El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-03

and pots of strong coffee. in the even
ing. After the session had been in
progress for eight hours, Gen. Obre-
gon came to the door and stepped into
the hallway for a few minutes as il
to clear his brain. Once he came to
the door and embraced AdolfO de Ia
Huerta, the new civil governor OF
Sonora: another time he came out and
conferred with Carranza consul Andres
Garcia briefly regarding some point
OF fact that had arisen in the confer
ence. Once Col. Serrano, Gen. Obre-
CONS chief Of staff, was called to the
a telegram Gen. Obregon had received
announcing the capture Of Cuernavaca
by Gen. Pablo Gonzales. The colonel
read it to the newspaper men covering
the conference. Aside from these
breaks in the monotony Of the long
watch and the scurrying back and
forth OF bellboys with ice water, mes
sages and notes, the IL hours OF
watchful waiting for the conference
The Long Watch.
It was the long watch FOR the movie
men outside OF the hotel with their
cameras set up for action, Tor the
newspaper men who were waiting in
the lobby Of the hotel. in the smoking
room and in the hall on the eighth
floor Of the hotel. The Il" shaped
hallway leading TO the room where the
conference was being held resembled
the ante room OF a national AEduNudl
tiers at election time. Newspaper men
sat along the hall, leaning their tired
backs against the wall and spreading
their feet out TO get some rest While
they waited. In one corner Of the ele-
Vator a crap" game had been started
by one enterprising correspondent who
made his expense money before the
manager of the hotel arrived and
broke up the game.
Governor Waits.
80
with some friends and talked spanish
in undertones while he smoked the
little cornhusk cigarets for which he
is famous Governor de Ia Huerta, OF
Sonora, paced back and forth the
length of the hall with a friend from
Sonora. waiting to see Cen Obre-
gon when the conference was
closed. Billie Smith, the house de-
tectiye. kept the long watch with tlSs
newspaper men, saying that he was
to the two generals while they were
in his "otel"
The Conference Ends.
After the morning newspaper men
had filed their night leads, the movie
men had curled up in their automobiles
to doze and the Mexicans OF Gen. Obre-
gon's staff had piled up on the floor
and gone to sleep, the door Of the con-
ference room opened and the two gen.
erals and the American mining man
filed down the hall, Gen Scott and Gen.
Obregon walking side by side and Mr.
McQuatters following. As they walked
down the hall. the newspaper men
formed in open order along each wall
and fired questions at them from the
time they left the room until they had
dropped out OF sight in the elevator.
Gen. Obregon, for the first time since
he reached the border, smiled broadly
and bowed and spoke to his Mexican
friends. Gen. Scotts eyes were tired
from much reading behind the thick
lenses Of his glasses and he frOwned Is
he walked to the elevator McQuatters
followed with satisfied smile Of a
man who had put something over"
Midnight Tableau.
Downstairs on the San Antonio street
side OF the hotel, the scene was lifted
from drab WEAKNESS to a flash OF the
spectacular when the movie camera
men touched off their torches and the
night was brilliantly illuminated as
camera operators cranked their picture
machines as they swung around in
great arc to include both Gen. Scott
and Gen. ObregOn in the pictures.
Gen. Obregon sat in his big automo-
bile like a fighter under fire. The
brilliant light gave his olive skin a
ghastly look and brought out his finely
chiseled profile sharply i'm relief.
After waiting a few minutes to give
the camera men their chance. he gave
the military chauffeur, bundled to the
ears in the cape OF HIS army overcoat,
a staccato order and his car leaped for
ward and disappeared in the darkness
down West San Antonio street.
Gen. Scott drove TO his private car
where a big bundle OF messages
awaited him and without stopping to
talk. started reading the MESSAGES
from the war department which had
been uncoded during his absence ana
spent the remainder Of the night at hts
dinky little desk.
Many Messages Sent
During the afternoon and early even
ing a number Of messages reached the
two comforting generals. The messages
to Obregon came from Mexico ana at
one time he sent members OF his en-
tourage to Juarez with dispatches TO
be forwarded to the national capital.
The conference was arranged by A.
j. McC9uatters, general manager OF the
AlVarado Mining company at ParraL
who first visited Gen. Obregon in Juarez
early Tuesday morning. then con-
terred briefly with Gen. Scott and later
saw Gen. Obregon again. McQuatters
Is said to have offered the basis for the
agreement and TO have been the inter-
medlary through whom the two gem
erals were brought together, after what
had seemed to be a permanent breach,
zen. scott having, it is said, insisted
mat the American troops remain and
zen. Obregon that they be withdrawn.
Didn't Expect Success.
IL was announced at the beginning ~
merely preliminary" meeting, and il
IS now believed that the two generals
o n