Evening star., 1914-05-17

referred to briefly because 1t ente"S INTO
the character OF the population which
has been engaged III the warfare and
which may engage in future carnage
under the guise of war.
That horrible atrocities against women
we're committed Is admitted but the
instances which have been so shocking
are declared To have been isolated and
exceptional Perhaps so. and perhaps
not. The matte. of fact tone of the
comment along the border indicates that
military discipline only recently has
reached the stage where the raping OF
women is to be taken as an exceptional
incident of military operations.
10 treasure wrong, or supposed wrong.
and wait patiently for revenge is an
Indian trait that helps to explain the
success of the first Madero revolution
against the DiaZ government and its
continuation under Villa. Authority
was harsh and often cruelty exercised.
Aside from their disposSeSsion OF the
land many peon family stored up
wrath against the government because
some member had suffered punishment.
1t might be too severe punishment
for trivial offense. 1t might be serious
crime such as robbery and murder, but
the resentment just the same. The
peon could wait for revenge. When the
revolt came under leaders who knew
how to organize the diSaffected elements,
the opportunity of taking revenge on con-
stituted authority and often at the same
time of executing private vengeance was
embraced.
Often the offender himself had taken to
the hills and was outlaw. but this
was not true of the larger number of
those who had Deen waiting the chance
of settling their scores with the nstru
ments of the law.
Most of the military chiefs in the pres
ent revolution of the peon class. as
is Villa himself, although the political
leaders are not. Some of these chiefs
have developed into skilful buahwhack
ingchieftains. while others nave shown
military capacity of Il higher order and
have fairly their titles as generals
notwithstanding the Inconvenience of be
ing Il commanding officer who cannot
read write.
AS the guerrilla warfare became more
an actual war their deficiency was
remedied by military secretaries some
of them very clever young Mexicans.
and the general loses nothing of his
influence over his soldiers because he.
like themselves, cannot read his own
orders.
This is something that will prove
more emba rrassing in peaceful times
than in war and anarchy. The peace
officer is now very close to his people
and they feel at home with him.
Some of these officers come from
among the vaqueros cowboys on the
big ranches In chihuahua and Sonora
and were accustomed to cons: td.ra BILE
degree of independence. Others. most
Is of minor rank. We're from the Sierra
Madras and had none of the meekness
of the agricultural serfs of the big
n:aciendos. In the Sierras to have the
reputation of having killed some one
rather adds to the standing of a man.
although 1T results in a feud with the
authorities.
The poems follow their leader. 1t
viii be disappointing to college pro-
fessors and others who believe that
spontaneous revolution for principle
was going on to learn how completely
tribal and feudal the war was, at least
until Torreon. They did not follow
the great hacienda owner into "A civil
war because where he was not mur-
iered he fed. But they went out from
the hacienda under some cabecilla or
little chief part of the estate an,