American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1916-11-02
Boys Walk Border Line Day and Night
Fearful Of Greasers' T~reacher0ns
Attacks Getting Ready for Ineyi,
table.
John NJ. Bradley.)

John NJ. Bradley
Lying In the military base hospital
here AT Nogales for several weeks lay
a son of Idaho, slowly recovering from
the effects of a nasty gunshot wound
inflicted on him by a Mexican soldier,
inflicted while the wounded man was
going about his own business, prepar-
ing to take a train for home to visit
his wife and family.
The attempted assassination of Cap
tain II. w. Wilson was one of the most
|cowardly of the numerous and always
cowardly affairn such as are fire.
ouertly pulled off by the Mexican sol
diers.
Within 80 feet of the spot where
Captain Wilson lny writing on the
floor In his pain, a soldier of the
United States army walked a beat
no, not walked, for the soldier, "A
young man at that, threw a she'll into
the magazine OF his rifle and training
II at a ready, he cody faced the Mexi-
a throng only a scant 300 feet
away. soldiers and all, and waited for
another move.
Boys Await Orders.
Additional soldiers of the republic
came running quickly from the guard
house two blocks away and threw Il
double line of guards along the street
which marks the Mexican boundary
line. Up on the hills about Nogales
were thousands OF other soldiers. reg
uiars and guardsmen-all branches of
the service, an army ready and on its
toes waiting to go. The Mexican sol
der walked away after handing his
gun TO another soldier, who told him
to beat II" quickly before he got into
trouble.
have a photograph taken of that
street Ave minutes before the shot was
fired and n prominent Carranza offic-
ial is standing alongside the soldier
who fired the shot that struck down
Captain Wilson.
Dare Not Fire.
What happened? Nothing. Discip.
line among the soldiers of Uncle Sam
IL AT n high state of perfection and the
word to the guards IL Don't fire. "
you are fired at FROM ACROSS the
line"
And SO our slider walks his post
on the border by day and by niyht
knowing that any mn may bring
To him or his comrade the crack OF
the assassin's rifle and the whine of
the bullet as II seeks It's mark, Knows
that under the orders now existing for
border guards he will run the risk OF
being court martialed II he forgets
himself 80 much as TO fire back In
self defense or in retaliation.
The case OF Captain Wilson is but
one of the hundreds that have oc-
Cured In some form or other during
the last 90 months, There Is no day
passes In these piping times of peace
t?l on the border that some Ameri-
can man or woman is subjected to the
insults of "A Mexican who Is convinced
that the gringo viii not fight.
Answers Paciticist.
Aud now comes your paciiicist and
asks; why all this mobilization?
all this training of men To be soldiers?
Why all this millions of expense for
equipment for stock, for ammunition
and the thousands OF other articles
which 20 to make for an army?"
l am of the opinion that | could
answer all these questions with one
answer but as | have been asked to b.
specific. ! must be specific. And the
whole proposition insofar as expense
IA concerned right now is answered by
the N word, not preparedness" but
preparing"
There are today actually on the
border In various arms of the service
more han 100. 900 men. They have
been brought from many different
states-from many different climatic
conditions and from every possible So
cial condition existing in the United
States They have been mobilized and
lent out to drill and do guard duty
under climatic conditions which many
OF the men have never experienced.
But to the question of mobilization,
and the why, ! think IT a little diff
cult to give you a word picture of
conditions down here Just now. From
where ! am sitting | can see a long
row OF poorly erected. lily equipped
tent houses usually about II by IA fee,
In dimension. In those tent houses
are living all the IA from N to
four families.
They are having a desperate time OF
II securing sufficient food and cloth
ing and we're I: not for the TACT that