Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-07-13


lowers when, as governor of Coahuila he
refused to recognize Huerta's authority.
out IN ranging over northern Mexico ne
achieved no marked military success
In Sinaloa most of the strategy was by
the local commanders.
should the way be open for victorious
dress parade into Mexico City. Carranza.
who makes better figure on horseback
than Villa. Is the man to head 1t. but
II there is to be any hard fighting. and
Carranza undertakes to direct the cam
palgn 1t Is not improbable that his repu-
tation will suffer. One bad military
blunder on his part and the plan Of Quad
aloupe will be modified SO that either
himself, will command the troops which
take possession of the capital. 1t Is pos
sible that Villa is waiting for something
Of this kind.
ed in the peace parley between Villa and
Carranza are seemingly being carried
out 1t is even said that Villa is giving
up some of the fiat money which he
seized. This was the so-called currency
Of the constitutionalists. 1t was known
as treasury currency. as distinguished
from the fiat currency OF the different
states.
Carranza wanted to retire the so-called
Villa currency of the state of Chihuahua,
regardless of Carranza. There Is no In
timation that in the agreement reached
Villa has promised to quit printing his
own paper ploney. He is able to secure
it's circulation in Chihuahua. and that
serves his immediate purposes. Recent
ly both Villa and Carranza have had
trouble in securing the supplies with
which to feed their respective armies.
since there is so little corn and beef LETT
in Mexico. and gold has to be paid for
Has a Double Task.
Villas policy is of more Importance at
present than any views he may give ut
terance to regarding mediation or the
treatment to be accorded to the Huerta-
istas when Mexico is taken.
If he moves south to effect a junction
with Obregon and Gonzales 1t ts certain
that only a part of the troops Will &C
company him 1t will be found that ne
has left enough Of his army In Chihuahua
to maintain a complete grasp OF that
state. He has a double task. One Is to
keep down a counter-revolution under the
guise Of brigandage. in which some OF
his old bandit associates. now become
enemies. are awaiting an opportunity 70
participate. The other Is to keep control
of the sinews Of war. including all the
sources Of revenue. He needs part of his
army in order to do this.
Villa appreciates the advantage OF the
control Of the border customshouses. He
now has Juarez. which is the most Inn
portant and 1t Is not a guess wide OF the
mark that he expects to get P1edras
Negras and Nuevo Laredo. He also pro-
poses to keep control Of all the conces-
sions. 1t will be found that the mining
and smesing companies which are re
Stunning operations are looking to Villa
for protection. and not to the consdtu-
tionalist government.
Villa shows his skill as a military
strategist in keeping his grip on the
railroads. The dispatches have report
ed that notwithstanding the Carranza
government is located at Saltillo, v1lla
tillo and Torreon. He also keeps his
hold on the line leading from Zacatecas
1t is more than likely that before long
he will get possession OF the lines from
Torreon and Monterey to the border at
Laredo and Eagle Pass.
Monterey was taken by the revolution
airy troops not under Villas control, and
is still garrisoned by them, but 1t Is
army of the east moves southwark 1t
cannot leave any large body of troops
to hold Monterey.
Fuel an Important Factor.
The Sabinas and other coal mines in
the state of Coahuila are of especial
Importance to Villa, for without fuel
his grip on the railroads Is weakened.
1t was Carranza's refusal to furnish
Villa coal that was one of the grievances
of the victor of Torreon and Zacatecas.
Under the agreement reached, Villa is
to have all the coal he wants, but as
a good general he knows that the bet
ter way is to control the mines himself.
These are some of the factors in the
Mexican situation which cannot be
overlooked. although they may be
CLOSED over for the time being. APP
parent harmony may even be patched
up between Carranza and Villa to the
extent that Villa will ride into Mexico
Carranza of one of three divisions Of
the constitutionalist army, but what
ever he does he will take no chances
on his enemies undermining him in
northern Mexico. AS the military mas
ter OF that section he will be much
stronger than as one among several
generals trying to administer the coun-
try from Mexico City.
Reckoning With Villas Strength.
For the purposes of the Washington
administration any lessening of Villas
influence would be unfortunate In
finite difficulties have been had at
every turn in dealing with Carranza.
Villa, on his part. has been direct and
If he Is strong enough to
insist that Carranza does what the
United States thinks should be done,
some of the perplexities of the situa-
tion may be removed. If his influence
wanes the perplexities will grow. That
Is one reason why the situation as be-
tween CarranZa and Villa Is of i'm
portance to the American people far
beyond their interest in the struggles
of MEXICAN