The Topeka state journal., 1916-07-21
STARVATION OR
VILLA SURE TO
WIN IN MEXICO
Carranza Soldiers Now Live on
Is Beans a Day.
DisintegratiOn of De FactO
Army Near at Hand.
OUTLAWS CONTROL TORREON
The Story That Villa Is Sick Is
All Fake.
Refugee Tells of Scarcity Of
Food Everywhere.
DisintegratiOn of De FactO
Army Near at Hand.
OUTLAWS CONTROL TORREON
BY III. LII. STANSBURY.

Ell Paso, July 21.--Pancho'' Villa
or starvation-which will win in Mex
leo? Complete disintegration of the
Carranza government is inevitable.
Either of these grim factors will re-
quire only brief space of time to ac-
complish the task.
Unbiased students of internal con-
ditions in the war-ridden country as
sert it does not require specialist in
economics to make this diagnosis.
Facts tell the story.
| Reports received at military head
quarters here credited Villa with hav-
| ing taken Torreon. Details are lack
ing, but the information is believed.
The same reports told that business
| had completely suspended in Chihua-
hua City and the towns of that district
| Merchants have refused to dispose of
the few remaining remnants of their
supplies for the worthless currency of
| the de facto government
/ Villa, profiting by these conditions,
has been able to organize an army that
premises to sweep everything before
it.
Torreon Important Point.
Torreon is point of great strategic
Importance. but it matters little, ac-
cording to the military authorities,
L whether his forces actually occupy
the railroad center as they control all
of the surrounding country.
1t is now definitely known on the
border that after defeating the Tre-
vino forces at JimineZ two weeks ago
Villa started a large force for the La
guna district, of which Torreon is the
center. With a personal command OF
coo men, he detoured so as to pass
Farral. The plan to take this town
was abandoned, cue to the failure OF
a subordinate officer to obey orders.
Villa planned to attack Parral from
| the south and west. He remained or
the south side with 500 men and sent
the other commander with a force OF
equal numbers to the west.
Both were to start an advance at
o'clock in the afternoon of July 8
The officer in command to the west
of the town disobeyed orders ard per
mitted his men to begin shooting
shortly after noon. Villa was too fai
away to give assistance at that time
I and the attack was a failure.
Sick Story Fake.
On the night Of the same day the
bandit leader became impatient an6
after looting a suburb of Parral, pro-
ceeded with his entire command tc
the Durango border and along the
trails which lead to Torreon.
No Carranza forces have been sent
in pursuit of the bandit leader, not
withstanding reports from the Mexi-
can press bureau at Galveston that HI
is sick in a cave in southern Chihua-
The starvation conditions are help
ing Villa.
'I doubt if destitution such as is
known to exist in Mexico has faller
to the lot of any of the stricken zones
of Europe said high army official
"Carranza's hungry soldiers have
neither the spirit nor the courage tC
go after Villa Their government he:
no money with which to feed then
and through duplicity and false state
| V17o ante in nj
ficers.
eff Villa should be removed, the sit.
uation would be but little changed
The PEOPLE must live and the law q
self preservation has turned 80 pei
cent of a benighted but normally IL
dustrious population into bandits"
ii From Chihuahua City, the metrop
| oils of northern Mexico, came tht
latest report of famines ravages. 1
| was brought to Ell Paso by an Ameri
can representative in Mexico of one
of the largest mining and smelling
companies in the world. Starvation