The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1929-05-10
Destroying Towns and Troop
Trains With Home Made
Bombs Was Yankees Job
AMERICAN SHOT HIM DOWN
CAPTAIN Edward Barber Headed
for Brewing Revolution in
Venezuela Now
BY GENE COHN

New York. May 10.-(NEA)-Thc
red gods" of Kipling, whose call
somehow reaches the ears Of advcn-
turers and soldiers Of fortune, have
sent Ed Barber, until recently chief
flyer for General Escobar's Mexican
rebel forces. on his way again.
This time he's headed for Venezue-
la. Somewhere on the eastern sea-
coast a schooner is fitting out for q
little trouble down there" President
Gomez, who has held his Job for q
years, soon is to have another
troublesome revolution on his hands,
and Barber has joined up for bomb
ing and scout duty with the insure
gents.
Herewith ends for the moment the
whimsical game Of official hide-and-
seek which has been under way since
Barber hoped off from Mexico with
all that remained of the rebel air
force-two native airmen, to be exact
and landed in Philadelphia where
United States attorney general and
some customs officers have indicated
al interest in certain breaches of
aerial red tape, such as the failure to
come down at the first airport for
custom inspection. There is also an
argument concerning the Escobar
plane in which he arrived and which
the Gales government has indicated
was purchased by the rebels with
money seized in raids on Mexican ma
tional banks.
Vly~- A6~.,s> CA..~k ErO.,>~
At any rate Barber arrived in New
York with the first inside story of a
flyers life in the rebel army.
Il had known Escobar since was
child" he began. You see, I came
originally from Ajo. Ariz., and as a
kid had spent much time around
the border towns. was stunt fly.
ing and working in films around Los
Angeles when the Mexican revolution
broke. had been flying since 1920,
getting my first groundwork in Rock
away, near New York. headed out
for adventurc-I was in one South
American revolution; went with the
Coast Guard: was with Bruce Bic
laski's Bridge Whist" club and saw
service in Serbia.
And there we're few dozen min.
or exploits. Anyhow, I had q little
Waco 10. which was in $3.50 shape;
! hoped off and came down near
Juarez to find myself few hours
later as the private pilot of Escobar.
I've talked with him for hours as we
flew around looking over the various
situations. He was sincere. He real
" felt that there was no chance for
man to get into office in an open
election.
He Bombed Torreon
We'll. covered the whole Escobar
nlarcl1-froln Juarez to Chihuahua
and am the fellow who bombed
Torreon. had been there but few
days when l got instructions to do
little else except bombing and obser-
vation work. Observation meant
chiefly to cover the marches from the
air and to protect the troop trains as
they went from one point to another.
But I can't begin to tell you the
handicapS fellow has to face when
he's fighting for q side which has to
get its equipment In any old way it
can get it-smuggle 1t. steal 1t, bribe
1t and even make it.
The first thing I found out was
that We actually had no air bombs.
50 We had to figure out how to get
them. At nights they would put
groups of soldiers to work making
them. They'd take pieces of old lead
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