The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-01-29
PERSHINC STARTS HIS SOLDIERS ON. |HOMEW WARD MARCH

Washington, Jan. 29-The with drawal of American troops from Mex ico under Maj. Gen. Pershing, official announcement of which was made by the war department yesterday, was said today to be proceeding without hitch.
 It is expected here that all of the | 1o,O00 men comprising the expedition
 will have recrossed the border with
 in a week and that at least a part of
 the remaining 5O,O0O guardsnen doing border patrol duty may be released
 soon afterward.
 Army officers here point to the great value of the Pershing expedition in military way, not only as hardening 1 the troops but also as bringing about much needed improvement and still more interesting consideration from 1 Congress and the country. When Gen. Pershing went into Mex ico, for instance, the army had \but two truck companies of 27 trucks
 each. Now it has more than 2,000 big trucks of modern design. Likewise, the great increase in the army avia- tion strength is said to be due largely f to needs shown by the expedition. Washington, Jan. 29-The first of- ficial announcement that General Pershing's expedition had been order ed to withdraw from Mexico to Amer1- can soil was made Sunday when Sec retary of War Baker issued the fol- lowing statement:
 General Pershing has been order ed to bring his troops out of Mexico. The movement is to be an immediate one, and is probably already under way"
 The announcement marked the last chapter in the entrance into Mexico of 12,00O American soldiers as a re- suit of the Villa massacre of IT Americans at Columbus, N. M.. on March, g, 1916.
 The American evacuation is in pros gress northward from Colonia Dub- Ian by way of Corralitos and Ascen- sion toward Columbus The van- guard of the expedition will reach Columbus early this week, and prac- tically the whole expedition is exA pected to be back on American soil by next Sunday. Colonia. Dublan, is no miles south of the border. The withdrawal of the Pershing force is being made voluntarily and without any agreement with the Carranza de facto government.
 Cost $14,O0O,OO0 Month.
 The expedition has been costing the United States government about $14,- OOO,0O0 month, and high military officers have been in favor of it's with drawal because the troope have been idle for some months, and army strat- egists did not regard the position which the Pershing force occupied as a strong military line. In the event of broad military activities ever being. undertaken by this{ government in Mexico it is known that the ''Pershing line," which was established in an emergency from Columbus southwark, would not figure in the plans of the war department
 The withdrawal of the Pershing force will again put upon the shoul-5 burden of protecting foreign interests in that part of Northern Chihuahua which the American forces have been successfully patrolling and protecting. General Obregon is understood to have mapped out a complete plan of campaign against the Villistas who in the last two months have been more active in certain parts of Northern Chihuahua than at any other time since the Columbus attack precipitat- ed the dispatch of the punitive expe- dition into Mexico. General Manuel Dieguez, who has been assigned to command the forces of the de facto government in the Laguna district, near Torreon, will cooperate with General Murgui, who has a free hand to conduct the campaign against Villa.
 Villa, on the other hand, according to information reaching Washington. has entered into a new alliance with Zapata, and is planning to take the fullest possible advantage of the with drawah of the American forces. The contest between the Villistas and Car ranzistas for the control of the Region given up by General Pershing will be closely watched in Washington, for it is realized that upon the result of Mexican military developments in Chi huahua during the next six months much may hinge with, respect to the attitude of the United States govern ment toward the Mexican situation and the de facto government that it HOW recognizes.
 Carranza Faces Test. K It has been the contention of Gen-i eral CarranZa throughout his insistent campaign for the withdrawal of the American troops that their mainte- nance in Mexico has been source of dissatisfaction among Mexicans thorn in the side of the de facto gov ernment, and an advantage to the Villistas. It is now pretty generally accepted here that if there is merit to this argument the withdrawal of the Pershing forces should demonstrate before the end of the summer whether the de facto government has the abil- ity to control and handle the situa- ton.
 Two phases of the Mexican problem on which interest centres now are the disposition of the more than 50.Oao militiamen still of the border and the sending of Ambassador Fletcher to his post at Mexico City. Officials say no decision has been reached in either of these questions, but that both are dependent on the turn of events in Mexico.
 At least a part of the remaining guardsmen is expected to be ordered home as soon as the 25,00O now leaving have been moved out of the way and Pershing's regulars have been distrib- uted to provide adequate protection for the border, perhaps in three weeks. O<v +, ,,,rS<. xvx34I I, H.,