Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-25
RESISTS EXTRADlTlON
BACK TO OLD MEXICO
REVOLUTIONIST is HELD IN
SAN ANTONIO JAIL
Ines Ruiz, One of the Most Notable
Figures in the Cara Rebellion
of 1892, Sought by
Dlaz

Ines Ruiz, one of the most notable
figures in the Cara revolt of 1892, will
make a determined resistance against
extradition his fight having been taken
up by Anderson and Beldon and the
Political Refugee Defense league. Seen
in the Bexar county Jail at San Anto-
Mo, Tex, yesterday, Ruiz spoke with
quiet confidence of his ability to prove
himself a political offender against the
Mexican government and therefore not
liable to extradition. Taller than most
Mexicans, broad-shouldered and erect
in carriage in spite of his 63 years, MS
brown hair barely touched with gray,
this patriot Mexican, who has been
more than two years confined In TWO
of the most horrible Mexican prisons,
Belen and Mier, looked the part of his
fearless bravery.
The charges brought by the Mexican
government through Counsel Ornelas
assert that Ruiz was one of the leaders
in the attack on the little town of st.
Ignacio, state of Tamaulipas< Decem-
Der 10, 1892, when a lieutenant of Cata-
rino Garza's Benavides, captured that
place after a bloody struggle with the
Dlaz soldiery.
Extradtion Ordered
Commissioner L. f. Price (since dead)
ordered Ruiz extradition after he was
f. st arrested in the United States, but
on habeas corpus proceedings in the
district court at San Antonio, Judge
Maxey decided that he should be re-
leased on the ground that the prisoners
offense was purely political and there
fore not extraditable. Appealing from
this decision to the supreme court of
the United States, the Mexican govern
na q n Il
Maxeys decision. chief Justice Fuller
delivering the opinion that "such court
(Maxey's) is not to inquire whether the
legal evidence of facts before the COM
missioner was sufficient or insufficient
to warrant his conclusion"
Deprived of all opportunity to prove
the political nature of his acts Ruiz
was hurried across the border to Mex
leo, and after serving more than ten
years. was released and returned again
to this country, where he has been
working quietly on a ranch In Frio
county for four years Why he has
been rearrested on the charge of being
an escaped prisoner the man is unable
to comprehend.
Now comes a most extraordinary part
of Ruiz case: On applying to the
deputy clerk of the federal court in San
Antonio for the documents in the case
as 1t appeared before Judge Maxey
May 6, 1896, careful search failed to
find any of the papers which would
show the evidence on which Judge
Maxey had decided that Ines Ruiz
should go free, his acts against the
Mexican government being purely po-
litical.
Papers MysteriousIy Lost
Deputy Federal Clerk A. l. Campbell
was tireless in hunting through all the
to- 1t -is,RR
which might throw any light on the
lost papers. That these documents had
once been in the possession of the fed
eral clerks office the index proved, and
as there is a rule of procedure which
calls for the clerks taking a receipt
for every separate piece of written or
printed matter taken from his custody
this vital loss is the more mysterious
1t should be said in Justice to Mr.
Campbell that he has held office only
for something over three years; others
were in the office much longer than he
and the papers might have disappeared
years ago. But from any point of view
1t cannot be denied that the loss of the
evidence on which Judge Maxey was
able to declare the prisoner guiltless
is invaluable to the ends sought by
the Mexican government and is ter
rible blow to the imprisoned man.
Still another remarkable turn has
been given to Ruiz fight for liberty
and life; the evidence first offered by
the Mexican government lawyers and
filed with Commissioner Scott showed
| that the Mexican court had not made
| final decision in it's trial of Ruiz and
| that therefore the entire facts as to
the prisoners acts committed in the
Garza revolution might be considered
| by Commissioner Scott when Ruiz
comes before him for trial. Since the
| first filing of this evidence the Mexican
| lawyers have withdrawn the papers;
! for what purpose is not known.
Aside from all legal technicalities, 1t
must be plain to the American public
| that President Diaz wants Ruiz for
| acts committed as one of the Garza
revolutionists of 1892. and that If Ruiz
| can be taken back to Mexico on such
extradition proceedings the lives OF
| hundreds of other Mexicans in the
United States will not be worth a rush.