paw; 
 
 )% K 
 
 Who, Where, and Why is Villa? 
 
 By Dr. A. MARGO. 
 
 “Pancho Villa”, with Jose Rodriguez, considered responsible for 
 the murders at Santa Isabel, and an American 
 newspaper correspondent. 
 
 LATIN-AMERICAN NEWS ASSOCIATION 
 1400 Broadway, New York City 
 
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WHO, WHERE, and WHY IS VILLA? 
 
 By Dr. A. MARGO. 
 
 For the last two years there has been going on at the border between 
 the United States and Mexico, something* which to all intents and 
 purposes amounts to the side-show of a great big circus in which are be' 
 ing shown the latest wonders of the world. Nothing like it has been seen 
 before, it is absolutely original, a real American creation. Remarkable 
 stunts are exhibited: a whole army is kept at a man’s heels killing him 
 continuously, and yet that man never dies. 
 
 From time to time, the American people are called upon to witness 
 the extraordinary exhibition of this remarkable specimen, who seems, 
 since coming into contact with American civilization, to have developed 
 the extraordinary ability of rising at will from the dead. The balehue 
 man who calls upon the public to come and see this unusual freak 
 is here represented by the American press. The man who is on 
 exhibition has been called, for the sake of convenience, “Pancho Villa.” 
 This personality has, at different times, assumed different roles in the 
 extraordinary “show”: at one time he is featured as a man-eating 
 beast, hardly above the cannibals of the wildest regions of Africa; at 
 other times, he has been made to appear as a great saviou r r and the leader 
 of the down-trodden masses of his country. 
 
 In the palmiest days of his fame, the American public was trained 
 to look upon this man as a hero. His exploits were daily reported by the 
 American press; he loomed high as the man who had thrown himself 
 into the fray to avenge the wrongs of his people. It was well, in a way, 
 that at first the American people thought highly of Pancho Villa, for 
 we do not deny that in helping along in the accomplishment of the 
 Revolution, he has done some good; but since then, the situation has 
 changed and all the good that he had accomplished has been over-bal* 
 anced by the intrigues in which he has figured with the object of selling 
 out his country together with the people in it. 
 
 3 
 
WHO IS VILLA? 
 
 The purpose of this article is to disclose to the American people the 
 real identity of this man. We had not done it before, taking into con¬ 
 sideration his past services and in the hope that he would retrace his 
 later steps and again work for the betterment of his people, as he had 
 started to do. We have waited long, and it appears that our hope will 
 not be realized. The American people have been mislead too long by 
 this dual personality who is parading at the same time as a brigand and 
 as a hero, and the American press has been taking the principal part in 
 this misleading, the purpose of which is obvious, as we will show later. 
 
 In the first place, it must be understood that the name “PANCHO 
 VILLA” has been identified with different personalities at different 
 times; as a matter of fact, this name has been for many years, a house¬ 
 hold word with the people of northern Mexico. The name was used by 
 other persons long before the man with whom the American people are 
 acquainted had even been heard of, as it is now being used by other 
 than the man who is known under that name to the people here. 
 
 At one time, there was a man who led the life of a bandit; in other 
 words, who made it his business to plunder the rich and help the poor 
 whose lands and homes had been taken from them. He was a regular 
 modern “Robin Hood”; he held up the stages of the well-to-do on the 
 high'ways, and ransacked them. He was the idol of the poor, for in their 
 distress and misery, he always came to their aid. In the homes of the 
 wealthy, he was pointed out to the children as the bad man who would 
 carry them away if they did not behave. He was a great help to the 
 mothers of that part of the country in keeping their children quiet, and 
 many a grown up man of today will blame “Pancho Villa” for his narrow 
 chest, as he was not allowed to cry freely, but was frightened into silence 
 by the threat of this bogey-man who was always lurking round the 
 corner. In a way, this new “Pancho Villa” is enacting the same role to 
 terrify the grown up American children. 
 
