Thursday, February 28, 2013

Peace In Mexico.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 28, 1913:
    The latest news from Mexico is as encouraging as could be hoped for. We are hearing nothing further of "reprisals." The reports of the assassination of two of Madero's brothers have not been verified. The new amnesty law indicates that the Provisional President is a man of good judgment and quick action, who desires to restore peace with as little resort to severe measures as possible. To be sure, the ill-fated Madero also promised amnesty to all rebels who surrendered within a specified time, and none surrendered, but his Government was obviously weak from first to last, while Huerta's thus far has seemed strong. Much depends upon his ability to keep his promises and his success in mustering an army fit to be reckoned with. It must be remembered that he defeated Orozco decisively at Bachimba, and would have crushed that rebellion entirely if his hand had not been stayed by Madero.
    The gratifying facts are that the insurrectos, excepting Zapata, are now supporting Huerta, and that strong measures are being adopted for the first time to bring to terms that obstreperous enemy of law and order. Madero checked all efforts to suppress Zapata. Train service between the capital and the border has been restored, and Vera Cruz is quiet. The prospects are good for a speedy resumption of business throughout the republic.
    In the circumstances, there is little danger of the intervention peril lasting to trouble President Wilson's Administration at its very outset. The new President of the United States will take office at a time when the Mexican situation is less troublesome to the State Department at Washington than it has been for two years. How long the peaceful condition will last nobody can tell, but presumably the new elections will not be ordered in Mexico until the disturbances in all parts of the country have been allayed.

Will Cede Adrianople.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 28, 1913:
Turkey Wants to Renew Negotiations and Solicits Offices of Russia.
    SOFIA, Feb. 27.— Turkey has once more signified her readiness to negotiate for peace with Bulgaria, this time on the basis of including the cession of Adrianople.
    The Turkish Government has solicited the good offices of Russia, and the Russian Government last evening transmitted to the Bulgarian Government a message it had received from Michel de Giers, the Russian Ambassador at Constantinople, containing the Turkish proposals for fresh negotiations.
    The Bulgarian Council of Ministers met to-day to discuss the subject.

Report Fight With Carranza.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 28, 1913:
Loyalists and Rebels Said to be Fighting Near Coahuila.
    EAGLE PASS. Texas, Feb. 27.— Loyal troops from Lampasas engaged the forces of Gov. Carranza., of Coahuila near Monclova, 150 miles south of the border, this afternoon, according to a dispatch received to-night.
    The dispatch related briefly that a battle was in progress and the fighting was desperate, but did not state the number of men engaged or whether either force had gained an advantage.
    Gov. Carranza sent a messenger to this town to-day with the following statement:
    I wish to emphatically deny all reports to the effect that I am dealing with the so-called Huerta Government, and to state further that I have no intention ever of considering any sort of compromise.
    Gov. Carranza added that Gen. Huerta could give him no satisfactory explanation by what right he claimed the Presidency of Mexico. The Governor said he would stand out for the constitutional government against all odds.

The Navy And Economy.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 28, 1913:
    The Senate yesterday passed a Public Building bill appropriating more than $40,000,000 for new buildings, an increase of more than $16,000,000 over the House appropriation. The appropriation for pensions this year will probably exceed $200,000,000. Yet the House of Representatives has refused to authorize the construction of more than one new battleship this year, and has also cut out of the Naval bill appropriations for a much-needed new transport and a supply ship. The estimates of the Navy Department have been cut $30,000,000, for "economy's sake" at a time when the need of an efficient modern navy has been practically demonstrated.
    There was a strong and well-supported movement in the House to withhold any appropriation at all on account of battleships this year. Representative Underwood deserves credit for securing a vote for one battleship. In the circumstances, a nation which is strongly impressed by the evidences of its need of defense on land and sea must be grateful to Mr. Underwood, but his argument that "we can maintain an adequate navy on one ship a year to take the place of the vessels which are discarded as fast as they become obsolete" is not founded on a judicial examination of the facts. Mr. Underwood feels quite sure that "no great naval power is going to invade our shores," and he may be justified, so far, but we need ships for the Eastern and Western waters and the Asiatic station, and the navy was not growing too rapidly when an appropriation for two new ships a year was the rule.
    The cutting of the naval appropriations is false economy which no sophistical argument can excuse, and we are likely to suffer for it in the future. But nobody will be fooled by the plea of economy. The idea of saving the public money is not permitted to interfere with the erection of expensive public buildings in the Districts of some of the money-saving Congressmen, or with the expenditure in the form of pensions of vast sums to secure political support.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Sees Risk In Weak Navy.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
Special to The New York Times.
    CHICAGO, Ill., Feb. 26.— Increase in the naval forces of the United States as a measure of common safety and reduction of the area of the Monroe doctrine to the South American coast line and islands north and west of the Oronoco River, were advocated by Rear Admiral Charles H. Stockton in an address delivered today at the University of Chicago.
    "Every year," said Admiral Stockton, "should be a year of preparation and construction in the navy, so long as wars cannot be eliminated and armaments continue to increase. Woe to any country which leave its coast, its coast towns and its export trade the subject of injury and destruction on account of a weak navy.
    "We should adopt a more positive policy in regard to the Caribbean and the Spanish Main. While forbidding interference with this territory, on the part of European countries, we should, in our own turn, supervise them to an extent that would make them behave in a civilized manner."
    Admiral Stockton urged the appointment immediately, by President-elect Wilson of a board of defense to take charge of a naval programme which would make the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea an American Mediterranean, under full and perpetual control of the United States.

Big German Army Cost.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
Bill for Increase Said to Involve Expenditure of $50,000,000.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    BERLIN, Feb. 26.— The Post says it has learned in well-informed quarters that the forthcoming bill providing for the increase of the German Army estimates will involve the expenditure of between $50,000,000 and $55,000,000. Previous estimates had put the sum at $37,500,000, exclusive of estimates for an air fleet, which will call for another $5,000,000.
    The money will be raised by the imposition of new taxes. The Secretary of the Imperial Treasury in now consulting with the various State Governments with regard to ways and means of financing.

Russia And Austria Are To Demobilize.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
And Rumania Accepts Powers' Mediation Offer, but Says She Must Have Silistria.
TURKS' PEACE EFFORT FAILS
Ibrahim Pasha's Mission to London Unsuccessful — Fighting Between Bulgars and Turks at Bulair.
    ST. PETERSBURG, Feb. 26.— The demobilization of the Austrian and Russian forces has been decided upon, according to information from a most reliable source, as a result of the recent exchange of letters between Emperor Francis Joseph and the Russian Emperor. The extra units concentrated on the respective frontiers, it is stated, will be simultaneously withdrawn in the near future, and the reservists will be disbanded.
    It is understood that the details of this measure were discussed at a special council which assembled at Tsarskoe-Selo yesterday under the Presidency of the Emperor. The Premier, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, War, and Marine, and the Chief of the General Staff were present.
    This action coincides with the preparations for the celebration of the tercentenary of the Romanoff dynasty, which it is desired to mark by peace in international relations and good-will in internal politics. An amnesty decree on a large scale is now being prepared.

Many See Strange 'Airship.'

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
Nocturnal Visitor Reported from Various Parts of England.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Thursday, Feb. 27.— Further statements are made regarding alleged airship lights seen over various parts of England on Tuesday night.
    According to some accounts the shape of the vessel was discerned and the noise of its motor was heard.
    The reports come largely from Yorkshire, from the south coast, and, finally, from Liverpool, and it is pointed out that the very multiplicity of the reports tends to discredit them and strengthen the suggestion that observers have been deceived by the planet Venus.
    Sir Norman Lockyer, the eminent astronomer, in discussing the subject says he is unable to understand how a star could be mistaken for an airship. Although he is not prepared to believe that such a vessel is actually scouring the country at night, he points out that to the naked eye Venus seems stationary. Observers of the mysterious light, however, maintain that it executes circles, finally disappearing northward at great speed.
    With regard to the assumption that the lights belong to a German airship or airships, The Cologne Gazette last night, in what is regarded as an officially inspired article, declares that it would be impossible for any German airship to travel to England and back without detection, and says that if the stories are repeated there is grave fear that they may prove a menace to Anglo-German relations.

Carranzas Has 3,000 Rebels.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
Deposed Governor of Coahuila Has Defeated Federals.
Special to The New York Times.
    EAGLE PASS, Texas, Feb. 26.— Venustancio Carranzas, deposed Governor of the State of Coahuila, and who occupied the position of Secretary of War in Madero's provisional Cabinet, is at the head of a force of 3,000 rebels that are reported this evening to be in the neighborhood of Monclova, about 100 miles south of here. The Carranzas adherents have captured Saltillo, the State capital, from the Federals, the latter fleeing to the old Buena Vista battlefield. Gen. Tracy Auber, with 600 Federals, is within a few miles of Monclova, and a battle between the opposing forces is expected at any time.
    According to advices received here today, the Carranzas revolt now covers practically all of Coahuila and has extended into Nuevo Leon and Durango. All of the important towns along the railroad leading south of here to Torreon are in the hands of rebels. Their rallying cry is "The death of Madero must be avenged."
    In the San Pedro district, near Torreon, Emilio and Raoul Madero, brothers of the dead ex-President, are reported to be at the head of several hundred rebels.

