-TV :7I l T. Orlfftth. the writer of this article, la a Ponlander, who waa driven out of Mex ico a few months aito after several years" residence there. He wua forced to flee, leaving tls property.) THE terror of mob rule can only be realized by the person who has lived througrh a siege In which the life of a man is worth only the small price placed upon It by a horde of heartless bandits; where movable property Is subject to confiscation or destruction at any time, and where honest and disinterested persons are forced to contribute liberally to the support of the vandalism which Is wrecking: the land and the prospective prosperity. These are the conditions 1 round in Mexico, the land of "poco tiempo (after while), and these are the condi tions which are holding the Nation to the south In a grrip of terror. It is this state of affairs which has hrusnea millions of American and foreign cap ital away with a cruel and careless hand, and has sent hundreds of peace- loving; Americans to the States to live In poverty, while their Mexican noia- lngs. representing in most cases years of saving and hard work, are either crumbling from negligence or falling from the blows of vandals. At this time there seems no longer to be any pretense of honest warfare in Mexico. There Is a rebellion sepa rate) and apart from that which was created by honest people for the over throw of Porflrlo Diax. the iron-handed monarch. It is the rebellion of out laws, bandits and criminals for the overthrow of the successor of Dial and for the establishment of what the na tives call reon "libertad." Just what the peon "libertad' means I am un able to say. It is a grave question whether it is a struggle for the liberty and dominance of bandits and outlaws or of honest citizens. If would seem that the bandit class of peon is the one seeking the upper hand In the name of "libertad." My observations, based upon a study of the conditions and the experience of going through part of the siege, led me to believe that the Mexican people were all with Madero. Perhaps they would have been with any one who stood for the overthrow of Diaz. The better class, I think, wanted a re public, not In name but in fact. Madero had a strong following with which to overthrow Diaz, but he was not satisfied with that. He wanted to be certain of victory, so he augmented his ranks by opening the iails In every town he captured and releasing the criminals. Including the worsts of bandits and outlaws who had lodged In w - the prisons during 80 years of struggle against lawlessness in Mexico under the reign of Diaz. With these men he augmented his forces and set about to bring to a reality; his dreams of castles. It must have been that he forgot to dream on the results of his work of releasing criminals, because in doing this he built up a force that later militated against him and has caused his throne to rock and his reign to be shaken with uncertainty. No Prisoners Are Takesu "When the glory of fighting seemed about to terminate with the victory of Madero, these men were not willing to set to honest toll. They resolved to secure a new ruler and in that way continue the lawlessness to which they were addicted. They collected In small bands led by some of the worst char acters from the rebel army who were fighting, not in the Interest of lib ertad," but for the love of fighting and vandalism. These are the bands which are operating In many parts of Mexico today, striking to the very heart of that nation with robberies, murders, thefts and vandalism. Their operations are always -very carefully planned and executed. Never will they meet the federal troops un less they far outnumber them, and never do they take any great chances. When they get in a fight they usually kill every foe. taking no prisoners. Their practices are of the most atro cious nature. It is a rare case where the outlaw bands are satisfied to take the Rurales' horses, saddles, blankets, uniforms and supplies and allow the men to go free. Encounters between federals and Zapatistas, as they are called, are rare at present, because the latter are. always well mounted and armed and can take a town and every thing in it and be gone before the federals can arrive In sufficient force to oppose them. The Zapatistas, during the Madero revolution, were rebels In the true sense of the word. Private property, except for horses and arms, were not molested, even when they were the property of Mexicans. "Valles" were issued to the owner when the horse was taken, so he could secure payment from the government. This, of course, was during the Madero rebellion. The "valles" did not amount to much, be cause the government valuation of property was small. For example, a friend of mine on a plantation ad joining one I occupied had three saddle horses ranging In value from 100 to 150 pesos each. These animals were taken, along with their saddles and bridles, which were worth about SO pesos each. The "valle" Issued by the leader of the Zapatistas on the gov-1 THE SUNDAY OREGONTAN. PORTLAJfT), SEPTEMBER 15, 1912. klV mi 2& ernment was for 35 pesos for each horse and outfit. However, other property was not molested by the rebels or federals, and all persons not Mexicans were exempt from contributions to the cause of the rebellion. During all of Madero's revo lution I rode through the country at will and had no trouble. I was treated with far more respect and kindness by the rebels