 But this “Pancho Villa”, the terror of the children of Chihuahua 
 and the friend of the poor, was an old man, and he died at least thirteen 
 years ago. Tne children heaved a sigh of relief when they heard of his 
 end, while the poor grieved over the disappearance of their protector and 
 benefactor. 
 
 For quite a number of years, there was no more bandit- by that name 
 in northern Mexico, but towards the year 1907, we began to hear of the 
 bandit “Pancho Villa.” Here begins the story of the mysterious man 
 about whose exploits during this Revolution, the American people have 
 heard so much. 
 
 In the American press it has been occasionally stated that Francisco 
 Villa’s real name is Doroteo Arango; more than this, the American press 
 and those who really know him have not cared to say in order to enlighten 
 
the people on the real identity of this wonder of the XX century, who 
 but two years ago was featured in the moving pictures and in the press, 
 and otherwise was made much of by the American people. Pictures 
 could be seen everywhere of Pancho Villa in company with the highest 
 commanders of the American army, such as General Pershing, (who is 
 now supposed to be chasing him in Chihuahua); General Scott, the 
 Chief of the General Staff, was one of his warmest friends. In the hum¬ 
 drum of daily life, the people have forgotten what from time to time had 
 occupied so much space in the daily press: if they remembered, they 
 would not allow themselves to be so misled in regard to this man. 
 
 The writer of this article has been in and out of this great tent show, 
 where the remarkable exhibition is going on, and happens to know the 
 figures which make up the chief attractions, and especially, this wonder¬ 
 ful man. 
 
 Doroteo Arango, alias “Pancho Villa”, at one time belonged to that 
 historical body called the “Rough Riders”, which was organized by the 
 irrepressible “Teddy the Terrible”; the same body of men which went 
 down to Cuba and licked the Spaniards at the battle of San Juan Hill. 
 Here we disclose the fact that Teddy was not the only great man in that 
 historical battle, as the American people have been taught to believe, 
 for there with him was the man who today is known as “Pancho Villa”, 
 in reality Doroteo Arango. 
 
 This man is a saddle maker by trade, and after the Rough Riders 
 Regiment was disbanded, he joined another cavalry regiment in the 
 regular army, in which he was made a sergeant. He did service in the 
 Philippine Islands and later was stationed at the Presidio Barracks in 
 San Francisco. This man never lost an opportunity to surge ahead: 
 that much credit we will give him. He acquainted himself with all the 
 rules of the game and never lost an opportunity to take advantage of an 
 opening “to make good,” as the term goes. 
 
 WHERE IS VILLA? 
 
 In 1906, when the earthquake occurred and reduced San Francisco 
 to ruins, Doroteo Arango was ready to take advantage of the opportunity 
 and become a financial success. In company with a man who later be¬ 
 came the mayor of San Francisco, he looted the ruins of several banks. 
 He deserted the Army and escaped with a few thousand dollars; he made 
 his way into Mexico, and from that time on he was no longer known as 
 Doroteo Arango, he became the “new” Pancho Villa and followed the 
 profession of the man who had died a few years previously. No doubt 
 in this new capacity he acted as the friend of the destitute people; at 
 any rate, he adopted the name of the old bandit whose immense popular¬ 
 ity had made him the idol of the downtrodden people of that part of 
 
 5 
 
the country,—he led that life until the beginning of the Revolution of 
 1910, when he proffered his services to the Madero party and was made 
 a colonel in the revolutionary army. He displayed great ability in handl¬ 
 ing his men and the success of the Madero Revolution in the north may 
 be credited to a great extent to his ability and popularity. 
 
