The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-09-01

torture lS oIten reSorted to, some
times to extort money. and some
times out OF pure fiendishness.. In this
connection I should like to mention
that large proportion of Mexicans
officers as we'll as men. are dope f1ends
They smoke mariguana which is
made from the loco weed familiar to
cattle men In the Southwest which
has an effect like hasheesh They will
not 20 into battle without a dose of
mariguana which imparts a sort Of
false courage. In fact. the march
ing song of the Carranzistas is The
Tnmblebug." a free translation of the
first Of the hundred verses OF which
one is as follows:
i cannot march longer
Because there is lacking.
Mariguana TO smoke
The results of bandit rule are ap-
palling. Mexico is sunk to the utter
most depths of degradation ami
misery. The greater number of the
stores In Mexico under the Diaz regime
have been looted bare and now stand
empty and deserted, with windows
broken and the buildings more or
less wrecked. The same thing applies
to factories. Such industries as
aged. Many manufacturing plants
have been destroyed many others are
not operated because Carranza or
some other chieftain would seize the
product, One copper mine, repre-
! senting an investment of s1.500. 900
near Chihuahua City. was wantonly
destroyed the present year This hap
pens to he one of the many instances
of destruction that came under my
/ personal observation
Even the plants which might be
! operated so far as other obstacles are
concerned cannot obtain labor The
poems would rather join Carranza' !
army or some other bandit gang and
T, take chances on getting share of
the loot than to earn living by hon
est work. Even the farmers do no;
| fut In more than enough crops to af-
ford their families bare existence
because of the certainty that the
whole would be confiscated.
Many Dying OF Starvation.
AS direct consequence of this al
most complete stoppage of useful la
, Dor the annual deaeh rate from star
walton or from diseases due to mall
nutrition is 100000 l myself saw in
fourteen months of 1s17-lS no fewer
than iye thousand persons dead or
DYING from starvation or from diseases
I they were too weak from lack OF food
TO resist On ono occasion while
| journeying in the State of Vera Cruz
was called into a howell in which
three elderly persons were dying OF
starvation. Next door seven children
lay on the floor too weak to move.
sing Ky ut
/ especially, people are dying like flies
! from starvation.
"IJiSeaxa ~
| are few and far between Drugs are
| almost unobtainable, and the people
have no money to buy them il they
/ were to be had, Paiudismo claims
its victims by thousands, So. also
does tuberculosis. Typhus and ty.
phoid fever are very prevalent
/ ITO say that the country from end
TO end is filthy fails to convey ar
adequite idea of its condition. SAM
/ tary cenveniences are primitive in the
larger places. In the smaller town.
and villages there are not even out
houses. The streets are used instead
and the streets are never cleaned. Sc
i far as that Is concerned the streets OF
/ the capital itself are rarely cleaned
and some Of them never are This
nav m n,,;n IN 1918 were broken VI
I'm this wclter OF filth many PEG.
pie live the year round. They nevel
sleep under a roof. but lie in heap.
| in doorways in such rags as the,
! wear during the day. Victims 81 the
most loathsome diseases squat alons
the streets TO peddle articles of foot
and triies. Beggars swarm every
| where, clutching at the clothing Of
passers-b and begging for the love
| OF the Holy Mary for a cent to save
them from starvation. Gaunt wo
men. almost naked. enter the restau
rants TO beg for bones from the plate,
OF customers. Children. too. the
smaller ones totally naked, the larger
ones wearing few rags. also roam