Huerta Prepares Army For Rebels.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 27, 1913:
New Mexican Administration Makes Plans to Organize a Huge Military Force.
OROZCO GIVES ALLEGIANCE
Former Rebel Chieftain Promises Support to the Successors of Madero.
HANDS OFF, IS WILSON'S IDEA
Washington Hears the President Elect Said Intervention Was Inconceivable — Carranza's Forces Grow.
WILL FIX GUILT, SAYS DIAZ.
By Cable to the Editor of The New York Times.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 25.— The matter to which you refer (the killing of Francisco Madero and Pino Suarez) is being thoroughly investigated by competent authorities, who will fix the guilt where it belongs.
    FELIX DIAZ.

Special Cable to The New York Times.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 26.— Napoleonic methods are to he followed by Gen. Victoriano Huerta, Provisional President, and his associate, Gen. Felix Diaz, in pacifying Mexico. Despite attempts at secrecy in regard to its military policy it became known to-night that President Huerta would strengthen himself by building up an army able to cope with every insurrection in the republic. Martial methods akin to those pursued by Porfirio Diaz, uncle of the General, who is aiding Huerta, are to be adopted.
    When President Huerta and Felix Diaz set out to crush the various rebellions it will be with an army powerful enough to force the insurgents to submit.
    Huerta and Diaz at first, it is understood, hoped to pick the rebel armies off one by one. It was their plan to concentrate the forces of the Provisional Government against insurgents in first one State, then another, trusting that each success would make the next task easier.
    Reports of conditions in the disaffected States, however, sent secretly through insurgent territory are said to have convinced them that the project was not practicable. They concluded there would be too much danger that, while most of the Government forces were engaged against bands in one part of the republic, rebels in other regions would make dangerous headway against the Administration.
    The new policy of the administration was encouraged this evening by the submission of Gen. Pascual Orozco, Jr., whose enmity had been feared more than the provisional Government was willing to admit. Dispatches from Orozco to Diaz stated that the revolutionists under his command placed themselves unreservedly under the orders of the Huerta Government. Orozco said it remained for Diaz to say whether his forces should be enlisted in the Government army or mustered out of service.
    There is little doubt that Diaz will decide to avail himself of the soldierly qualities of Orozco's troops. Those revolutionists have been so active in the north that their military value has long been apparent. Many were formerly in the regular army, and even those lacking that experience have been well drilled in battles and forced marches.

Will Prepare Army First.
    No organized attempt, therefore, will be made to quell the rebellions until the Government's army is reorganized thoroughly. Under the direction of the ablest authorities, the forces of the republic are being raised to their full strength as rapidly as possible.
    Gen. Huerta is a stern commander, and Diaz is equally insistent in getting the utmost out of his officers and men.
    The surrendering revolutionists, as fast as they come in, are used to swell the ranks of Huerta's forces. At the end of the recent fighting the army was completely demoralized. Many regiments were broken up, and their battalions in many instances were scattered widely. Whole companies of infantry had disappeared.
    The keynote of the Huerta-Diaz military policy is concentration in the capital. By assembling their forces here it is believed they can reorganize the army more quickly than if they attempted to operate through several rallying points. The Federal District, therefore, is rapidly becoming the camp of an army that promises to be more formidable than any that has been constructed in Mexico in years.
    A load has been taken off the War Department by the return of the Rurales to the authority of the Department of the Interior. Gen. Caos, who has been appointed Commander in Chief of the Rurales, is a competent officer and is recruiting his force to its full strength. At present this arm of the Government service is being used chiefly in general utility duties. It is said the Government may be unable to carry out completely its intention to wait until the army has attained its full strength before operating against the revolutionists. The belief of military men is that as soon as a good part of the forces shall have been reorganized the Administration will find it necessary to send detachments to several places, where action is likely to be imperative.
    Senator Emilio Rabasa of Chiapas has been named as Ambassador to Washington. He is a prominent student of international law and has a wide reputation as a student of the Constitution. An effort is being made to turn the Mexican loan to the United States, according to a report current here.
    Summarizing the situation after a Cabinet meeting to-night, Señor de la Barra said he did not desire to appear overoptimistic, but he felt the situation was much improved, and that there promised to be no organized rebellion in a short time. He explained it was necessary that some of the bandits be suppressed with an iron hand. He was reluctant to talk of the international situation, but he said it was satisfactory owing to the disappearance of trouble in Nuevo Laredo and Matamoras. Many army leaders, eager to be permitted to bring to terms those standing out for conditions, he added, were held in check to give the insurgent chiefs full opportunity to surrender.
    Benjamin Argumendo, leader of the rebels south of Torreon, communicated a desire to assist the administration today. He was permitted to camp in Soledad, San Luis Potosi.
    The railway situation is much improved. Trains got through to Juarez to-day, and will get to Nueva Laredo and Eagle Pass probably to-morrow.
    The political tangles in Puebla, Tlaxcale, and Hidalgo are being handled tactfully yet quickly. The situation in Aguascalientes has been improved, as the Governor found himself playing a solitary rôle as an insurgent. An army officer was sent to Aguascalientes to-day to take the situation in hand and assume the Military Governorship.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

The Bulgarian Artillery.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
Supplied Chiefly by Germany, Says Military Expert.
    We are able to publish the following very interesting and doubtlessly authentic statement, emanating from high Bulgarian official circles, and we believe that the frankness with which the Bulgarians marshal forth certain facts contradicting a widespread general opinion is apt to attract much attention.
    The Bulgarian officer, whose name cannot be made public, states what follows:
    Now that the war seems to tend to its end, we may look into the factors that caused its results, and I believe that among them the artillery of the belligerents is one of the most important. I want to deal only with the Bulgarian artillery, and should like to say that much to the surprise of Europe this arm has proved to be exceedingly efficient.
    Military experts as well as the universal press took this matter up, trying to use the "lessons" from the Balkan war according to their own strongly biased purposes. Especially in France the erroneous assertion was made that — irrespective of the man behind the gun — all our victories are absolutely due to the French material, organization, and methods employed in our army. What the French press had to say was published all over the world, and seems to have taken root in public opinion. However, this is not the truth, which we are very desirous to set forth and to make known.
    Leaving soldiers and officers out of the discussion and speaking merely of the material, the truth is that practically Germany has furnished to Bulgaria 75 per cent. France only 25 per cent. of the guns; that 90 per cent. of the whole ammunition — even for the French material — was German, and that all the fuses came from Krupp in Germany.
    As far as methods are concerned, we imitated first Russia, then Italy, and lately have adopted the best to be found in the German and French regulations, being in this respect equally indebted to the four above-named countries.
    I am, consequently, sorry to say that France was too quick in assuming laurels that by no means she is entitled to.
          MILITARY EXPERT.
          New York, Feb. 25, 1913.

The Killings In Mexico

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
Declared to be Justified by Exigencies of War.
To the Editor of The New York Times:
    The hysterical utterances of some of our newspapers over recent events in Mexico would be amusing if the whole matter were not a profound tragedy. As a strung advocate of peace and arbitration, the loud protests over the death of a few individuals on the part of those who are consumed with a desire to fight, (or have others do so,) to slay thousands and have thousands of our countrymen slain, seem to me a curious though not unusual specimen of masculine logic.
    It would be well to consider things dispassionately. Assassination in time of peace in a country which is governed with even a semblance of justice is rightly regarded with horror. Summary execution in time of martial law or of insurrection and anarchy is entirely different and is generally considered justifiable. In recent earthquake calamities the shooting of men who were engaged merely in robbing the dead has occasioned no outcry. In time of war stern measures may be the truest mercy. Where two parties are fighting for a cause the death of one or two leaders may inspire their followers to a more earnest and tireless struggle. Where there is a condition approaching anarchy, a strife of personal factions, the removal of leaders may be the only method possible for an early restoration of order. Of the existence of such conditions the persons in power are the best judges.
    Had Madero given orders for the execution of Diaz and Reyes immediately upon their capture probably the killing of 3,000 in Mexico City, including many non-combatants, would have been spared,
        ANNIE S. PECK.
        New York, Feb. 25, 1913.