 The revolution was from the start an effort of the people to regain 
 the land which had been taken from them. The people fought not for 
 any particular leader, but to acquire their economic independence, as 
 they understood it. The Madero Revolution came to an end without 
 having accomplished the purposes which the people fought for. Villa 
 became an officer in the newly organized Federal Army under the com¬ 
 mand of General Huerta, who was at that time at the head of the forces 
 of the North; for insubordination he was court-martialed and sentenced 
 to be executed. The Madero family interceded in his behalf and he was 
 taken to Mexico City and subsequently pardoned by President Madero. 
 He returned to this country and led a peaceful life until the assassination 
 of Madero, when he was again heard of, and here started the most 
 spectacular period of his career. He was known to have no personal 
 wealth and no financial backing of any kind. He plunged across the 
 border with horses that he stole from a livery stable, in which he had 
 been working at El Paso. It did not take long to recruit an army, but 
 he had no arms and no ammunitions. 
 
 During his peaceful stay in El Paso, he had made the acquaintance 
 of men who were interested in different business and enterprises in Me¬ 
 xico. Among the military men of the Border he had acquired a reputa¬ 
 tion of being a military genius; they knew that his training had been 
 acquired in the American Army. Of all the men who loomed in the 
 horizon of the troublesome situation in Mexico, he was the one who 
 could be best trusted to carry out their designs. He was. given financial 
 backing by different interests and soon he was in possession of the most 
 modern equipment for his army. We have reason to believe that at first 
 he had no intention to become the tool of the interests that financed 
 him. At least we wish to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he was 
 placed in such an environment, that he subsequently became not only 
 their tool but their partner in business. 
 
 The phenomenal military exploits that he accomplished in a few 
 months after he launched the counterrevolution against Huerta, are 
 well known to the American public, but nobody knows how he was able 
 to equip an army that was admitted to be up to the standard of any 
 modern army that was ever assembled in this Continent. He had with 
 him the finest artillery and machine guns; his hospital trains were of the 
 best that could be had, every military train of his army was furnished 
 with a portable ice-plant, and his soldiers drank iced water in the middle 
 of the desert, while the Federal Army was dying of thirst. That was the 
 Eecret of his great success. 
 
 6 
 
WHO BACKS VILLA? 
 
 Where did he get the money to acquire all these things? 
 
 It is well known that Chihuahua and all the Northern part of Mexico 
 is one of the richest fields, both mineral and agricultural of any country 
 in the world. 
 
 'During this revolution, many of the mining enterprises conducted 
 by Americans and other foreigners had been forced to lay idle. Villa 
 came in as a man of efficiency, who would bring industry to normal con* 
 ditions. He exchanged millions of dollars worth of mining concessions 
 for a few hundred thousands dollars’ worth of arms and ammunitions. 
 The ammunition makers of this country became hugely interested in 
 General Francisco Villa, for at that height of his fame he was no longer 
 to be known as “Pancho.” % 
 
 The Guggenheim interests who before the revolution had been try¬ 
 ing to acquire the rich copper mines of northern Mexico were now able 
 to accomplish their aims, and they became one of Villa’s • strongest 
 supporters. 
 
 The State of Chihuahua is one of the richest cattle-raising territories 
 in the world. The Terraza’s ranches which embraced the largest portions 
 of the State, contained millions of heads of cattle, and naturally the 
 packing concerns in this country could not resist the temptation. They 
 became also one of the allies of Pancho Villa. 
 
 The Armour Packing Co. established a packing house in El Paso, 
 Texas, for the exclusive purpose of packing the beef that was secured 
 by Villa, and he became a partner in business with the Armour Pack¬ 
 ing Co. 
 
 Across the Rio Grande which divides Mexico and this country, could 
 be seen thousands of heads of cattle going into the stock yards of the 
 Armour Plant in El Paso. The proceeds of this business, amounted to 
 millions of dollars which were divided between the companies of this 
 country and the chief operator in Mexico, Pancho Villa. We could 
 ennumerate ad infinitum, concerns who were similiarlv interested, but this 
 is enough to give an idea of the power behind the throne. It will be 
 useless here to give in detail an account of the interest that the press of 
 this country had in these exploits, for it is well known that every cor* 
 poration that has invested in Mexico is directly interested in manipulat¬ 
 ing the press of this country. The influence that William Randolph 
 Hearst has brought to bear in trying to bring this country and Mexico 
 to an open break is well known to the. people of this country, for he is 
 deeply interested in land holdings and mining interests in the southern 
 Republic. The facts are that all these parties have had something to do 
 with the continuous trouble that has been going on along the border. 
 
