St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1911-03-11

Denial of Any Intention to
Interfere With Mexico.
Government Makes No Ex-
planation Of Action.

Washington, March THE most
war vessels ever executed in this
country in time of peace is now
under way, by order of the Presi-
dent, as commander in chief of the
army and navy, the objective being
the country north Of the Mex' al
boundary and the waters of the two
oceans at either end of it.
Twenty thousand soldiers, more
than one-fourth of the army of the
United States, Of all arms of service,
are moving toward the Mexican
border; four armed cruisers, COM
rrising the fifth division of the At
lantic feet, have been ordered from
northern waters TO the naval station
at Guantanamo, Cbua, and most Of
the Pacific feet is, or shortly will be.
on it's assmble at San Pedro, Cal,
and 200 marines are preparing to
make the Guantanamo station their
temporary headquarters.
1t was officially announced at the
White House and at the War and
Navy departments to-day that the
purposes of this mobilization, unpre-
cedented save in war times, is the
training of officers and men under
service conditions and practice in CO.
operation between land and naval
forces Unusual pains were taken
by all officially concerned in the mat
ter to give. this color to the sudden
activities; but these statements were
accompanied by increasing reserve.
There have been important joint
maneuvers during the last few years,
but they have been planned far in
advance and carried out without
ripple of excitement or even of
evidence of interest, at the White
House. To-day the executive offices
were stepped with mystery, and the
entire morning was given over to
conferences with officers of the War
and Navy departments. This atmos-
phere of mystery, and the Jealous
efforts to minimize the Importance
of the business, lent curious signi-
ficance to the fact that Gen. Leonard
Wood, chief of staff of the army,
in an effort to elude interviewers,
slipped out of one of the rear Win
dows of the Presidents office and
beat a retreat through the secluded
portions of the White House grounds
to a rear entrance of the War De-
parment.
THE PROBABLE REASON.
The real significance of these &C
tiyities, which have been confined
apparently to the last forty-eight
hours or less, is thought to relate
directly to the conditions in Mexico,
and to the growing belief that the
situation there Is by no means salts
factory as the Mexican government
would have it believed to be.
There are persistent rumors that
the physical condition of President
Diaz has lately become such as to
alarm his adherents, and that mo-
mentous developments are to be pre-
pared for.
One open report here to-day was
that the Pearson syndicate, heavily
interested in enterprises in Northern
Mexico, had appealed to the British
government for adequate protection
of themselves and other foreign in
terests in preparation for the chaotic
conditions which would almost Ger
tainly follow any serious loss OF pres
tige, to say nothing of the COLLAPSE
of the Diaz government. 1t was salt
that the British ambassador hat
taken up the question with the State
Department here, with suggestion
that unless the United States tool
Immediate steps to exhibit its dlspo
sition and ability to protect foreigl
interests in Mexico, the European
governments, more particularly Grea
Britain and Germany, would be com
PEELED to do SO. OF course, no dlrec
confirmation of this report was OF
hIr
marial activity gave 1t color.
Ambassador de La Barra, OF tn
republic of Mexico, who has been
New York, returned to Washingto
tonight to fulfill social engagement
and returned at midnight to Ne
York He professed ignorance 2
to the meaning of the mobilizatlo
of American troops and knoWledg
of any change in the internal cond
tions of Mexico. AS for the healt
of President Diaz, he insisted tht
nothing in the personal or offici'
communications of the President ii
dictated anything but his usual sati
factory condition of health. Nor
over, he stated that apart from oth'
sporadic disorders connected with tt
revolt in isolated parts of Mexit
the situation was normal.
It was said that one reason II
the return of Ambassador de l
Barra to New York tonight was
meet there tomorrow Senor Lima
tour, the Mexican Minister to Franc
who arrived tonight from Franc
WILSON is RETICENT.
Henry Lane Wilson, the ambass
dor to Mexico, has been in the Unit
States for about ten days and le
for Charlottesville, Ind, to visit b
mother, who is i'll. He has talk
more or less about genera conc
tions in Mexico, but on the subje
Of most interest at this juncture h
been dumb to interyiewers. AS
what he may have told his superio