Not Vengeful, Says Huerta.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
Hopes That He Will Be Able to Pacify Government's Foes.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 25.— President Victoriano Huerta insists that his will not be a government of retaliation or revenge, but that he will devote his energies to the placation of those persons mildly antagonistic and to the stern repression of its active enemies.
    As indicating the sincerity of the President, most of those who were arrested immediately after the overthrow of Madero have been released, among them Juan Sanchez Azcona, Madero's private secretary. Gen. Angeles, whose reluctance to join in the movement against Madero resulted in his arrest, has been released, and, it is said, will retire. An amnesty proclamation has been sent broadcast.
    The Government has not forgotten to extend rewards. As a General, Huerta long resented the failure of some of his companions in arms to receive promotion, and since his assumption of power new straps have been bestowed upon numerous officers. Among those, thus honored was Col. Diaz Ordaz, Gen. Felix Diaz's chief lieutenant at Vera Cruz. He was removed from the military prison there, promoted to General, and named as commandant of Vera Cruz.
    Rodolfo Reyes, Minister of Justice, will probably retire from the Cabinet, so that he may be free to conduct his own campaign for the Presidency. A report is current that he has had a disagreement with President Huerta. Reyes denies this, however, and says that if he retires it will be on account of private business.
    Hope for immediate peace in Mexico is slight. Rebel activity in the north has increased and the Government's efforts to enter into arrangements with the Zapatistas appear to have failed.
    Whether the rebels, whose centre is the State of Coahuila, have increased numerically is not generally known, but they have so conducted their operations already that communication with the frontier has been stopped, the region between Laredo and San Luis Potosi being practically isolated.
    In the south the Zapatistas continue burning and raiding, and an attack on a military train between Ozumba and Mexico City leaves little room for doubt as to their attitude toward the new administration. The attack on the train was of the ordinary ambush type. The train was stopped by a burned-out bridge, and the fighting continued for more than two hours.
    One of the demands of the Zapatistas, made to-day by commissioners representing that section of the rebels, was that all Zapatista officers be admitted to the regular establishment with corresponding rank, some having taken unto themselves the title of General. To this the Government strongly objected.
    The Commissioners left to report to their chief, and soon word came back that the Zapatistas considered the revolution still in progress. The Government has sent forces southward toward Cuernavaca, along the line of the Central Railway, a portion of which will be rebuilt.
    Reports from the State of Morelos indicate that the work of destruction during the past twenty-four hours has been more complete than ordinarily undertaken by the rebels.
    To offset the antagonism of the Zapatistas, however, the Government believes that there will be no difficulty in concluding arrangements for peace with Juan Andrew Almazan and Julio Radillo, the two most prominent leaders in the State of Guerrero. Nor is there much doubt felt by the officials that arrangements can be made by the Government agents sent to El Paso with representatives of Orozco's army. Benjamin Arguemedo, Cheche Campos, and the two Orozcos, the most valiant leaders, it is announced here, have expressed willingness to cooperate. Their field chiefly has been in the district about Torreon, and if the expected arrangements are made it is not improbable that they may be employed in combating the elements of the new revolution centred in Coahuila.
    The official closing of the Port of Laredo was the first public intimation here that the Government regarded the rebels of the North as unfriendly to the new régime. It had been stated officially that Venustiano Carranza, Governor of Coahuila, had decided to abandon his antagonistic attitude, but hope of this has greatly diminished, and the cutting of the National Railroad between San Luis Potosi and Saltillo, and between San Luis and Tampico indicates that the Government has much work before it can subjugate the rebels.
    The revival of the Diaz influence in Mexico is indicated by an order issued by Gen. Huerta to-day, commanding that the portraits of Porfirio Diaz be restored to the places in the public buildings from which they were removed by the late Francisco Madero immediately after his assumption of office. Several large pictures of the old dictator, equestrian and otherwise, are to be replaced immediately in the corridors and halls of the National Palace. Several of the new Cabinet Ministers, anticipating the Presidential order, had already caused pictures to be dragged from their hiding places, dusted, and hung on the walls of their various departments. The American Ambassador, Henry Lane Wilson, called on President Huerta this afternoon, and at the palace it was officially stated that he presented representations from Washington for a more detailed and circumstantial account of the deaths of the former President and former Vice President.
    The commission charged with the investigation has taken considerable testimony, but has made none of it public.

Another Madero Reported Shot By Mexicans.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
Emilio Said to Have Been Killed While Trying to Avenge His Brother.
HUERTA'S PLANS FAIL
Uprisings and Threats Continue, Despite Amnesty Offers and Promotions.
TO STRIKE BACK SOON
Diaz Ready to Support the Government in Vigorous Methods to Restore Order.
MADEROS OFF TO CUBA
Widow and Parents Sail on Gunboat — Murdered President Buried Quietly.
AMERICAN TROOPS GATHER
First of the Brigades Arrive at Galveston — 3,000 Men Will Be There by To-night.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 25.— Emilio Madero, a brother of the late President Madero, has been shot and killed north of Monterey, according to reliable information received here.
    With an escort of thirty-five men Madero was attempting to join the rebels holding Laredo when he was overtaken by troops sent by Gen. Trevino. The reports do not indicate whether Madero was killed in action or was executed.
    The shooting of Madero took place between Villadama and Bastamente.
    As the rebel leader in the Laredo district, Geronimo Villareal, is a partisan of Gen. Trevino, the Government expects that the trouble in that vicinity will soon be adjusted.
    Emilio Madero, in conjunction with his brother Raoul, a few days ago began a counter-revolution at San Pedro, in the State of Coahuila, in the expectation of uniting the rebels about Saltillo with those in the Laredo district.

"Airship" Only Venus?

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
One Theory in Regard to Apparition That Is Frightening England.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Feb. 25.— Further reports of a mysterious airship seen at night come from Hull.
    The suggestion is now made that a certain light in the western sky, seen nightly and taken for an airship's searchlight, is none other than the planet Venus, which for the past few nights has been shining brilliantly.

Deal For Nicaragua Canal?

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 26, 1913:
Bluefields Reports Compact Signed to Give United States Control.
Special to The New York Times.
    MOBILE, Feb. 25.— Advices reach here that a contract has been made in Managua by which no other Nation than the United Slates will be permitted to put through the old Nicaragua Canal project. The contract is now up to the Nicaraguan Congress, which is expected to accept it.
    Bluefields reports say that the contract was signed Saturday by the American Minister, acting on instructions from Washington, and the Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Relations. Negotiations to this end have been going on for some time.
    Nothing is known here of the terms of the agreement or what  the United States binds itself to do in return for a guarantee that no other nation shall be permitted to build a canal through Nicaraguan territory.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Mexico.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
To the Editor of The New York Times:
    The grim ghost of the French Revolution is stalking the streets of the war-plagued City of Mexico. The assassination of ex-President Madero and his Vice President proves that Mexico is endeavoring to emulate the example of the French methods of revolution. This is no longer a revolution; it has become merely a war of extermination.
    Mexican barbarism must stop, and the only nation on earth that can and must stop it is the United States. The whole world looks to us to keep peace on the American Continent. They are confident in our ability to do so, and it is up to us to see that they are not disappointed.
         Harold Fogel.
         New York. Feb. 24, 1913.

Is Turkey Yielding?

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
    Behind the veil of concealment secured by the banishment of press correspondents from the field of military operations in the Balkans very conflicting reports are heard. They are for the most part unfavorable to the Turks, as was to have been expected. The fortress of Adrianople has not been and can not be reinforced or revictualed. Its actual capture would be a bloody and perilous undertaking, but a rigid siege, in the opinion of the military experts, makes its surrender only a question of time. In other parts of the area of war a waiting game is carried on, to the obvious disadvantage of the Turks, whose treasury is empty, whose armies seem to have been taxed to the verge of exhaustion, and whose Government is wrestling with bitter and savage internal dissension. In view of these facts, the general expectation in the European capitals of an early end of the Balkan war seems reasonable.
    This expectation is accompanied by a growing feeling of security as to the peaceful relations of the Powers among themselves. It is now pretty safe to assume that the advances toward an understanding made by the venerable Emperor of Austria to the Czar of Russia were decisively successful. The contrary reports sent out from St. Petersburg and from Berlin have been explicitly denied. The good faith of Austria has been distinctly recognized by the Government of Russia, and the response is declared to have been entirely reassuring. One of the earliest and most promising consequences of this rapprochement has been the undertaking by Russia — now pretty well authenticated — to mediate between Rumania and Bulgaria in the dispute over the claims of the former. That dispute has for weeks been regarded as the point at which Russia and Austria were likely to come into conflict. Equally reassuring are the latest reports as to the possibility of an adjustment of the long-standing rivalry in naval armament between Great Britain and Germany. The first reports of the expressions of the German Naval Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs are more than confirmed. These expressions were more specific and more encouraging than they were made to appear. That the German Government should take pains to let the public know this fact is in itself significant.

Mistaken British Views Of Our Duty In Mexico.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
    The opinion so freely expressed by some of the London newspapers that it is the duty of the United States Government to invade Mexico, avenge the murder of Madero, and restore order, may also be the opinion of some large proportion of the readers of those newspapers. In that case our English friends would do well to study the case with a little more deliberation. It may be that their minds are so greatly occupied with their own troubles, including the widespread discontent in the British Isles, the turmoil caused by the shrieking sisterhood, and the complicated European situation, that their opinion in regard to the duty of the United States Government has been too hastily formed.
    So far as we have learned, neither Great Britain nor any other European country has yet made known to Washington any ill-treatment of its citizens in Mexico that would justify intervention. Our State Department, as is well known, has been kept well informed of all losses of life and property among American residents of Mexico. That the condition of Mexico is viewed in Washington with grave apprehension is well understood, but false statements have been printed regarding the relations of the State Department with the Provisional Government of Gen. Huerta, and it is quite possible that the English newspapers fail to comprehend the situation.
    While a part of our army is now ready for an emergency call, there is no present likelihood of intervention by the United States. The latest advices indicate that the country is more quiet, and that there is a general willingness to help in the restoration of order in all the Mexican States except Chihuahua, Sonora, and Yucatan, where revolution, in a small way, seems chronic. Perhaps with the persistent tendency to make mischief observable in so many of our own newspapers we ought not to marvel at the inclination of London journals to fan the flame of discord, but we have been led to expect, wisdom and moderation from The Daily News and The Daily Chronicle, and to expect English judgment to be founded on a thorough knowledge of facts, and to be tempered by sobriety and prudence.

Says America Arms Rebels.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Costa Rican President Accuses Capitalists of Fomenting Revolution.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Feb. 24.— President Jiminez says in a public inter view that American dollars have been converted into Mexican bullets.
    He asserts that Central American revolutions have always been made by American capitalists for business reasons and that these, as concession grabbers, always arm the worst element in Latin America.

