Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-06-03
A TALK WITH A
CARRANZISTA MAJOR
Views on Observation-Disclosures, He
Says, Believes in President Will
son and the American People.
The Story of Vera Cruz.
BY CHARLES p. RUSSELL


sponse to a mere tickling OF the soil? How
can there be starvation in a land where the
earth Is so bountiful where a woman can
grow enough vegetables on a space no bigger
than one Of your backyards to support
family for a year"
The speaker was Major CASTOR de Prlda
of the Constitutlonalist army, who has been
In Philadelphia on his way to New York to
obtain treatment for bothersome wound in
the knee which he received recently In
battle with the zapatistas at Tlanepantla
near Mexico City He is on furough from
the headquarters of his chief, General Car
rama, Of whose staff he is a member
The Major comes direct from Vera Cruz
where he declares conditions have never been
so good for the mass of the inhabitants as
| they now.
Happy Vera Cruz
"The people are happy in Vera Cruz" he
declares "T repeat it-they are happy in
Vera Cruz The skies are sunny, the people
are at peace, the cafes are open and filled
! with customers The business of the town is
going on as usual, for It's affairs in the
hands Of a government with which the
inhabitants are emnently satisfied. We
have no long bread lines such I see every
time I take a stroll at night through your
| great and prosperous cities We have no
desperate men walking up and down our
streets in search Of work We have no prowl-
ing bands of gunmen-our streets are safe by
day and night There Is food enough for all.
Prices of virtually every article for food and
wear are much lower than in any part of the
United States
"The usual Mexican abundance has been
cut down in some sections It is true due to
the fact that so many of the able-bodied
workers are in one or the other of the armies
and to hampered railroad traffic, but this is
temporary condition In no part of the
country under General Carranza's control is
there any complaint of starvation. The
staple article Of Mexican diet, you know, is
beans, and there are certainly enough beans
for all. The assertion that the Mexican ma
tion Is starving is-well, do not wish to be
dlscourteous, SO l will simply say that the
reports have been much exaggerated"
Major de Prida is a young man scarcely
out of his twenties and boundless in his en-
thusiasm for his country. his people and his
cheftain, General Carranza. His eyes
sparkle his face beams, as he tells of the
awakening of the people after their long
misery under oppressive rulers and of their
vision of future in which Mexico will be
known as the land OF liberty. Only when
the subject of possible intervention by the
United States Is broached does his face be-
come grave
1T would be terrible, terrible thing" he
declared. "It 10 difficult for me to speak OF
the subject with calmness. Only evil could
result. The consequences would be most sad
both for the Mexican people and for the
United States. Intervention now would undo
the work of years-just now when victory is
so near for Twenty of the 27 States in
nj w
have won all the principal seaports except
Guaymas, on the west coast, and all the
principal border towns except Juarez. We
have only a little way to go now. Perhaps
that is just the trouble There are certain
powerful interests that do not wish to see
General Carranza victorious"
"why?"
Because General Carranza has no master.
He is under the influence of no great
porations. He thinks only of the good and
welfare of his people. He is a strong man
of Independent mind and character. He will
do only what he thinks is right And there
are certain people, certain interests, that do
not like to see a man like that in a position
OF power-is 1t not true?"
"Do you think that Intervention would
cause the present warning factions to unite
against the invading Americans7"
81 am afraid So" answered Major de
Prida slowly. Yes. I am certain of It, In
terventon would cost many, many lives. You
know how 1t is when an outsider interferes
in family quarrel No matter how bitter
the cashing factions may be, they will in
stantly combine against an intruder-ls It
not true?"
Wilson's Praises Sung in Mexico
But I cannot believe that President Will
son means to interfere. Mexicans believe
President Wilson is their friend Everywhere
you hear his praises sung in Mexico. He has
spoken OF their troubles so wisely. so under
standingly, the people revere his name The
effect on them would be terrible II they
learned to suspect that he was not sincere
after all.
There is no bitterness in Mexico against
the Americans, Not even in Vera Cruz,
where many OF our people lost their lives be.
cause they misunderstood what the coming
OF American soldiers meant. But they learned
better afterward. The American officers and
soldiers left nothing but pleasant memories
behind them in Vera Cruz. They were never
rough, never harsh but were kindly and
friendly in their behavior. And my people
appreciated that. We are a sensitive race.
you know, but our hearts are easily won by
| kindness. 1t is only the American who is
contemptuous and lntolerant in his manner
toward them whom the Mexicans dislike.
/ Think OF the number OF Americans who have
been living In Mexico all this time, but how
many really. have you heard OF as being
seriously harmed, even though the Land has
been rent with bloody internal strife?
Teachers Follow the Army
"No. I cannot believe that the United
/ states win interfere with General Carranza's
/ steady progress The Chief has shown him
] n. L..