The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-06-30
AN OPTIMISTIC AMERICAN
DOESN'T BELIEVE THE MEIICAHS COULD HOLD OUT AGAINST
OUR ARMIES MORE THAN NINETY DAYS

Washington, June 20.-Txe1-y-
five thousand Americans could cap
ea-e Gex:co,s chief places n sixty
days and q Ike number o. United
States so.d.e-s could hold that conn
try, : he opinion OF an American
who has lived twenty-five years near
me west coast Of our tumQI-uous
neighoor- He IS q civil engineer by
training. Bat now farmer He
writes 10 friend ss follows:
am sill. On the ground. bur
ready a. moments notice 20 take
% the 'oagh' # canot get % my
farm On the coast
When the aIexican authorities
we're sending a train north, April %.
AM picking up all foreigners en-
route. /. not wishing TO leave, hay-
Ing 100 much 70 look out for. dec.d-
81 % remain. so when the evening
train vas expected I made myself
scarce No. did not have that
cot bel cached in some convenient
care.
slept On the rocks that night, q
short time anyway. Most OF the night
/ spent trying % find the softest
place. witch / finally decided vas ny
own body. The next day my COM
pan:oa AMI | liked Il five miles fur
Their ap into the hills, well loa led
with pack. guns and canteens, no
small job.
That night re slept beside big
boulder a. the base OF a mountain
The next morning re climbed well
up he mountain and built a fort
re had water forty minutes away,
but had % 60 for i. only every two
days.
We we're n a spot where no one
would think OF looking for us and a
place where any twenty men would
have found Il job % have taken us
alive, We had provisions for a week
and / knew that If the dance were
on we could safely return before
that time
We returned the next day as /
received a wireless that the difficult
~ was up for mediation.
May /. three torpedo boats de-
stroyers slid into the bay and sent
word 10 all Americans 20 get out.
| decided % get back 10 my old place,
but M companion thought he pre-
ferrei going hayward and my friends
and family brought such pressure 10
bear on me that ! went 10 my farm,
where | considered myself safe, as |
had three other Americans as COM
panions and We were all on the
main line OF regular travel and could
get next 10 the Yankee blue jacket
when he came. in a three hours
hike.
May 4, / was back here and at
work. Your clippings are interest
ing, especially the article by CASH
miro Rendo. You can Judge how true
the whole story is from the fact that
the fellow is not, nor ever has been,
governor OF Sinaloa.
The Mex;cans are STEPPED in the
old style diplomacy; deceit, in other
words. You have noticed for several
years. just such articles appearing
from time TO time. They, fearing in
tervention, have tried TO hide their
own weakness by conveying TO the
American mind that Intervention
would be an Herculean job. and that
Z would take an army of 1000, 600
men ten years and millions OF dollars
counting the enormous loss Of life
Now, our psuedo governor indi-
Gates that Intervention will find Mex
leo provided with nearly 900. 900
defenders: that the combined armies
now muster about 10000 men;
that these million men are drill
ing every day and have been for
months. that they are all fully arm
ed. nave plenty OF ammunition and
most are fairly good shots; that the
two contending factions will unite:
that resident Americans would be
butchered II caught in the country;
that the coast would be taken, but
that the Mexican 70 q man. woman
and child. would wage a war in the
11aYv, tvs Lo-
Now. let US look over these state
ments and confront each assertion
with facts:
iHuerta has made use OF every
man he can lay hands on, even by
force. and cannot put an army of
10000 men in the field at any one
place He probably has all told and