army had gone there it might have seemed more like "intervention." It may yet be necessary to send them. But what can the President do when American lives and property are endangered in a little country which cannot protect its own people? With the Panama Canal nearly ready for business, a state of disorder and lawlessness exists from our Southern boundary almost to the border of the waterway. We must have, before long, a sane and definite policy in regard to our relations with our nearest Latin-American neighbors.