Imperial Valley press., 1914-10-24

SClJuIlOnaliSC army dcCoHlpstiiieu Wy
innumerable confiscations of property
and by Imprisonment of political op
ronents; then Villas outbreak of hos
i tilities against Carranza, and final
! ly the declaration of the Aguas Cali
entes conference of it's sovereignty
and assumption of the powers and
functions of the Chamber of Deputies
coupled with Carranza's refsual to re-
sign and his counter declaration that
by virtue of his authority as first.
chief he possessed the veto power over
the acts of the generals-this sue
cession of stirring events has rapidly
dissipated the hope for the immediate
establishment of peace and real
constitutional government in the re-
public.
1t has gone even farther than that.
1t has forced from all classes in the
capital, Mexicans as well as forcing
crs, the frank acknowledgment that
Unless the United States comes to the
rescue the country cannot fail to go
from bad to worse, if not finally to
complete chaos. None is so blind in
Mexico now that he does not see LOOM
ing ZIP behind him and his fellow
countrymen the spectre of military
oligarchy. 1t was foreshadowed in the
continued quarrels between the mill
tary and civilian delegates to the gell-
eral convention during the sessions
held here in the capital. The recent
declaration of sovereignty by the
| Aguas Calientes convention has
brought the issue squarely into the
open.
A former member of the Chamber
of Deputies during the Madero ad-
ministration, Lie Hibereto Barron,
boldly voiced today in the columns of
Ell Liberal, the government organ, the
following warming:
"We find ourselves almost on the
eve Of the birth of a military oil
garchy which assumes to impose its
dictates on the nation by the force
Of the bayonet. Can junta of gen.
erals invoked by it's first chief de-
clare itself sovereign and pretend to
exercise the acts of national SOW
ereignty without the authority OBJ
tanned by an election-on the author
ity conferred only by itself?
"Can the generals who form the
so-called convention refuse to recog-
nize the authority of the chief who
called them together and pretend to
dictate orders to him?
"Can the generals of the Consti-
tutionalist army refuse to recognize
the authority of the chief they them
selves have appointed and to oppose
which at the beginning Of the revo-
luton each Of them solemnly pledged
the plan of Guadalupe, TO support
himself on his honor as soldier?"
Critical situations have appeared
with alarming frequency in Mexico
City during recent days, despite the
reassuring statement from the state
department at Washington.
And to add to the troubles of Mex
leo City the irrepressible hordes Of
Zapata have within the week swarmed
around the beautiful suburbs of Tacu-
baya, Xochimilco, San Angel, Ajusco
and Coyocan, raiding them daily and
terrorizing the residents by indiscrim-
mate shooting.
There is the further fear that Ia
pata, who is reported to have at least
10000 or 10000 armed men, has at
last made up his mind to raid the
capital. How dependable the garri-
son Of the capital would prove is
questionable. Already the troops of
the garrison are disorganized by fire.
Guen5 combats among themselves. AL
most nightly in the outlying parts of
the city fusillades are exchanged be-
tween the cuartels, the bullets flying
dangerously near the homes Of Amer
leans and other foreigners.
All news Of such conditions in Mex
leo City-and for that matter the
chaos that prevails elsewhere in the
republics squelched as far as pos
sible by the state department in Wash
ington, cooperating valiantly with the
various authorities in Mexico.
Through the establishment of bu-
reau of information within the de.
partment of communications, Carran-
"a has put rigid ban on the publi-
cation of all news of the real situa-
tion save such highly favorable ver-
sions as emanate from this bureau
or from the Constitutionalist head
quarters.
All dispatches intended for the
American press must be submitted to
the bureau Of information. If the
dispatch be favorable to the govern
ment here it is promptly marked
"a a II 70