The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-07
NO CAMP PERMITTED
BRITISH PURCHASING STATIONS N
LOUISIANA ARE, NOT MILL
TARY HEADQUARTERS
OFFICERS ARE BUYING MULES
Packers Shipped to South Africa
Are Sometimes Compelled to En-
list After They Are IN
the Interior.

E. S. Marchand, of Algiers, La, was in
st. Paul yesterday on his way from Seat
tie to New York, from which place he
will sail for Europe shortly. Mr.. Marchand
is in the cotton business and says the
outlook for the crop this coming year
is good, although it is too soon to be able
to make any definite calculate ms.
Mr. Ma chand says there is a great deal
of Misrepresentation concerning the ship
ment of horses and mules for South AT
RIGA. He is opposed to allowing the Brit
ish to purchase supplies which might
be properly considered to be contrabanE
of war in the United States, but he az
firms that there is no such thing as an
English military camp in the state Of
Louisiana.
"The people of Louisiana would not
allow an English camp in the state even
if the federal government would not in
terfere There is no question that the
men experimenting the sale and shipment
of horses and mules are English army
officers. Everybody believes this to be
the case, but they are never seen with
their uniform on. They go about their
business as any horse dealer might, al
though there IS no question as to their
identity or the purpose for which the
horses and mules are being bought
'It is, however, commonly believed that
the men who go over on the boats with
the mules are in a manner forced to enlist
in the English army and compelled to
fight against the Beers. This fact is gen.
orally known, and 1 do not think that
there are any who take the job of caring
for the mules on the transports who do
not know just what to expect.
Are Forced to Enlist.
There are a great many mule packers
in the South and Southwest who go to
fri II
be employed with the army pack trains,
but I understand that wnen they arrive
they are taken up into the interior and
given the option of taking a gun and
fighting or subsisting on their own re-
sources. This practically amounts to
compulsory recruiting, for the nature of
the country and the conditions that pre-
vail make it almost impossible for a man
to live that is not connected with either
army.
when the first shipments of mules were
made this was not known, and a large
number of men were entrappe6. so to
speak, into the British army. The people
of Louisiana as a rule are greatly OPP
posed to the whole affair and are anxious
to have it stopped. OF course, there are
the Interested parties who are dealing
in horses, mules and forage, and are
making a lot of money out of it. These
naturally want to see all the mules and
horses bought, as they get good prices
for them Gov Heard is anxious to have
the traffic stopped, and 1 think he will
do all in his power to accomplish this.
Many of the best informed men of the
state feel that it is an affair for the fed
eraI government to look into and 1 think
that the present agitation will bring about
a definite understanding.
Neutrality Laws Are Complex.
that the ordinary human being has a
very small conception of, and while
nearly every body in the South is opposed
to allowing the British government to
| purchase its horses and mules in the
United States to help them fight the
Beers, those who can definitely say
whether their dealings are violations of
the law are few.
"N hen l left the South over a month
ago there was considerable feeling about
the matter, although it cannot be denied
that it has helped to raise the prices
of horses and mules, and some men. in
the South have grown rich. | have fire.
quentIy heard 1t said that the one sure
way to help the Beers was to let the
English army buy all the mules it wants
to. and that sooner or later the country
would be bankrupt. l have heard it
stated, and presumably on good author
ity that every mule laid down at Cape
Town costs the English government $500
At that rate, when one stops to think
of the number of mules that have been
bought since the war started it will be
seen that there is something plausible
in this view of the case. However, the
people Of the United States can rest as
sured that if the federal government de-
cided that the sale of mules and horses
at Chalmette is in violation OF the neu-
trality laws, the state officers will soon
put an end to it,.