Bisbee daily review., 1915-08-31
CONDITIONS ARE BAD
IN NORTH MEXICO is
ASSERTION OF ADAMS
Arizonan Makes Trip to Torreon|
and Tells of Starvation and
PitifuI Conditions Which Face
the Entire Country.

! StagnatiOn, stencil and starvation
stalk through the states of Chihuahua
and Coahuila, once a land that over
flowed with milk and honey, accord
ing to Cecil Adams, of Douglas, who
returned yesterday to Arizona from a
business trip to Torreon, 600 miles
south of FL Paso, in the state of Goa
hula. He has been away one week.
In many places the country is de.
populated, the only people being sol
diers who pass through or are sta
toned in garrisons II is almost inn
possible to secure food There are no
beans or chilli in the country and
| bread is unheard of Milk is about
! the only article of diet that is i'm gen
eral use and there are some watermel-
ons. Coffee can also be secured and
occasionally eggs can be bought at a
fabulous price.
Mr.. Adams made the trip to Tor
reon with a business associate and
they failed to take along anly pro
visions with them as most experience
ed travellers do Their breakfast in
Torreon the first morning cost $3.50,
Villa currency. They had five eggs,
| two cups of coffee and a couple Of
hot cakes made out Of whole wheat,
the most expensive part of the break
fast There is no flour
Villa money is worth only one cent
on the gold dollar right in the coun-
try which Villa controls. 1t will thus
be seen the breakfast really cost $3.50
which. however, is. pretty high, con
sidering the food furnished. The
fare from Juarez to Torreon. a dis
lance of 600 miles, is So cents gold
for the round trip, impossible as this
seems. The fare i'm Villa currency is
SS5, and the discrepancy is due to the
effort Of Villa to keep up the purchas-
ing power of his money.
At every station the train is greeted
by scores Of beggars, who plead pitt
fully for bite to eat At one station
Mr. Adams saw a two year old boy,
his head of normal size but his body
annotated from hunger uptu the
bones passed through the flesh. He
mother, who was clothed with a gun
ny sack. Hundreds of flies swarmed
over the eyes, ears and mouth of the
infant, but the mother was too weak
to drive them away Similar sights
are common, Mr.. Adams says
Between Torreon and Gomez Pala-
clio the whole country smells like an
European battlefield with the dead
left unburied The stencil from the
decayed bodies of men and animals is
sickenin gand but for the fact that
there has been no rain there would
be an epidemic that would carry off
the entire population Flies by the
millions swarm over the country, MAX
ing life miserable for man and beast.
From Juarez to Chihuahua there
has been rain this season and the
grass is good, but there are not many
cattle on the range, and the country
seems deserted. Chihuahua City is
dead and grass is growing in some of
the business streets. From Jiminez
to Toreon there has been no rain
and every thing is parched No corn or
cotton was planted and starvation
stalks abroad in the land.
Torreon is not the city it used to
be, the principal inhabitants being
soldiers, though most of them have
been taken to Durango and Monterey
villa left for Durango Saturday.
The people are war-weary. Mr.
Adams says Five years of internal
strife have exhausted the resources
of the country and the patience of the
people who seem listless and apathet-
ic. They are dissatisfied with present
conditions but are afraid to complain.
Bad as conditions are all the Mexi
cans seem bitterly opposed to inter
yenuon The day that the American
government posted troops at the in
ternational bridge the news came by
wire to Torreon and caused much re-
sentiment. Though there was no dem
orstration the feeling was strong d.
geiust Americans and It was Corfu
nate for those present that no decjs-
i've action was taken by the American
government.
On the trip back to the border there
were two young men Of wealthy Next
can families on the train en- route to
New York to enter college. They
talked bitterly against the idea OF in
PREVENTION and said if it occurred they
would return and fight for their coun-
try.
Between Jiminez and Chihuahua
there is a simple grave about 10 feet
lrom the railroad track, with a rude
cross at the head. It is the resting
place of Abraham Gonzales the mar
tyred governor Of Chihuahua, and
calls to mind the unhappy condition
which has befallen the dead patriots
native land.
PLANS FOR DEF NSE
WASHINGTON Auu "a plans