The Mena weekly star., 1913-09-04
ANOTHER VIEW OF
 MEXICAN TROUBLE
Former Arkansas Woman Resents President Wilson's Orders to Leave That COuntry-Felix
 DiaZ Strong.

Little Rock, Sept. 2.-"American citizens in Mexico resent the orders that have been given by the gov ernment at Washington to leave that country. We are getting along all right down there, if they will only leave us alone"
 This is the declaration of Mrs. J. E. Lockhart, formerly Miss Kittie Matthews, daughter of w. D. Mat thews, for years edltor of the State Republican, now a resident of Mem phis. Mrs. Lockhart arrived Satur- day from her home near Chihuahua and is visiting her sister, Mrs. T. w. Kirkwood at Twenty second and Summit. She will leave for Mem phis Wednesday, and does not know how long she will stay in the states.
 The story that Mrs. Lockhart tells of war-ridden Mexico is diff ferent from that related by many of the refugees. For five years they have been living at the Guggenheim smeters, six miles from Chihuahua, Mr. Lockhart being assistant su- perintendent there. Under normal conditions it is only an eight-hour ride by rail to Fl Paso, but this trip required five days and five nights, under military escort. The train did not run at night Very little evi- dence of the rebels, or Constitution alists, was seen along the road, eX- cept at one place, where fifteen or twenty new-made graves attested a recent battle, and that several bridges were burned along the route. Train service is very uncer- tain. For two months last summer no trains ran from Fl Paso to Chi huahua and now they are attempt ing to run only every fifteen days.
 We have no complaint to make whatever" said Mrs Lockhart, and bitterly resent being driven away from our homes. We have never been troubled by either Fed erals or Constitutionalists, in fact, we have been treated lovely by them. If it were not for the inter- ruption of the railway and mail service we would hardly know there is war on.
 But the Americans never talk politics. They leave that for the Mexicans. All that the Americans ask is that they be let alone. But it would be calamitous should the United States intervene Then the Federals and the Constitutionalists would unite against the invaders, and the American colonists would be the first to suffer. Of course, the United States would win in the end, but thousands of innocent lives would be sacrificed. We do not want intervention-there has been no occasion for intervention.
 There are only two classes of Mexicans-the peons, or poor class, and the wealthy class. The armies are recruited chiefly from the peons and the small hacienda own CTS, and so long as they are paid two pesos day. even in depreciat- ed Mexican silver, they do not care whom they fight. The Mexican sol- dier is a vacillating patriot, who may be with Huerta today, with Carranza tomorrow and rebelling by himself the next day So far they have not demonstrated much ability at self-government, but that should not concern the United States. Let them work out their own problems.
 q see that Felix Diaz has an nounced that he is a candidate for the presidency in October. It will be difficult to hold an election with the country in such state of re- bellion, but Diaz will have strong following. The people of Mexico still think great deal of the name, and it appears to me that the old General Porfirio Diaz, who ruled with an iron hand so many years, had the secret of the proper way of controlling those people. Tyrannic rule is the only way to manage them"