Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-05-03
NINE ARTILLERY PIECES
BROUGHT OUT AT NIGHT
United States Asks Protection for
Citizens at Cuernavaca.
DEMAND MADE BY GERMANY
Foreign Office Has Taken No Action
in Corral Incident-Govern-
ment Abandons Half of
Country.
BY Stephen Bonsal

By Stephen Bonsal.
81 oprright. 1911. hv tho New York Times Or
MENlCo, MAY 3.-We have suddenly
awakened 10 the fact that We are living
in beleaguered city. Every night Al )
o clock the nine pieces OF field artillery
which Diaz still possesses are iinbered
up and brought in from the Tacubaya
artillery barracks To take up their pos
tions in platoons commanding the roads
entering the city from Cuernavaoa anu
the south
Every night the slender. ove-workei
garrison of the capital. instead Of airn
ing in when night comes. Imps through
the dusty streets and takes up positions
around little charcoal fires in supporting
distances OF the guns.
The Cuernavaca tragedy has had at
least one advantage. 1t has cleared the
air and we that today the govern
ment of Gen. DiaZ. in its military aspect
al least. simply rests upon score OF so
of disconnected garrisons. which, while
pretending to be actively engaged in put
ting down the revolution, are really only
acting on the defensive, with more or less
success.
The Governor of Cuernavaca has not
returned to his post. and while by many
WAYS news has reached the ministry OF
war; the embassies and the legations.
showing how badly menaced Is this capi
tai. the state Of Morelos being only TWEEN
ty-five miles the crow flies from Mex
leo City, not a soldier or gun has been
sent to its relief.
Wants Citizens Protected.
large number of German citizens
are in Cuernavaca. or have taken refuge
there from the surrounding country.
Aal gV
ting news of their unfortunate plight
to the German charge d'affaires. DR..
Rhomberg, the German Representative.
immediat tely put himself In communica-
tion with Ambassador Wilson and att
erward went personally to the foreign
office. where he put in the hands of
Senior de la Barra formal protest
against the desertion OF his people BY
the authorities. DR. Rhomberg de
manded protection for the endangered
German subjects and their property.
and requested immediate information
as to what steps the government would
take to secure this end.
Senior de la Barra promised to send a
messenger over the mountains asking
the acting governor of Cuernavaca to
do his best for the Germans. DR..
Rhomberg then left the foreign office
saying he hoped that Senor de la. Barra
would, before evening, put in his hands
such assurances would enable him
to cable his government that every
thing was being done to protect the
Germans.
Amba ssador Wilson sent Mr. Deering
first secretary of the American embassy.
to the foreign Office with a note setting
forth very clearly the Information, whi h
had been received at the embassy. dem
onstrating the danger which Americans
shut up in Cuernavaca now run. The
dispatch concludes by asking the foreign
office to inform the embassy, at the earli-
est possible moment, what steps the Mex
ican government has taken or proposes
to take to defend American lives and In
terestS
No Answer to Notes.
At : o'clock last night no answer to
these notes had been received al the Ger
man or the American embassy. As a mat
ter OF fact, the Mexican government has
taken no steps to reinforce the garrison
and does not intend to take any. The
railroad has been absolutely abandoned
and the rolling stock and all the movable
property OF the road is being brought
inside The city.
Cuernavaca should be very easily de-
Tended and if the three hundred federal
soldiers composing the garrison remain
loyal. owing 10 the natural strength Of
the little mountain town. fortified and in
trenched by nature. they should hold il
against any number or advancing insur-
gents without artillery However the
morale of these troops Is said to be poor
and the soldiers are reported, in informa
ton that has reached neutral legations
here, as going through the town shouting
that they see no reason why they should
be killed TO save the neck OF the jete
politico.
Nothing has been heard regarding the
fate of the unfortunate American engi-
neer. Hardy and his fireman. The GOV
ernment has done nothing 10 shed light
on the matter. and has pointed. probably
correctly. that il would be foolhardN tpr
his American comrades 10 start out To
rescue the party, aS they had proposed
doing.
The foreign office has made no move in
the Corral incident. All the NEWSPAPERS
here, with the exception Of FL impartial.
publish Corrals personal denial 81 ms
Interview at Santander. but the foreign
office has not aS yet conveyed 20 our en-
bassy either CorraIs formal disclaimer II
anv such has been made. nor. as II was re-
quested to do by Ambassador Wilson in
his note has il expressed dissent from
the views that the vice president was
ported to have proclaimed upon his ar
rival in Spain.
Think Statement Was Made.
Here of course every one believes that
Corral did make the statement, and that
he made IL in such public way that
1t will he difficult for him TO impeach
the good faith of the Diario and
correspondents who met him.
Ell Diario publishes Corral's personal but
not official denial, while FL impartial re-
mains absolutely silent on the subject,
and. though 1t is the government organ.
IT is reported as being determined 20
stand BIZ it's unfortunat correspondent
whom in other quarters 1t is proposed
to sacrifice The foreign Office says moth
ing. but after recent experiences it IS
too much to expect that the incident Will
he gracefully closed as il could be with
q little good will and sincerity
II is clear that the Diaz government
NO. entirely of its own free will. has
PRACTICALLY abandoned more than half the
country and that In many other sections
IL is not able to hold its own, much less
enforce law and order.
am informed In this connection that
Gov Lerdo of Sinaloa has left ms posi-
md is endeayoring to reach the capital by