Some Clues

 The spotty historical record leaves us with many questions. One of the most interesting is why Landín left Columbus. This question fascinates me because of a short article that was published in El Paso’s Spanish-language La República in 1919. 

On 5 November, the paper ran a brief story claiming that Landín had been expelled from Columbus for a violation of the “Ley Man,” or the Mann Act, for “llevando a aquel lugar una mujer que no es su esposa, para fines inmorales.” The highly partisan La República disparaged Landín, and his presumptive replacement, for their ties to Carranza. 

La República, 5 November 1919, p. 1

Landín appeared in La República once more the following week, but this time in literal passing: he traveled through El Paso after renouncing his post in Columbus. 

About a month later, Landín resurfaced in the pages of the El Paso Herald. The December 1919 brief makes no mention of the accusations against him, but instead outlined his return to Columbus, by way of Juárez and El Paso, to “wind up business in his office.” The unidentified author commented on Landín’s perspective on the upcoming presidential election in which he supported Ygnacio Bonillas, “civilian candidate for the presidency.” 

El Paso Herald, 17 December 1919, p. 4

None of the major papers in Columbus or Deming, the Courier or the Headlight, commented on Landín’s departure in November or December 1919 despite the fact that he had appeared semi-regularly in their pages in the context of reporting on his consular work.

What can, and should, we make of this puzzle?