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The “Underside” of the Mexican Revolution: El Paso, 1912*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

Charles H. Harris III  and
Louis R. Sadler
Charles H. Harris III
Affiliation:
Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
Louis R. Sadler
Affiliation:
Joint Border Research Institute, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico
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The Mexican Revolution was predominantly a Northern movement. In part this was a logical continuation of what had occurred during the Díaz regime, namely, the rapid development of the northern tier of Mexican states. But in large measure the rise to prominence of leaders such as Francisco Madero, Pascual Orozco, Francisco Villa, Venustiano Carranza, Alvaro Obregón, and Pablo González reflected the advantage they enjoyed over revolutionaries in other parts of Mexico—access to the American border. Arms and ammunition could be imported, loot to pay for these munitions could be exported, United States territory could be used as a base of operations, and the United States provided a sanctuary for the members of defeated factions. Moreover, since the majority of the population along the border were of Mexican extraction, they inevitably became caught up in the factional struggle, as, for that matter, did many of the Anglos, either out of sympathy or because the Revolution became a lucrative business. Yet despite the extent to which the Revolution spilled over into the United States, we still have but a sketchy knowledge of this phenomenon. Precisely how did Mexican juntas function, how were munitions acquired, how was recruiting conducted, and how was revolutionary activity financed? To understand this critical aspect of the Revolution we need much more work along the lines of David N. Johnson's admirable study of Maderista activities in San Antonio in 1910–1911.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , July 1982 , pp. 69 - 83
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1982

Footnotes

*

The authors wish to acknowledge the generous financial support of the Weatherhead Foundation, New York City, and the Arts and Sciences Research Center, New Mexico State University.

References

1 “Exiles and Intrigue: Francisco I. Madero and the Mexican Revolutionary Junta in San Antonio, 1910–1911,” (unpublished M.A. thesis, Trinity University, 1975).

2 In 1908 the Bureau of Investigation was established within the Department of Justice, but it was not until 1935 that it was renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

3 The United States District Court records are: (for Texas) El Paso, Del Rio, Laredo, Brownsville, Austin, San Antonio and Galveston; (for Arizona) Phoenix; (for California) Los Angeles; and (for New Mexico) Las Cruces and Santa Fe. United States Commissioner’s case files include: (for Texas) Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Laredo, Marfa, El Paso, and San Antonio; (for New Mexico) Las Cruces and Deming; and (for Arizona) Douglas, Nogales and Bisbee. The United States District Court and United States Commissioner records for Texas are found in the Federal Records Center, Fort Worth (hereafter cited as FRC-D); for Arizona and California at the Federal Records Center, Laguna Nigel, California (hereafter cited as FRC-LN).

4 Mexican Rebel: Pascual Orozco and the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1915 (Lincoln, 1967).

5 Miller, Robert Ryall, Arms Across the Border: United States Aid to Juárez During the French Intervention in Mexico (Philadelphia, 1973), pp. 7, 32, 38.Google Scholar

6 Almada’s, Francisco La rebelión de Tomochi (Chihuahua, 1938)Google Scholar is the standard source for the insurrection. Also see the U.S. v. Victor L. Ochoa, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, No. 893 and District Court, El Paso, nos. 4, 8,7,6, 5, 1009, 1024, all in FRC-FW. See also Alexander, Yolanda Guaderrama, “Las Palomas: Years of Turmoil, 1893–1917” (Graduate Seminar Paper, Department of History, New Mexico State University, 1974), pp. 7–16.Google Scholar

7 U.S. v. Leocardio B. Trevino et al., U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 83, and District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, No. 1361. See also U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, nos. 100,156, 88, 117, 101. Additional details are available in National Archives, Numerical and Minor Files of the Department of State, Microcopy M-862, roll 429, file nos. 5026 and 5028; and Estrada, Richard, “Border Revolution: The Mexican Revolution in the Ciudad Juárez/El Paso Area, 1906–1915,” (unpublished M.A. thesis, University of Texas at El Paso, 1975), pp. 38–44.Google Scholar