 7 
 
In the past two years there has been hardly a day when the daily 
 press did not contain a report of some raid that had taken place or that 
 was going to take place on the border; for curious to say, the Hearst 
 interests seem to know weeks in advance when such affairs are going to 
 take place. 
 
 How it was that these raids could not be prevented when certain 
 parties had foreknowledge of them, is something that has not been made 
 clear. We do not deny that raids have taken place and that they were 
 made by Mexicans, at least some of them. The reason for this is, that 
 the country on the other side of the Rio Grande has been reduced to 
 misery and starvation. The live stock, horses and oxen with which the 
 peasants tilled their soil have been driven across the border to this side 
 of the River. The people on the other side have been left in a state of 
 starvation and under such circumstances it is only natural that once in 
 a while they should get together, organizing bands and raiding the Amer¬ 
 ican side to get back some of those things that have been taken from 
 them. But many of the raids which have been advertised in the press 
 were absolute fabrications if not deliberately organized to foment trouble 
 between the two countries. 
 
 Just as we are writing these lines there comes to us a copy of the 
 New York World, of December the thirty first, 1916, in which we find 
 an article by Liut. Col. Reginald L. Foster, of the New York National 
 Guards who has just returned from the Texas border and we find a few 
 statements that corroborate the assertions that we have just made. To 
 quote a few extracts of what he has to say in part: 
 
 “So remote is the Mexican border problem from the average 
 New Yorker that he finds himself perfectly able to approach this very 
 delicate subject with a free hand and an open mind. 
 
 “No New Yorker can be so biased as not to realize this within 
 a few days. Marauding is not war. Cattle setealing is no army in¬ 
 vasion. Even the murder of one man by another is not ground for 
 internecine strife. Yet the average Texan tells you that this is all as 
 it ought to be. Then he asks for practically all the soldiers of the 
 United States to be sent there to protect him. He omits mentioning 
 that the theft and murder is about fifty-fifty, with the score rather 
 in favor of the Americans. 
 
 “THE STOCK TERM BY WHICH SOME OF THE FRANK¬ 
 ER INHABITANTS REFER TO WHAT IS BULLETINED OUT 
 OF TEXAS “Another border atrocity”, is “Moving picture raid.” 
 
 “You can buy a raid right down here in the village for fifty 
 dollars and amunition; and for seventy five dollars you can get a 
 first class one. 
 
 
 8 
 
“I don’t blame these border Mexicans for being bandits. It is 
 the only way the poor devils get enough to eat for themselves and 
 their families. They have been robbed and murdered for so long 
 that when some leader comes along with the offer of a gun and 
 plenty of frijoles and tortillas for the whole kit and caboodle of them, 
 the Mexicans snap up the offer. The whole family goes along, for 
 father has a good job at last. Besides he may get square with the 
 man who killed his cousin last year.” 
 
 We hope that we have made clear the connection of different interests 
 with the military successes of Pancho Villa. The American people dur - 
 ing this time were trained to believe that Villa was the strongest man in 
 Mexico, and at that time, the Washington Government was seriously 
 considering recognizing him as the legal Government of Mexico; but 
 Villa’s power suddenly failed and the situation was entirely changed. It 
 must be said here, that Villa had to a certain extent solved the problem 
 for which the people were clamoring. He had allowed the people to take 
 the land back and to work it for themselves in certain districts of the 
 territory he controlled, but when he conceived the idea of making him¬ 
 self the absolute master of the situation he found it necessary to again 
 deprive the people of the land, in order to force them, into his army. The 
 plantations and other lands that he had confiscated, he distributed among 
 his army chiefs and other friends who acted as his financial agents. One 
 of these gentlemen was none other than Mr. George Caruthers, who 
 accumulated a fortune while acting as American representative and 
 financial agent for Villa at the same time. Others less prominent than 
 he are too numerous to mention. Villa’s military-power failed because of 
 his betrayal of the people he had • claimed to champion. He lost his 
 power, and by losing it, he jeopardized the grants that he had given and 
 the interests he had undertaken to safeguard His American partners 
 then looked to some one else to protect the concessions which they had 
 acquired from Villa. They had no one to look to in Mexico, so they turn¬ 
 ed to the United States as their only hope of protection. But to secure 
 this, they had to do something to bring the two countries into a conflict, 
 thereby furnishing an excuse for the invasion of Mexico. 
 
