Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1915-03-05
Itxscf @ 6sfsd66g tffia Il ssfd req

-
dtksof % 6sftd6df Villa Il eead fee
resentatlves Is the convention. After
wards 1t ttsnrped sovereign power,
that. it did not possess and which
Carranza never sanctioned. But Car
rarza. putting aside the considerations
and rising nobly to the demands of the
situation, expressed to the conven
ton in writing his willingness moi
only to resign as First Chief in charge
Of the executive power of the nation
but to become an exile from his coun
try II the delegates ask this of him
The single condition that he stated
must govern this abdication was that
Villa should resign his command OF
the Ccnstitutionalist army of the
North and if the convention so de
creed, must also leave Mexico.
Story Of Convention.
The convention on November 9Th
passed a resolution calling for the re
tirement of both Carranza and Villa
Antonio l. Villareal Chairman of the
convention, thus describes subsequent
events:
After the absurd selection of Gen.
eral Gutierrez as Provisional Presi
dent for 20 days, which had been done
in Difference to the wishes of Zapata
myself and three others were commits
stoned to serve notice on the FRS,
Chief that he was to resign. Wills
had already agreed, so his representa-
tives stated, to tender his resignation
We would have shortly secured Car
-anza's retirement had not General
Gutierrez, bullied into action by pres
sure brought upon him by Villa, sum.
moned the latter to Aguascalientes
and placed him in command Of all the
military forces in the country.
This act violated the previous reso.
ution of the convention and was con
:rary to its own mandates, or in otheI
words, contrary to the desires of what
vas left of it, as it must be remem.
oered that out of tho 1856 registered
delegates many had withdrawn for one
.eason or another until at last there
IF this 60 had been recalled by their
signatories. A quorum in the conven.
ton necessitated 70 delegates.
"a brief resume of the situation at
this critical time might be stated as
follows: We said to Carranza: Retire
Or we will fight you, your retirement
being made with the understandings
that Villa will be forced to withdra ".
We said to General Gutierrez and tc
the convention: That Villa retire or
we will fight him and uphold the reso-
luton of the convention, Villas re-
tirement being with the understanding
that Carranza will be forced to retire.
The reply We received from Cen
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 obi
cation.
This violent and illegal decision re-
lieved 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 figureheads 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 ma
ton this menace Of reaction and bar
barity."
~arranza Civilian.
Carranza is essentially a civilian
rather than a military man. From the
inception of the revolution he sought
TO direct its destinies as did Presi-
dents Lincoln and Davis control
events in our Civil war Accordingly
when Villa commenced his military
campaign against CaITanza tie latter
had not 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 such
generals and their armies to gather
around 1t as desired to combat for
nationalist army, exclusive of the Divi.
sion of the North, commanded by Vii
la, fiocked to the support of Carranza
Carranza withdrew from Mexico
City and established the national cap
ital at Vera Cruz.
Pathetic In its note of helplessness
is the story that President Gutierrez
told of conditions existing in Mexico
City while he occupied the presiden.
tlal chair. He narrated this after
he had fled from the city and endeav.
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 Aguascali.
entes convention and Professor David
Berlango, another distinguished mem.
Der OF the convention, both of whom
had been brutality murdered by the
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 mad the audacity 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.
In view of these terrible orders tho
delegates, carrying the flag of the con.
vention, called for protection on the
Carranza Governor of the State of
Nuevo 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 OF
twelve armed men. besides two thou.
sand cavalry. who surrounded INV
mouse and removed the meager Guard
OF twenty men who were defending
me. With the courage instilled in him
', -