Declares Escort Was Attacked by Deposed President's Friends.

New York Times 100 years ago today, February 24, 1913:
MADERO SHOT IN HEAD
Body Under Guard in Penitentiary and Even Widow Not Admitted.
'COWARDS,' CRIES HIS SISTER
Government Summoned a Special Officer to Escort Prisoners After Elaborate Precautions.
TROOPS QUIET THE CAPITAL
Show Their Control by Keeping Crowds from Gathering When News of Killing Gets Out.
AMERICAN PRESS PROTESTS
General Condemnation of the Government for Its Failure to Heed Dictates of Humanity.
Special Cable to The New York Times.
    MEXICO CITY, Feb. 23.— Francisco I. Madero, Jr., and José Pino Suarez, deposed President and Vice President of Mexico, whose lives President Taft endeavored to save, were killed in a street near the penitentiary, at 11:30 o'clock last night.
    They were being conducted, under the escort of a force of rurales, to the penitentiary, ostensibly to be held in safety until the Government of Gen. Victoriano Huerta could give them the fair and open trial which had been demanded by Ambassador Wilson in the name of the Washington Government.
    Gen. Huerta and the members of his Cabinet, including Francisco L. de la Barra, unite in asserting that none of those in authority was responsible for the murders. The official version of the affair is that the escort of the prisoners was attacked by a force of Maderistas, and that in the fighting Madero and Suarez attempted to escape and were shot down.

Victims of "Ley Fuga."
    A similar account was given of the death of Gustavo Madero when he was killed while being taken from the arsenal to the national palace the day after Gen. Huerta had seized the Government. In each case there was the application of "ley fuga," the law which excuses the killing of prisoners who attempt to escape, under which many Mexicans who were troublesome to the Government have been put to death from time to time.
    Practically all accounts of the assassinations come from Government sources. The men who were in command of the escort are under arrest and cannot be interviewed, the explanation being made that a strict inquiry is being conducted by the military and executive authorities. The men of the escort are under confinement in barracks, where they cannot be reached.
    Of the Maderistas who are supposed to have made the attack naturally none can be found, for they would not wish to reveal their identity. Such spectators as there may have been of the occurrence are keeping their own counsel.

The Tragedy Announced.
    The first news the correspondents had of the tragedy came from President Huerta himself. They were summoned to the palace in the early morning hours, and there told the Government's version.
    It was said that a plan had been arranged to move the prisoners with the utmost secrecy, and that the hour near midnight had been chosen for this purpose, for then the streets would be quiet. Two automobiles were used, one a scout car and the other containing the prisoners, three officers, and one soldier. Other rurales were with the machines.
    Apparently the plan of the Government had been learned by Madero sympathizers; for when the party was two-thirds of its way to the penitentiary they were attacked by men who shot from a side street. The automobiles rushed on, but were stopped by a larger number of assailants, and a sharp engagement ensued. In the midst of this, the Government report says, Madero and Suarez attempted to escape and were shot.
    It was pointed out that the Government had endeavored to assure the safety of the prisoners by the elaborate and secret precautions taken in moving them. It had also appointed a military man to take charge of the penitentiary, so that nothing should be done to them while they were confined there. As an evidence that a fight had occurred, the automobiles were shown, with many bullet marks scarring them.
    Gen. Huerta, after receiving the report of the commander of the escort, called his Cabinet into session early in the morning. That body officially deplored the event, but it was said that the assassinations were comprehensible, in view of the disturbed state of the city.

Huerta Promises Full Inquiry.
    Gen. Huerta afterward issued a formal statement, in which he repeated the account of the matter given above and promised that a full examination into the unhappy circumstances would be made by a military court and also by the Department of Justice.
    A feature of the affair that is attracting comment among observers is the fact already cabled to The Times, that the Government had full warning of plots for the rescue of the prisoners by the Maderistas. As early as Friday it had been announced that the Government intended to have them removed from the palace to the penitentiary. When that was not done, it was explained that Maderistas were planning to take them from the guards. In this Gen. Zapata was believed to have a hand, as he had received a large sum of money from Madero a few days before the President was overthrown.

Precautions Had Been Taken.
    From Friday night on the most elaborate military precautions had been taken in the capital by the Administration. The troops of Gens. Huerta, Blanquet, and Diaz had been distributed through the streets, crowds had been prevented from gathering, and the population was thoroughly in hand. It was said, however, that the Government feared that all the troops in the city could not be trusted.
    A special man was brought in by the Government to escort the prisoners to the penitentiary, instead of having the task assigned to some of the soldiers who had fought under the revolutionary leaders and who, so far, have been well in hand. The man summoned was Major Cardenas of the Seventh Rurales, who has gained a reputation in campaigns against insurrectos. He arrived in the capital yesterday.
    So far as the official records of the Government itself are concerned, however, they were cleared by official action of the Cabinet yesterday. A special meeting considered the cases of Madero and Suarez and the diplomatic representations that had been made in their behalf by Ambassador Wilson and others. It was decided that charges made against them should be referred to the Attorney General, and meanwhile the prisoners should be sent to the penitentiary. It was also decided that a meeting of the Cabinet should be held to-day to answer the representations made on be-half of President Taft.

Widow Not Allowed to See the Body.
    Madero's wife, who, since the revolution, had pleaded with Gen. Huerta for the life of her husband, heard of his death soon after it occurred. She had been expecting it, for she had been unable lo get a pledge of his safety from the present ruler. On learning the news she went to the palace and asked Gen. Huerta to order that the body be surrendered to her. He would not accede to the request, the explanation being made that an autopsy was to be performed in the course of the official inquiry. Mrs. Madero went to the penitentiary, to which the body had been taken, but was not admitted. Diplomats learned of the assassinations though secret channels soon after they had taken place, and it was not long before they had official confirmation from Señor de la Barra, the Foreign Minister. Ambassador Wilson, who had exerted every pressure possible on the Government, pointing out that public opinion in the United States would be greatly stirred if Huerta did not show the same mercy to Madero that he had shown to Di    az and Reyes, was at first unable to believe that his information was true. When it was confirmed by the Government, he hastened to send a long dispatch to Washington.
    The people of the city were much stirred by the tragedy. The information spread among them quickly, and many were out in the early morning hours. The Government, however, soon showed its control of the situation. Soldiers stopped crowds from gathering, and even three or four persons were not permitted to meet and talk. The troops extended their lines even far into the residential section.