announcement by Villa in November, 1917, he travelled through Mexico in disguise and conferred with the other rebel chiefs.
Whatever may be Villa's political objects and aims one thing is apparent; that is that he could not make a stand against the present government of Mexico without assistance from interests in the United States opposed to Señor Carranza, or from German influences in Mexico. Villa is supported by one or the other of these, perhaps by both.
One day in 1917 three hundred Villistas strolled into Torreon, and then out to an American ranch, where they informed the manager that Villa had discharged them. Perhaps there was no more loot! Perhaps Carranza is an easy boss. It may be that this is the only kind of dictator the Mexican people will follow now.
But despite all this, the puzzle of the Mexican Sphinx remains: What Will Mexico Do? How will the government interpret the constitution? Will the authorities return confiscated property? Will the government adjust foreign claims? Will the banks be reimbursed?
Sphinxes are not found in many parts of the world, but there are two in Mexico. Standing at the corner of Calle San Francisco and Avenida Juarez, looking toward Chapultepec Park one can see, on the right, the National Theatre, the so called White Elephant, with its incomplete marble walls glistening in the sunlight like a giant's heliograph. In the distance towers the rusty steel