 VILLA’S POWER ON THE WANE. 
 
 Villa made his last stand as a military leader in the battle o f Agua 
 Prieta, when the last remnants of his shattered army were finally defeated. 
 He foresaw the wane of his power and gave up the command of the 
 army he had led to destruction. Having made up his mind to retire, he 
 called upon his men to take care of themselves and to do as they saw fit. 
 
 9 
 
THE HUMAN “?” 
 
 The press of this country announced that the great leader had fin¬ 
 ally been vanquished and had decided to retire from his operations in 
 Mexico and give up his time to lecturing in this country. Cartoons of 
 the papers of these days can still be seen picturing Villa looking for a 
 job at the vaudeville shows. That he came to this country for that 
 purpose is a well known fact to all the people who are acquainted with 
 his movements; but on account of certain statements that he made in 
 El Paso, which were injurious to his former associates, he was prevented 
 from carrying out his plans. He mysteriously disappeared, and was 
 reported at different times to be in southern California, in New Orleans, 
 and in Cuba. Nothing much was heard any more about Pancho Villa 
 until rumors were again heard that he was back in Chihuahua, killing all 
 the Americans that he could lay his hand on. 
 
 Some time during the month of February of last year, some seven¬ 
 teen Americans were killed in a mining camp in Chihuahua. It was 
 immediately reported that Pancho Villa was the one who had committed 
 the outrage, although no one could assert that he was seen there, but 
 this was a good opportunity to lay the foundation for the excuse that 
 would make it possible to invade the neighboring country. Certainly of 
 all the individuals that could be considered responsible for this move, 
 none more suitable than the bandit who already enjoyed the reputation 
 of committing nefarious deeds. This country was deeply stirred by the 
 news of the assassination of these men, but it did not furnish reason 
 enough for the invasion of Mexico. Those interested in carrying the 
 attempt to a successful end did not stop there. 
 
 The most monstruous attempt was finally undertaken on the ninth 
 ofi March of last year; the press flashed the news throughout! the country 
 of what has been known since, as the massacre of Columbus, New 
 Mexico. The raid, it was said, had been led by Pancho Villa himself. 
 The country was immediately inflamed by the reports of the killing of 
 civilians and soldiers. That the raid was made by Mexicans we do not 
 deny, but that it was planned by interests on this side of the border we 
 also assert. There is nothing to prove that the bandit Pancho Villa 
 led the raid, and there is a great deal to show that; the man was not only 
 not there at the time, but that he was hidding somewhere in this 
 country. 
 
 The events of that date have been painfully explained and repeated 
 in the press, but nothing has been said of the means that were taken to 
 incite to the deed. Many pages could be filled with the accounts of the 
 massacre that took place there, but nothing was said of what had taken 
 place a few days before, that acted as the fuse to the perpetration of the 
 deed. The protagonists of these attempts have always remained at a 
 distance, well guarded from view or from any publicity, while the poor 
 dupes who carried out their frame-ups are made the scapegoats. 
 
 10 
 
THE COLUMBUS RAID. 
 
