South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-05-06
Anarchy, Hitherto Held in
Check by DiCtator'S iron
Hand, Expected to Follow
Withdrawal Of the Federal
Troops From South Mexico.
BY THOMAS p. COATES.
CStan Correspondent.D


VERA CRUZ, May with rein
forced Mexican 'cOnstitutionalists at
tacking TampiCo and other forces
marching on SaltillO and san Luis
PotOsi, the power of President Huer-
Ia is steadily waning, his government
is to-tering because of factiOnal strife
in his cabinet and the end is believed
to be only a matter of few weeks.
After Huerta, what? This is the
question that officers of the army and
navy of the United States are discuss
ing today. Complete anarchy, hither-
TO held in check by the iron hand Of
the dictator. is expected To prevail
throughout the south as the govern
ment forces are Withdrawing from
outlying districts to concentrate for
the last stand of Huerta.
AS soon as the federal soldiers that
have checked the bandit raids Of
General Zapata are called in To op-
pose the attacks of the constitutional
lists pouring down from the north, the
ZapatiSta briSands will loot and burn
the southern towns and devastate the
entire country.
To Concentrate Forces.
Huerta is expected TO concentrate
all the forces he can spare at Quere-
taro, 167 miles from the capital This
Is a strategic railway point, the lines
IOEHlluA
junction there. How large a force the
dictator can gather is problematical.
1t IS pretty well understood here that
General Villa expects TO have a COM
bined army of at least $4,000 men
under his command when he ad-
vances on Queretaro. BY that time
he expects to be in possession of Tam
picO and the arms and ammunition
that he captures there will be used
TO equip cOnStitutionaliSt recruits.
Refugees who have arrived here de-
clare that hundreds of HuertaS sol
0iers have deserted and that as the
conStitutOnalistS advance this num-
Der will be swelled to thousands. Some
of the federal deserterS have already
formed guerrilla bands that are har-
RAISING the federals long in advance
of the arrival of the constitutiOnalists
General Olea and the 1900 federal
troops at San Luis Potosi are report
ed 10 have declared for General Car
rama and will surrender the town
without resistance. General Barron
is still holding on grimly at Zacate-
cas-. having repulsed constituencies
emissaries who sought To induce him
to betray Huerta.
Believes Case Hopeless.
Though rumOrs still persist that
Huerta will seek refuge on "A foreign
olAAp AlIANF BAObctbAl Nlt tllCn Snip
Conde, if he is unable to halt the ad-
vance of the cOnstitutiOnalists, the
latest reports from the capital state
that he will fight as long as resistance
is possible. La Union, a Mexican
newspaper published here, declares
that the dictator believes his cause is
hopeless and that he already has sent
his family from the capital to Salina
Cruz, a Pacific coast port.
La Union says that this infoTma-
tiOn was brought from Mexico City
by Pedro Martinez To Deputy Pinero
in Vera Cruz 1t has not been con-
firmed from any source. Confirmation
has been received here of reports that
the san Francisco bridge and another
small railway culvert near Vera cruz
have been blown UP by the Mexicans
This will materially hamper the move
ment Of American troops if they are
ordered to advance on Mexico City.
Lieut. Bellinger, the naval aviator,
has found that the Soledad bridge is
still intact, but this is believed TO have
been mined.
Aviator Strikes Gale.
Bellinger was receiving congratuia-
tiOns on all sides today over a narrow
escape from death that he had while
scouting yesterday. Caught in a So
mile gale while 1000 feet above Te-
jar the aeroplane was buffeted so Sc
verely that the aviator will have TO
use another machine for a few days.
1T looked pretty ticklish for a
while" said Bellinger today The
gale caught me while 1 was taking