Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1914-04-30
War Correspondent Describes
Mexican Dictator as a Man
Of Iron Will
MORE INDIAN THAN SPANISH
,.,h,os the strongest Man In the Re-
pubIie, Though Not military Gen.
lvs--WIlIlns to Take Gamblers
Desperate Chance.
BY N. C. ADossIpEs,
War Correspondent In Mexico and Stu
d.nt Of Conditions There.

War Correspondent In Mexico and Stu
dent Of Conditions There.
Dpr,ns my stay in Mexico Victori.
40 uuerta was the head Of Madero's
saderal army. and so exceedingly hos
az 90 the representatives Of the press
~, no that he issued orders for the
.rroa, of many and used means at his
aa,omand to hamper the efforts of
One correspondent, Gerald Brandon,
wos imprisoned and sentenced 10
death, but was released.
Al Torreon, where l first met him,
,be ommanderin-chiefs quarters at
tbe Hotel Francia were two doors
away from my room; I dined at his
table and, unwelcome guest that was,
foupd him exceedingly suave and po-
lite.
saw him so intoxicated that Off
GERS had to assist him to his apart
ments, and sober, reticent and frigid,
saw him in the brotherly embrace Of
Pancho villa, praising him for his
fidelity.
once asked highly educated Mex
lean officer If Huerta were a really
eble military man. do you know"
he answered me, the French proverb,
Dams 10 royaume des aveugles lie
borgne est lie roi?' un the kingdom Of
the blind the one-eyed man is the
king). Well" he continued. I'VE have
no great strategist nor great military
genius in Mexico. Victoriano Huerta
Is. however, the best officer in our
army; he is a man of great tenacity
and strength of character. and he pos
sesses the qualifications necessary to
a successful dictator"
Something Like DIaz.
Huerta is much the same type as
PorGrio Diaz, more Indian than Span
ish in blood, appearance and traits,
Educated in the military academy OF
Chapultepec and having no influence
at his back, he advanced slowly to
the foremost rank OF Madero's revolu-
tionary army. In that capacity he
shOne, undoubtedly, for he could In
spire his forces with confidence and
fighting spirit.
And now when he is provisional
president of the Mexican republic II
would be unfair to consider him as a
puppet and fgurehead. He is perhaps
the strongest man In that republic and
a man who will strain every nerve to
retain his position and solidify his
achievements. He is a man with a
keen sense for a crisis, and he is a
clever manipulation OF possibilities.
With the vision of his crushed ar
mics and his own power depleted by
the successful constitutionalists In the
North, hampered by the nonrecogni.
ton Of this country, he Is the kind OF
man to take a gamblers desperate
chance.
He sees his own salvation in a wal
with the United States. He hopes to
behold his present enemies, the con
stitutionalists. rallying to preserve the
national honor. With the united fac
tons he hopes to resist the hated
"Gringo."
He hopes for the time when there
will no longer be federals and consti
tutionalists, but Mexicans defending
Mexico and Huerta.
1t almost seems that he is more
afraid OF Villas victorious army than
of an imminent blow from the exas
perated American nation.
Thinks Victory VIII Be Easy.
Chicago.-Coming direct from Tam
pico, the scene of the insult to the
American flag. Don B. White, 6
wealthy oil operator, who has lived II
Mexico for twenty years. arrived In
Chicago. Mr.. White knows personally
both Victoriano Huerta and Zapata
the rebel terrorizing the south OF the
devastated country. He talked graph
!cally Of conditions In Mexico and th'
possible outcome of the war.
II the United States acts quickly
and sends a large army down there a
once" said Mr.. White, then the wa
won't last long, because they will la,
down their arms with fear. But Their,
must be decisive action and 1t mus
be done quickly.
Huerta-I know him personally
lie can't possibly raise more thai
1000 real soldiers and to conquer hin
would require scarcely more than mer,
toying.
But the hardest fight the UnItet
states army will have will be in tn
state OF Morales, which is controlled
by Zapata. Zapata is the AguInald,
.oi Mexico. British. ignorant and in
human. he is an Indian about thirty
pRONIIMniArnn