 On the sixth of March, just three days before the Columbus raid took 
 place, there was a little report in the press that could hardly be noticed. 
 In a few lines we read on that day, that eighteen Mexicans, who had 
 been admited as immigrants to this country were put in jail in El Paso,. 
 Texas. While there, they were put through the customary requirements- 
 of taking a bath in gasoline. While going through with this process, the 
 tanks caught fire and the Mexicans were burned to death, while the cells 
 were locked up. The mayor of the city of El Paso, announced that the 
 whole thing was an unavoidable accident and that nobody was to blame,. 
 This kind of accidents happen pretty often to Mexicans in Texas, and it 
 was just as unavoidable as the lighting of a cigarette. The people in 
 that part of the country were quite stirred up and no doubt this had a 
 great deal to do in exasperating some of those who took part in the raid, 
 but they were not conscious that they were being made the dupes for 
 the benefit of parties who were looking for an excuse to invade the 
 country. At any rate it had the desired effect: the people were put in 
 a mood in which they were ready to consent to the invasion of Mexico. 
 The cry went up immediately “On to Mexico, catch Pancho Villa, dead 
 or alive.” It was evident to those who knew what was behind the whole 
 thing, that the man whom they pretended to be trying to capture would 
 never be caught. For obviously a culprit cannot be caught where 
 he is not. 
 
 People who were acquainted with the situation knew that Pancho 
 Villa was not in Chihuahua at the time the invasion of Mexico was under¬ 
 taken and furthermore that the man has not been there in all this time 
 that he is supposed to be pursued by the American army. In the first 
 place; it is disclosed that the raid on Columbus was premeditated, that the 
 American commanders on the border had knowledge of the attempt at 
 least a week in advance, and that they could have prevented the raid if 
 they had been interested in so doing. 
 
 The town of Columbus is situated in the middle of a desert, and no 
 considerable body of forces could march toward that place without being 
 noticed in ample time to prevent their doing any damage. Every body 
 in that neighborhood seemed to know what was going to happen. In 
 the reports of the papers of that date the facts leaked out that passengers 
 on the East bound train were told of the raid by American soldiers 
 twenty four hours before the raid happened, in the station of Hachita, 
 New Mexico, which is a few miles west of Columbus. When they arrived 
 in Columbus nothing had occurred, but it happened just as it had been 
 foretold to them, twenty four hours after they had left the place. 
 
 The newspaper syndicate, owned by Mr. Hearst seemed' to be as sure 
 of the occurrence as if it had been a moving picture drama, for which 
 
 II 
 
all the preparations had been made, for he sent special telegraph operators, 
 to flash the news throughout the country and they were so sure that 
 this was coming off, that his papers, in Chicago at least, were giving 
 the news of the raid a day in advence. 
 
 A few days after the raid the press came to the point of having to 
 explain how a small body of raiders had beaten the garrison of American 
 forces at the town of Columbus. The best excuse that could be found 
 was that Villa was able to rout the American forces, because,—they said,— 
 the American machine-guns were out of commission and could not work. 
 Other explained that the Americans were asleep and they did not hear 
 the shooting when it started. It is well known since' then that the Amer¬ 
 ican machine-guns were the very ones that the raiders made use of to 
 shoot up the town of Columbus. The day after the raid happened, Lieut. 
 Zell, the commander of the machine gun squad, committed suicide. The 
 reason for his act is not definitely known to any one, but it is easy to 
 deduce that he had something to do with the delivery of the machine- 
 guns to the raiders and that he could not stand to bear the responsibility. 
 
 The commander of the American forces in Columbus, Col. Slockum, 
 who is an owner of Mexican mining interests and therefore had some 
 interest in the invasion of Mexico, was relieved of his command and 
 court-martialed charged with having been implicated in the conspirancy 
 to bring about the raid. He has since been cleared of the charge, but 
 was never restored to his command. 
 
 INVASION OF MEXICAN TERRITORY. 
 
