Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1916-04-04
MEANS A LONG STAY
ARMY OFFICERS BELIEVE JOB IN
MEXICO WILL TAKE CON-
SIDERABLE TIME.
FEAR MEXICANS MAY FIGHT
Factions May Unite Against Northern
Understandings Good Work in
the Phiippines-NaVal and Congress
sionaI Circles in Controversy.
By GEORGE CLINTON.

BY GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington.-Army officers here
say there is no blinking the fact that
as the United States government has
been Obliged to senn an army into
Mexico it will be forced to stay there
work. There are some military men
III Washington who declare that the
comparatively small force sent into
Mexico for Furnishing purposes and
with orders to stay there until the job
is completed, probably will be as long
at the work as would larger force
engaged in a much broader field of
operations.
OF course as has been said by mill
tary men and laymen scores of times,
if big army eventually goes into Mex
leo it will go because the necessity
seems to be that it must fight the fol-
lowers of all factions in the southern
country including the adherents of
the de facto government under Car
rama. So if an American army goes
a punitive force. it will mean that the
Mexicans, spurred by what they think
is pricking of real patriotism, will
have joined together to fight the north
ern invader
If the Carranza following holds off,
the work o. the United States troops
will concern itself only with the bandit
bands, but before these can be round
ed up and the work of pacification
completed it is held by many Wash
ington officials that a long time will
have elapsed, much money will have
been spent and probably many lives
will have been lost.
how the Army Views 1t.
This is the army view of the matter
and it is based on what has happened
in Mexico and on this Size of the Dor
der in the years that are past. Col.
G. A. Dodd of the cavalry is in com
mand of a part of the troops on the
border. If Colonel Dodd does not
know how to trail bandits and how to
fight them probably no man in the
American army does. There are
good many officers on the retired list
who have Oe2L INTO Mexico in pursuit
of hostile Apaches md there are more
of them who have Tough. Mexican
bandits in the chaparral and desert
countries along the Rio Grande
Colonel oodd when he was a captain
in the Third cavalry was i the field
for two years against Mexican bandits
aided by some observation-disclosures, who
constantly were raidilg back and
forth across the border and who as a
rule made the chaparral country
south of the Nueces river their lurking
places.
1t ,ook the United States govern
ment nearly two years to capture
about 300 Mexican and MeXican-TeXan
banrits. The operations against these
thieves and Gesperadocs began early
in 1892 md lasted Until The latter part
of the year 1898. The reason for the
success of he outlaws in Guiding the
troopers was that the 1ture of the
country in which they were commit
ting their depredatiOns was such as to
make cOnCealment easy ant effective
pursuit almost impossible.
1t should be remembered that these
operations largely were conducted on
tn. American side of the border At
that time American troops were for
hidden to cross into Mexico, but no
such inhibition held in regard to the
men whom they were trying to cap
ture. The outlaws went back and
forth at will. If the American troop
ers had been allowed to cross the
river the chances are that the career
of the bandits would have been cut
much shorter than was the case
Chased Indians into Mexico.
In the early sos and somewhat
later, under an agreement with Mex
leo, American troops were allowed to
cross into the southern country when
actually in pursuit of hostile Indians.
Some officers now on the active list
of the United States army took part
in these trailing expeditions into the
mountains of Mexico and into the
desert regions where the bandits of
today will betake themselves if
pressed by American troops.
1t took the troopers a long time to
put an end to the Apache raidings
Geronimo md the other Apache chiefs
with their bands considered them
selves virtually safe if they could once
get across the line into the Businesses
of Mexico. The bandits of today may
go where the Apaches went and it is
probable that following them will be
colonies and lieutenant colonies who
as first and second Heutenants fol
lowed the same trails when in pursuit
of the Apaches.
Army officers say that this section
of Mexico is one of the worst in the
world in which to conduct a campaign
with any hope of success. The coun-
try is rough and for long stretches il
is waterless. One expedition which
went into Mexico in pursuit OF Indians
could not find water for two days and
the men came near perishing. With
this expedition was Lieut.. John w.
Heard. who is now a lieutenant colonel
of cavalry stationed in Texas. Heard
once said that the expedition probably
was saved by mule which seemed
to scent water and which breaking
Objected to Common Term.
"Billingsgate" is an accepted term