Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1915-03-05

the convention: That villa retire oil
we will fight him and uphold the reso
luton of the convention, Villas re
tirement being with the understanding
that Carranza will be forced to retire.
THE reply we received from Gen
eral Gutierrez was that he had given
Villa the command OF the forces which
were to fight against Carranza; that
is, he had violated the fundamental
resolution of the convention, which
was the basis OF the whole agreement
and the essential condition Of our obli-
cation.
This violent and illegal decision re-
lieved US of every obligation toward
an assembly without patriotism or
moral force. the tool Of an ambitious
and savage faction to which we had
shown undeserved complacency out
of love for peace, but whose blind and
unconditional figureheads we could
not and would not be.
"Thereupon we decided with full
consciousness of our act, certain that
we were following the course of pa
triotism and duty. to fight Francisco
Villa with all our force until we had
removed from the horizon of the ma
ton this menace of reaction and bar
barity."
Carranza a Civilian.
Carranza is essentially a civilian
rather than a military man. From the
inception of the revolution he sought
to direct it's destinies as did Presi-
dents Lincoln and Davis control
events in our Civil war. Accordingly
when Villa commenced his military
campaign against Carranza the latter
had not a single soldier directly under
his personal command His only
strength lay in the justice of his cause
and the only means he used to or
ganize an army was to unfurl the ban
ner of patriotism and to allow such
generals and their armies to gather
around it as desired to combat for
right and Justice The entire Consti-
tutionalist army, exclusive of the Divi-
sion of the North, commanded by vii
la, flocked to the support of Carranza.
Carranza withdrew from Mexico
City and established the national cap
ital at Vera Cruz
Pathetic in it's note of helplessne5s |
is the story that President Gutierrez
told of conditions existing in Mexico |
City while he occupied the presiden-
tial chair He narrated this after |
he had fed from the city and endeav-
ored to attach himself to CarranZa.
The following parts of his narrative
are taken up after he recites in detail
the executions of Alberto Garcia Ara
gon, Vice-P President of the Aguascali-
entes convention and Professor David
Berlango, another distinguished men,
Der of the convention, both of whom
had been brutally murdered by the
orders of Villa.
He sS+s: The members of the
Aguascalentes convention which was
now meeting in Mexico City, justly
by these daily murders, in
formed me that they desired to change
their residence from Mexico City to
the town of San Luis Potosi, where
they expected to convene in safety.
"A large number of the members of
he convention proceeded to the above
,ity and General Villa having been in
'ormed by his agents of what had hap
Dened had the audacity to issue or
iers of arrest and execution against
hese persons whose immunity was
absolute and who we're the source
rom which Villa derived the authority
With which he is invested '
Delegates Flee.
"In view of these terrible orders the
delegates, carrying the flag of the con-
ention, called for protection on the
'arranza Governor of the State of .
luevo Laredo in which State they :,
re at present" :
Indicative of what an empty honor !
iutierrez held and how the so-called
party now means but one
the following excerpt
rom the same narrative: d
"On Sunday, December 31st, Gen b
raj Villa came to my home, revolver u
4 hand. accompanied by ten or Il
welve armed men. besides two thou p
and cavalry. who surrounded my Il
ouse and removed the meager guard C
twenty men who were defending a
lie. With the courage instilled in him Il
y such an array of force. Villa shame
lily insulted me and hu<aed baseless. pl
and criminal charges at it
e. CT
With shame and indignation had OIL
, be a spectator of all these outrages M
ecause did not have sufficient force al
} halt the reign of murder and rob- tn
Dry that Villa conducted" in
The flight of Gutierrez from Mexico 10
ty, accompanied by many prominent ca
en- in the so-called Convention nc
Lrty, strikingly illustrated to the lii
orld the impossibility of this or any 10
her kindred government ruling in sp
exico that was not subservient to the
shes of villa tn
The abandonment OF Gutierrez and tn
e other prominent men OF the Con- he
ntion party has left Villa isolated WI
d alone and made the issue in Mexi- tic
now definite and certain. 1t is: un
all Villa be allowed TO become the an
ctator of the country. or shall the to
ople themselves rule? an