El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-03
HAS An ARMY
NUMBERING
$4,000
Rurales Fine Body of Fight
ers and Loyal to the Gov
eminent.
ARMY AND NAVAL
EQUIPMENT MODERN

Mexico City. Mex. Dec. 3.-The Next
can army, now in the limelight as the
result of the insurrectionary disturb
ances. is force capable Of crushing
any ordinary outbreak. Disloyalty on
the part of at least a portion of the
army would be necessary to make any
tnsurrectiOn movement in Mexico a sue
cess.
In the 90 years that Porfirio Diaz
has been enforcing peace in Mexico he
has been preparing for war. In the
promotion of railroad construction. the
encouragement of agriculture, mining
and manufacturing the establishment
OF schools and the Improvement of har-
bOrs. the question OF national defence
has not been forgotten Starting with
the disorganized troops that placed him
in power in 1876, and those that op-
posed them, he has built up an army
of $4,000 men-an army well fed, well
clothed, well equipped and well Off
cered Crediting the county with
population of 15.O00,O0O Mexico now
has a soldier TO every $50 inhabitants.
At the present time the armed men
OF Mexico are not confined to the regu-
lar army In fact, those constantly
carrying arms and possessing knowl
edge of military organization and dis
cipline, outside the army, almost equal
in number the. regular troops. They
form what is known as the first army
reserve, and include state police Or
CARNATIONS. the rurales and the fiscal
guards. in all over 10000 men,
The Picturesque RuraIes.
The rurales Of Mexico constitute one
of the worlds most picturesque cavalry
bodies. 7 ney are splendid horsemen,
expert in the use of the carbine and
pistol. and are the best paid fighting
men IN the service Of the Mexican gov
eminent. They number $500. The ru-
rales are under tne supervision of the
interior department, and patrol the
more inaccessible highways and
mountain trails in many sec
tions of the republic. The fiscal guards.
numbering 1000 mounted men, are con-
nected with the customs houses of the
country. The police Of the various
states are divided into infantry and
cavalry forces. and are. armed, respec-
lively. with rifles and with carbines
and sabers. Their arms are far in
ferior TO those of the regular army.
The present military law Of Mexico,
which was promulgated in 1900 for
the reorganization of the army, speci-
flies that a second army reserve shall
be formed by militia organized by the
various states of the union. However,
up to this time, not a single Mexican
of militia organization. For the
equipment of an additional fighting
force the Mexican government has now
In the national arsenal here rifles, car
bines and sabres sufficient for an army
of 100000 men
Modelled on German and French Armies /
Germany and France nave supplied |
the models for Mexico in the construc- ]
ton of its standing army Mexican Of |
ficorS hate SPTVaG attaches To Cor /
man and French staffs. and the knowl- /
edge they have gained has been ussd !
to advantage in this republic. The !
lessons in tactics taught the Mexican /
soldiers are translations, to a great |
extent. of those studied by the soldiers /
of Germany Some of the Mexican /
army regulations correspond to those /
OF Spain and others have been borrowed /
from Germany and France
In Mexico, mlIitary service is obliga- |
tory, a law making 1t so having been |
published in 1898. However, the fact |
has no significance 10 the w-abiding /
der Of Mexico is the Mexican of the !
lower class. In the majority of cases I
his enlistment is not voluntary and is
the result of a misdemeanOr- There are
but few volunteers in the army Of
Mexico. and the peace officers supply
the ma jority Of the men enlisted. When
soldiers are needed they are taken from
the ranks Of those who persist in break
ing police regulations, either by in
or the commission of minor
criminal offences The term of enlist
ment is five years. and the human
frequently resulting is
one of the really commendable features
Of the Mexican army. The men leave