Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-07-01

VINO Is canQlQate IOr the pTeSiueiiCy
Of the republic, appears to be a man OF
some strength ana sfirmness, and thai
his election might be q good thing fol-
the country.
Absoiute Lawlessness.
But even then, he said, 1t would be
an almost impossible task for any
president In the near future to put
down the conditions of absolute law
lessness which exist in the republic
This condition is not matter Of any
cne section Of the country, but the
as many as six or seven revolutions
going on at once.
Probably the most interesting Of Mr
Wells descriptions Of affairs In Mex
leo was that Of the revolutions and
bandit exploits. He said the first thing
Americans should get fixed in their
mind Is the size Of a Mexican rebel
army" These armies contain any
thing from fifty to five hundred men
Seldom more than five hundred are
collected and the average revolution
ary expedition contains about three
hundred men, including the large
number Of officers. The principal aim
and object of every revolution (by this
term is not meant the general move
ment, but the uprisings that one hears
Of as occurring in the various states
and provinces all the ftime) is money.
And the revolution is a very well
managed affair. W M
It starts with a conference Of from
two to ten generals and four to TWEEN
ty colonels who have gathered in some
mountain. fastness. They may be call
ed, professional" revolutionists. They
hold these councils Of war and then
select some undefended town as the
place for operations. They next collect
a. band of "amateurs," as they may be
called for the occasion. getting them
from the laboring class. When two
or three hundred have been gathered
and armed, generally with weapons
secured from the United States bor-
der, they are made into an army" and
the advance Is made. & g S
Soldiers Prompt to Loot. &.
% A town is entered and, II no resist
snce is made, the soldiers disperse and
set about their task Of looting. Some
times a few citizens grow indignant
and put up defence. When they are
overpowercd they are brtchered, their
women desecrated and tEeir children
dashed to the ground and killed. - Phe
field marshals, generals, colonies and
other officers Of the army have gath
cred in the public square and have in
vited the wealthy citizens to gather
with them, the invitations being by
force. The men supposed to have
money are seated on cases Of dyna-
mite II these are to be had, fuses are
attached and they are informed that
they have been assessed such and
such an amount for the sacred cause
of liberty. If the money Is not forth
coming they are to be blown to places
where they will not have need for lib-
erty. Meanwhile the soldiers are loot
ing the village and taking whatever
they like. AS soon as the work Is over
the army departs, the laborers return
to their work and the generals and
colonels HE them to the mountains to
plan another business trip. At times
the man in charge Of gang Of labor
ers will miss a number Of men from
the gang for several days and when
they return each will have a different
excuse for his absence. The probability
Is that they have been fighting for lib
erty and loot.
The bandits work in the same man.
ner as the leaders of these small up
risings.
When asked why the Federal SOL
diers do not pursue the ringleaders into
their hiding places and capture them,
he said there were two reasons. One
Is that their hiding places are rather
hard to find, and the other that the
Federal officers in many cases do not
care especially about finding them. 1t
is all right to meet up with gang Of
bandits and have a skirmish which Is
reported in the papers in the United
States as a battle" but then If they
capture and kill the chief bandits
there will be no more money to be
made out Of the profession Of being
Federal soldier.
Graft in Federal Army.
It appears that graft runs riot in
the Federal army. Mr.. Wells told
Of a conversation that a friend Of his
had with a Federal cavalry captain
who was somewhat in his cups at the
time and was giving away condolences.
This officer said he greatly preferred
detached duty to duty with a regi-
ment, as he made more money when
his company was on the detached
duty. When with the regiment, he
said, part of the supply money had to
go through the hands of the general
and another part through the hands
of the colonel and when it got to him
there was not much to take. But when
he was on detached duty he got all
that was to be got out Of the money
assigned to his company. He proceed
ed to details.
In the first place, he said. he carried
number of dummies on his roster
and received the pay supposed to be
for them. He got so cents day for
feeding each horse in his command. In
the company, including the mounts
and the pack animals there were a
large number of horses. He pocketed
this money and plundered the country
he passed through for his horses feed.
He was given a certain amount each
day for food for the men. He kept as
much Of this as he could and fed his
men on the country.
So that being an officer in the Fed
eral army can be made into a really
profitable business, especially IL one is
| fortunate enough to get detached
| dutv which penerally means tn he sent