Imperial Valley press., 1914-12-16

I lowing a dispatch that more troops
have gone to Naco, Ariz., Secretary
Garrison today ordered General Hugh
Scott, chief of staff, TO proceed to
Naco at once.r He will try to induce
the warning Mexican factions to stop
imperiling lives and property on the
American side. This action was tax
en- at the suggestion of General Bliss.
General Scott leaves Washington at
6:15 this evening.
Washington, Dec. 16-Orders were
issued by Secretary of War Garrison
after a cabinet meeting late yester-
day that three infantry regiments and
three batteries of artillery, aggregat-
ing $500 men, be sent at once to
reinforce General Bliss at Naco.
+ When a high official was asked the
purpose of sending these troops, he
replied:
"Well, they are not going fish
ing"
Two significant facts relating to the
hurry orders of today are these:
j First, that the order for the addi-
! tonal troops followed the Carranza
statement to Secretary Bryan yester-
day that any use of force by the Unit
cd States, such as firing across the
border, would be regarded as hos
tile act.
Second, that the troops which are
being hurried to Naco will make the
United States forces equal to the COM
lined forces of General Maytorena, in
command for Villa, and General Hill,
within the town. in command for Cen
eral Carranza.
There will be 5000 soldiers on each
side of the line.
The troops which have been desig-
mated to go to Naco are the follow
ing: The Eleventh, Eighteenth and
Twenty second regiments of infantry
now at Texas City, and Batteries A,
B and C of the Fifth field artillery,
stationed at Fort Hill, Okla.
Orders went out little after 5
o'clock to General Thomas F. Davis,
who will command the reinforcements
to have the troops fully equipped and
with ten days supplies at least. They
are to carry searchlights and twelve
machine guns and it is noted that
Batteries A and B are commands
which carry howitzers for long range
firing.
The official information is that
General Maytorena's forces number
$500 and that General Hills forces
number from 1900 to 1900, and that
each of these generals is fairly we'll
! provided with artillery
1t is estimated that General Bliss
has with him now cavalry and artil-
lery to the number of 1,500 men.
The war department and the White
House had very elaborate report to-
day from General Bliss, who was sent
to Naco some days ago "to stop the
firing at that town"
Since that time there have been sew
eral casualties caused by firing across
the border to the American side and
there has been constant succession
of outrages against American citizens,
especially from the north tier of prov
inces.
General Bliss report today, army
officers say, was very comprehensive.
1t dealt primarily with the attitude
in which he would be placed if or
dered to take decisive action while
confronted on the other side by a
vastly superior force. These officers
called attention again today to the
statements they made yesterday that
the reply of General Carranza to the
state department was very disturbing
and that if General Bliss sent a shell
across the border sit would mean
war;" According to three officers,
what Carranza means "by an act of
hostility" is that if the president
uses force the effect would be the
same as declaring war against Car
ranza." They think that General Bliss
last night or this morning early
learned what Carranza had stated to
Secretary Bryan and that this news
spread through Naco and into the
Mexican lines, which are only across
the main street of that town on its
Mexican side.
Officially the secretary of war does
rot comment on the dispatch today
of General Bliss other than to say
that it dealt with conditions which
had arisen there" He repeated, how
ever, that orders to do or not to dc