El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-12-21
Full STORIES
ABOUT MEXICO
Travelling Salesman Regales
San Antonio With Stories
of State of Chihuahua.

Sol Jacobs. described as a travelling
salesman, is quoted in the San Anto-
Mo Express at some length regard
ing conditions south of Juarez, in Mex
leo Jacobs told the Express that ne
was ordered by his house, an eastern
firm. TO 90 to Chihuahua and get or
ders for shoes.
he said They don't know any more
about Mexico than We in Texas 90
about the Balkan situation-not as
much. probably. Well the eastern pa
pers have been full OF peace in Mexico
talk lately, and this kind of CUFF made
nv house send me a wire I got II IN
Fl Paso three weeks ago. and II read
Revise your schedule so as TO Visit
villa had Just reached MADEIRA. or
was expected there, I forget which;
10000 bandits of various colors ana
varied leaders were engaged in looting
everything left in the state that con-
tanned loot; hardly an American was
to be found anywhere in Chihuahua.
and il was into the extra special, de
luxe edition Of Hades that was asked
nay, ordered-to go to solicit ORDERS
for footwear.
Now. the going part Of 1t was com
paratively easy All had to do was 10
speak with a London accent and de-
clare myself an Englishman, and got
a passport as easy as slipping when
you're running for a street car in VIM
ter It was a cinch- But Chihuahua
aChIhuahua a MOrgue.-
you know the kind of silence, the
kind Of oppression. that makes itself
was like that. 1t was a death house OF
city Scarcely a store was open
there wasn't a big merchant out Of Jail
unless he had skipped the country; not
streets were piled with filth-the
street cleaning department having OBJ
jected to working for pay in Villa cur
rency-and the bandstand had quit be-
ing the home of melody every AFTER
noon and night.
Nov. that may not seem very sig
nifieant TO you, but believe me, IL was
to me. I'd been south before, and l
knew that when the band quit business
in a town the size OF Chihuahua then,
indeed, things are dead. And so it was.
Orders2 Oh. yes, I could have got
plenty OF orders. Everybody IN Chi
huahua, it seemed, wanted shoes 1t
was only when I tried TO collect in
advance that I found what havoc the
Villa government has really wrecked
in the states under their control
rain in San Antonio. and as for their
own money well. they'd give you that
without even a pleasant smile II was
worth about 500 10 one, If 1 remember
%About the second day I decided to get
back to Gods country and charge the
office I'd with a week wasted Just
then. however. a bunch of bandits
blew Up the track OF the Mexican
Central railway at Sauz and the trains
quit running. But there is another
railway leading to JuareZ from Chi
huahua-the Mexico North Western
railway. and this decided to take
Jailed By Villa.
$50 one bright morning I climbed on
a trs IN in the Pearson station and sat
there until dusk. when the train, which
had been buIletined to start at 5 in the
morning. left II took US a day and a
half to get as far as MADEIRA. which IS
where the shops of the North Western
are located And there we stuck. Villa
il seemed, needed every bit of rolling
stock on the railway to move his
troops 70 Chihuahua
The second morning I was put in
jail and kept there two days on suspi-
cion Of being an American Ny care
fully practised English accent and my
requests for a 'barth' every morning
saved me, think. Every other Ameri-
can in MADEIRA was under sentence to
be shot I think a good many were
ITO cut long story short, I reached
Juarez a week later with an empty
stomach and a prayer Of thankfulness
cattle car that they'd forgotten to
clean for about two years"
Villa according to Mr. Jacobs, has
about 1000 troops. who are ragged al
most to the point of nakedness. They
are half starved, too and they are
almost completely out of horses. am
munition and cannon. The adventure
Gus salesman gives the amiable Paucho
until Christmas to give up.