The Butte inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1901-1912, 1901-09-26
YOUNG MEN IN MEXICO GOVERN
ED BY A STRANGE CUSTOM.
THEATER OPENING RECALLS IT
Mr.. Cloud Makes Observations on
What Would Be the Effect If
Sister Republics Style
Obtained Here.

theater is about to be opened in Butte"
said James Cloud, q mining man. at the
Finlen this morning as he passed CT
gar to a friend with whom he was
talking. Whenever, I read about the
opening Of playhouse in this country,
continued the speaker, Il can't help but
think of the way the young men would
be likely to accept the situation II they
were suddenly to be confronted with the
Mexican custom Of attending stage per-
formances."
Business has taken me into Mexico 81
good many times and naturally l nave
drawn comparisons between their Gus
toms down there and the way we show
up on this side of the Rio Grande.
Nothing I save seen in the sister repub-
lie impressed me more than the manner
in which young men pay their attentions
to young ladies there. Not long ago
read a woman's ar,s yer to a young girls
query in an eastern paper. The young
woman wanted to know II the query
editor thought it was proper for her to
accompany a young man to beer gar
den in the evening and so on. Now II
that question were asked in Mexico OF
a query editor she would probably think
someone was trying to have fun with
her. The editor up here In the case to
which I have referred answered thu
question in the negative. but the mere
fact that it was asked, as have said
before, would be considered very re-
markable in Mexico.
down in that southern country If
young man meets young lady he meets
her in the presence of her parents, or
least in the presence of some of her
older relatives, and he never sees her
after having been introduced to her un
less some of her older relatives are pres
emit. This fact is what leads me to in
troduce the subject I have in connec-
ton with the opening of the theatel
here. AS I understand it the first night
in the new theater is going to be a gran
one and the man who sees the show will
have to put up a little more than four
bits to get by the fellow who will stant
at the entrance doors. Well, just i'm
agine what difference the Mexicai
system would make to the young man in
Butte if he wanted to take young lad.
to the play on the opening night
I'm Mexico, you understand, if a
daughter in family We're going to the
play her parents and her younger
brothers and sisters would have to s
with her and if the young man who in
vited her did not ask the relatives
enumerated to accompany him he would
be considered discourteous and would be
left away out where the atmosphere was
chilly. Now suppose the young men
here in this city, who may be writing
notes on tinted paper asking young la
dies to go to the theater with them
Sunday evening. had to place postcripts
on the letters inquiring if the families
of the young women would accompany
them. Don't you think it would make
difference to the young men in question?
1t seems to me that young man would
have to be pretty hard hit to induce
him to buy Ave or six theater tickets to
get to take young lady over to the
playhouse on the opening evening, es-
pecially when the purchases would mean
that he would have to have the old folks
with him.
'In this country the young men don't
know how much they have to be thank.
full for. Here the love-lorn swain reads a
few jokes about the drawbacks of hav-
ing a mother in-law and he goes out to
study it over before he really can make
up his mind to commit matrimony. In
Mexico there is always prospective or
possible motherin-law in sight for every
young man who begins to think that his
affinity has come within his range of
vision. The woman whom the law may
make his mother sits on las right when
he makes his first speech which goes
beyond a comment on the weather to
the young lady he admires and she is
still with him when he leads the same
young lady to the altar.
1--WE may have our faults up in Ibis
country, but We all ought to be glad that
| We lived here when we We're young. At
least we ought to be glad that oircum-
stances did not set us down in Mexico
while we were yet in our teens IT were
! living in Mexico I would do my best to
have the customs of the country
changed so far as they relate to the
young men and young ladies. I have
few streaks of gray in my hair now. but
I can remembe: wien I had as much
ambition to be gallant among the young
| ladies as any of the young men of Butte
| have now and I am certain that in those
| bygone days of my youth would not
| have been in favor of social law that
would have made me tote my mother
in-law who was to be wherever took
her daughter. I am no migrate. I had
| the benefit of the United States style OF
| paying attentions to young ladies and
am glad the boys here in Butte are go
| ing to he governed by the same style
when next Sunday evening rolls around
| We will let the Mexicans have their
own way, but we will try and worry
along with ours. I know the Butte boys
don't want the responsibility OF follow
ing the scenes on the stage and court
| ing a whole family at the same time"