Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 212, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 September 1916 — ANOTHER LETTER FROM MAJOR HEALEY [ARTICLE]

ANOTHER LETTER FROM MAJOR HEALEY

Writes Interestingly About Conditions On Border—Made Trip to Progresso. Llano Grande, Tex., Aug. 30. Tjiejicpublicaii: Last week after a visit to Brownsville I wrote that the Rio Grande river looked too small to form the boundary line between two countries that differed so materially as the United States and Mexico, or as translated from Caesar, in “languages, institutions and laws.” After my second visit to the river I am more than ever convinced that this is the case. Sunday, accompanied oy Lieutenant Arthur Tuteur, I visited Progresso and drove on to the river/ Probably many will remeriiiber that Progresso was the scene of one of the Mexican raids, something like three years ago and that a small station for regular

troops has been maintained there since that time. The raid was made by some 84 Mexicans, who swam the river, robbed the storekeeper at Progresso and made their escape. The stortkeeper left, moving to Mercedes, some ten miles away. Progresso is about thee-quarters of a mile from th? river. It consists of a Catholic church, a fine residence, now occupied as the headquarters of the troops stationed there, a large brick store room, now used for an army hospital, and a number of smaller buildings, all occupied by troops or given some military use. The regular troops stationed there had constructed various devices of protection. Standing trenches communicating with the quarters in the rear, and sandbag abutments. An observation tower was constructed with a view to watching the movements of the Mexican troops across the river but this is not in use now -is there are no Mexicans near enough the border to be seen. Flanking Progresso on each side are Mexican villages, that is, U. S. villages composed of the most inferior sort of Mexicans. We were riding to the river and came suddenly upon the habitat of adobe huts. Small shacks covered with mesquite grass and the sides of smail mesquite limbs and plastered witff mud made the homes of the poor and ignorant occupants. No floors, no chimneys, few cooking utensils, and in a few cases small cook stoves that emitted their smoke into the shack and it escaped through a hole in the corner near the stove. One room, composing kitchen, bedroom and living room, enough to harbor a family of from four to eight and to leave room for a few chickens. A sergeant who accompanied us on the trip but who visited the village to the east of Progresso, while the one we visited was to the west, reported looking into one house and seeing a sow laying with her back almost z against the stove and nursing a litter of pigs, while the Mexican woman was preparing in an old bucket the noon-day meal. The little houses clustered together with no effort at regularity and with wierd pairs of curious eyes peeping from between the small limbs where the mud had been washed away. Here and there was an abandoned hut that had fallen or blown over, and others that were pitched to the side at an angle of 30 degrees but were still occupied. It is hard to imagine such depravity and I doubt if the American Indian ever lived so wretchedly. And yet these people hold the possibility to being developed as human beings if influenced by a government that will hold out a hojje for their future, a hope that has been denied to them during the past three hundred years. I have said that these people are within the United States, where they are guaranteed full rights and protection, which is true, but they are the result of all these years of bad laws, unjust rulers, corrupt institutions. It will take many generations to overcome the degrading conditions that exist, but if Mexico is ever to become a well behaved neighand if the wretched peons are fiver to be moulded into hopeful forms of humanity. That they become bandits, soldiers of fortune, nomads, stoic forms that distrust and hate the world and all its people is not remarkable when it is considered that they are a pare of a nation whose rulers have plotted against their people for so ffiany decades. It was more than sixty years after Mexico and Arizona became territories before we deemed them desirable for statehood, but the door of hope had opened to many thousands of people and they have improved just as they will improve in Mexico if the millions there are ever given the opportunity guaranteed by a free government such as the United States could guarantee and supervise. I have been interested in noting that the children (ninos) are quite bright in comparison with their parents, but lack of schooling, hard labor when too

young to stanT it and the influences of immoral parentage soon transform their lives to the misery of adult depravity. A boy (muchado) has been shining my zapatas and bolinos (shoes and legging) on occasions and I have been much interested in him. He has an air of much distrust, a native condition, but he is quite bright and very thrifty. When wc first came here it cost but a nickle (cinco) to get shoes and leggings shined, but now the price *is fifteen cents (quin-ce centavos). He is a native of the U. S. but still has some of the earmarks of tHe depravity across the muddy Rio Grande. And so I feel that what ever results from the conference that is to endeavor to adjust the affairs between the United States and Mexico it will fall far short of the duty that; is so plain to all who have been placed in a position to know if it does not supply for Mexico a protectorate with power to establish and enforce fair rules of government and to provide the agrarian privileges whicn various leaders have pledged but never conveyed. There is no silver lining to the cloud that now overhangs Mexico unless there be supplied the power to enforce whatever the conference decides upon. To my notion the power must come from north of thg'Rio Grande river. Having confidence in our form of government, having the examples of Cuba, Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philippines I believe a great step in civilization and Christianity will result from our control so much the better for us. Neither,can lose, both will profit, mutual advantages will ensue both to the governments and to the people who compose them.

