The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-11
SUFFERING IN MEXICO
WORSE UNDER
People Starving and Disease Ridden-Prices Higher,
Wages Lower-Aid of American Red Cross
Refused by First Chief.

figuring. on the 625.Oov population Of
the district there vas "a yearly death
rate Of ABOUT II per 100, more han ten
times the rate OF a healthful American
city.
Washington could have ascertainej
these figures had II so desired. 1t pre-
ferred TO taio The Carrania report of
conditions. IL preferred to take the wood
OF a Government which had made and
continues to make miscellaneous 50 Wild
that II is hard to see nov the man who
utters then can expect TO he believed. II
preferred TO take the report OF a govern.
ment which at this exact time was ~.
sorting that work had been given on the
streets to $4,000 poems. whereas a care
fui check on every street In the city was
made and less than 200 were found to
be at work.
This same Government. which has as
serted that conditions generally arc i'm
proving rapidly. and 10 succeeding In
having the State Department ISSUE a like
statement. knows that In GuadalJars
there II so per cent. less manufacturing
business. In El ORC 95 per cent. less and
that elsewhere throughout The district
over which Carranxa asserts his sway
conditions are little better.
This same Government has faisihed
cemetery reports and hospital reports.
and finally refused 10 let Red Cross
nurses enter the three great hospitals.
the General. the JuareE and the Hospital
de Jesus. knowing that the nurses would
report conditions as they are instead of
as the Mexican Government wishes they
were.
For all this, OF course. Carranza
personally ann be held responsible.
I..s ala A. N--s H.
Carranza cannot control the swashbuck-
lerr who euriound him. At least he does
not. and as to this there is 10 argument.
The record OF 7l3 private residences oc-
cupied by officers and In the main Allied
with their women up to the middle of
November In Mexico city alone Is some
evidence of how much attention Is being
paid to the First Chiefs order tina there
be no confiscation.
II was this enlightened Government
which demanded the withdrawal Of the
American Red Cross. And It was the
United States Government which on
sented. and thus took away the last
shred OF hope from thousands OF poor
Mexicans. The nominal reason was that
the Government food stations could care
for the situation. They could not. and
did not. Tests were made. n IL WAS
found that the bulk Of the FOOT ~ dis
pensed went only TO the ~soldaderas. who
took IL directly back TO their soldiers The
fact that even Government employees
came to the Red Cross for succor is
some index to the gravity of the situa-
ton.
Thought Of Cuba.
The actual reason for C~arranza's in
sistence tina, the Red Cross be with
drawn? II may be only a guess. but a
Mexican fairly familiar with the Car
rama mind says positively that the ac-
ton was inspired by "A recollection OF
the Red Cross work In cuba and the
part II played In bringing on the war
with Spain. II IL quite possible the fear
was well grounded. for the Red Cross
repoi J could not be friendly to Mexican
rule as then demonstrated
Even today, with the corr crop In
misery is abundant. Leaving out other
factors. starvation itself is far iron,
gone. A trip was made to one Of the
suburban cemeteries OF Mexico city anu
a none too pleasant watch kept AS the
bodies were brought in. in pairs. naked
scarcely more than skin covered skele-
tons. and dumped unccremoniously into
shallow graves
Il don't have to dig deep graves
volunteered the vllainous looking grave
digger. There isn't enough meat or
them to worry, but II l don't bury then
more than "A foot deep the flies come and
bother me" He added that he did no
care much FOR his job. as It was rather
lonesome arh he did not know any q
the people he was burying.
Into other suburbs We drove 10 sec
whether the starvation period had ended
In the main 1t had. only to be replaced
by TITO" as the typhus is called, nov
wreaking the most frightful havoc tina,
present residents recall. But food itself
was far from plentiful and bread line,
were we'll ~patronized. one. supported b,
"A few benevolent E~nglishnen, was Civ,
ing out 40 rat!ons "A day, two ration,
to three people. The population ~ tina
suburb had been reduced from 50. 000 4
10000, partly by death. but more by IN,
enlistments In the army. where llfe with,
out work held IL attractions to thos,
who could not get work anyway.
Cemetery FILLED Full.
In a nearby suburb we found the littl,
cemetery .illed to the last available foot
Between the old era yes had been du,
two or three or four fresh graves. II
each of which had gore two bodies. ant
even 50 space was lacking.
More wait" said a guard. and waved
toward the chapel.
In the more distant points much tn,
same conditions prevailed. In the sur
rounding mountains are many mines
Those at pachuca have been most for
%tunate, and work there has continue,
fairly high. In the I'll ORC distric
work has been almost totally aban
doned. Between these two extreme
classify the other mining towns. .
resident Of FL orc explained there wa
little starvation there. then added tina
the population amounted to only 20C
This camp formerly held 10000.
But starvation throughout these se'
tons, such AS 1t was. has been followe,
by TITO quite as violent as that In tn
capital. Pachuca had about 5 per cen,
OF is population suffering from tic
with worse conditions expected. ON
mine. employing 1000. had more tina
500 cases registered, which mean
many more, AZ It Is certain not all ar
registered.
The Carranza Government at lengtl
consented to allow the mining companie
TO clean up the tow with their ow,
medical force. anu work in this fell
was to be started as soon ms the necea
sary twenty physicians could be Oh
tanned. The hospitals are already undo
construction. 1t might he m%entione,
that the company physician, n Dr. San
doval. died the other day from his worI
in the TITO camps.
The average American or Europea,
looks askance when "A friend in Mexic
tells him that IA hundred thousand Mex!
cans have died from starvation and con
~tributory causes. lie cannot understan,
how this ar'ny would simply fade ava,
instead OF rising in revolt agains, tn
! v,itt.,z. r,tin ,r,hI,l, 49,, - d,