New Nicaraguan Revolt.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Gen. Mena Says Non-intervention in Mexico Means Many More.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    PANAMA, Feb. 24.— A fresh revolution has broken out in Chichigalpa, Nicaragua, headed by Francisco Vaca.
    Gen. Mena, who is detained here, says that non-intervention by the United States in Mexico means many revolutions in Central America at an early date. His statements appear to have some support from close friends of Castro here, who predict that a revolution in Venezuela is sure to come within a few months, and say that plans for it are already made.

English Again See Mysterious Airship

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Dirigible Passed Over Selby Abbey and Went in Direction of Barlby Arsenal.
CAN LAUGH AT NEW ACT
Great Britain at Present, It Is Asserted, Has No Guns Which Could Hit Such an Air Vessel.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Feb. 24.— The foreign airship bogey is again creating alarm in England. A story is circulated in well-informed quarters that some power is conducting important experiments in dirigibles over England.
    The evidence seems conclusive that some mysterious aerial visitor is continuing flights over this country. Many persons are prepared to swear that they saw it pass over Selby Abbey, Yorkshire, last Friday night, making its way toward the east coast in the neighborhood of Barlby, where there is an important arsenal.
    One newspaper points out that the appearance of the airship at Selby and the flight of a dirigible over Sheerness last October coincide very nearly with two long-distance flights of Zeppelin airships.
    In reference to the recently passed act whereby foreign airships visiting England are liable to be shot at unless they descend on a prescribed signal, it is stated that the act at present could be treated with impunity, inasmuch as it is very doubtful if England possesses guns which could hit them.
    The recurring reports of nocturnal visits of unknown airships to England are derided by the German newspapers, and the suspicions occasionally uttered that the mysterious strangers are German are bitterly resented in Germany. Non-German authorities in Berlin whose business it is carefully to observe German aerial developments express the opinion that it is wholly beyond the range of possibility for any German airship, even the most powerful Zeppelin, to venture on a secret trip to England. Such a vessel would, they say, be discovered, recognized, and reported times without number.

Call For Armed Intervention

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Texas and Kansas Ask for Punishment of Madero's Slayers.
    AUSTIN, Tex. Feb. 24.— A resolution, providing that Texas go on record as demanding intervention outright, and another insisting that the United States terminate "outrageous conditions now existing in Mexico," were introduced in the Texas Senate to-day. Neither has been acted upon.
    Gov. Colquitt is planning to send a special message to the Legislature asking special appropriations to police the border. The Governor said to-day that he thought the advice of President Taft in the Mexican situation "had been bad."
    The Governor received a telegram today informing him that the Federal troops will move back into their former positions along the Rio Grande in the Big Bend section of Texas. This region, embracing about 200 miles of border, was left unguarded by a recent movement of the Federal troops inland.

Sonora's Congress Discusses Revolt.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Deputies from the Cities Are Against Huerta, but No Formal Action Is Taken.
VASQUEZ GOMEZ INDIGNANT
Rebel Reported to Have Accepted Huerta Condemns Murders and Dictation by the Army.
    HERMOSILLO, Sonora, Mex., Feb. 24.— The opening session of the special meeting of the Sonora State Congress to-day was uproarious. Epithets and charges were shouted across the chamber. Deputies almost came to blows, but no definite commitment was made either way on the question of whether Sonora should declare loyalty to or open rebellion against the provision Government of Gen. Huerta.
    Diaz adherents charged that Governor Maytorena's loyalty to Madero was the result of a payment by Madero to him of 118,000 pesos as "damages to buildings and crops of the Maytorena hacienda." Appearing in greater number than expected they demanded that Congress declare Sonora loyal to Huerta.
    The Maderistas asserted the Diaz charges were due to the influence of Col. Emilio Kosterlitzky, former Chief of Rurales. Deputies from all the larger centres of population — Cananea, Agua Prieta, Nacozari, Magdalena, Kosterlitzky's home city, and Guayanas — were reported to be supporting Gov. Maytorena.

95 Soldiers Put To Death.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Part of the Garrison That Revolted After Madero Was Killed.
    EL PASO, Feb. 24.— Ninety-five Federal volunteer soldiers were executed late today at Sause, below Juarez.
    They compose part of the garrison which revolted yesterday, angered at the killing of ex-President Madero, their former leader.
    One at a time, advices received here relate, the soldiers were stood a against an adobe wall. Ninety-five times the firing squad aimed and fired. Most of the men are said to have displayed much courage, declining the execution mask.
    More than fifty of the garrison escaped before the arrival early to-day of a strong detachment of Federal regular troops from Chihuahua City.
    The rebels of a day had cut the Mexican Central Railway, which was repaired a few hours later. Five of the volunteer officers escaped death and will be sent to Juarez.

Cuba Protects Maderos.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Father and Uncle of Assassinated Executive Safe on a Gunboat.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    VERA CRUZ, Mexico. Feb. 24.— The remaining male members of the Madero family who were in the Mexican capital at the time of the Huerta revolution have put themselves under the protection of the Cuban Government, which was especially friendly to the Madero administration.
    Francisco I. Madero, father of the deposed and assassinated President, came to Vera Cruz this morning, accompanied by Ernesto Madero, who was Finance Minister in his nephew's Cabinet, They were permitted by the authorities at Mexico City to leave in a special train, following the killing of Saturday night, and came through unmolested. With them were two sons of Ernesto. All went aboard the Cuban gunboat Cuba soon after their arrival. They would make no statement bearing on the recent events in the capital.
    The gunboat will sail early to-morrow for Havana. It is understood that she is awaiting the Cuban Minister or some member of his staff, who will go to Havana to tell personally what has happened and seek instructions.
    Francisco I. Madero escaped the vengeance visited on his two sons because it was known that he had never been in sympathy with what they had done to overthrow Diaz. He performed a signal service to the former dictator by attempting to make terms with his son just before the fall of Juarez. Ernesto Madero also has been believed to have been largely out of sympathy with the extreme ideas of his nephew, and to have endeavored at times to counteract the influence of Gustavo. Neither is expected to engage in any plot against Huerta and Felix Diaz.
    No explanation was given for their reason in leaving behind the widow and sisters of the dead President, but it is assumed that these women prefer to remain under the protection of foreign diplomats until the burial of their dead.
    The failure of the Maderos to bring with them the mother, wife, and sisters of the dead Executive caused much speculation for a time to-day. One rumor had it that Señora Madero, widow of the ex-President, had committed suicide. It was said on behalf of the Maderos, however, that the women had remained behind to attend to the burial of the murdered man and that they would come here before to-morrow and go on the Cuba.
    It is charged by sympathizers with the Huerta administration that a plot was formed here after the deposition of Madero for an attack on the American war vessels, which would force intervention by the United States. Soldiers in some of the forts were said to be involved in a scheme to fire shots at the battleships, which would force a reply and probably the landing of marines to take charge of the city. Once an American force was on Mexican soil, it was calculated that the Washington Government would be compelled to extend its activities until it had settled the whole trouble in Mexico. The death of Madero and Suarez is said to have dampened the ardor of the plotters.

Huerta Restores Quiet but Foreigners May Send Families Away.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
REBELS NOT SATISFIED
Impose Hard Terms as a Condition of Peace and Government Cannot Grant Them.
UPRISINGS IN MANY STATES
Trouble in Puebla Threatens to be Serious — An American Killed in Tepic Fight.
WILSON STANDS BY HUERTA
Ambassador Says Government Did Not Order Murder of Madero and Suarez.
MADEROS UNDER CUBAN FLAG
Father, Uncle, and Cousins Aboard a Gunboat — Bodies of Slain Men Held by Government.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 24.— On the surface all is calm in Mexico City to-day. If appearances are to be taken as an index the capital has accepted the assassinations of Francesco I. Madero and José Pino Suarez as removing the chief factors of disturbance. Gen. Victoriano Huerta and his associates issue reassuring reports telling of the submission of various leaders of rebellions, and promising fair elections in the near future, in which the people can express their will.
    But in the face of the heavy patrols of troops and the secret emissaries of the Government who are all about the city little of the true apprehension that exists finds expression. It can be said, however, that the tension in the capital is increasing. There are renewed reports of disaffection in the garrison itself. Zapata and other rebel loaders who have professed willingness to unite with Huerta in bringing about order are demanding such concessions that the Government finds itself unable to reconcile the conflicting claims. Foreigners who kept their families here even when the bombardment was on are so apprehensive that they are debating whether it would be best to send the women and children to Vera
    Cruz, where they can be protected by the American battleships or leave the country.
    Serious trouble is brewing in the State of Puebla. It is due to the political troubles attending the recent change in the Governorship. The defeated candidate, Augustin del Pozo, is leading a  revolt that is likely to spread.
    Disorders are reported in many other places. Accurate accounts come of uprisings in the States of Campeche, Tabasco, and Yucatan, where Suarez was looked upon as a liberator.
    In the territory of Tepic an American, Boris Garow, a consulting engineer of a mine, was killed in an attack by rebels on the Town of Neuva Buena Visita on Saturday. Ramon Garzueta, a Mexican, was also killed. Some British, American, and German employes are missing, and members of the Diplomatic Corps have asked the Government for information as to their fate.
    One hopeful sign is the adhesion to Huerta of Gen. Geronimo Trevino in Nuevo Leon. He has taken the Governorship with a pledge of loyalty, although he supported Madero strongly in the recent crisis.
    The bodies of Madero and Suarez are still held by the Government. Gen. Huerta offered a military funeral with full honors for both, but this was declined by the families. Señora Madero is bearing up well. She has been at the home of a friend since Sunday night.