I met than by the federals. But now the conditions have changed comnletelv around and the land is one of unsafety and uncertainty for every person, American, untisner, Herman, Frenchman, Spaniard and Mexican In cluded. This state of affairs Is due to some big mistakes made by Madero, which gave the so-called Madero Zapatistas a cause for starting a new revolution under the name or "Iioer- tad." These rebels have assumed the name asqulstas-itapaustas. under their methods there is no pretense of honest warfare. At first Ihey confined ; ' vM. . How .Would-be Leaders Are Struggling for Sup remacy Lost by Diaz How The Peon, The American, The Britisher and the Spaniard Alike Pay for the Support Vandilism. i no 5 1 1 zr??73- their robbing, plundering and murder Ing to the Mexicans, but, little by lit tle as thev have found they have force and are not molested by other nations, they have grown bolder, until the American and other roreigner in their country Is not only not exempt from contributions to the cause of the rebel lion, but are In as much danger of the vandalism as the Mexicans. The ban dit gangs are as free now to order an American off his plantation and steal everything he possesses as they were at the beginning to Invade the ranch of a Mexican. . There seems to be no limit to what these organized bands of outlaws will do. Many plantation owners have this year been required to desert their places with little or no part of their crops removed. The fields of waving grain, which bore every promise of en riching the struggling settlers who have fought for years against odds In their efforts to gat a start, have been -v 7 SI m left to rot or be destroyed by vandals. An indication of the deplorable con ditions might be recited in the case of men who are working on the farms. Payday, or "raya," was held every Sat urday night, at which time the express companies would deliver money to the employers and the men would be paid off. Vandals put a stop to this prac tice to such an extent that the express companies refused to carry money into the country and then the farmers or plantation owners faced a serious problem. It was found very difficult to get several hundred dollars to a plantation for each week's payday, as there was always a gang of outlaws hanging around eager to attack a money train. The farmers devised all kinds of schemes to secure the money. It would be hauled In boxes packed as mill supplies or in sacks carried in the form of bundles of grain begs. When the money got to the planta tion there arose the problem of paying the men off at a time when there were no Zapatistas around. Seldom did a week go by while I was in Mexico during the present "eign of terror that the plantation was not visited by a band of outlaws numbering from 10 to 100 men, on horses. We always treated them with courtesy, as to do otherwise was the same as suicide. I was lucky usually in finding some one of the band who had worked for me and he would always put in a good word which helped very materially In tne outcome of the visit to the plantation. Think They Cam Whip TJ. s. Upon a few occasions, however, bands came to our place which we did not know and upon such occasions we lost from one to three saddle horses and outfits. But each time we were successful In getting them back by applying to some of the bigger leaders a Vi n ka-ila whom Wf kneW. TJDOn one occasion one of my best horses was returned after two weeks of hardships as a Zapatista mount. I had given up hope of ever getting this horse and . 1 1 -w oa o-rAcLflv Kiimrisfid one day when I saw a Zapatista ride up to tne staDte ana. mm nua, d,Uui, j v. i ,3 1 .- 4a tha stnhlA Hn v The rider was drunk, as most of the Zapa tistas usually are, but I thanked nlm and wrote a letter to bis leaden. m 1 I often talked to members of the outlaw rebel bands, and found that they expected victory. They are fighting for Gomez for President and Emlllo Zapata for Minister of War. The lat ter can neither read nor write. The so-called rebels have no doubt that they will succeed in overthrowing the government. They say that they may be delayed a little in their work If they have to stop and fight the United States, in case that country inter venes. I asked one Zapatista If ho thought they could whip the United States, and he said: "Why, of course we can. It's true they beat us before, but then we were at a disadvantage because we had muzzle-loading rifles. But it is different now," he said, as he ran his hand down the shining barrel of a graceful pistol at his side and pointed to a "Colins machete" on the other side of his belt and a .30-.30 rifle of the latest model swung on his back. I laughed a dry laugh and let the argu ment drop at that. An experience we had soon after this might be related as a good example of the method under which warfare is being conducted in Mexico. We had Just succeeded in getting a payroll to the plantation in boxes shipped from a nearby town as mill supplies, gnd were counting the money on a table pre paratory to paying off the men, when ten Zapatistas whirled around the cor ner on horseback and pulled up right in front of the cabin. There was no time to hide the money, so I went to the door and invited the leader and two or three of his officers in. They declined, but, Instead, grouped around the window and watched us counting the money. I knew the leader well, for when he worked for me some months before this