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Show 1 CONSPIRACY TO I KILL AMERICANS Hf Mexican Bandit Chiefs Had Hf ' Planned to Slay the H "Gringoes." B Washington, Jan. 21. Dcatli to Hjj Americans in. Mexico and destruction 1"'' to their property, as -well as war to a finish against Carranza, was determined determ-ined upon, it became known here tonight, to-night, at a formal convention of Mexican Mexi-can revolutionary leaders hold in No- , , vomber at a ranch near Cordoba. Pres- 1 ent and joining in the agreomcnt are I i fjaid to have been representatives of Bli Villa, Zapata, Argumedo, Higinio Hti Aguilar, the Cedillo brothers and Hl many lesser chieftains. Hjli Meager reports of this gathering H ' came to the state department long H ago, but thoy were not made public, H and until tonight few people in Wash- H ington knew that there was a general H 'conspiracy against Americans, or even Hj that the various rebel factions Jn the Hj field in -Mexico had effected any kind H ! of an agreement for concerted activi- Hl ties against the de facto government. Hj i The recent massacre at Santa Ysa- Hj i bcl, attributed to bandits led by Villa H officers, is believed to have been per- B) ' petrated in accordance with the rebel H ! ronvontlon order. Officials think the HJJ ' long period elapsed after the Cor- H doba meeting, before the murders, be- Hj cause of the time required by the H various delegates to make reports to H their commanders and the fact that Hj news of the convention's decision had Hjl to be carried to subordinate military Bjl commanders by courier. Cordoba is H ' on the railroad between Vera Cruz Hji and Mexico City and some 1000 miles Hj Were Fully Advised. Bjj The Carranza authorities have been HJ fully advised concerning the move- Hl ments of the rebels, and have been Hl depended upon by the Washington Hj government to take every possible pre- 11 caution to prevent the threats against K' Americans from being carried out. Ri They are believed to have the situa- Hjj tion fairly well in hand now, although Hj the chiefs whose delegates met at Hjjij Cordoba still are in the field operat- H j ing more or less openly. Hii Soon after Carranza was recogniz- Hl ed the state department withdrew its 1 consular officers from northern Mex- Hi ico and reiterated its warning to H Americans to leave. Only by getting Hi citizens of the United States away Bj; from territory not fully controlled by V the de facto government, it was realiz- Hj ed, could there be any real assurance H: of safety. H Few details of the Cordoba conven- H tion are known, but, according to the H, reports, it lasted for several days, and j: some of the earlier arrivals awaited Hl probably weeks for all the delegates Bj to appear. Apparently the call for the K meeting was sent out as soon as it H;i became certain the United States was H about to recognize Carranza, although i it was a month after recognition actu- Bi alJv had been accorded before the jj delegates got together. At that time H j large forces of Villa and Zapata forces Hjj "'ere operating in the neighborhood Bl j of the railroads near Mexico City, and H j ) it was possible for the convention to Hj! assemble and do its work with com- ! parative safety from interruption. HH May Get Together. H'j Whether there is any great proba- H'j . bility of continued concert of action h I among the factions fighting Carranza H offfcials here do not profess to know. i I Some information has reached here to j! indicate that money may be forthcora- H; m to finance a revolution on a con-j. con-j. . siderable scale, with the hope of en- t listing the support of all the rebels, HIJ but officials tonight said there were i no reports to show that such a move- HIJ ment was actually under wav. Hji Advices to the state department l! from El Paso today told of the re- '! ported capture near Chihuahua ot f eighteen bandits alleged to have Uiken Ml'! I Part in the Santa Ysabel murders, fM 1 1 and said they were to have been exe- i cuted today. No confirmation of thp m report that Villa himself had been tak- K en was received, and officials of both l th? department and the Mexican em- H I bassy abandoned hope that this was 1 j ' true. |