8 Harris, Charles H. III and Sadler, Louis R., “The 1911 Reyes Conspiracy: The Texas Side,” Southwestern Historical Quarterly (April, 1980), pp. 325–348.Google Scholar

9 For a study of United States arms policy see Holcombe, Harold Eugene, “United States Arms Control and the Mexican Revolution, 1910–1924,” (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Alabama, 1968), pp. 26–33.Google Scholar The Madero government’s use of the British Foreign Office in persuading Taft to ban the exportation of munitions to the Orozquistas can be found in: Lord Cowdry telegram to the British Ambassador in Washington James Bryce, March 12, 1912; Cowdry to Bryce, March 13, 1912; Cowdry to Enrique Creel, March 12, 1912; and Foreign Office minute of March 13, 1912, all in Foreign Office 115/1683, British Public Record Office, Kew Gardens, London. See also Calvert, Peter, The Mexican Revolution, 1910–1914: The Diplomacy of Anglo-American Conflict (Cambridge, 1968), pp. 108–109.Google Scholar

10 Ironically, the Rangers, whose strength had been more than doubled (15-43) in October, 1911 at federal expense to pacify the Texas border had been reduced to their former numbers by late January, 1912, because the border appeared peaceful. Senate Document no. 404, 62nd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington, 1912). During the Orozco rebellion, after first being ordered not to assist Federal officials in the enforcement of the neutrality laws, they generally worked closely with the Bureau of Investigation. See Texas Governor O. B. Colquitt to Adjutant General Henry Hutchings, February 2, 1912, Walter Prescott Webb Papers, vol. 18, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas at Austin. Also see Monthly Returns Company A, March, April and June, 1912 and Company B, February, May and June, 1912, Texas Ranger Archive, Texas State Library, Austin, Texas.

11 The key word in the statement is blatant. As is well known, the British Secret Intelligence Service operated on a rather large scale in the United States during both World Wars I and II; however, they were rather more discreet. See for example, Hyde, H. Montgomery, Room 3603: The Story of the British Intelligence Center in New York during World War II (New York, 1963)Google Scholar and Stephenson’s, William somewhat sensationalized A Man Called Intrepid: The Secret War (New York, 1976).Google Scholar

12 H. A. Thompson to S. W. Finch, April 21, 1912, National Archives, Federal Bureau of Investigation (hereafter cited as BI), Record Group 65, microcopy, no number, roll 1; See also Edward Tyrrell to Chief, U.S. Secret Service, September 26, 1912, National Archives, Microcopy no. 3.157, Record Group 87, Records of the U.S. Secret Service, Daily Reports of Agents, 1875 through 1936, Daily Reports from San Antonio, vol. 9.

13 F. H. Lancaster report, March 1, 1912, BI, roll 2.

14 Testimony of James G. McNary, Vice-President, First National Bank of El Paso, who stated that $500,000 was involved, Revolutions in Mexico: Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate. 62nd Cong., 2nd sess. (Washington, 1913), 169; Felix Sommerfeld who should have known gave the figure as being between $600,000 and $700,000, Ibid., 437. Two stories, emanating from officials of the Huerta government in 1913, cite Llorente’s expenditures as being $283,943 and another account states that $ 150,000 was spent. See El Paso Morning Times, June 3 and July 21, 1913.

15 See the Sommerfeld file. Military Intelligence Division (hereafter cited as MID), National Archives, Record Group 165, Records of the War Department General and Special Staffs, MID, 9140–1754; Sommerfeld’s testimony in Revolutions in Mexico, pp. 387–447. Also see Meyer, Michael C., “Villa, Sommerfeld, Columbus y los alemanes,” Historia Mexicana 28 (April-June, 1979), pp. 546–566.Google Scholar

16 Bush, I.J., Gringo Doctor (Caldwell, Idaho, 1939), pp. 183–186, 226Google Scholar; Beezley, William H., Insurgent Governor: Abraham González and the Mexican Revolution in Chihuahua (Lincoln, 1973), pp. 33–69.Google Scholar

