OCR Text |
Show FUTURE OFMEXICO I BELIlPEtESS i General Howze Describes Conditions Con-ditions Below Border as Intolerable In-tolerable and Getting Worse EL PASO, Tex., Feb. 7. Conditions In Mexico were described as "Intolerable" "Intoler-able" by General Robert L. Howse, commander of the El Paso district, when he testified before tho senate sub-committee investigating the Mexican Mex-ican situation. Briefly and without palliation he expressed ex-pressed the opinion that affairs in that country have grown steadily worse In the past ten years, and that "left solely sole-ly In the control of the Mexicans." the future of that country was "hopeless." The appearance of General Howze was with the approval "of the war department. de-partment. His publicly made statement, supplemented supple-mented by one made In executive session ses-sion was not maxle public. The conclusions of General Howze were contained in a short statement he read to the committee, but its presentation pre-sentation was preceded by a summary of the reports he had gathered of American casualties on tho American I side attributable to Mexicans since 1917. H accounted for eleven killed and seventeen wounded. General Howze' Statement Following is General Howze' statement: state-ment: '"Off and on. during the last four years I have had peculiar advantages of being able to see and to know the j things, so far as concerns American 1 and foreign-owned property, which I have happened on this side of the Rio f Grande and ip Mexico. Ml will not undertake to describe I them they are too numerous and al-I al-I ready well known. My conclusions I ought to be sufficient. The intolerable intoler-able conditions which have covered a period of nearly ten years have contin-jually contin-jually grown worse and I am convinced the apex of shamefulness and horror as viewed from thp A'meilcan conception concep-tion of justice and decency, was reached reach-ed ' last fall, a condition which still exists. I Mexican Government Unfriendly "The Mexican government during this ten years of critical time has never, as far as I can dcteim'ne, done' one genuinely friendly thing toward our government. On the other hand, the Mexican government, or its people, has done no end of discourteous, contemptuous con-temptuous and offensive things of largo importance towards our government govern-ment and our people "The result has been an increased estrangement and an increased hatred against the people of the United States. There are no end of reports showing that Americans are being murdered or captured and released on payment of ransoms. Foreign-owned properties are being confiscated, or practically destroyed. Mexican bands are committing horrible crimes and in j Isolated places continue taids on persons per-sons and properly of American citizens citi-zens located on our side of the border. "Everywhere in Mexico 'as far as can be observed, there fs lack or progress. pro-gress. Murder, rapine and destruction prevail. From our point "of view there Is no evidence of constructive statesmanship. states-manship. We, who closely observe, ! belive the future of Mexico, lo far as it affects us, is utterly hopeless if left solely in control of Mexicans." Col. Glover as.Witness Colonel Glover, General Howze chief of staff, also was a witness. He I was asked regarding the fighting in Juarez, June 15. 1919. when Villa's men captured the city and the situation situa-tion that arose from troops crossing tho Rio Grande. Colonel. Glover testified testi-fied that some of the bullets which fell in El Paso came from the Mexican armies, but that the majority were fired by Carranza troops. He had arrived at this conclusion, during the fighting. He and others exposed themselves at the headquar-l ters- of the Eighty-second field artillery artil-lery on the American side. He said ! the Mexicans were sniping at thai j point. He ordered his men to watch for rifle flashes and then fire at the flashes. When the flashes were seen ! they sank to the ground , and the bul- j lets struck the walla above them, i They were fired by Villa's men, he said, and added, as the attack was I planned it was impossible for some or the bullets fired not to have struck in El Paso Carrizal Fiaht Echoes of the. Carrizal fight were heard by tho committee Trom General Howze and by George Turner, one of the negro troopers who carried Captain Cap-tain Boyd, fatally wounded, from the firing line. The negro told the commander com-mander of brutal treatment accorded him when taken prisoner by Mexicans. They were stripped of every shred of clothing, half starved and subjected to both mental and physical forms of the ! 'third degree," when (hey were delivered deliv-ered to the American side to Jaurez and El Paso. An Interesting feature of his testimony was his statement that a number of women accompanying accompany-ing the Mexican army took part in! the righting, by one of whom hp was j wounded. |