Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 64, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 March 1915 — SOLDIER HOME FROM MEXICAN BORDER [ARTICLE]

SOLDIER HOME FROM MEXICAN BORDER

Walter Wiseman, Serving in Seventeenth Infantry, Granted a 90Daya’ Furlough. Walter Wiseman, son of J. T. Wiseman, is spending a furlough of 90 days at his old home. He belongs to the United States army and since his re-enlistment has been attached to the 17th infantry and stationed at Eagle Pass, Tex., doing border patroL His first enlistment was in the sth cavalry. Walter is well pleased with the army and it seems to have been quite beneficial to him. Eagle Pass has been one of the important border camps for the U. S. soldiers since Carranza began his revolution against Huerta and bullets began to fly across the border, requiring the United States to station troops along the Rio Grande to prevent the warring factions actually coming across the border to do their fighting. Walter says that it is the general belief of all soldiers along the border that the time will come, sooner or later, when the United States must take a hand down there and that the “watchful waiting” policy is never going to accomplish anything but the more complete destruction of that country. He says that the Mexicans are existing without any means of support. The women and children seem to live in the streets and their almost total article of food is a hoe cake made from the Mexican chili bean. The Mexicans hate the people of the United States and hold the opinion that they could “clean up” on this country in about 24 hours. They believe that the United States troops were driven out of Vera Cruz with heavy losses and they are anxious to get a chance to come across the border and fight. Most of the Mexicans am not read or write and have no ambition, although when the bandit leaders leave the men alone they will work fairly well under the direction of others. Walter believes that if the United States does not take a hand down there some other country will and that there can never be any peaceful business carried on there so long as the bandit leaders are engaged at war. Young Wiseman had not been at home since he first enlisted in the army and his parents and friends were pleased to see him. ’His present enlistment is for seven years and af- ' ter it is completed he expects to enlist again, taking his next “hitch” in the coast artillery.