17 L. E. Ross reports, March 1 and 9, 1912, BI, roll 2.

18 Lancaster reports, March 1 and 9, 1912 roll 2 and March 4, 5, 6, 8, 1912, roll 1; Ross report, March 19, 1912, roll 1; Thompson to Finch, March 3,1912, roll 1; Thompson, April 19,1912, Bl.roll 1;C. D. Hebert to Finch, April 29, 1912, roll 1; Hebert reports, May 5,8, 14,15,1912, roll 2all in BI; For example, see the Thiel Agency’s reports, entitled “Revolutionary Information,” March 4,5,6,8, 16, 22,23 24, 26,27,28, 29, April 2,4,8, 10, 22, and 28, BI, roll 1. For the Thiel Agency’s reports to the Mexico Northwestern, see “Revolutionary Information,” October 22, 1912, John H. McNeely Collection, Box 13, Packet “Misc. 1912–1914,” Records of the Mexico Northwestern Railway, Archives, University of Texas at El Paso. For the Thiel Agency’s reports to the Mexican government, see Isidro Fabela et al., (eds.) Documentos históricos de la Revolución Mexicana, 27 vols. (México, 1964–1973) [hereafter cited as DHRM] VII, pp. 371–375, 391–394, 416–418.

19 Lancaster to Finch, , “Personal and Confidential,” March 23, 1912, BI, roll 1.Google Scholar

20 de Gramont, Sanche, The Secret War: The Story of International Espionage Since World War II (New York, 1962), pp. 149–150.Google Scholar

21 Thompson report, June 21, 1912, BI, roll 1; E. M. Blanford report, April 7,1913, roll 3, both in BI; Manuel Cuesta to Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores, March 9, 1912, DHRM, VII, 183; Enrique de la Sierra to same, February 24, 1913, Ibid., XIV, pp. 78–79.

22 Lancaster reports, March 13, 18, 22, 1912; Ross report, April 24, 1912; Hawkins reports, April 17, 18, 24, 1912; Thiel Agency report, March 27, 1912; and Thompson report, April 19, 1912, all in BI, roll 1.

23 Ross reports, March 19, 20, 23, April 5,23,1912, roll 1; Hebert report, May 8,1912, roll 2, all in BI.

24 M. L. Gresh report, October 22, 1912, roll 2; J. W. Vann report, October 28, 1912, roll 3; C. E. Breniman reports, October 25 and 30, November 3, 4, 24, 1912, roll 3, all in BI. Ross's reports to Llorente, dated October 18 and 19, November 6, 1912, are in the Enrique C. Llorente Papers, Manuscripts Division, New York Public Library.

25 Inspector of Consulates to Secretario de Relaciones Extperiores, May 14,1913, DHRM, XIV, pp. 229–230; See also Abraham Molina to José María Maytorena, April 22, 1913, Ibid., XIV, 190; José María Maytorena to Abraham Molina, May 8, 1913, Ibid., XIV, 221.

26 U.S. v. Victor L. Ochoa, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 893 and Almada, , La rebelión de Tomochi. pp. 127–128, 133.Google Scholar The best summary of his revolutionary career is found in the El Paso Times, September 20, 1921.

27 R. L. Barnes reports, June 21–25, 1912, BI, roll 2.

28 Zork Hardware Company Records, Archives, University of Texas at El Paso. In 1912, the firm’s name was Krakauer, Zork and Moye’s Sues., Inc. The company was one of the largest hardware dealers in the Southwest, with assets exceeding $1,100,000. Although the 1912 account books do not indicate to whom the sales of arms and ammunition were made, they clearly show that a sizeable percentage of the firm’s sales for the year were munitions.

29 Revolutions in Mexico, 124.

30 U.S. v. Robert Krakauer, Cástulo Herrera, Pascual Arellano, Adolph Krakauer, Victor L. Ochoa, S. Domínguez, G. Gutiérrez, Francisco Navarro, Julius Krakauer, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1626. See also U.S. v. Sabino Guaderrama, Avelino Guaderrama, Longino González, Isabel Larrazola, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1629.

