Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-28
FEARS FOR SAFETY
Of HIS PARENTS
MASON CITY MAN WORRIED
ABOUT WELFARE OF FATHER
AND MOTHER IN MEXICO.
NO REULY TO DISPATCH
Last Letter Received Told of Taking
of Torreon by Villa; Lived in
Basement of Office
For Time.

mason City, April 27.----GeOrge b.
Richards, Connected with the Hawkeye
Cement Tile company here, is greatly
concerned over the welfare of his
father and mother, residents of Co
mez Palico, in the state of Durango,
Mexico. Mr. Richards father is own
er OF large cotton seed oil plant
which is situated in that city.
telegram sent from here four
days ago has not been answered and
1t is Mr.. Richards opinion that wire
connections with Gomez Palico and
the United States border which are
over 600 miles apart, have been cut by
rebel forces which have been in con-
troll of that region of Mexico
The last letter received from Mr..
Richards parents tells of the battle
of Torreon, which is but the distance
of few miles from their home The
letter in part follows:
Gomez, Palico, Durango, Mex,
April 8, 1914.
Mr.. George B. Richards, Mason City,
Iowa:
Il am writing this letter to let you
know that we are all well. Kindly
write to your sisters and notify them
that you have heard from us to that
effect
we have just gone through the
bloodiest battle ever known in Mexi- |
co. Our factory still stands as it was,
but during the battle, about eighty
shells from the heavy artillery fell
about the plant.
Il am sending you few copies of
the Ell Paso, Tex, Times, giving full
details of the battle. For fifteen days
we were in the basement of our office,
cooking and eating in the same place. /
With us were fifty-three others. Bust
ness is practically as standstill, as
we can get no coal to carry on things
with, and there is no shipping at all.
Fears For Safety.
Mr.. Richards fear for his parents
safety lies in the great anti-American
feeling that has arisen in Mexico and
the fact that the rebel forces have
Joined hands with those of Huerta
The city of Gomez Palico is situated
half way between the United States
border and the City of Mexico and in
the very hottest part of the country
Twenty-Five hundred men are en-
ployed in Mr.. Richards factory.
Among this number were formerly a !
of Americans, although these
have all fled to the United Safes. Mr. |
Richards says he would rather have
his parents be in the rebel zone than !,
to be under the ruling of Huertas /
forces if there had been no interior .
ence by this country, although he says
that at this time he does not know
what to expect.
1t is Mr. Richards opinion that
Villa would have taken Mexico City
within few months and that within
a year and half at the most the fight
ing would have been completely over
and the government restored, although
he agrees with the move on the part
of the United States in intervening {
"The trouble with the American
people regarding Mexico said Mr..
is that the people of this
country do not know their neighbors.
They go to Europe and all over the
world to see odd sights, when all they
have to do is to cross the border to
the south of them to see some of the
queerest people in the world.
Formerly the country was held to
peacetulness by religion although
since the war has started there have
been several dozen priests murdered
and they have practically no regard
for religion. The people of Mexico
were peaceful before the war, although
they were very treacherous. It Is my
opinion that the real cause for the
start of the upheaval in Mexico is the
fact that the wealthy people of the
country made the poor people pay all
the taxes" /
Mr. Richards has spent six years Of
his life in Mexico, knows the habits
of the Mexicans perfectly and has met
both Villa and Huerta, leaders of the
two forces in Mexico, who have Joined
hands to fight the United States.