The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-02-22

4
ton. the British sI:bject who was executed
in Juarez. was permitted to testify be-
| fore the court-martiaI which condemned
him, according to the official report of
| Benton's trial
The Mexican rebel version of the court
martial shows that Benton declared on
] the stand that he had no intention of
harming villa. when he called upon him
last Tuesday. and that he did not at
tempt to harm I'm
Bentou's testimony. however. did not
have weight with the men who We're Try
ing him. for the verdict of the court was
death. The Official report Of the court
martial. In part is as follows:
In ciudad. Juarez, IN Tuesday, Feb
, ruary u, 1914. at o'clock in the after
noon. an extraordinary council of war
was assembled by the military COM
mander Of the place, Col. FIdel Avila.
The object was the trial OF the English
subject. william Benton. accused of
transgressions, insults and vlolences
against the general In chief Of the divI-
sion Of the north, of the constitutionalist
army, Gen. Francisco Villa, and for the
crime OF conspiring against the peace of
the republic. in the service OF the usurper
OF the constitutional government. Vic
toriano Huerta.
"a l.
Mariana Tamez was designated as his
defender
The witnesses then We're called. They
were Maj. Manuel f. Banda and Engi-
neer Andres l. Farias.
the court commenced the examination
OF the prisoner, William Benton, said to
be native of Scotland, forty-five years
OF age. a rancher and a resident Of FL
Paso, Tex.
Benton Gives His Version.
After Benton had been advised to tell
the truth about the whole affair. he said
that at 10 o'clock, or II O'Clock in the
morning. he came to see Gen. Villa to tell
him that revolutiOnists and sometimes
parties Of bandits had done much dam
age to his ranch. Los Remedies, destroy
ing property and stealing cattle. and that
he came to tell Gen Villa of those things
and how they were.
Benton said Gen. Villa made charges
that he tBenton) had lent aid to the
federals and the Orozoists and that he
desired him to quit the country, at the
same time paying the price. Benton
thereupon said to the general that this
was not just and he said several other
things that annoyed the general, but he
insisted that he did not have any in
tention Of doing any harm to the gen
the contrary, the witness testified, he
believed that the general thought he
intended 10 do him harm and he pro-
tested that he never did have any bad
intentions toward the general or any
one else
The witness further declared that he
did not have anything to do with Huerta
or the ''rebs,'' being Indifferent to the
politics OF the country. which was all
that he had to say.
Witnesses Are Heard.
The witnesses were examined separate
ly. Ma. Banda testified that at IL o'clock |
in the morning he was at Gen. Villas |
home % Lerdo avenue, when a foreigner, I
the same who is sitting here" came |
in and said to Gen. Villa that he came !
to make complaint that the rebels had |
committed depredations on his property. |
Los Remedies
Gen. Villa replied that IL was mot |
advisable for him CBenton) to come to !
this side Of the border for il was too |
well known that he was an active sym |
pathizer of the enemy. to whom he had |
given help in many ways, giving infor- |
nation of the movement Of our forces, |
having an intimate friendship with the !
principal red flag chiefs CSalazar and |
Orozco) and CHASING or considering con- |
as rebels and bandits"
Villa continued that on account of the |
fact that Benton was a foreigner, his |
property had not been Confiscated. and |
he would be forced to e'rbid him to re-
turn to Mexican territory to cause dam
age to the republic, and to destroy order
and peace.
At this, the witness continued, The
stranger answered in hard and violent
words, saying that there was no human
power that could oblige him to live out
of Mexico. and leave his property to suf-
fer by depredations and robbery as 1t
had already suffered. Then he declared
that he was as good man as Gen.
Villa and as he said this he pulled a
pistol from the back pocket OF his
trousers. But the general was ready. and
he jumped for him. With one hand he
struck him, and the persons who were
present leaped upon him so that he
might not make an attempt on the life of