Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-07-22

OFFICIALS LACK RECENT
NEWS FROM BATTLE ZONE
Charles A. Douglas Reports to Car.
rama Agency Here on Food
Situation.

With the German note off their hands
President Wilson and Secretary I.ans-
ing OF the State Department are ex-
peCted TO give much attention within
the next few days TO the Mexican sit
uation. Secretary Lansing said today
that he was not yet prepared to dis
cuss Mexican affairs, but he has init
mated several times recently that some
steps will be taken by the United
States soon in regard to that country.
What these steps will be, however, he
has not indicated.
Official Washington today expressed
great interest In the report submitted
by Brig. Gen. Devol, general manager
! of the American Red Cross, on condi-
! tons in Mexico.
! Accuses Military Leaders.
! Gen. Devol has charged that rhe mil
| itary leaders of both factions in Mex
leo are levying a high export tax on all
| foodstuffs shipped out of Mexico and
| that they are taking measures to see
! that the exports are made, notwith-
| standing the distressing shortage of
| foodStuffs among the non batants
At the State Department it was admit
ted that other reports had reached here
! confirmatory of this statement The
matter will be looked into carefully, in
view of the efforts being made by the
American Red Cross to prevent famine
and starvation among the MeNicans.
There was Il dearth of news at the
State Department today from the field
of military operations in Mexico.
Whether the Carranza forces under
Gen. Gonzales have already met the
Villa flying squadron" reported to be
at Pachuca, forty miles from Mexico
City. and what has been the result of
the department. Communication with
| Mexico City, which according to the
latest reports is again in the hands of
the Zapatistas, has been cut off.
! Inquiry as to Fighting.
Secretary Lansing announced today
that the State Department was inves-
| tigating whether the attack of Car
rama forces at Naco and the fighting
which followed was a violation of the
agreement both Carranza and Villa
factions had made with Brig Gen.
Scott. chief of staff of the army, for
| a neutral zone on the border to obviate
| danger to non com batants.
! dispatch received by the CarranZa
lagency from Charles A. Douglas of this
city, now at Vera Cruz, contained the
! following statement:
! Before Gen. Gonzales began his new
| est military movement against the
(, Villista forces to the north | discussed
| with him very much in detail the food
situation in Mexico City and the work
| of relief then in progress under his
direct supervision. He stated that
there already had been brought into
! the city expressly for the alleViat ton
of suffering sixty carloads of food
stuffs. of which forty were exclusively
of corn and twenty of mixed supplies
Three carloads had already been dis
tributed last saturday. The con,
& n ljGt n-fa irI,a
throughout the City of Mexico and in
adjacent portions of the federal dis
| trict 40 distributing depots
How Corn Was Sold.
some of these handled corn only and
others handled corn and general pro-
visions. The greater number were for
the distribution of corn dough. The
government paid for the milling of the
corn, and to those able to pay at all
the price of the unground staple was
20 cents per kilogram, and for the pre-
pared article rs Genes per kilogram.
ITO those unable to pay at all there
was free distribution of foodstuffs in
allotments sufficient to meet the i'm
Mediate needs of the applicant.
up to Saturday evening the consti-
| tutionalist authorities had distributed
to the poor from the treasury Of the
| government 1000, 900 pesos, thus CIV
ing aid to 10000 families. Gen. Con-
zales stated that the relief of the poor
was a matter only of the solution of
the transportation problem and the
! maintenance OF railway connection
with the sources of supply. He said
| that upon his return to the city he eX-
pected confidently to have the lines of
transportation open and permanently
protected, so that the work of relief