Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-27
V|[LARULESARMy
AND CIVIL AFFAIRS
Activities of Rebel General Are
Not Confined to Military
Matters.
OPERATION OF BREWERY
ONE OF HIS INTERESTS
Controls Railway Lines and Has to
Deal With Fluctuating
Currency.
BY CHARLES M. PEPPER.

Special Correspondence Of The star.
CHIHUAHUA, Mex. May 22-Gen-
Villas government has been in operation
in Chihuahua for six months. They caii
II aonther name. but 1t Is really MS 1oea
that has been put in practice unoer the
forms of military government Wheh-
ever the transition is made to the form
of civil authority there will be l1ttie
change
Under military administration the sys-
tom seems to be working fairly well.
Order prevails. No one can doubt that.
The business of public administrator
goes on as in ordinary times. Numerous
placards in the government buildings m
dictate that the heads of a success1ui
revolution have to meet the same trou-
bIcs that are encountered by the officials
of a new administration in Washington.
The nlacards say: NO hay racantes-
there are no vacancies.
During military control oficeseekers
are more easily rebuffed than IN tnle .
of peace for they are told that II tnes
want jobs they can enlist ana go 70 tne
front The number of recruits OF tnls
kind is not large apparently
Used Officially.
The property of the cientificos and the
Huertistas which was confiscated unoeF
the Villa DEGREES issued in December
has been utilized for various purposes.
one residence was reserved for Vllia
himself and one for Gen. Carranza while
he remained in Chihuahua A few others
may have been occupied by the o lheeis;
but for the most part the connscdteu
properties have been put to omclal uses.
The brewery which was owned by the
TerraZas family was converted my a
government utility and is operated as
such. For while the operation was SAID
not to be successful and the pubic
thirst slackened so rapidly that the
brewery was in danger of closing down
through lack of demand for us proouct.
This would have been felt by the
community since the ice supply came
from this source Business improved
somewhat, and while the financial re-
turns are not very satisfactory, they are
reported to be sufficient to keep it going.
To Keep Down Prices.
The experiment Of operating the brew
cry as state enterprise is something
more than a mere incident of military
administration. If it can be worked out
successful other industrial enterprises
may be operated along the same lines
This is said to be in Villas mind. some
what vaguely. as part of the program OF
social and economic reform which he
leaves to the literary branch OF the con-
sritutionalist movement to elaborate.
DEGREES issued in the beginning of the
military control providing penalties for
the dealers and merchants who were
putting exorbitant prices on foodstuffs
were such as might have been issued by
any military commander as tenn
porary measure: but in this case they
were said to reflect Villas ideas Of one
form of state socialism. just as the COM
missary department of the army reflects
another form of 1t.
The first experiment of the state as a
merchant is still to be tested. When the
Spaniards were driven out the big de-
partment store which one of them
owned was confiscated and the stock
was sold at bargain rates by accepting
currency worth II cents on the dollar at
a silver value of 80 cents.
This was because the price marks on
the goods were not changed from silver
to currency. Since the stock cost the
military government nothing. it was not
an actual loser but it lost the profit
which it would have had by getting the
regular prices. Some of the people who
bought at the reduced rate seemed to
think that government store would al
ways be able to sell as cheaply. Confis-
Gated goods are still sold at this store
and since they cost the government moth
ing there is a profit.