Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-11-10 | Page 1 | Villa's Valuables Seized in El Paso

Stlt niAKl.KS CHEERS WAKEFIELD, who was , inaiisuialod lord mayor of j London .yesterday. 1 1 I s y $ " - v a rfs . ' A h h h i V J X s t V x 1 x, - ( . : , x! I J 1 , i - x 1 - vj! : I J xx & 4 - XX X ' ; I1 ' IT It" "LJ 1 - - . - -J n VILLA'S VALUABLES 5EIZE0IEL PASfl' Mexican Chieftain Has $50,-000 $50,-000 in American Currency Stored in Safe. j HI PASO, Tex., Nov, 9. Diamonds and jewelry estimated to be worth between -52.000 a rid J3",0v0 and Untied States currency totaling- more than 0,009, the property- of General Francisco Villa, his rirother. Hipolito Villa, and their wives, was found today in a safe at the home of Georee Benton, uncle of Mrs. Hipolito Villa, in F-l Paso by Sperial Treasury Agents Or. P. Locke and I. J. Ayers. Charging that the Jew elry had been smu??!. the agents departed with it and a foreign-made automobile upon whi-jh nu duty had been paid when it waf brought across the border from Juajez, according to the agents. Colonel Hipolito Villa declared the col- i lection of jewelry was made up of sifts from El Paso merchants, that It was with few exceptions of American manufacture and not dutiable, since it had never left the United States. His wjfe and Mrs. Francisco Villa made a practice of g'oing- to El Pa.o for such pieces as they wished, returning them the same nitrht. sine they considered it safer to kpp the property in the United States, lie added. The jewelry seized consisted of ten diamond rinsrs, one diamond necklace with a pearl and diamond pendant, one brooch of platinum set with diamonds, three pairs of earrings, one g-old medal dated lf14 bearing the inscription. "To General Gen-eral Francisco Villa from the constiu-tionalist constiu-tionalist government for personal valor," one silver Jewelry case containing1 a bracelet set in diamonds, two scarfpins, three diamond rings and a pair of diamond dia-mond earrings. The property has hen turned over to the collector of customs. The currency ! was not seized.