I appointed Lazaro de la Garza to attend to the collection of money. He had served me well after the taking of Torreon. As assistant collector I appointed and engineer, Felicitos Villareal, who was also a financier. These appointment were needed because the loan we received in Torreon was getting low and the Torreon bankers were showing bad faith. They were hardly free of troops when they refused to pay the drafts which I had drawn on them. They said, "We sign under duress and are not obligated to keep the agreement." But they were wrong. It was not rue that they had agreed under duress to honor the drafts. It was from fear of my troops, quite a different thing. I did not take them by the had and compel them to sign. They signed of their own free will that otherwise the people would treat them as enemies. Furthermore, the money they gave me did not really belong to them. It belonged to the people, the true owners of all the money there is in a country. The people are the ones who produce it. I , the representative of the people, had the right to demand, and it was just for them to deliver, all the money necessary for the cause.

I was also necessary to settle the conflict and find all possible resources. I returned to Chihuahua and organized a column of three brigades to advance on Ojinaga. It numbered about three thousand men, including artillery. My problem was to find a leader, since I had duties I could not leave. I summoned the generals and principal commanders to a meeting in the Federal palace. I explained the importance of the operation and suggested that they chose a leader. Present were Tomas Urbina, Herrera, Hernandez, Ortega, Jose Rodriguez, Chao, Trinidad Rodriguez, and a few others. Also present was General Panfilo Natera, chief of the Central Division, who had been on his way to consult with Carranza but was returning from Juarez by way of Zacatecas because the United States would not let him cross to Nogales. Taking advantage of his presence, I said, "My friends, the operation is of great importance. I can rid the state of Chihuahua of our enemies and leave us the masters of our action on the march south. But I cannot go, and you should choose General Natera, who is here, or General Ortega, who is familiar with the region."