New-York tribune., 1920-05-30

~ square jawed individual,
"a rather commonly dressed
and minus one arm, sat in
cafe in Mexico City few weeks
ago eating He was under a cloud
an alleged traitor under technical
arrest and waiting trial for alleged
friendlinese with avowed enemies of
the government Of Mexico, accused
Of plotting against the regime. Gov
ernment secret service men kept him
under vigiiant surveillance, and a
bearded old gentleman in the Ma
tional Palace not far away thought
he had this one-armed individual
completely subdued. Usually when
aman is undlr technical arrest and
surveillance in Mexico City he is as
good as under lock and key.
The ore-armed man was General
Alvaro Obregon, undoubtedly then
and without doubt now the strongest
man IN Mexico AS he sat munching
food IN that cafe his thoughts were
possibly OF the forces of men at that
moment under bis command through
out the country, many of them in
the Federal army, who awaited a
simple order to rise up and over
throw the be oEhiskered old man over
there in the National Palace. A
signal Only was necessary to bring
this about. organization had been
completed.
The signal came a few days later
wen tn one-armed general escaped
from the pital disguised as a
brakeman, and likewise aided by
friends in tho capital itself.
Now Another "Hope"
ALI This happened q few short
weeks ago. Since then the Mexican
kaleidoscope has been revolving at
M2. speed The bewhiskered Cd
an has Aeen overthrown and is
dead Mexico has another hope.
The hope is Obregon.
Few fo'ks in the United States
know q great deal about Obregon.
Farmer, student, merchant, gen
eral MIGHT briefly describe him, a
combination of the latter two desig-
nations being rcputed to have netted
him private fortune of between
five and six millions of dollars. But
he is q man who reads and writes
and who lives normal life when
possible with a normal family at
Noga.es. Sonora, within a stones
throw Of American soil across the
line to Nogales, Ariz.
But Oregon is not only new
hope for Mexico He is new hope
for the United States-the basis Of
hope that his understanding of the
great republic to the north, better
than that of most Mexicans of note
in Mexico, and a knowledge Of what
it stands for with its Monroe Doc
trine will bring about cooperation
and an end to Uncle Sans long
standing Mexican problem.
Well forward in this story it must
be told why General Obregon knows
the United States perhaps better
than any other Mexican, and how
important it is in view of this that
fate should have decreed that he
shall lead the destinies Of the south
ern republic after the elections set
for September That these elections
will choose him as the constitutional
President is regarded as certain.
German domination of Mexico dur
Ing the European war became so
alarming in 1918 that it was deemed
necessary in Washington that some
Mexican of intelligence and of abll-
lty to exercise a stabilizing influence
IN his country should become &C
quainted with the United States;
given data and knowledge with which
to dispel, if possible, the popular
conception in Mexico that America
was a land Of supreme bluff where
ofticialdom said one thing and meant
another.
Carranza PrO-Cerman
President Carranza and those i'm
medlately around him were regarded
as hopelessly pro-German. 1t was
paramount that some one should be
selected from outside the inner cab
met circle, a man with intelligence
and vision and of Importance.
The man picked was Alvaro Obre~
pOn