31 U.S. v. Shelton-Payne Arms Co., Douglas Hardware Co., W. H. Shelton, John Henry Payne, W. F. Fisher, District Court, Phoenix, FRC-LN, no. c-676; U.S. v. L. D. McCartney, Shelton-Payne Arms Co., W. H. Shelton, John Henry Payne, J. N. González, District Court, Phoenix, FRC-LN, no. C-677; U.S. v. Krakauer, Zork & Moye, Julius Krakauer, L. D. McCartney, District Court, Phoenix, FRC-LN, no. C-679.

32 See cases in footnote 30.

33 U.S. v. Arnulfo Chávez, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1081, District Court, El Paso, no. 1590, both in FRC-FW. The Guaderrama clan in El Paso exemplified this type of entrepreneur. For information concerning their activity during this period see, U.S. v. Sabino Guaderrama, Isabel Rangel, José Cerros, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1135; U.S. v. Cástulo Herrera, Sabino Guaderrama, Avelino Guaderrama, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1070; U.S. v. Sabino Guaderrama, Avelino Guaderrama, Longino González, Isabel Larrazola, District Court, El Paso, no. 1629, all in FRC-FW. The Guaderramas were still going strong in 1915, being involved, among other things, in the Huerta conspiracy. See U.S. v. Sabino Guaderrama, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1376, and U.S. v. Victoriano Huerta et al.. District Court, San Antonio, no. 2185, both in FRC—FW.

34 See, for instance, the following cases in U.S. District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW: U.S. v. James McKay, no. 1555; U.S. v. John Thomas.no. 1552; U.S. v. Peter S. Aikin, no. 1553, U.S. v. Francisco M. F. Nájera, no. 1560; U.S. v. Allen L. Rogers, no. 1551; U.S. v. Alfredo Guerrero.no. 1554; U.S. v. Francisca Molina, no. 1575; U.S. v. Petra Ochoa, no. 1593; U.S. v. Josefina Santa Cruz, no. 1602; U.S. v. María Solís, no. 1603.

35 U.S. v. Fred Freepartner, W. E. Mason, Joe de Lauter, Lou Mullady, Enrique Esparza, Agustín Gallo, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, nos. 1066 and 1067, District Court, El Paso, no. 1627, all in FRC-FW.

36 U.S. v. John Dickson, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1097, District Court, El Paso, no. 1598, both in FRC-FW.

37 Testimony of Felix Sommerfeld, Revolutions in Mexico, pp. 427–431; El Paso Herald, August 22–23, 1912; El Paso Morning Times, July 2, 25, 1912.

38 Ross reports, May 18–22, 1912; Thompson reports, May 21–23, October 3,18,21,1912; Hebert report, May 22, 1912; Harris reports, May 25,28,29, June 6,7,10,14, October 13,18,1912, all in BI, roll 2; Harris reports, October 27 and 30, November 3, 4, 6, 1912; Gresh report, October 31, 1912; Breniman report, November 13, 1912; Blanford report, November 14, 1912; Harris to A. Bruce Bielaski, November 20, 1912, all in BI, roll 3; U.S. v. Ignacio López, Salvador Rojas Vértiz, Frank Borbón, T. C. Cabney, Pascual Orozco, Jr., Gonzalo C. Enrile, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1089 and District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, nos. 1628, 1633.

39 U.S. v. Ignacio López, Salvador Rojas Vértiz, Frank Borbón, T. C. Cabney, Pascual Orozco, Jr., Gonzalo Enrile, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1628.

40 Thompson report, June 7, 1912; Barnes report, June 8,1912; Ross reports, June 8 and 10,1912, all in BI, roll 2; U.S. v. Cástulo Herrera, Ignacio Gutiérrez, Eduardo Ochoa, Jesús de la Torre, Ignacio Núñez, U.S. Commissioner, District of New Mexico, Federal Records Center, Denver (hereafter cited as FRC-D), No. 1161, District Court, Santa Fe, FRC-D, no. 85; U.S. v. Ignacio Núñez and Jesús de la Torre, U.S. Commissioner, District of New Mexico, FRC-D, nos. 1204 and 1604, District Court, Santa Fe, FRC-D, no. 1654; U.S. v. Ignacio Gutiérrez, U.S. Commissioner,, District of New Mexico, FRC-D, no. 1251.

