South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-06-06
Villas Soldiers Don't Like
Fighting But They Must
Fight to Attain Ideal.
BY FRED l.. BOALT.

Staff Special
TAMPICO, Mexico. June 6.-Ter-
rible fellows are these rebels. Blood
thirsty and relentless bandits. Yet
went among them at the old Quartet,
they gave me food. When night
came they gave me a blanket. And
in the morning 1 joined with them
in entertaining two pink-cheeked
and bashful sailor boys who had
strayed from the Dutch man-o'-war
in the river.
We drank their black coffee-the
Dutch boys and land smoked their
cigarettes beneath a sign which said:
"Fumar Probe"
l gave them the English transla
tion, Smoking Forbidden" and they
managed il very we'll But when the
Dutch boys gave them "Rooken Vor-
boden." their tongues twisted and
they roared with boisterous laughter
over their failure.
Then they posed for the camera,
and It was a pleasant game. They
seemed more like amiable children
than bandits-children playing at
war, with real rifles and with belts
heavy with real cartridges for toys.
This though, is a mistaken impress
sion. They are neither bandits nor
children, but real men, awake and
pursuing an ideal.
BY and by there came to us a man
from the north. He had been a cow
boy in Texas, and he spoke English.
Lean and worn and very old he was,
but agile as any boy.
I'VE do not like this fighting" he
told me. 1--WE are tired of it. But
we must go on and on fighting, un-
til Mexico belongs to the Mexicans.
'I am a cattleman. senior, but most
OF these men about you are farm la
borers. We are not Spaniards, but
Mexicans, and many of us are full
blooded Indians.
I'VE want the land-the land which
was our fathers and which was
taken from them. But what chance
have we when only a few hold all
the land, when estates run into the
millions Of acres and when an Amer
lean, English. Spanish or German
land owner counts himself poor il his
estate is less than $4,000 acres?
you have been told, senior, that
we fight because 1T is an easy life.
giving opportunities TO rob. That is
a lie!
I'VE knew when we enlisted in the
constitutionalist army that this was
not like the revolutions that have
gone before. We knew we were en-
listing TO fight TO get back the land.
so that each man OF us might have
his little farm, 10 own il and work
II. so that his wife and children
might have good food and good
clothes and an education.
We'll, senior, after we had taken
Torreon, our chief. Gen. Caranza,
gave US some OF the land we had
taken. You cannot know how glad
we were. II seemed TO us that this
was the fulfllment of our dream.
I'VE could not wait. We built lit
tie homes. and very soon the green
things were springing from the good
ground that had been waste.
The time came to move on, and
we did not want TO go. II looked
for a little while that the constitu-
tionalist army would fall TO pieces.
so anxious we're we 70 have farms
and homes Of our own. We were
tired OF fighting.
''But our chief explained 10 US
through our officers. that the time of
peace had not yet come 10 Mexico.
Though we had land. there were mil
lions OF other MeXicans to the south
who had none So. when we under
stood this. we left our farms. though
IL was hard. senior. and took up again
the southwark march.
We'll we have taken Tampico
now. Soon Saltillo viii fall; then
San Luis Potosi: and. after San Luis
Potosi-the capital"
MUsKEGON.-with about so dele