The copper era and Morenci leader. [volume] (Clifton, Ariz.) 1911-1929, 1914-06-19
Ranking Officers of Army Summoned
to Meeting at Torreon to Decide Up
on Future of Mighty Fighting Force.

The long predicted and often de
MED discord between General Venus
tiano Carranza and General francisco
Villa has finally reached a crisis.
General Villa yesterday seized the
railroad between Torreon and Juarez
and called a meeting of the important
officers of his army to convene at
Torreon at once for the purpose of de-
Gliding upon the future participation of
the Villa army in the present revolt
in Mexico.
The coupe de etat was accomplish
ed with the quiet effectiveness for
which General Villa has become not
ed
The first intimation that Villa had
thrown down the gauntlet to the man
to whom he has so many times pro
fessed allegiance reached Juarez yes
terday afternoon.
Coup Comes Without Warning.
While the members of the bureau
of information and the offices and
employees of the telegraph service
were quietly attending to their duties
in the offices at the custom house
across the river, General Tomas Or
nelas, jefe de las armas of Juarez, ac-
companied by number of the mem
,bers of his staff entered the place and
of General Villa
Senor de la Tore and H. Perez Alb
reu, both known to be adherants of
Carranza and their Staffs in charge of
the telegraph and information depart
ments, were not moleSted but were
allowed to continue their duties un-
der instructions that everything that
passed through their hands must be
vized by personal representatives of
General Villa.
Almost simultaneously, it is under
stood, similar scenes were enacted at
all stations along the line of the
costitutionaliSt railroad between Juar-
-ez and Torreon, with the result that
the railroad and telegraph passed in
to possession of Villa without a shot
being fired
From Torreon came the word that
five days ago Villa had presented his
resignation to General Carranza, with
the demand that it be accepted at
once.
Thunderbolt to Carranza.
TIE resignation came to Carranza as
a bolt from the blue. Hastily arrang-
ing for a through wire to Torreon, he
got into communication with General
Villa, urging him to reconsider the
action and Offering any terms to the
man who is credited with almost
every important victory gaiI ed by
the armies which acknowledged Car
rama as chief.
The appeals fell upon deaf ears and
the conference ended in a disagree
ment. Since that time, Carranza ad-
herants in control of the telegraph
lines have allowed only such infor-
nation as met with the approval of
their censors to com cover the wires
The fact of the resignation of Villa
was carefully suppressed, and small
accounts of unimportant battles and
around Zacatecas were
about the only dispatches available
for the newspapers and the press as
sociations.
Attempts to Replace Villa.
Meanwhile Carranza, convinced that
the break with Villa was final, was
making desperate efforts to find a
new commander to whom the power
full army organized by General Villa
would yield obedience. Orders were
sent to Torreon for the generals of
brigade and the generals of division
to meet and select a man to sue
ceed to the command of the army of
the north.
These orders we're scorned. The
men who had fought with Villa would
yield obedience to no other man.
Villa was their jefe, and Villa they
would obey. Carranza they recogniz-
ed so long as he was recognized by
Villa After that their allegiance
ceased.
Council of War Called.
Following the seizure of the rail-
road yesterday General Villa issued
orders for all garrison commanders
to assemble at Torreon for a confer
ence. AT this meeting, it is under
f11f1 Af
army will be decided upon.
Last night representatives of Gen
eral Villa were not only in possession !,
Of the information bureau, the railway
and the telegraph lines, but the treas I
1ry department and the customs
house had been seized.
At the treasury office, some thirty !
young men and. women were employ
ed, and these were not molested, but !
continued their duties as usual AL /
Oerto Poni, an aVowed adhereant of |
Carranza, who was in charge of the /
office, was not arrested, but passed
back and forth between Juarez and
El Paso several times during the /
night. He declined to make any
comment on the occurrences of the
afternoon. 1t was Senor Poni who re-
Gently acted as intermediary at Juar-
ez in the recent telegraphic confer
ence between General Carranza and
he A. B. C. mediators at Niagara
Falls.
Juarez officials to a man and regard
ess of faction, likewise refused to |,
on the seizure of the Off !.
;es. Manuel Bonilla, legal adviser
# Colonel Bonillas, and who is credit
ID with being staunch Villa man,
Ienied all knowledge of the affair.
Il left Juarez at 5 O'Clock, before