Evening star., 1915-06-13

short the government would remit the
tariff duties on corn and wheat. and
enough would flow in from the United
States to supply the deficiency.
The simplicity of the poems diet is
one explanation of the ease with which
revolutionary troops could keep the
field. With a sufficient supply OF corn
at hand the commissary department
was not a bothersome question. In the
first year two of the revolution
none of the different armies had such
a thing as a commissary department Of
their own. The women Travelled along
to cook the corn. which was obtained
by the simple method of taking it and
serving their particular man. This
often made the camp followers more
numerous than the troops themselves.
but somehow all managed to live.
After the capture of Torreon, Villa
got his troops into something like
regular army organization. and COM
missary department was part of the
organization. Other generals did the
same. but not so well as Villa. With
the organization of commissary, tin
ned goods were introduced, but not on
a large scale. The peon soldiers were
not used to them and preferred their
corn and beans.
Observers in Mexico at the time when
the Washington administration was
backing Carranza and Villa, under the
delusion that after Huerta was ousted
they would work for the common good
Of Mexico knew that an economic
crisis due to the lack of food would
arise before any semblance of stable
government could be esta blished and
be prepared to meet the scarcity Of
food.
Overlooking the actual agricultural
conditions. was one of the miscalcula-
tions made by the administration In
the idea that the ousting Of Huerta In
some mysterious way would mean con-
sttutional government.
The leading fact about the revolution
was that the revolutionists were able
to live off the country for a certain
length of time. The Diaz regime went
out and Maderos i'll l-fated regime came
in without there having been any seri-
Gus interruption of the crops In most
sections the planting was done In sea
son. and when the arms and ammuni-
ton. supplied the revolutionary factions
through the benovelence of Washing
ton, enabled the military movement to
be made there was still enough corn,
beans and wheat to feed the troops and
leave something for the civilian popu-
lation.
When the revolutionists came into
control the crop prospects diminished.
The revolution proceeded on the theory
that crops could be reaped without
having been planted.
The crops which had been planted
during the interregnum were harvested
with more wastefulness than during
peace conditions. yet they were gather
ed. But the triumphant revolutionary
chiefs paid little attention to sowing
They could gather in what others
had sown, and there their economic ca
pacity ended.
I was in the state of Durango, which
Is rich agriculturally. as we'll as in
minerals, just year ago. and the black
prospect for all Mexico was brought
vividly before me. Durango for a year
had been in control of the Arrieta
brothers and their bandit army. They
were the champions of constitutional
ism
A sort of bandit state socialism had
been established. The owners of the
great haiendas, or estates. had been
driven into exile or murdered, but be-
fore the triumph of the bandit army
the crops had been put in. and under
the direction of Domingo Arrieta, the
more forceful of the brothers, these
were harvested and supplied to the
troops. with a certain percentage for
the Arrietas and their subordinates.
The crops, therefore, were not lost,
though the rake-of on them was
perouisite Of the Arrietas. They were
also handled very wastefully, and there
was little storage of grain for future
use.
The point which impressed me. how
ever, was that practically no planting