The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-11-06
Kansas CITY star,

CldlIlGIs lIc SACllSu CD tAC l
slipped his aguardiente in a posada at
Gala town far away In the interior of |
his country. You Americans would /
construct the canal at Panama, and |
you say 1T would bring much COM
merce and great riches to our coun-
try. Bueno! But what then? You
would make slaves of our people. You
would overrun the country, introduce
ing all manner of vice and crime and
disease. You would even'--this as
a final, unanswerable argument
build railroads
"Well." asked the American, 'and
wouldn't that be a good thing for
"A good thing!" The Colombian
grew more excited than ever, and
waved his arms frantically. why, it
would spoil my mule business; What
everybody sent goods by the railroad?
We should have to eat them!
1--WE do not want you strangers to
come here and worry us. You cannot
make even five cents in your own
country, so you come to ours to make
money, out of the honest, trusting,
| truthful Colombians who know moth,
| ing of your scheming ways. We wish
| to have nothing to do with you. We
get along very well by ourselves"
| This man expressed the sentiments
Of his race and Of most Spanish
|
Gated Colombians share his views.
They dislike and despise foreigners,
and firmly believe that Colombia is
the biggest pebble on the beach,
Outside of it's borders, they hold
there is little or nothing worth count
| ing. Spain is the one foreign coun-
! try they indorse. The jewellers on
the Isthmus Of Panama are the only
| exceptions to this general rule. They
/ believe in foreigners and foreign in
situations, and are naturally anxious
to see the canal finished. But then a
lombian by the other Colombians. He
| is a despised "gringo," just like an
| American or an Englishman.
| The untraveled South American is
absolutely incredulous when he is told
about the wonders Of foreign lands.
/ Queer Views of the United States.
when 1 lived in CALI said an
Englishman. who had just come to
this country after a residence of sew
eral years in Venezuela, there was a
man from Dayton, Ohio, staying there.
| One evening we were with some Co
lom bans, and he started telling them
| about the wonderful things in Day
l ton, .Ohio--the cars that ran without
mules. the four-story buildings and
the fire engines. They were politely
incredulous, so I thought I would
! strain their faith a bit more by telling
them about New York.
| II described the Brooklyn bridge
and the twenty-story skyscrapers-I
dared not go higher. When I told
them there We're seven roads on the
\ bridge and that hundreds of thou
sands of people passed over it every
day, they looked at me sadly and re-
proachfully and I overheard one Of
them whisper to another, 'Caramba!
That man lies much better than the
other one.
do you have butter and milk in
4 New. York g another Colombian asked
say that the place is nothing but
4 houses closely packed together.
Where. then, do you keep the cows9"
Are you married 2" the same man
inquired. you can't be. You were
not married here, and I know there
are no churches in your country. Y on
are all heretics there, altho some OF
you pretend to be Catholics when
you come here
And nothing would persuade him
that the United States was not entire
~ destitute Of the means of grace. Ir
Colombia and other South American
countries the people have curious
ideas regarding social clubs. They
think a. club is simply a superior kline
of saloon into which any we'll dressed
man can walk and order up a drink
Their own clubs are conducted or
that principle.
When the foreigners resident in {
certain Colombian town started a clul
+ of their own they found it necessar.
to put a motive over the door: "Th'
Strangers Club Is Not az Publi
Place That enraged the natives
How dare they forbid Colombians t.
enter their club?" one of the loca
newspapers asked, Indignantly. 81
they have the insolence to do this nov
what will they do when the Yankees
build the canal?"
Colombia Def1es the World.
OF the power of. foreign countrie
the average Colombian has no concep
ton. The Colombians, for example
think that their two or three leaky
rusty little gunboats constitute tn
greatest navy in the world. A few
: month ago, when irritated by foreign
criticism. the newspapers in Bogot;
advocated an immediate declaration o
war against Ecuador, Venezuela, tn,
United States and Germany. They pu
the four countries on level for mill
ttary purposes.
LET u.s. they said, '.show thes,
people that we will not endure tn,
things they say about use. Let us 1gh
them all. and show the whole Worlt
that Colombia is able to punish thos,
who 1nalign her.
During the last revolution, in thu
course of which over a hundred thous
and Colombians persisted, General 30
nilla, the governor of the Cadca de
APARTMENT, wanted to transport som,
troops from Buenaventura to Panama
A British mail steamer happened t,
be at the former port, so he wiret
from Calinto to the officials there t,
seize her and use hersas a transport.
The captain and crew refused t,
work the ship and the British consll
cabled to Panama and brought dow
g. British cruiser, which trained it
guns on the town. Governor Bonill;
received telegram telling him abou
this new development, while he wa
at a public banquet. He scrubbed !;
reply, and then rose and made a fam
boyant speech.
II have ordered the Officials a
Buenaventura, he said, ..to seize TIL
Icruiser as well. We shall find it usefu
in fighting the revolutionists. Colon
bia will brook no Interference in he
affairs If the strangers trouble u
any more. we will close the port q
Buenaventura and the United State
and Europe will not get any coffee
That will punish them effectualIy. u
An American living in Europe one
imported an incubator and astonishe,
= the natives by telling them that IA
was going to hatch chickens withou
the assistance of the mother hen
They shifted incredulpusly, and sait
that he was a loco (lunatic3 hi
when the apparatus was Installed the,
crowded around eagerly to see VIVA
would happen.
1T is ridiculous" declared the WON
en-. The man ought to be put in tn
casa de- locos.' . &
When the eggs began to break tn
women fell on their knees and begal