The sun., 1916-01-14
VictOriauO Huerts.

. As NlCToRIANo HuEETA. virtually a
prisoner of the United States. lay
dying nt III Puso. the gucrrillas Of
PABro LorE2 were shooting American
citizens like dogs at the desert sta.
tion uf Santa Isabel aud CARRANzA
wu> ruler in Mexico 10y grace of
WOODROW WILSON. II was the boast
of the ey-'lictntor that he protected
Americans while he WAS in power,
and the bOnst was not an empty one.
Il appeal" he said. on his arrival in
New York in Arril last year. "tv the
Testimony Of the Spanish. German,
French and English colonies. and par
ticularly Ia tn" important American
colony resident in Mexico. They will
and ,lo confirm what say. Nobody
can ever name II single foreigner whr
has suffered directly or Indirectly
from my government.
II may hc nniecrured thar If Mr..
WILSON had read MrNi,un histur.;
Understandings and had accepted
HrrRTA n provisional President there
there would have been no massacre %
American citizens AT Santa ISabel,
and Mexico would have been spared
the suffering and devastation of the
most terrible civil conflict in her his
tory. The obstinate dictator had at
1 4 II I'm Va al. in. ia.
morali>t who had condemned him as
unclean and unworthy. who had
rested his right to rule McXicnns by
the principles of constitutional gov
ernment which they did not under
stand. And the man whom the oh.
silnate moralist AT last recognized Us
III TO rule the Mexican people WIS
hardly in the seat of authority when
America was Mortified 10y the say.
agery at Santa Isnbel. since I left
Mexico said General HrERrA re.
Gently, "hunGreds. thousands. tens of
thousands "f peaceful, law abiding
citizens have been killed. New tor
lures. unknown in times Of the InQui.
>iti0n, have been discovered by human
burtes to make their brothers and for.
eigners suffer. Why, to possess II gold
watch or II ten dollar bank note is
sufficient To cause ones execution"
The eX-dictator could see no hope
for Mexico until n strong man aroS'.
"No one respects CARR,NzA." he said,
There Is neither order nor authority.
The obstinate mOralist could not
soc he need Of II strong man. HrERrA
was nothing To him hut a hoodstained
usurprr who had trnmpIed on the
Constitution and cxtlnguished an
ideal. Yet ia truth General IERTA.
with all his fnillngs, WAS II strong
man, in fact the strong man needed
In that crisis. In spite of proscrip-
ton by the United States Govern
n,ent he raised money without max.
ing forced loans, he organized an
army and equipped 1t, he admins
tered the Government with marked
ability he more than held his own IN
diplomacy. he policed The territory IN
his jurisdiction, and he would prob
ably have established his Govern.
ment on II firm foundation If Mr..
WILSON had changed his mind, as he
did in the case Of CARRANzA.
The final triumph, the triumph of
ideas, that Is, was with the victim
Of the obstinate mOralist. General
HrEITA lived to see mt last. although
in captivity on the border of his coun.
try. his prediction In n way to be
verified. The so.called Constitution.
nlists were divided and wnrred on
one another; and there was no order
or respect for authority in Mexico
except at the muzzle Of q rifle. At
the very last while the dying man