MOWN DOWN BY GUNS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 26, 22 April 1927, Page 13

MOWN DOWN BY GUNS

MEXICAN ATROCITY BANDITS ATTACK ON TRAIN TROOPS GALLANT STAND MEXICO CITY, Wednesday. Amid the shrieks of women and children, passengers struggled to escape from the blazing train which bandits had wrecked and set afire at Guadalajara in the State of Jalisco, Mexico. Many who escaped from the inferno were shot down by the rifie-fire of the bandits against whom the military guard had made a gallant stand. The bandits attacked a train which was en route to Mexico City and killed approximately 185 of the passengers. They first, derailed the train and then murdered the 15 Federal soldiers who were escorting it. The bandits went through the train robbing the passengers. After that they locked the coach doors and set fire to the train.

Women and children shrieked and tried in vain to escape through the windows. They were mowed down by the bandits’ rifle fire. Most of the victims of the outrage w r ere business men and their families. A few escaped and they telegraphed the news to Mexico City, describing the scenes as atrocious. A large force of .troops was despatched from the capital to attempt to capture the bandits. The daughter of the ex-President, Senhor Obregon, was among the dead who have been identified. The bandits are believed to berebels who had been waging guerilla warfare aginst the Government troops in this section of the country for many months. Nurses and doctors were sent from Irapuato to the scene of the outrage and one goods train with 159 bodies has been despatched to Mexico City. The Minister of War, General Joaquin Amaro, is expected shortly to arrive on the scene with a cavalry force, which will start in pursuit of the rebels. A circular was distributed in the capital in Holy Week which purported to be a warning from the headquarters of the rebels. This warned the public not to travel by rail after Easter. The circular said the rebels were determined to wreck all trains and to prevent the Government using the lines for the transport of troops. The President, General Calles, immediately upon receiving reports of the atrocity convened a meeting of the editors of all the local newspapers and discussed with them the advisability of suppressing the news of the outrage. It is believed the outrage will necessitate a declaration of martial law and a campaign on a large scale against the revolution which the Government has hitherto been attempting to minimise. , General Calles alleges that the attack on the train was perpetrated by rebels under the leadership of two Roman Catholic priests. He says they were under direct orders from the Roman Catholic episcopate in Mexico City.