Open Charge of a Plot.
    One afternoon paper in Mexico City denies the stories of the attack on the Madero guard, alleging that the affair was carried out in accordance with prearranged plans. But the Mexican Government appears honest in its endeavor to place the facts before the world by means of a judicial investigation. This inquiry will probably not be concluded for some days.
    The fact that the bodies of the two slain men were recovered in the rear of the penitentiary is explained by the statement that a second encounter occurred close to the building. It is said the automobiles ran along a side road, and that Madero and Suarez jumped out and were running when they were caught between the fire of the rural guards escorting the prisoners and that of their assailants, thus accounting for wounds being inflicted on them from different directions.
    The body of Francisco I. Madero, the dead ex-President of Mexico, was deposited in the mausoleum of the French cemetery here shortly before noon to-day. A small crowd gathered outside the penitentiary when the body was removed and shouted "Viva Madero!" It was dispersed  by Federal soldiers. The body of Suarez was taken to the Spanish cemetery.
    It was learned late to-night that the Government had refused permission for the transfer of the bodies of Madero and Suarez, respectively, to Coahuila and Yucatan, giving as a reason that it does not desire to afford the people of those States an excuse for demonstrations.
    The family of the dead President will ask the right to name an attorney to represent them at the official investigation into his death which has been ordered.

Conditions Seem Better.
    With the passing of Madero the general opinion prevails that the tenseness of the situation has been relieved. There is a marked tendency on the part of all classes of society to accept the new order of things as the best, and from various parts of the country reports have been received telling of further adhesions to the new administration.
    Answering the offer made by Gen. Emiliano Zapata, the southern rebel leader, that he would recognize the new Government if its programme was along promised progressive lines, Gen. Huerta to-day sent envoys with assurances to that effect to the insurgent chiefs in the States of Mexico, Guerrero, and Morelos. Through his secretary, Gen. Huerta said the Government would adopt such principles of the San Luis Potosi plan, as revised in Tacubaya, as were compatible.
    Some Zapatistas in the south are giving trouble, and it is reported that one town in the State of Puebla has been sacked. This, however, is characterized by the Government as the work of a small and insignificant portion of the rebel army in the south, and is due perhaps to ignorance of the developments in the capital.
    Gen. Cheche Campos, one of the most prominent followers of Pasqual Orozco, Jr., has sent word to Gen. Trucy Aubert in Torreon that he desires peace.
    Reports from the State of Oaxaca indicate that the disaffected Indians there have been placated.
    It is said that the new revolution attempted by Emilio and Raoul Madero, brothers of the late President, is making little headway.
    Reports are not altogether reassuring, however, from the States of Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and San Lius Potosi, where rebels are committing depredations.
    Gen. Aurelio Blanquet, the Military Commander of the Federal District, probably will be appointed Governor of the State of Mexico. Gen. Joaquin Maas, it is understood, is slated for the Governorship of the State of Vera Cruz.
    Juan Sanchez Azoona, the private secretary of Francisco Madero, who had been under arrest since the upheaval in the capital, has been released, and it is probable that a number of others connected with the late Government also will be soon set at liberty.

Four Candidates for Presidency.
    The political world is turning to the elections. It is said that Gen. Felix Diaz will have as his opponents in his candidacy for the Presidency Francisco Leon de la Barra, the present Minister of Foreign Relations; Rodolfo Reyes, son of Gen. Bernardo Reyes, who was killed in the first attack on the palace, and Dr. Francisco Vasquez Gomez. Friends have begun a campaign in behalf of these various candidates.
    The holding of the elections will depend upon the state of the country, but President Huerta insists upon a free choice of the people when peace is restored.
    United States Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson has become one of the most  popular members of the Diplomatic Corps in Mexico City since he took such a prominent part in bringing about the termination of hostilities after the recent ten days' battle in the streets between the Federals and the rebel troops. Even those persons who were before inclined to be antagonistic to him now express the greatest admiration for the promptness and efficacy of his action during the crisis.
    The new Mexican administration continues also to give to the American Ambassador the highest proofs of its confidence and esteem.

Pledge to American Ambassador.
    Mexico will reply to the note sent by the State Department at Washington Sept. 15 last without delay, and American claims for damages growing out of the revolution will receive prompt attention. Incidentally several other matters pending between the two Governments will not be permitted to drag as in the past, according to assurances given verbally to Ambassador Wilson to-day by President Huerta. Unofficially Mr. Wilson called the  attention of the new President to various matters remaining unsettled between the two Governments, and urged that attention be given them, not necessarily in accordance with international law but on the basis of the friendship existing* between the two nations.
    It will be remembered that last September the State Department at Washington forwarded a note to the Madero administration, the contents of which, while never made public, were generally understood, to contain a sharp admonition to Mexico to give immediate attention to the demands of Americans for indemnity by reason of loss of life and property during the period of the revolution. It also was alleged to contain a demand for adequate protection of American interests.
    To this note no adequate reply was ever made, Mexico attempting to deny the truth of some of the allegations contained in it, and to justify her past actions regarding others. This was followed by further representations from Washington, of which it was said that they "did not require an answer."
    The matters which Mr. Wilson cited to-day and was assured would get prompt attention were the Colorado River controversy and the dispute over the Chamizal boundary tract at El Paso.
    "For all the victims," are the words which on a field of black will hang for three days across the Chamber of Deputies building in memory of all those who lost their lives in the revolutionary outbreak which began in 1910. The memorial streamer is a compromise growing out of a resolution to have the sessions of the Chamber  suspended for nine days out of respect to Madero and Suarez. It provoked a spirited discussion, but failed  of adoption, and a substitute measure providing for a memorial to all the victims was then passed, with the understanding that it include a tribute of respect to the dead ex-President and ex-Vice President.
    The opposition in the Chamber of Deputies to a resolution calling for an immediate holding of general elections resulted in an interpellation of the Minister of the interior to confirm or refute the statement that the country was yet in a state of revolution.

Appeal For Troops To Save Americans.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Consul at Matamoras Calls for Militia — Denial of Reported Demand for Money.
TAFT SENDS MORE TROOPS
Two Additional Brigades Ordered to Galveston — Army Will Be Ready.
    AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 24.— Information reached Gov. Colquitt to-night that demands have been made upon Americans at Matamoras, Mexico, for money and that United States Consul Jesse H. Johnson had asked Capt. Head, commanding the Brownsville company of the Texas National Guard, to cross the international boundary and protect the American Consulate and foreign interests at Matamoras. The. Governor received the following telegram from Capt. Head, who has been on duty at Brownsville for several days, at the request of the Sheriff of Cameron County:
    "Have just received message from Consul Johnson at Matamoras. Can you authorize me to cross river at order of the Consul to protect the Consulate and American interests? Demand made upon Americans for money to-night."
    The Governor telegraphed Capt. Head as follows:
    "Telegram received. Do not cross river unless you receive orders to do so. Request American Consul and Americans to come to Brownsville."
    Gov. Colquitt has repeated the telegram from Capt. Head to the officer in command of the United States troops at Fort Sam Houston.
    Gov. Colquitt at midnight ordered four companies of the Texas State militia to proceed to Brownsville with all haste. Late reports had said that Americans had been arrested and held for ransom at Matamoras.
    The Governor also sent this message to Capt. Head, in command of the Brownsville company of the Texas National Guard:
    "Notify Mexican commander at Matamoras who is demanding money that if he harms a single Texan his life will be demanded as a forfeit."

