Page:Mexico under Carranza.djvu/46

30 this it appears that nearly two-thirds of the national appropriation for the year 1918 has been devoted to maintaining the military power. To all who understand conditions in Mexico, this means that the heads of the army are being bribed, at the cost of the public, to maintain the Carranza element in power, and that the leaders of that party are prepared to sacrifice the country and its people in every way so long as they may retain the reins.

While the Carranza government is devoting nearly two-thirds of the national revenue to the army, recent reports show how the mass of the people are faring and what is being done for their benefit. An American business man of high character who had just returned from a trip through Mexico for the purpose of deciding whether it was possible to reopen an important public service undertaking in the City of Mexico which had necessarily been discontinued shortly after the Carranza forces took possession of that city, writing under date of March 21, 1918, reported the following among other things:

 "Our train left Laredo, Mexico, on time, February 17, and the trip was very pleasant from there until we reached San Luis, from which point it was necessary that we be accompanied by an armoured train and on asking the reason for this we were informed that the country thereabouts was