PANCHA VILLA

Wanganui Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 160723, 9 August 1920, Page 7

PANCHA VILLA

MEXICO’S GREAT BANDIT. CAREER OF STRANGE RASCAL. The swashbuckling career of Francisco Villa, the famous Mexican bandit, who has defied the Government of bis own country and of the Uintend States for many years, has been concluded in a surprising way by his surrender to the Mexican Government, which it is announced has ordered his retirement into private life. It is now about ten years since anarchy in Alexicp reached such a pitch as made it, up till the outbreak of the European war, the most troublesome of the foreign problems of the United States. During that time, at the beginning of widen (December, 1910) Porhrio Diaz was for the eighth time made president, revolution after revolution has occurred. Madero revolted apd became President; Orozco revolted; Huerta and Feliz Diaz rose against the Madero Government; and Huprta became President, and had Madero murdered. In March, 1913, General Carranza was nominated by a ’“constitutional” revolutionary party of adherents of Madero in repudiation of Huerta’s rule, and there arose an impossible situation in which the United States offered its services as mediator. There seemed little chance of an easy settlement- The influence of the United States was, however, quickly swayed against Huerta by his high-handed attitude as ft military dictator. Villa, meantime, became active as leader of a “constitutional” army in Northern Mexicp, and achieved a number of successes 5 against Huerta’s forces. The United States, which in 1912 had forbidden the export of arms across the border to Mexico, raised the embargo as being a hindrance to the process by wffiich, in the American ideal, Mexico was to settle her own affairs. A host of incidents, more or less sensational and picturesque, punctuated the progress of the internal warfare and the contact of Americans with the Mexicans. The arrest of some American marines at Tampico on 9th April, 1913, almost led to a war between the nations. Vera Criiz, the capital, was in consequence occupied by an American force. The impending war was, however, averted by mediation. Thereafter ensued a further troubled period. Carranza and Villa quarrelled, and another leader, Zapata, put in a claim to the Presidency. After much difficult negotiation, Carranza was at last recognised by the United States as President of -Mexico. a ' THE RAIDS IN TEXAS. Villa’s downfall was due to the continuance of lawless fighting in Northern Mexico. The culminating point \yas readied in the form of a raid in which a band of his troops raided and burnt the town of Colombus, Texas, north of the border. The United States, which had for years bad to maintain a frontier guard absorbing a large part of its regular army, instituted punitive measures, and after some difficulties with Carranza as to the possible infringement of the “sovereign rights” of Mexico, secured the right to send troops into Mexico in pursuit of the bandits, and Carranza co-operated,-not very effectively, in the hunt for the raiders, who were little.damaged. The American activity was very limited, and was ended by the United States becoming involved in the great war. A DEMOCRATIC FIGURE. Villa was known to ah his followers as “Paneha,” the Mexican nickname for Francisco. He never received, in ordinary usage, any high-sounding style or title; and though he had risen from the level of the common,, “peon” to be one of the most powerful men in the country, and was one of its strongest characters,* he remained always a “peon” at heart and in his habits. His army regarded him as one of themselves ; he lived with them, ate and smoked with them, and as ope writer said, would sit on the curb at the side of the street and pull on his own boots.

Summing him up from the most unfavourable point of view, Ijis career showed him to he utterly bad. That is probably the only estimate of hifii possible to a civilised white man. His moral code embraced murder as no sin ; be was utterly callous to bloodshed in anv form, his fellow-Mexi-caiis for his political personal benefit without a qualm. Woinen were his prey. With a mental equipment largely primitive he was a man of violent temper. impatient of contradiction, but liable to sudden returns to complete good humour. He is little educated — can sign Jiis name, but can neither read nor write. Notwithstanding tho savagery of Villa’s temperament, he is credited with a certain sense of justi.ee and with a marked readiness to help distressed and needy people, seeming to realise that weakness has a claim upon his strength; and there are numerous instances of his kindness to needy women bereaved of sons and husbands by the revolutionary turmoils of Mexico. AN EFFICIENT GENERAL. As a general, to quote a sketch by Air J. G. Taylor, his qualities may be summed up under the heads of aggressiveness, doggedness, and what is called “good, hard horse-sense.” In his army, he departed notably from the system adopted by the Federal Mexican Army. For instance, Tie cut off the enormous train of women .camp-follow-ers, which were a great handicap to mobility. H.e adopted, on a large scale, night attacks, to the extent of making them almost the rule; and the results, in his campaigns against the Federals, justified his views; and he speeded up his army by properly equipping it till it became probably as mobile a body as the world has ever seen. He established a hospital and medical service of extraordinary efficiency; ope that Fas described by some writers as better cv'en than the best organisation of the United States ip this department, Jn various departments of hjs army he had men (including Americans) far his superior in education, in intellect, in morality,, and they stuck to him, obeyed 'him' and.admired him, in spite of his bad qualities. Pew men have,“dled” or been ‘-‘killed” more often than Villa —in the newspapers, Latterly he has been comparatively inactive, and he seems to, have played only a small rple in the dramatic revolution which ended in thq death of Carranza and the triumph of Obregon, whose party now proposes to ; treat jjim as an honoured guest of the nation.