The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-02-19
Soldier of Fortune Says
Mexican Leader Is Cham
pion of Poor.
CARRANZA is WILLIAM
American Boys on Border
Weren't Abused, But
Were Homesick.

ed by the newspapers of the United
States. He is not a villain at ALL blu,
the champion of the oppressed masses
of his country, and the United States
could not better aid the Mexican people
than by turning the cold shoulder or
Carranza and giving Villa unlimited
ammunition.
So says Captain A. A. Thomas. q
soldier Of fortune now resting in Mis-
soula after doing scout duty for Villa
when he was a Madero commander
and for Funston while the American
militia was on the border.
Thomas says, too, that the militia =
men who have brought home tales OF
abuse and starvation are simply tell
ing falsehoods. 1.-THE grub them boys
got was good enough for king" says
Thomas.
Varied tales of exciting experiences
In Mexico and with the Americans on
says he served under Madero as a
captain OF scouts during the revolu
ton, which ended with the overthrow
of Diaz. Later he came to the United
States and served under General Fun
ston.
Villa Peoples Champion.
I'm regard to Villa" says Thomas,
practically all the reports about the
depredations he is supposed to have
been responsible for are untrue. It
is fact that he has been a bandit,
friend of the poor classes in Mexico.
This whole Mexican trouble is simply
n labor war, in which the poor people
are fighting for existence. Americans
cannot imagine how terribly the Mexi-
cans are oppressed.
villa is the only man in Mexico
who will ever restore peace, for as
long as Carranza or any of his kind
are in power there will be trouble.
Carranza is not fighting for the people
but against them. believe the only
way to settle the trouble down there
Is to sell Villa all the ammunition he
can pay for. Then he will settle it
once and for ALL
you see, Villa doesn't want to be
president himself. He just wants to
overthrow the corrupt government
that now exists and let the people elect
just president and put him in power.
OF course Villa will see to it that the
president runs the country properly.
Didn't Raid Columbus.
Il got a tip this summer from re-
liable source that the raids on Column
bus was not Villas doings at all.
Hired assassins, paid indirectly by
moneyed men in this country, who
have millions invested down there.
made the raid"
Thomas has radical views regarding
Preparedness, and he wants to have
them put into practice right away.
Uncle Sans in danger" he says, re-
peatedly and loudly. He would have
military service made compulsory for
every able bodied male. Those unfit
for the army ne would have trained as
munitions makers. Moreover, he
thinks all unemployed men should be
forced to do military service. He
would have a submarine for every mile
of coast and regiments of soldiers
everywhere.
At that he doesn't think much of the
militia. He calls the men who have
complained about treatment on the
border dudes" and "mothcrs boys"
But he has written about it himself
'Whle scouting, he says. he deycl-
opcd himself into 4 magazine writer. J
Here's what he says Of the militia on
the border:
His Own Story.
There was several complaints this
summer from the boys along the Dor
der that they were not getting good
grub, the grub In reality was good
enough for anybody, the trouble was
that the majority of these men wcr,
lot OF dudes that thought they were
going down there on a grand uicnjc
they had never been 10 miles from
thlcr door steps in thicr lives and had
been brought up as n pet and had al
ways had thier oun way in most things
and didn't know what the word deci
pine meant. and when they saw that
they had to do as they were told, and
had to get up in the morning at n rca
Sonable hour for breakfast, instead of
having thier breakfast served to them
in bed they naturally got home sick,
but it didn't do them any good, then
they started a kick about the grub
which was the only thing they could
think OF, hence all the news paper re-
ports about poor conditions among the
men down on the border, they were
the widest bunch I ever saw, it was
impossible to 60 thru any of the
militia camps without seeing half a
dozen black eyes, them boys were
plumb restless"
COLD IN EAST.