Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1916-03-22
FACES BIG TASK
IN VILLA CHASE
Difficult Problem ConfrontS Amer
lean Army in Mexico.
MExICANS WILL AID VILLA
General Funston Has $1,000 Troops
With Which to Guard 1900 Miles
of Border and Pursue
Bandit.

Bandit.
Washington-Th first question
which comes up in sending an expedi
ton after Villa is that of the troops
available. The only troops immedi-
ately available are those of the regu-
lar army. Of the Is regiments of cav
airy, three and a third of them are
out OF the country and therefore not
available Seven are already on the
border. leaving four and two-thirds
which can be sent.
OF the field artillery, one regiment
of light and one and half regiments
of mountain are on foreign service.
and therefore not available. One
regiment of light, one of horse, and
half a regiment of mountain are on
the border. In the rest of the country
there is only one regiment and that
is a siege one, the guns of which are
too heavy to be used with such an ex-
petition as the one after Villa.
Nineteen infantry Regiments.
OF the 80 regiments of infantry ten
and twO-thirds are on foreign serv-
ice, Is are already on the border,
leaving only four and third available
as reinforcement. The first time
the troops were modified on the Mex
lean border companies of coast artil-
lery were organized into battalions and
regiments and used for infantry. At
the present time. however, due to our
strained diplomatic relations with
Germany and more or less strained re-
lations with other powers, the coast
artillery cannot be spared from the
| coast defenses.
This means we have available to
| guard our Mexican border and chase
| Villa l. % regiments of cavalry and
| 10 1-3 regiments OF infantry, As field
guns and 16 mountain guns. AS the
regiments are at peace strength, this
| gives a force of about $4,000 to guard
| 1000 miles of frontier through coun-
try easily crossed by troops in any
direction and to catch Villa in ter
ritory with which he is thoroughly IA
miliar
Mexicans Will Aid Villa.
A great advantage possessed by
Villa, is that every Mexican will aid
him in every possible way. He never
will lack information as to where our
forces are and as to what they are
doing. On the other hand, when ques-
toned by our men they will always
lie and give as much misnformation
as possible.
Villa can cause our troops serious
embarrassment by retreating practi
cally straight south. 1t is true that
there are Carranzista forces occupy
ing most of the principal points north
of and including Mexico City.
South of Mexico City is the terri
| tory held by Zazata, who has never
| come in since the original Madero rev
olution While little has been heard
! from him in this country. he generally
! has more followers than had Villa in
! his palmiest days. He excites even
| more terror among the natives than
/ does Villa He has threatened Mex
/ leo City itself on more than one occa-
sion. For these reasons there prob
/ ably would be little difficulty in Villa
| getting through Carranza forces to
! Zapata, should he wish to do so.
Must Guard Communications.
AS our troops advance into Mexico
their line of communications becOm
ing longer and longer will need more
and more troops to guard it, Also.
the natives will come more and more
to believe that a genuine invasion is
being made. At the present time so
much hatred of the American exists
just south of the line and so much
hatred of the Mexican just north of
| it that a clash between CarranZistas
and the American troops is possible at
any time.
The farther our troops penetrate
into Mexico the greater the tempta-
ton to the Carranzistas to join Viii
listas and attempt to cut them off
This would be all the easier, as due
to the present nominally friendly at
titude of CarranZa his troops occu-
py positions near and along the Dor
der which. of course. win be between
our expeditionary force and the sup
porting forces on our side of the Dor
der as soon as the expeditionary force
will have advanced any distance into
Mexico.