The Washington times., 1901-12-29
ALL FOOLS DAY
In OLD MEXICO
HOaXGS OF ALI Kinds Sprung
Upon the Public.
SPECIAL DIVERSION OF EDITORS.
Custom Has It's Origin In Che Feast
of Holy Innocents - Joke That
Nearly Caused Revolution. A
b Bogus Bullhght.

! OOSuo buIll8nbs
CITY OF MEXICO. Dec 2s.-It YOU
shouid happen to see in the papers some
! unusual piece of news from Mexico dated
December 2s, regard it with much dis
trust. Look at 1t in the light of some<
thing which probably is not so.
Not that your favorite paper intends ID
deceive you, but December % Is the ALL
Fools Day of Mexico. and one Of the
favorite diversions OF the Mexican editor
is to publish stupendcus hcaxes, some Of
them preposterous On their face; others
well calculated 20 deceive even the most
careful reader
! Just why December 2S should be chosen
for this sort OF joking Is thing hidden in
mystery. But 1t is custom brought from
Spain, where it has existed for hundreds
Of years, and it has taken root and
fouTishes in this land. Seemingly there
Is no connection between the day. and
] the custom for the day is the church fes-
tival OF the Holy Innoeents, which COM
memoTates the slaughter OF the innocent
| frst-born by the order OF Herod in his
effort to do away with the child Jesus.
Feast of the Wcak-sIiDded.
Some time, centuries ago. the Spanish
mind conceived the idea that an idiot or
| a fool was an innocent on whom it
/ was entirely proper to play AL sorts OF
| tricks. Then from the term innocent
! the day Of the Holy Innocents came to
| be the feast day OF the weak-mlnded.
From that it has been twisted until now it
is the annual day for ali sorts OF TOM
/ foolery and practical Jokes.
To see the Mexican in ordinary life one
would think him to be the last 2erson in
the world TO want to Joke. He seems so
| over 5urdened with dignity. politeness.
| and seBao VI the solemnHy OF mundane
I things that you do not expect him to play
| foCl jokes on his equally dignided broth
ers.
! But there Is nothing he likes better
vhCn the proper day in the year comes
around. Ee wouldn't perpetrate one OF
| his hoaxes on the day before Holy Inno-
| cents. nor would he do it on the day af-
| ter. Bur the bigger the canard, the more
pe0='e that are taken in a. the more
| trouble caused by the fanciful yarn. the
better is he suited-provided that IL all
! happens on December %
a Serious Hoax.
Ii was only a few ycara $50 that ono
| Of these hoaxes nearly caused revolution
| in this Republic. As 1t was there were
several small uprisings. hundreds Of peo-
| ple were put in Jail and 1ther hundreds
| aoa 4, os~es~IHaent before the truth OF the
matter dawned upon the public.
| 1t was in the days when Mexico was not
! SO eontented as 1t is now-and that is not
very long ago. The church party and the
reform party had not then concluded 10
| play the parts OF the lion and the lamb
of the Bible and be at peace even il they
did not agree. They were constantly fall
ing out and there was always danger OF
+, serious trouble.
Then came the announcement IN one OF
| the leading morning papers Of this city
that two hundred and thirty seven priests,
including the Archbishop OF the Diocese Of
/ Mexico. had been arrested during the pre-
| yious night and had been srmmarily shot.
i It was also stated that two hundred and
| eighty more priests were in prison await
! ing the death sentence which would be
| carried out on them during the follow
ing night.
The publication was made on the morn
ing of December 2S. but no one thought OF
the story rs hoax. The members Of the
cnurCn party dIOSt II lleLT WEdtu' pre-
pared to fight for the lives or their fell
low believers. Before they could do any
thing the falsi.y of the story was made
known and their preliminary cbuliitions
were overlooked by the Government,
which felt that they had right to ex-
press the feelings caused by such re-
port.
Trouble in the Country.
But the trouble did not end there. The
city paper made its way slowly into the
country towns. There Holy Innocents
Day was long past when the story was
made public. and no one thought OF its
being a hoax. The church element, as it
had done in the city, began to make prep
arations for trouble. There was on one
TO undeceive them qIiekly. as he'd been
! the case in the city. and before they
learned the truth the Government au-
thorities had been forced to arrest many.
while others fed from their homes for
safety.
the same story was telegraphed
throughout the United States, and the in
d!gration there was almost as great
agpinst the Mexican Government as IL vas
in the republic. But In the United states
! a quick and authoritative denial settled
it all. ana brought the Mexican revoiu-
ton" which the papers had begun to
, discus TO an end.
II il not often that such gruesome
canard is perpetratcd. The Government
will not allow it. and now, as IL ala
} then. makes things decidedly uneomiort-
obIe for the men who started it all. Suc
The lesser kinds OF hoa1es, and sons OF
them are pretty big. are still popular.
FooIing the Public.
u was only last year that the papers
contained advertisements on the morning
of December 2s. stating that grand free
buIjsght would take place in certain
/ orer, at the usual hour in the afternoon
,rbe aebt was to be free, il was explained,
as TWO rival espadas had determined TO
= lei the public pass upon their respective
I'cpr before the hour specified the arena
r We iomuled Outside the crowds were
STRUGGLING and fighting to get 10 although
) eysrv seat and bit Of standing room was
/ toIcn For hours the woult-be spectA-
TORS sat there Then 1t dewned upon some
NJ them that they were being iooled' Il
few went quietly away.
put the majority remained TO wreck tne
arena at least so far as the police woOIa
ist them. to make up for the trouble 20
which they had been put. Who was tns
! ori,,,nator OF this joke was never learned.
NJ his name had been known ne Mohia
have been the defendant in big dainase
suit brought by the owner OF the aIen.
ard he would probably have beeh fnoooeo
by the people to whom he had brought 80