Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-02-03
WRITER IN DEFENSE
OF VILLA, THE MEXICAN
At Least Talks Like a Patriot and
Fighting Man, Declares
Correspondent.
To the Editor of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
In dealing with things Mexican
think you can be fair to both sides and
all sides by admitting from the jump-of
that they are Greasers. just Greasers, not
white men.
But when it comes to continually dwell
ing on Villa as bandit and worrying
about what such a wild bandit would do
if he became president. l think your read
ers and admirers this one. at least are
very quickly led to compare the "igno-
rant bandit" and his record of fighting
like a man against oppression and
wrong. with the sneaking traitor and
cowardly assassination procurer.
From the dispatches | gather the infor-
nation that Villa was an ordinary Next
can who killed a rurale officer who had
wronged his sister. and then. in land
that even under the renowned Diaz was
notorious for the denial of justice, he be-
came a bandit of the mountains rather
than weakly submit to the bandits in Of
flee.
A Man in Earnest.
To many of us Villas words, actions
and whole record indicate a man in dead
ly earnest, but whose heart is burning
with a sense of wrong. A nation gets the
kind of government it will stand for, and
to me it looks like healthy sign of red
blood in the common people of Mexico if
they can produce men like Villa and fight
| under him till they put out OF business
| the self-seeking scoundrel that murdered
| Madero.
We cannot understand how any gen
| uine American can take the position that
we should distrust brave man fighting
against tyranny and hideous wrong, but
| rather support the unspeakable tyrant
| because the latter is better educated and
! hasn't been a bandit Oppression has
| always made bandits and rebels?
| Mexico is simply reaping the result of
| cultivatng too many under dogs. His
| tory shows that there is mighty little in
| this benevolent despotism' idea POWER
| is always abused in the long run. Under
the benevolent despotism of Diaz the
| Mexican people went down and down,
while every other Latin American repub-
| lie of equal population land often poorer
resources) has been steadily climbing up
| ward The boosted triumphs of Diaz are
| hollow for they rested not upon the up
| lifting but upon the debasement of his
| people.
Talks Like a Patriot.
| But mankind, like the worm, will turn.
| Even C;reasers can get a notion of liberty,
and only under liberty mot under either
| benevolent despotism or cutthroat-assas-
| sin dictatorship can a people develop and
prosper. So a good many of MS will lift
| our hats to the ignorant bandit. And as
| to what Villa will or won't do when ne
| has fed Huerta to the sharks-let us cross
| that bridge when we get to it. At any
rate, so far, he talks like patriot and
| fights like a man. Why not give him the
| benefit of the doubt?
And supposng his popularity should
make him president, by what right can
we assume that his rule would be worse
than that of Huerta, who imprisons a
congress. secretly puts out of the way the
opponents he fears. denies all justice,
and cold blooded villain that he is. would
go Diaz one better in the debasement of
his people?
Perhaps the ignorant bandit has heart
under his rough hide that beats a little