Bit Of Rope Ties Up Lusitania 8 Months.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 25, 1913:
Jammed Telemotor and Caused Giant Liner to Twist Her Turbine Blades.
REPAIRS TO COST $500,000
With Loss of Business in the Months Needed to Make Repairs Cunard Company Will Be Out $1,000,000.
    It became known yesterday that a piece of marline, a small line of two strands twisted loosely left handed and used for binding the ends of ropes, which had dropped into the telemotor of the Lusitania's steering gear caused the trouble which will keep the Cunard liner Lusitania out of service for eight months and make it necessary to reblade three turbines at a cost of $500,000.
    The accident occurred as the liner was entering the Fishguard harbor on Monday afternoon, Dec. 30. The order was given to port the helm to avoid a steamer that was coming out. When the Quartermaster put the wheel over the steering gear failed to work. It was found that the telemotor had jammed. To avoid an accident the turbines were sent full speed astern without the usual precaution of stopping them first and then reversing them slowly.
    While the Lusitania was in Fishguard Harbor discharging her London and Continental passengers and mails the chief engineer examined the telemotor and discovered the piece of marline that had caused the trouble and removed it. On leaving Fishguard soon afterward for Liverpool it was found that the port low-pressure turbine would not move and the liner had to proceed to Liverpool under her three other turbines at reduced speed. On her arrival there the chief engineer, with James Bain, the consulting engineer of the Cunard Line, made an examination of the turbines and found that the blades of the port low-pressure turbine, which was installed in November, had all become twisted out of proper pitch and that some of the blades on the starboard low-pressure and high-pressure turbines had been damaged by the shock due to reversing them suddenly at the entrance to Fishguard Harbor.
    After a consultation it was decided to lay the Lusitania up for six weeks and make a thorough examination of the turbines. Some idea of the magnitude of the task can be gathered from the fact that it took two weeks to lift their casings. When the Lusitania and Mauretania were built the blades were fastened singly to the shaft of the turbines with a distancer between and then caulked.
    Since then an improvement has been made by casting the blades in sections and riveting them to the shaft. These sections are from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches long, the first section having some forty-eight blades, and the end sections, 2 feet 6 inches long, haying twelve blades. When the Mauretania had an accident to her starboard low-pressure turbine the blades were put on in sections and worked well. The Lusitania had previously had some of the blades of her two starboard turbines replaced. The only turbine undamaged since her initial trip was the port high-pressure turbine.
    At first it was thought possible to replace the twisted blades on the port low pressure turbine and straighten out those on the other turbines so that the Lusitania could sail in April. After considerable work had been done an order came to stop, and a commission of engineers, with James Bain at the head, was appointed to decide whether it would not be better, in order to avoid future trouble, to send the Lusitania back to the builders at Clydebank and strip all the blades off the three turbines and replace them with new ones put on in sections, like those which had been fitted on the Mauretania's turbine.
    The whole question was gone into by the commission, and it was finally decided to carry out the plan of putting on 1,250,000 blades and lay the liner up till the latter part of July, which would enable the job to be done thoroughly and practically equip the Lusitania with three new turbines. The port high pressure turbine, which has withstood the severe test of continuous work for five years, including the three trips across the Atlantic in eighteen days in the Liverpool dock strike in the Summer of 1911, would not be touched, it was said.
    In addition to the cost of $500,000 for the reblading of the turbines, the loss to the Cunard Company in the earnings in the passenger season will approximate the same amount. The Lusitania is a favorite ship with passengers who do not want to linger on the way across the Atlantic.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Big Navy Advocates Point To Europe.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Report on Activity Abroad to be Used for Support of Two-Battleship Bill in Congress.
OUR FLEET IN THIRD PLACE
France's Not Far Behind Us — Germany Strengthens Her Second Place — Britain Easily Foremost.
Special to The New York Times.
    WASHINGTON, Feb. 23.— Chairman Padgett of the Naval Committee of the House has received from Secretary Meyer of the navy a special report prepared by the Office of Naval Intelligence on the shipbuilding rivalry of the principal foreign powers. It shows that Great Britain now has effective units with an aggregate displacement of 2,478,152 tons, giving that navy its time-honored position as the most powerful afloat; that Germany, which has passed the United States, has strengthened its hold on second place with a tonnage, built and building, of 1,124,257, while the United States is third with a tonnage of 898,345, in vessels built and building, and regarded as effective. France is not very far behind this country. The aggregate displacement of the effective fighting units of the French fleet is given as 806,729, while Japan has fifth place with a displacement of 613,724 tons, Russia sixth with 450,207 tons, Italy seventh with 416,310 tons, and Austria eighth, with 260,751 tons.
    "The shipbuilding programmes of the principal naval powers," says this report, which is to be used in support of the Two-Battleship bill reported by the House Naval Committee, "indicates an increase in warship construction. The new Russian programme and the amendment of the German fleet law are particularly noteworthy. The shipyards are working to their full capacity, and a general activity is manifest.
    "The all-big-gun battleship has become the definite standard, and is now the only type of battleship under construction. The system employed by the United States in mounting all turrets on the centre line has been universally copied, and all ships laid down this year, including battle cruisers, are so designed. The 12-inch gun, so long the standard for battleships, has been discarded in favor of a 13.5-inch or 14-inch gun for ships now under construction, while a 15-inch weapon is under construction.
    "The year has seen the completion of the new type of dreadnought, namely, the Dante Alighieri of the Italian Navy, the first ship in the world to be armed with a three-turret gun. This system of mounting guns has also been adopted in the Austrian and Russian Navies, while in France a four-turret has been proposed.
    "The battle cruisers that are being built by Great Britain, Germany, Russia, and Japan show a steady increase in tonnage. In fact, all new construction, including destroyers and submarines, indicate an increase in displacement. Mining ships and submarine salvage ships are now found in all the principal navies. Italy and America are the only naval powers that continue to build torpedo boats."
    The report shows that the total naval estimates for the current year in Great Britain amount to $228,430,064, as compared with $123,151,538 appropriated by the United States. The cost of the British Navy, like that of other powers, has been steadily growing. For 1912 the amount allotted by Great Britain for her navy was $216,036,101 and for 1911 it was $197,597,906.
    "The actual standard of new construction which the Admiralty followed during recent years," says the report as to Great Britain's policy of sea power, "has been to develop a 60 per cent. superiority on vessels of the dreadnought type over the German Navy on the basis of an existing fleet law."
    The British naval programme for the current year is four large armored ships, twenty destroyers, a group of submarines, a coast-guard cruiser, four oil-tank steamers, and minor units. During the last year Great Britain has completed the battleships Conqueror and Thunderer, each of 22,500 tons; the Centurion and King George, each of 24,000 tons, as well as the battle cruiser Princess Royal, of 26,350 tons, and the battle cruiser New Zealand, of 18,800 tons.
    The German Naval bill of 1912-13 authorized one new battleship, a battle cruiser, two small cruisers, twelve destroyers, six submarines, and a submarine salvage ship. This year's new construction will be two battleships, a battle cruiser, and minor units. In the year Germany completed three battleships, the Oldenburg, of 22,435 tons; the Kaiser, and the Friedrich der Grosse, each of 24,110 tons. The German battle cruiser Goeben, of 22,632 tons, has also been completed. It is a powerful addition to the German fleet, mounting ten 11-inch guns, and has a speed of nearly 29 knots.
    There are also building for Germany three battleships of 24,110 tons each, the Kaiserin, the Koenig Albert, and the Prinz Regent Luitpold, also four battleships, each of 27,000 tons, the Kuerfuerst Friedrich Wilhelm, the Weissenburg, the Brandenburg, and the battleship "S," yet unnamed. Three battleship cruisers are also being built for Germany, the Seyditz, of 25,000 tons; the Kaiserin Augusta, and the "K," each of 26,000 tons.
    Concerning Japan, the report says that the naval estimates for 1913-14 have not yet been submitted; that a new shipbuilding programme has been under discussion some time, but the details are not definitely known. Various advices indicate, the report proceeds, that seven battleships and six battleship cruisers, two to be laid down yearly, will be provided for, while others state that on account of economical reasons three ships only of the Fuso type, to be completed within five years, will be demanded. For 1912-13 Japans naval bill amounts to $46,158,216, an increase of nearly $3,000,000.
    The unexpended balance of the existing appropriation for "maintaining naval preparation" amounts to $123,839,443, to be spent within six years up to and including 1916-17. The allotment for the current year amounts to $24,144,446, as against $21,768,673 for 1912. In the year Japan completed two dreadnought battleships, the Setsu and Kawachi, both of 20,800 tons, each armed with twelve-inch guns, and five small units. The battleship Fuso, authorized in 1911, has been laid down. She is to have a displacement of 30,000 tons, and is the largest battleship in sight. She will mount nothing but fourteen-inch guns. Three battleship cruisers of the 1911 programme have also been started in Japan. They are of the Kongo class, each displacing 27,500 tons, are armed with fourteen-inch guns, and have a designed speed of 29 knots.
    This makes five large ships now under construction for Japan, namely, the battleship Fuso, and the battle, cruisers Kongo, Hiyei, Kirishima, and the Haruna, each cruiser displacing 27,500 tons.
    In dreadnought battleships alone Great Britain has sixteen built and nine building, Germany has ten built and seven building, the United States has eight built and four building, France has none built but seven building, Japan has two built and one building, Russia has none built but seven building, Italy has one built and seven building, and Austria has one built and three building, a total of eighty-three.