 The desired results were accomplished and the invasion of Mexico 
 began immediately, for the purpose of catching Villa, dead or alive, it 
 was said. The fantastic stories that have been going on in the press, of 
 how the American troops have surrounded* Villa, how he has been killed 
 one day and is found alive the next, are tales with which the American 
 people has become so well acquainted that they no longer surprise any 
 one. It seems to be taken for granted that this man has developed the 
 power of digging himself out of his grave, faster than the American army 
 can kill him. Sometimes he is killed in the morning papers and rises from 
 the dead in the evening papers. At other times he is reported by the 
 different papers to be in as many places as there are papers. It seems 
 that each paper has its own Pancho Villa operating in the locality that 
 is most desirable to the editor, in order to make the exhibition! so much 
 more interesting and lively. It has been reported that he has been shot 
 and his leg blown off about twenty times, so that one might conclude 
 that this man Villa is a centipede, having enough legs left to get away 
 successfully from his pursuers. 
 
 The fact is that the name Villa is being used today, not to denote 
 any particular personality, but to designate in the abstract that disturb- 
 
 12 
 
ing element which make it necessary for the American army to remain 
 in Mexican territory. There have been reports in the papers at different 
 times that make it clear that even the American army chiefs do not be¬ 
 lieve that Pancho Villa is in Chihuahua and that their purpose in the 
 country is not to catch the bandits. We could quote from different 
 papers to that effect but we will give only an extract from an article! by 
 a newspaper man, who went down to Chihuahua with the American 
 forces and published his story in the New York Telegraph of June, 1916. 
 It says in part: 
 
 “It has got abroad in Mexico that Villa is not in Mexico, but 
 that he is enjoying himself in New York City, of all the places of 
 the world where a man can safely hide. Manhattan seems the best 
 to these New York boys down here. Furthermore, the soldiers in 
 Mexico are saying Pancho Villa was not in Columbus raid, and I 
 am free to say only Mrs. G. E. Parks, the switch-board operator, 
 who thinks she dimly saw a figure similar to the stockily built Villa 
 has said in my hearing that Villa was seen during the wild hours of 
 the raid. The deeds were done in Villa’s name, and the cry “Viva 
 Villa, Mueran los Gringos” will echo through the dreams of the Co¬ 
 lumbus citizens as long as their minds hold the impression of the 
 terrible morning. Still no one man or woman has been able to tell 
 me that he or she saw Villa. 
 
 “This may not mean anything, for Villa was known only by his 
 pictures to many of them, and the night was dark, save where the 
 burning buildings lit up the wild dark faces of the Mexican invaders. 
 But still, if the idea gets widely scattered among the soldiers, that 
 instead of their expedition being a chase for the glory of getting the 
 pelt of the fox of the “Sierra Madre”, it is a wild goose chase 
 with the central figure enjoying himself in the roof'gardens of Man¬ 
 hattan, while they die in his desolate land, the demoralization will 
 be sure and will be quick.” 
 
 It is not known to the writer of these lines that Pancho Villa has 
 been in New York during the time that it is supposed he is being chased 
 by the American army in Chihuahua, but we do know that he was in 
 this country at the time when the chase started, and that the American 
 soldiers who are grumbling in Chihuahua are not mistaken, when they 
 suspect that the object of their chase is somewhere else than where they 
 are now looking for him. 
 
 When the whereabouts of Villa in this country were becoming 
 publicly known he was carefully shipped away to South America; whether 
 he has remained there since we cannot tell. He might have made his 
 way to Mexico through the republics that lie South of that country. 
 
 It is evident that whenever an agreement is reached to withdraw the 
 American forces from Mexican territory, Villa looms up again as the 
 
 13 
 
disturbing element that makes it necessary for the American forces to 
 remain in Mexico. 
 
 In the last few weeks there have been reports of the activity of 
 Pancho Villa. When the conditions of southern Mexico have become 
 so quiet that there is no more necessity for the American army to re¬ 
 main there, something happens to make it possible for them to stay. No 
 one can say that he has seen the man there, although there have been 
 reports to that effect; Gral. Bell in his report to the War Department 
 says that he has not been able to ascertain that Villa has anything to 
 do with the present activities, and he doubts whether Villa is anywhere 
 in the neighborhood of the disturbance centers. The papers report that 
 Villa is directing the attack on the different places by wire. He is not to 
 be seen anywhere. Any one who is acquainted with the conditions of 
 the country in which he is supposed to be operating, knows that there 
 is not such telegraph to be used by anybody, much less by a, disorganized 
 band of raiders. 
 
