Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1907-04-24
A TRIP TO OLD MEXICO
While Recuperating From Typhoid Fever Mr. A. C. Baker
Writes Interesting Description Of His Recent Trip TO
the City Of Mexico for Public Opinion Readers. 4

s 5%SoS0S S@So9S6 6SoSOS S~%So50CS1
| going through / notice it has all Eng
| lish machinery and looked crude COM
pared with what / have seen in our
eastern mills.
| Towards evening l meet a young
man, an American, an electric en-
| gineer. Like all Americans abroad
he desires to show Us the sights. l
show him my opals, he laughs and
says he will show US the real stones.
He leads us into a. shop and sure
enough here they have them Do they
resemble the glass ones? Not much.
l make purchase for stick pin and
we go farther. next into an ice cream
parlor where we are not enthused but
their sugared sweet potatoes are good.
He finds my daughter can sing and
insists we shall visit Spanish home
where they have a daughter that
plays. 1t is our opportunity to see
Spanish home and we go. They have
grand piano. the girl of seventeen
looking much older as people mature
young in this climate. She played
| fine. have not space to describe the
home but anyone could live there.
He takes US to our car.
We are to be in Mexico City at 6 90
a M We alight from the cars, and
en- all sides are the pesky natives try
ing tC do something that they may
get tip. They grab your satchel and
try to pull it away. If they see you
heading for hack, they run ahead.
open the door. and hold out their
! hand for a centavo. You cannot get
away from them. To have your pocket
full of small change and tip them is
the easiest way.
There is nothing you would call
depot in the city. We hunt for a
waiting room, and finally find one
about the size of the one in our depot
at home. Here we leave our ladies.
! We are informed not a room can. be
had in the city the McCumber party
have had theirs engaged for three
Mr. Matteson and the writer get a
hack and for two hours ride over the
city. but find every place full. We
are finally Informed that we can get
rooms at the Landros, a Spanish
place. Here we drive and sure enough
! there are two of the best in the house,
and look good enough 20 hungry.
soul We had become acquainted
with young Spaniard, "A graduate of
| Cornell at Ithica He had spent an
evening in our car and offered his SER
vice while in the city. Mr.. Matteson
drove TO his hotel He looked over
our rooms and said we were all right
as they were better than he could get
at the Carlos, though he had them en-
gagged ahead.
| | shall not attempt to tell all the
perplexity | had at this Spanish place;
| it would take a book. We get our
ladies, clean up, get a breakfast, very
good, but not at our Spanish hotel.
l will say that this was fire proof
building and we had the two best
rooms ard no complaint could be
made. other than the pesky Spaniard's
dishonesty.
Mexico City has $40. 000 people. 1t
contains the wealth of the republic.
Its buildings are largely three stories.
There are two reasons for not going
higher, earthquakes and the character
of the foundation. Their streets are
finely paved, asphalt being used ON all
the best streets no dirt is allowed to
accumulate on them. in fact they have
the cleanest kept drives l have ever
seen.
When this city was discovered by
Cortez it was surrounded by "a large
lake. l would say the territory be-
tween the mountains is 30 miles either
way. There was no outlet for the
water to escape, SO "a large lake
formed covering all but a few high
places The city where Montezuma
had his wonderful palace could have
occupied but few hundred acres and
from the population as described must
have been much congested.
! Where his palace stood is now an
immense church and the national
palace. These front on the zocalo,
or as shall term it. the plaza On
the high ground still is built the busi-
ness section of the city. Follow up
San Francisco street with me and look
III these jemeiry stores. Has Tiffany. u
finer show of diamonds? Walk on
down to the Alameda about six
blocks. Is not this as pretty pleas
ure ground as is found in any city?
Sit down in one of these large cement
seats and watch the evening parade
as they come down San Francisco
street and pass ON down the paseo
leading to Chapultepec. Have you
seen finer turnouts in any city? Look
Continued ON seventh page)