The Mexican Crisis.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
    "We need not jump at conclusions about the shocking murder of ex-President Madero and ex-Vice President Pino Suarez. They were sent on their last journey, from the National Palace to the Penitentiary, in an open motor car with a guard of three officers and one private soldier. Murder has been stalking through the streets of the Mexican capital. Sentiment against Francisco I Madero has been growing, and it is in accord with Mexican traditions to satisfy hatred by killing. Therefore we need not assume, without clear evidence, that Madero and Suarez were killed by the Provisional Government's orders, that the time and place of the assassination were agreed upon, and the assassins officially appointed.
    Yet that is what the whole civilized world will say without waiting for evidence, and it will be hard to make people believe that the old Santa Anna traditions have not been revived in the stricken republic and a new era of assassination inaugurated. The manner of the killing of Gustavo Madero, the day after the coup d'état, measurably justifies this belief, and if it is unjust to Huerta, Felix Diaz, and Blanquet, they will still find it hard to explain why they intrusted the safety of prisoners, both so distinguished and so reviled by a large part of the populace, to an utterly ineffective guard.
    Of the men who were murdered at midnight Saturday, Jose Pino Suarez had no world-wide repute. He was elected Vice President by the will of Madero in place of Dr. Francisco Vasquez Gomez, an able man but brother of the weaker, vainer Emilio Vasquez Gomez, who proclaimed himself a candidate for the Presidency in opposition to Madero, and has since, from his safe shelter on our side of the border, uttered a feeble cry from time to time. The choice of Pino Suarez for the Vice Presidency gave the impetus to anti-Maderism just as the renomination of Ramon Corral as the running mate of Porfirio Diaz gave Madero's revolution its impetus. It was a sad mistake. Yet Pino Suarez was a purely negative character, and he would have been much happier in the humbler office of Governor of Yucatan, from which Madero called him, than he ever was at the capital.
    Francisco I. Madero, however, was a man who will live in history, in spite of his obvious weakness. In his youth, as one of the humblest members of a comparatively unimportant branch of a powerful Mexican family, he inspired neither respect nor dislike. He astonished none more than his relatives when he forced himself on public attention as a severe critic of the rule of Porfirio Diaz. His book, which possessed some merit as a historical survey of Mexican Government, was largely a revelation of his own visionary character, the work of an idealist who had not come in contact with stern facts. But he developed amazingly in the revolution, though he was no soldier, and the blow at the rule of Diaz having been struck at the very moment when many thoughtful Mexicans felt that a change was necessary, all hopes were centred upon him as the reformer of his country and the upholder of the still neglected Constitution.
    As President, however, he was slow in action, irresolute, and easily managed by the new crowd of politicians, who flocked around him. He was able to carry out none of his projected schemes of reform. Opposition to him in Congress was continuous. The finances of the country were soon in a perilous state. He appointed large numbers of relatives to office, strangely checked all efforts to suppress the outrages of Zapata and his outlaws, almost at the gate of the capital, and chose his advisers with poor judgment. On the other hand, though grave charges of cruelty and injustice, which may yet be substantiated, were made against his Administration, he presented to the world an aspect of mildness and forbearance almost unique in Mexican rulers. Orozco, who has been one of his most potent enemies, might have died by "suicide" or accident, in the Summer of 1910, after he had defied his chief at Juarez. Military law and Mexican custom would have sanctioned the execution of Bernardo Reyes after his ineffectual uprising, and Felix Diaz after the Vera Cruz incident, but Madero has gone to his account with a record for leniency which his successors evidently do not envy.
    As for the effect of his death, after the excitement has subsided, it is likely to clarify the situation in Mexico and to remove some sources of danger to the present factitious peace. In other countries the murders will cause distrust of the Provisional Government and repugnance to its methods, but the killing of Mexicans by Mexicans is not a cause for foreign interference. Our countrymen will view with horror, and grief for a neighbor's shame, the recurrence of the savagery that shocked civilization when Iturbide was cruelly put to death. With such Mexican methods of making power secure we have no manner of sympathy, and the shallow fiction of the ley de fuga is held here in the contempt it deserves. But our National interest in the incident is concerned only with its effect on Mexican politics, and the possibility that it may increase the danger of anarchy in the much-afflicted republic.

Havana Armed For Coup.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Police Ready to Stop Liberals' March on Palace on War Anniversary.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    HAVANA, Feb. 23.— The entire police of Havana are remaining in barracks throughout the night, fully uniformed and armed, owing to orders from the Government. These precautions are due to insistent rumors that the liberals intend, after midnight, to march on the palace for the purpose of protesting to President Gomez against the conduct of the recent elections.
    To-morrow, Feb. 24, is the anniversary of Cuba's last war against Spain, and the Liberals recently voted to observe it as a day of mourning and protest against the election of Gen. Menocal.
    Supporters of the Government assert that they do not fear a coup d'état, but purpose to take every precaution.

Turkey Yielding, Balkan Peace Near.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Secret Negotiations in Progress. Belgrade Hears, and May End Next Week.
ADRIANOPLE MAY BE CEDED
Although Shukri Pasha, Despairing of Holding Town, Is Urged to Keep Up His Defense.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    LONDON, Monday, Feb. 24.— The Sofia correspondent of The Daily Mail telegraphs :
    "The statement is confirmed that Hakki Pasha, the Turkish envoy in London, has accepted the powers' note of Jan. 17, wherein they advised Turkey to cede Adrianople and leave to them the question of the Aegean Islands, as a basis for fresh peace negotiations. Hakki expressed the wish that he be informed of the allies' conditions with regard to new frontiers and an indemnity.
    "I am informed that Bulgaria will only reopen peace negotiations on condition that the new frontier be placed nearer Constantinople than was hitherto demanded, that an indemnity be paid by Turkey, and that Turkey agree to demobilize fifteen days after reopening the negotiations."

Castro In Conquest Plot?

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Said to be in League with Zelaya to Invade Central America.
Special to The New York Times.
    MOBILE, Ala., Feb. 23.— Cipriano Castro, former President of Venezuela, and Jesus Santos Zelaya, deposed President of Nicaragua, are said to be the backbone of a plan for overcoming Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua, and merging these countries, with San Salvador, into a Central American federation. The assassination of their Chief Executives, except Salvador's, is believed to be a part of the plan.
    Juan Leets, a Russian, and an intimate friend of Zelaya, is said to be the leader of a projected revolutionary expedition which is expected to sail from some American port for the Honduran coast in the course of a few days. Machine guns and ammunition are reported to have been shipped from this country and stored at Abaco, in the West Indies, awaiting final preparations by the revolutionists for the descent upon Central America. The munitions of war at Abaco are said to have been carried there by the steamship Bodo, which got away from Jacksonville after one cargo had been ordered to be disembarked by Federal officials.
    Juan Leets is to land his expedition on the coast of Honduras, then attack Nicaragua. Hundreds of discontented Hondurans, now in Salvador, are expected to march on Honduras and overthrow the Bonita Government, after which the combined forces aim to subjugate Guatemala. This would give them control of Central America. Salvador, it is understood, is even now practically committed to Zelaya.
    The steamer Manteo, recently plying between Mobile and Florida ports, is reported to have steam up and to be ready to proceed to sea from a Florida port, under orders to pick up arms from an island in the Gulf.
    The Government of Honduras is prepared for the invasion. The gunboat General Barrahona is fully manned, and the land forces, under Gen. Le Christmas, are equipped with heavy cannon and field guns.
    Cipriano Castro is said to have arranged the plot with Zelaya, the latter being an exile in Europe, when they met in Paris. It is believed that the former Venezuelan President will meet agents of Zelaya and Leets. Col. Drew Linard, member of the staff of President Bonita and Consul here, says that he expects Zelaya to strike the blow in thirty days.

The World Stands Aghast.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Special to The New York Times.

CINCINNATI, O., Feb. 23.— The Enquirer editorial will say to-morrow:
    The ghastliness of conditions in Mexico has been further enhanced by the slaughter of its deposed President and Vice President.
    The death of Francisco Madero, whether the result of accident or of duplicity and premeditation, discloses either the utter inefficiency of the Huerta Government or that it has not yet had time to grasp firmly the reins of law and order. The world stands aghast at this further evidence of lawlessness and anarchy in the rich Republic of the South.
    There is nothing in the present condition that would warrant intervention on the part of the United States.

Cold Blooded Assassination.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Special to The New York Times.

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 23.— The Press will say to-morrow:
    The cold-blooded assassination of Francisco I. Madero. Jr., the deposed President or Mexico, and Jose Pino Suarez, his Vice President, will shock the civilized world.
    This foul crime is a deliberate to affront to the American people. It is a disgrace to humanity. The men who perpetrated it are dissolute, traitorous, military adventurers, who cloaked their murderous designs under the sacred name of "Liberty," which they have profaned. Nothing in the record of the French Revolution exceeds in atrocity yesterday's foul and loathsome deed. It is now for the nations of the earth to say whether they can hold any dealings with the gang or liars, murderers, and brigands who have seized the Government of unhappy Mexico.

The Record will say:
    Whether President Madero, like his brother Gustavo, was a victim of the infamous "fugitive law" of Mexico, cannot, at this writing, be stated with absolute certainty. If one inclines to the belief that the killing was an assassination, this is due partly to the character and habits of those concerned in the affair and partly to the circumstances of the case. Mexican politics are still in the barbarous stage, and a successful revolutionist in Mexico almost instinctively proceeds to complete his victory by putting to death the rival whom he has defeated.
    The impression that the new regime connived in the killing of Madero is the result of the conviction that this is the course a triumphant Mexican insurgent would naturally pursue.
    While the incident of itself would hardly give sufficient ground for the intervention of this Government in Mexican affairs, it would go far toward the creation of a feeling that the existing regime at Mexico City is not of a character to inspire that confidence which is necessary to the continuance of amicable relations and mutual respect. If the Mexicans choose to act like barbarians they must expect to be treated like barbarians.

Press On Madero's End.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
American Papers Condemn Double Killing as Assassination.
Special to The New York Times.
    NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 23.— The Times-Democrat will say to-morrow:
    News of the killing of Madero and Pino Juarez in Mexico City yesterday does not come as a complete surprise, but it places a stigma upon the new Mexican Government not to be easily wiped out nor soon forgotten. Huerta's solemn pledges of fair treatment for Madero, his promise to Mrs. Madero, that the deposed President's life would be spared and the assurance of the same effect which he gave to Washington are proven worthless.
    President Taft's early comment upon the tragedy is characteristic, but this time, reassuring.
    Our own opinion, hitherto expressed, has been that intervention on Madero's behalf would not be justified, and we trust that President Taft will stick to the decision he announced yesterday afternoon.
    Yesterday's crime, shameful and regrettable though it is, serves better than any preceding event to show the temper and quality of Mexico's new rulers. It indicates that the "Man on Horseback" is fearless, relentless, not too scrupulous, moving straight to his ends by the shortest and most direct route, finally has arrived.