he had taken sick and I had doc tored him and, not only saved his life, but had paid his brother $2.50 a week for six weeks to feed him. ' For that reason he was under moral obligations to me and, fortunately, he seemed to realize this fact. We talked with the visitors about 15 minutes and learned that they were in need of money. Be lieving that the best thing for me to do under the circumstances was to offer them some funds rather than have them take everything we had In sight, I asked the leader if I could not contribute a few "pesltos." They all expressed a willingness, and I walked over to the money table and picked up a stack of 15 pesos and handed them to the leader. "Leader Killed for Decency. I noticed that his followers were not pleased with the size of the contribu tion, but in their natural outward po liteness they thanked me. At that moment I looked down to the stable and saw a bunch of the visitors sad dling one of my best horses which they had rounded - up in the pasture. I turned to the leader and politely In formed him that I could not spare the horse because I had a lot of work to do and the 6upply of animals was very low on the plantation. I told him that nothing would please me better than to contribute a horse If I could spare one. I saw that my objection did not meet with hearty approval, and I could see that something was going to happen, so I obeyed an Impulse to go down to the barn and rescue the horse and take a chance on leaving the money. I knew from experience that if the gang intended to take the money they would do so whether I was there or not. At the barn I told the Zapatista who was about to mount my horse that I was very sorry, but I could not spare the animal, so he would have to turn him Into the pasture again. The lead er of the gang then came up and, after thinking a few minutes, told the man to turn the horse loose. At this I v5 ft . 7n Wet I '&TJ2 2&xfcct KM if' thanked them all and they rode off. I could see, however, that there was a feeling of dissatisfaction among some of the men. I lost no time in paying off my men. for I didn't dare take any chances on the bandit gang's returning. A few days later I learned from another bandit gang that the leader of the former gang had been shot from be hind by his own men because he had not taken all of the money and three or four saddle horses. When they were at my ranch they wanted to take the money, but not one had the nerve to take things In his own hands until they had talked among themselves and found that they were all of the same opinion. This is a sample of the treachery of the Zapatistas. When they are treated with courtesy there is no telling what they are thinking or planning. Depredations Are Many. One day Just a short time aso after I had finished with my crops I decideil to go to a nearby town. I wanted to go on horseback, but knew that If I did I would lose my horse and saddle, so I took the train. This train, as Is customary, had about 30 federal troops in a rear coach to protect the train and passengers from the bandit gangs. On arriving at the town I started down the road on foot and had walked but a short distance when a bunch of about 100 Zapatistas dashed by me, bound for the depot to attack the train. I stood by the road as they passed with their rifles in their hands. Fortunately I knew the leader and I was not inter fered with. They were a little too late for the train, which circumstance probably saved the' lives of the federal trooiis and the pocketbooks of the passengers on the train. The bandit gang, accord ing to their habit, would have slaugh tered every soldier on the train and possibly some of the passengers. Of the hundred Zapatistas I should say 70 had rifles, pistols and swords and two or three belts full of cartridges each. All were exceedingly well mounted. They remained In the town about two hours and then went down the road to a nearby pasture, where they killed a steer and held a barbecue. They did not ask the owner of the steer for permission to eat it, but sim ply helped themselves. There seems to De no end to these depredations. To the people who live here in the states and get only the occasional reports from the places where news can be sent out, a very small part of the story of crime and hardships which people of all nations are suffering Is known. It Is in the remote districts where the outlaws have the sway that the trouble is rag ing. I have seen trees with all the way from one to a dozen bodies dang ling from ropes. Some of the scenes are too horrible to describe. The Americans in Mexico have long been wondering what Washington Is going to do. They have been wonder ing what Is going to be the fate of the Monroe Doctrine. There is no Ques tion about the seriousness of the con ditions. The people on the border realize the conditions because they get the reports direct and they are all in favor of intervention. The Americans and foreigners In Mexico demand Inter vention. What will Uncle Sam doT Will he stand Idly by and see millions of American capital go to the dogs, thou sands of American homes smashed, hundreds of American lives lost? I do not believe he will. His emissaries to Mexico know the conditions and I think It is only a matter of time be fore our soldiers will be In the field bringing to an end the reign of terror which Mexico cannot end of Its own accord because of her would-be leaders who axe dreaming of castles,