Since I last wrote both Emerson Coen and Adolph Hess have been discharged and the rest of us have been busy. Tuesday we fired for the first time on rifle range. The range was only 50 feet but we used full servi’e charges at reduced targets. No very high scores were made but we had another evidence that it takes training to make efficient soldiers. Although we have been in service since June 19th and soldiers have had possession of rifles since that time, there were many who did not know how to load the rifles so they would feed from the magazines, others who did not know anything about elevations and very few knew anything about windage adjustments, so you can see that we are only now in the beginning of training. A believer as I have always been of preparedness, I realize more now than I ever did how weak we were. Six months more will be required to make the units now here efficient for field service.

Today, Wednesday, is set aside for field day events. The morning is being utilized by the companies to complete the construction of their tent floors, re-align the tents, construct new drains for the streets, which ?n the haste of making the first camp were not straight, and in getting things generally shaped up for the future. This afternoon we are to have some foot races, running broad jumps and wall scaling. The Valparaiso company of my battalion had a squad of 8 men clear an 8-foot wall in 19 seconds two weeks ago. They can beat that time now. Then will come a ball game, our team playing tne 4th Nebraska.- Jimmie Eldridge and Floyd Elder continue to play fine ball and Elder pulled off a sensational one-handed running catch in deep center in a game last Saturday. On Sunday we lost our first game, being beaten by the first Minnesota 9 to 5. We had lost one or two players by discharge and the team did not get together well. Dr. Johnson has been in the hospital at San Antonio for several days, receiving treatment from an inflamed eye which had caused, him trouble ever since he came to the border. No word has been received from him and it is not known when he will return. Lieut. Art Tuteur returned this morning from the field hospital, where de spent two days. He was ill Sunday when we returned from Progresso and dengue fever (pronounced dengy; developed. This is not dangerous bur. it is mighty disagreeable. The subject has all the pains of grip, coupled with two or three degrees of temperature and he feels peevish and if- in love he has visions of his sweetheart and thinks he is going to die and that she is going to marry someone else. Those who know Art know just what his conduct was. Today he walked back to our camp and is now being visited by two or three other officers. He will be required to “lay around” and keep out of the sun for a w 7 eek yet. Tfre dengue is carried by mosquitos, which have become quite numerous and have grown to monstrous size since I mentioned them before. Thorough screening is necessary to keep them away and each soldier is required to be kept covered during the night by a close mesh mosquito netting.

Last night the Monticello soldiers, aided by a number from Company M and- other companies, the Minnesota battery and made a c|emand for a bulldog, a mascot that thp Monticello boys had brought from home with them. The dog had been missing for two weeks or more and had just been located. The Minnesota artillerymen said they would not relinquish the dog and things looked serious for a while, but some soldier cut the dog loosfc and made away with

him and the Indiana boys returned home singing “Indiana” and had somewhat of a demonstration after their return. iSergeant James W. Spate, who has charge of the regimental exchange, returned yesterday from a two days’ trip to Brownsville, where he went in search of curios tq sell at the exchange. He could not find them, however, as prices have gone sky high since the soldiess have been on th® border. Lieut. Healey and Captain Heineman, the latter of the Valparaiso company, dressed in civilian clothes, made a trip to Matamoros, Mexico, last Sunday, and so far as I have learned they are the only two officers along the border who have ventured to cross the river. They spent two hours in the town, visiting the cathedral and witnessing the ceremony. George promises to write about the trip and I will leave it for him to do. Officers of the army consider it a very injudicious thing to do, saying that it is quite apt to result in the arrest of the person on the charge of being a spy and in that event they would probably be lined up against a wail and shot. I am relieved that their visit is over and shall insist that no more “sorties” of this kind be undertaken. Tomorrow is muster day for pay and besides mustering every man ,n my battalion I am also to muster the supply company. The payrolls then go in and we await with impatience the visit of the paymaster. Last month we w 7 ere fortunate to get paid on the 7th, while somb of the other troops were not paid until the 26th. “Billy” Blodgitt, of the Indianapolis News, is to be my dinner guest today. He writes interesting stories and I ■ am glad to see that The Republican has been using some of them. Will write again in -a few days if ! the field problems that are to start the first of next week do not keep me too busy. MAJ. GEORGE H. HEALEY.