Newspapers Call It A Dastardly Crime.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Darkest Page in Mexico's History, Says The Tribune; Wanton Murder, Says American.
NATION'S PRESS UNANIMOUS
Editors in Other Cities Unite in Condemning Killing of Madero and Suarez in Huerta's Capital.
Following are excerpts from editorial articles in this morning's World, Herald, Sun, Tribune, and American on the assassination of President Madero and Vice President Suarez:

Mexico Aflame.
From The World.
    The treachery and savagery with which the revolt in Mexico began a fortnight ago attends it to its tragic culmination in the murder of Francisco Madero and Pino Suarez.
    These men were the President and Vice President of the republic, the only ones lawfully chosen in a generation. They had attempted to rule constitutionally. They had been deposed and imprisoned through the perfidy and violence of men closely associated with them in government. They were shot to death by cowards acting in behalf of other cowards whose false excuses only add to their guilt.
    It would be difficult to find in all history a series of events more shocking than that which in two weeks' time in Mexico has supplanted an administration of law with a reign of terror. * * *
    Tragedies past and in prospect south of the Rio Grande should cause no change in the attitude of the Government and people of the United States. Our responsibility is solemn indeed, because it is many-sided. We may have duties in Mexico, but we have more important ones at home. As the nearest powerful neighbor, we may owe some things to the world at large, but until other complications arise we owe more to ourselves.
    President Taft is right in providing against possible contingencies. He is even more emphatically right in his policy of non-intervention except as a last and desperate resort. We have the uttermost obligation to safeguard the lives of our own people and or other foreigners in Mexico. We have no obligation to imperil the lives of our own people and other foreigners by keeping the people of Mexico from each other's throats.

Madero's Murder.
[From The Tribune.]
    The official account given of the death of Madero and Suarez staggers credulity. Taken in connection with the slaughter of Gustavo Madero under the transparent pretence of the notorious "fugitive law," the story of the "accidental" killing of the deposed President and Vice President as an incident of an attempt at rescue while they were being secretly transferred under strong guard from the palace to the penitentiary will deceive no one. It was plain murder — murder which awakens the detestation of the civilized world and leads it to turn with loathing from the bloodstained traitor who, while pretending to uphold the lawful government and defend the constitutional President, turned against him, threw him into prison and now with professions of humanity and peace on his lips has guiltily let him be put to death.
    There is no darker page in the dark history of Mexican disorder than this which Huerta has written in the blood of the Maderos.
    Whatever his faults and weaknesses, Francisco Madero was a humane man. Apparently he was too humane for the task set before him and fell a victim to his own principles of liberal government in a land not prepared for them. He showed mercy to his enemies and to the unsuccessful rebels against his Government, which, good or bad, was yet the constitutional Government of the country. But his ambitious supplanters have shown no mercy and no glimmer of remembrance of his generosity toward them. Nor have they shown any decent respect for the opinion of mankind.

May Hasten Liberation.
[From The Sun.]
    Whatever Madero's faults or weaknesses, he represented long grievances that must be righted before permanent peace can be established in Mexico. Against relentless, murderous absolutism, rebellion is the only shield. May the blank days of Mexico be ended speedily, and a real constitutional polity established! Meanwhile the course of the Government at Washington will, we may be sure, continue to be temperate, patient, just, and firm.
    It may be that Madero dead, and slain, unfulfilled, after useless protests and promises of the gentle Huerta; it may be that this magnate, surrounded by grafters and hampered by intolerable obstacles, as he was, this dreaming impracticable man may yet be far more powerful for the liberation of Mexico than he was able to be living. As for the violent, reactionary impotents who fill a constitutional State of the twentieth century with, the slaughter of old Turkey or a Morocco that is already a reminiscence, they are but commending the poisoned chalice to their own lips. It is not with the name of Diaz, that doddering autocrat, whose power vanished like an exhalation; it is not with picayune heroes of a few hundred troops and many murders that in the long run the allegiance of divided Mexico can be won. Poor Madero — whose "proscription list" was written, we take it, after his deposition by his assassins — stood, however totteringly, for deep, imperious, inescapable reforms that will take Mexico out of the oligarchies and make her really free and republican. Victim of another tyranny, Madero's name may yet stand with those of Hidalgo and Morelos.

Steady, Now!
[From The Herald.]
    Let no one attempt to minimize the seriousness of what befell in Mexico City yesterday, but at the same time let no one consider this a time for hasty action or wild talk about intervention.
    Apparently Francisco I. Madero, the deposed constitutional President, and Jose Pino Suarez, the deposed constitutional Vice President, were killed under circumstances only different in degree from those surrounding the killing of Madero's brother a few days ago, and yet, when all the facts become known, it may be shown that this was not a thinly veiled assassination. Let us hope this may prove true.
    The serious aspect of the situation is that if this thing were done in cold blood it transcends all laws of civilization, and it is, moreover, a deliberately hostile answer to President Taft's expressed desire that Madero's life should be spared and that he should have a constitutional trial.
    Such methods as these are not tolerated in civilized countries, and civilized countries may well hesitate before they have diplomatic intercourse with a Government such as that which Provisional President Huerta has built up. These methods are very much in favor in Turkey, and it would seem just as there is a Sick Man in Turkey there is a Sick Man in Mexico.

Wanton Murder in Mexico.
From The American.
    If there had been in the President's chair, at Washington, a Cleveland, for instance, instead of the softest, most hesitant Executive this country ever had, there would be peace, instead of anarchy, in Mexico.
    All Mexico is weltering in murder and rapine. Bandit gangs are ravaging all over the nation, preying on anybody who has a home or a dollar. The brigand chiefs call themselves Generals and pretend to follow a flag, but the most respectable approach to patriotism among them is a desire for revenge, and loot is the object of their campaign.
    The murder of Madero and Suarez — the elected President and Vice President — is proof that the men who, for the moment, occupy the national palace at the capital are waging the same sort of war as the ranch raiders of the outlying States.
    That Madero, after catching Diaz in full rebellion, should be slaughtered by the man whose life he spared makes this crime a supreme atrocity even in the annals of barbarous revolution.
    The savage murder of unarmed prisoners takes Mexico outside the class of nations whose convulsions are entitled to respect.
    There is not to-day the least guarantee for life or property in Mexico. Americans are among the slain; American investments have been ruined; American property has been seized; American women have been maltreated.
    We have promulgated a Monroe Doctrine and the other nations are waiting to see us perform the duties we so boldly arrogated to ourselves.
    While murder succeeds murder in Mexico, Taft, the Man of Straw, makes bland speeches about the necessity of patience and the part of a Big Brother we are to play.

Killings Inflame Northern Mexico.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Sonora Discusses Plan of Revolt — Regular Troops Resent Madero's Death.
YET SOME SEE GOOD IN IT
As Necessary as the Execution of Maximilian, One Leader Holds — Juarez  Garrison Quiet.
    HERMOSILLO, Sonora, Mexico. Feb. 23.— Inflamed by the killing of Madero and Suarez, whose cause they had espoused, members of the Sonora State Congress assembled here to-day for a special session to-morrow to decide whether they shall formally declare the State in rebellion against Gen. Victoriano Huerta, the provisional President of Mexico.
    Intense excitement prevailed. Many of the Congressmen attended a secret session to-night, after which it seemed apparent that Sonora would not be declared a rebel State without opposition, but it was said by some that the State would surely refuse to fall into line behind Huerta and Diaz if Huerta had appointed as provisional Governor Manuel Masacrenas, Jr., a former follower of Salazar, who is cordially hated by Sonorans.
    Antonio Rojas, a rebel leader, has appeared with a body of northern insurrectos, avowedly with the intention of aiding those who want Sonora to secede from the Mexican Republic. Rojas, it is understood, advocated the establishment of a new republic comprising Sonora and Chihuahua.

Vera Cruz Is Shocked.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
Crime Regarded as an Evidence of Despotism's Return.
    VERA CRUZ, Feb. 23.— Notwithstanding private advices were received here this morning of the death of Madero and Suarez, absolutely no official notification has been given of the occurrence.
    The killing of the two former officials has created a profound and painful impression among all classes in Vera Cruz, and while outspoken anti-Maderistas appeared to welcome the news, many prominent citizens and officials declared that the affair was another evidence of despotic rule. The officials, however, declined to be quoted, although some ventured the prediction that Mexicans generally would be inclined to resent the death of the country's recent rulers. There was no sign of a demonstration in Vera Cruz to-day, but a strong undercurrent of feeling prevailed.
    It is reported that Ernesto Madero, the former Finance Minister, will arrive in Vera Cruz to-morrow by special train.
    The newspaper Opinion, of which Francisco N. Arias, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, who has been prominent in his opposition to the Madero Government, prints the following editorial comment:
    "This is the prologue of events none can foresee. It is a question whether it is a typical case of the fugitive law, resting as an indelible stigma on the newest regime. Or will any believe that that brutal act will be considered in the future as necessary to the eradication of a diseased member of the body politic? God must decide.
    "Meanwhile, stunned and perplexed by the most painful impression resulting from the tragedy, we commend our readers to the consideration of this political crime."