41 U.S. v. Lázaro Alanís, [José] Inés Salazar, Roque Gómez, Concepción Tovar, Marcial Andujos, U.S. Commissioner, District of New Mexico, FRC-D, nos. 1158 and 1268, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, nos. 1158 and 1167, District Court, Santa Fe, FRC-D, no. 84; Thompson reports, August 12 and 14, 1912, BI, roll 2; Ross report, August 14, 1912, BI, roll 2; Barnes report, August 16, 1912, BI roll 2, El Paso Morning Times, August 13, 1912.

42 Testimony of Luján, Manuel L., Revolutions in Mexico, pp. 296–297 Google Scholar; Despatches from the U.S. Military Attache, Capt. W. A. Burnside, July 24,1912, MID 5761-532 and July 24,1912, MID 5384–16.

43 Francisco I. Madero to Enrique Llorente, May 30, 1912, DHRM, VII, 422.

44 Charpentier’s testimony in Revolutions in Mexico, pp. 447–451, 505–528; McDonald’s testimony, Ibid., pp. 680–683; Mahoney’s testimony, Ibid., pp. 683–686.

45 Charpentier, Mahoney, and McDonald were tried and acquitted in 1912. See U.S. v. E. L. Charpentier, D. J. Mahoney, Robert McDonald, A. Monahan [sic-J. H. Noonan], District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW,no. 1607; Llorente’s case was continued until April 14,1916, when it was dismissed. See U.S. v. Enrique C. Llorente, R. H. G. McDonald, D. J. Mahoney, J. H. Noonan, E. L. Charpentier, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1650. As an example of the permutations that occurred among border characters, in 1914 Victor L. Ochoa was enlisting men for the Carrancistas, and one of those he enlisted was R. H. G. McDonald. See U.S. v. Victor L. Ochoa, Fred Mendenhall, R. H. G. McDonald, Agustín Pantoja, Ramón Gutiérrez, District Court, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1810; U.S. v. E. L. Holmdahl, Victor L. Ochoa, Tandy Sanford, Fred Mendenhall, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1363; U.S. v. Victor L. Ochoa, Tandy Sanford, John Sanford, Fred Mendenhall, Rafael Díaz, R. H. G. McDonald, José Orozco, Francisco Rojas, Vicente Carreón, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, FRC-FW, no. 1359.

46 Ernest Knable, Assistant Attorney General, to Secretary of State, May 15, 1912, National Archives, Record Group 60, Department of Justice (hereafter cited as DJ), file no. 90755–1557; Also see Wickersham to Charles Boynton, May 16,1912, DJ, 90755–1562 and May 20, 1912, DJ, 90755–1565; Charles Boynton to Wickersham, May 17, 1912, DJ, 90755–1564 and June 8,1912, DJ, 90755–1590; Not until it was obvious that Orozco had lost did the U.S. government begin putting pressure on Llorente. See Huntington Wilson to Wickersham, June 24, 1912, Records of the Department of State Relating to the Internal Affairs of Mexico, 1910–1929, National Archives Microfilm Publication, Microcopy no. 274, file no. 812.00/4246; Wickersham to Boynton, June 27, 1912, DJ, 90755–1605 and J. A. Fowler to Secretary of State, June 28, 1912, DJ, 90755–1605; Thompson reports, November 6, 7, and 30, 1912, BI, roll 3.

47 U.S. v. Luis Díaz de León, U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1036 and District Court, El Paso, no. 1563; U.S. v. Canuto Leyva, District Court, El Paso, no. 1617; U.S. v. Rutilio Rodríguez, District Court, El Paso, no. 1618; U.S. v. Victor Ochoa, District Court, El Paso, no. 1625; U.S. v. Jesús Quintana et al., U.S. Commissioner, El Paso, no. 1037; U.S. v. J. Saldívar, District Court, El Paso, no. 1569, all in FRC-FW.

48 El Paso Morning Times, June 24, 1912.

49 Ross reports, July 6 and September 8, 11, 1912, roll 3; Harris reports, July 29, August 2, 7, October 31, 1912, roll 3; R. L. Barnes report, September 28, 1912, roll 2, all in BI.