The Nevada County picayune., 1915-02-26

the convention: That Villa retire or We will fight him and uphold the reso- iution 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- gation
 This violent and illegal decision re leved 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 fgureheads 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 na- ton this menace of reaction and bar parity"
 Carrsnzs 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 Iot 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 sucb generals and their armies to gather around it as desired to combat for right and justice. The entire Consti- nationalist army. exclusive of the Divi- sion of the North, commanded by Vil- 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 helplessness is the story that President Gutierrez told of conditions existing in Mexico City while he occupied the presiden-
 
 he had fled from the city and endeay- 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-President of the Aguascal- entes convention and Professor David Bcrlango, another distinguished mem Der of the convention, both of whom 1A Lonn kvy orders of Villa
 He says The members of the Aguascalientes convention which was now meeting in Mexico City, justly alarmed 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 the convention proceeded to the above city and General Villa having been in. formed by his agents of what had hap. pened had the audacty to issue or. ders of arrest and execution against these persons whose immunity was absolute and who were the source from which Villa derived the authority with which he is invested.
 Delegates Flee.
 Tn view of these terrible orders the delegates carrying the flag of the con rention. called for protection on the Carranza Governor of the State of Nueyo Laredo, in which State they are at present"
 Indicative of what an empty honor Gutierrez held and how the so-called convention party now means but one man-Villa-is the following excerpt from the same narrative:
 On Sunday, December 31st. Gen eral Villa came to my home. revolver in hand, accompanied by ten or twelve armed men, besides two thou. sand cavalry, who surrounded my house and removed the meager guard of twenty men who were defending me. With the courage instilled in him by such an array of force. Villa shane fully insulted me and hurled baseless. mortifying and criminal charges at me.
 With shame and indignation I had 10 be spectator of all these outrages because l did not have sufficient force to halt the reign of murder and rob. bery that Villa conducted
 The flight of Gutierrez from Mexico City. accompanied by many prominent men in the so-called Convention party strikingly Illustrated to the world the impossibility of this or any other kindred government ruling in Mexico that was not subseryient to the wishes Q NNln
 The abandonment of Gutierrez and the other prominent men of the Con. Nention party has left Villa isolated and alone and made the issue in Nevi. co now definite and certain. It is. Shall Villa be allowed to become the dictator of the country. or shall the people themselves rule?