The Washington times., 1920-06-05

cases came TO trial Some were muir
dsrsd outright. Others died sudden-
ly." But not one OF them talked.
Danger 10 hfs ~sA, fer sous years,
much more dangerous to residents Ia
Mexico. than danger to property.
The zApstistas are the most san
dsrsd Of ell the numerous political
groups In that much divided country.
In reality ZApAtA's followers were the
only sincere revolutionAries- They
formed q sect rather than = party.
and zApatx was q prophet whom they
obeyed fanAticAlly. Land for Every
bodyi" That WAS his slogan His men
were barbsrisns. something like the
HunA- They would fall upon Mexico
City much As the barbarian invaders
used to sweep down upon Rome But
they were honest men No one In
my hearing ever accused Zapata or
any of his followers OF getting rich
off their raids. They smashed every
thing they could lay their hands on.
but they never carried any OF the
pieces away in their pockets.
Among thoSe- unselfish yandsls Of
the revolution. we must reckon villa
too. People who called themselves
important many a time had to go
and pay homage to this chieftain. or
Justify their manner OF living before
him In that famous Pullman-car,
which was his regular domicile. and
which Is, to the history OF contem-
porary Mexico. what Attiia's tent WAS
to the dawn OF the Middle Ages.
Describes Clsrassistas.
But what I was going to say is this.
p las
the Villistas. SO long denounced as
bandits, even by the very men who
used them early in the revolution.
was much less feared by the honest.
hard W orking citizens of Mexico. than
the approach OF government troops.
"And now for the Carranzistas." they
would say. as the bands of Zapata or
villa retired: and they would begin
to weaken at the knees.
And who are the Carranzistas.
They were Don Pablo Gonzalez and
Alvaro Obregon.
"O.d man" Carranza was way be-
hind, coming from Vera Cruz, with all
his cabinet furniture.
Gonzalez and Obregon represented
triumphant "Carranziemo."
Genial. lovable chaps. those two old
cronies. who. now that Carranza has
| been put out OF the way. ask the
| world to accept them as two men of
the future. two political virginities.
Don Pablo, so deferential toward
persons and SO metriculous about le-
gality. would summon group OF Of
| ficers.
Gentlemen, you are a court-mar-
| tial. Put So-and- So on trial and have
him shot. He is a nuisance"
Obregon Had Lighter Touch.
The court would come to order. The
defendant would bring proof of COM
| plete innocence. His counsel would
| thrash around and tear his hair. and
the court itself would end by asking
! for the culprit's release.
That would not disconcert Don
Pablo. He would draw his pen
| through the verdict and say to an
| adjutant: go and get that'So-and-So.'
Mr. So-and-So would be at home, sur
rounded by family and friends and re-
| ceiving congratulations on his acquit-
| tal Then the new summons would
come More red tape to unwind. l
suppose" the unlucky man would say.
| Perhaps / forgot to sign some pa
per"
A half hour later he would be In
front Of the firing squad.
| 1ll-humor was the characteristic of
all Don Pablo's practical jokes.
Obregon, for his part. had a lighter
touch. His jests were more expan-
1 sive. more theatrical. He is some
thing like the Kaiser. in this respect,
and doubtless in recognition of spir-
itual kinship with the man. William
II. as Obregon claims. wanted to
] read the book the Mexican Napoleon
had written. The parallel can be
1
amputated arm; the Kaiser has a
| crack ed" as the phrase goes. both
| fond of sensational speeches dramatic
attitudes, and ostentatious military
| reviews.
Insults Population.
On his entry into the capital, Villas
conqueror took advantage of a public
| meeting to insult the whole popula-
| ton at one stroke. You Mexico
| City-ites are so many females. Why
don't you dress in petticoats. This
| woman here. is more of a man than
the best of you. Here, Citizeness, ac-
cept my pistol" And he presented a
| revolver to a "citizeness" on the
| stage, who was wearing a Sam Brown
and had been much in evidence among
| Carranza's men.
The business men in Mexico City
won this tribute from the generals
eloquence because, like the business
men of Guadalajara. Puebla- and
other important centers, they had re-
fused to join the revolution.
| The so-called hero of Colaya liked
to slap shopkeepers in the face, or
set them to sweeping the streets.
When his humor was most expansive,
he would dwell on the Spanish an
cestry of the merchant class, and ad.
dress some vulgar epithet to Spain.
Mexican nationalism usually ex-
presses itself in obscene insults to
other nations.
| For the rest. he, too. ordered exc
! cutions and executions. but as I said,
always with a touch Of good humor.
| One OF Obregon's most delightful
| "parlor stunts" or after dinner ameni-
| tics 10 IN N 1ifn ond IL -