 There is another man who has played a part in the border incidents, 
 that is only second to that played by Pancho Villa and that is Grab Jose 
 Ines Salazar. He has been sent to the penitentiary on several occassions 
 by the American authorities of the border; every time that he has been 
 put in the penitentiary he has successfully escaped from prisons where 
 many Americans convicts have rotted to death. How this man has 
 escaped so many times we do not know, but he is the man who is now 
 the leader of the disturbances in Chihuahua, which are being carried out 
 under the name of Villa. 
 
 The situation in Mexico is such that the interests that had flourished 
 in the old regime are in danger of losing their holdings; nothing could 
 save them, except American intervention, and they will use any means 
 to bring the two countries into a conflict. They will foment all kinds of 
 trouble to keep the American army in Mexican soil until such time as 
 they find it opportune to launch an invasion that will put the whole 
 country under their control. With them it is a mere matter of business, 
 and if the American people are foolish enough to be led into a slaughter 
 for the benefit of this interests, the later will no hesitate to do it; they 
 have nothing to lose and everything to gain. 
 
 The continuous perfomance that is going on across the border not 
 only serves to furnish an excuse for invasion, but it also serves a double 
 purpose. 
 
 THE PRESENT USEFULNESS OF VILLA. 
 
 For some time past there has been a great effort in this country to 
 establish military preparedness. The people have never looked upon the 
 idea very favorably, for it did not seem to them that the country was 
 unprepared or that it was at all necessary to have a big army. As a last 
 
 14 
 
resort of the militarists to force preparedness on the country, they de¬ 
 monstrated to them the unpreparedness of the army by showing the people 
 how a single Mexican bandit could get away from the whole American 
 expeditionary forces. Nothing could be more effective in demonstrating 
 the inefficiency of the military conditions of this country. They have 
 succeeded in prolonging the chase for the bandit until the American 
 people realize that preparadness is necessary, and the plan has already 
 begun to materialize, for they are now talking of compulsory military 
 service. Under such circumstances Villa is not only not a hindrance to 
 the American Government, but he is a great asset as a means of militar¬ 
 izing the country. 
 
 There are many other queer things to, be observed in connection with 
 the pursuing of this “Fox of the Sierras”. We often hear of shipments 
 of ammunition being sent to the base of operations of the American army 
 in Chihuahua, although for the last three or four months there has been 
 no fighting to speak of, and not much ammunition has been used. On 
 the other hand the so-called Villa and his brigands have apparently no 
 means of getting arms and ammunitions; but still he never seems to be 
 short of it; and here we wish to call attention to what might) be his source 
 of supply. Since the present situation in Mexico is such a serious problem 
 to the American Government, this would be an interesting subject for 
 careful investigation. i 
 
 The presence of the American forces has not accomplished its 
 purpose, which was that of catching Pancho Villa, for he is not there. 
 These forces have not aided in establishing peace, but on the contrary 
 they have been the means of preventing the solution of the problems 
 which the Revolution has set out to solve., 
 
 The Mexicans feel that the American army is being used as a club 
 over their heads to keep them in peonage and slavery, and they will not 
 be peaceful as long as there are before them prospects of their returning 
 to the state of misery in which they were when the revolution started. 
 
 It would be much better for all the parties concerned if the American 
 people come to realize that nothing has been gained by the invasion of 
 Mexico and that it has only helped to prolong the struggle of the masses 
 of Mexico to liberate themselves. 
 
 To insist on maintaining and American army on Mexican soil, only 
 means that as long as it is there, the trouble will continue. There is less 
 disturbance in other States of Mexico where there has been no inter¬ 
 ference, than in the State of Chihuahua, where the whole region is con¬ 
 verted into a huge military camp. 
 
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