The National tribune., 1911-03-16
THE MEXICAN EMERGENCY.
Something About That Turbulent
Standardization Only a Tim
Veneer of an Upper Class-The
Mass Of the People Where They
Were Centuries AgO-Only a
Pretense of a Republic The
Reason for Massing Troops and
Ships.


now for many months without any star
! Ting military successes on the side OF
! the inSurrectoS and without any decisive
victory being obtained by the Govern
ment troops. All at once the situation
becomes so acute that a large body OF
/ American troops have been hurried to
the frontier and still more imposing
! array of war vessels has been sent to
the Mexican ports both on the Atlantic
and the Pacific sides. All this is very
startling because it indicates a condi-
| ton of things far more serious than
! has appeared upon the surface, and
which is known only to our own Off
Gals. They would not have taken so
| important step without the strongest
reasons, and such as will bear criti-
cal examination by Congress.
While we have been regarding Next
co as a civilized country, on a level in
these respects with our own and Euro
pean countries, and also as a Republic
| similar to our own. these acceptationS
must be taken with the most radical
| limitations. On the surface Mexico is
as highly civilized as America or Eu-
rope, yet the civilization is only We
neer Mexico is country Of about
! one-qUarter the size of the United States
| and inhabited by about 100000 peo-
pie While the dominant and control
| ling element is highly civilized, and,
thanks to the energetic administration
of President Porfirio DiaZ. has main
! tanned for some decades peace, justice
and protection 10 life and property
equal to that i'll other countries. yet this
/ dominant element is only thin veneer
| upon a great mass of ignorant people.
| These rapidly shade down from the
high civiliza ton on the surface to absO-
| lutte barbarsm in the rennoter parts of
the country, where, tho they have been
under Spanish rule for 400 years, they
are hardly changed from the condition
| in which the Spaniards first found them
at the beginning of the 10th century.
Only 10 per cent of the population is
| pu-e white. 10 per cent are mixed
bloods and 50 per cent are Indians. The
| Indians and the mixed bloods live in
isolated settlements in deep valleys
among the rugged mountains. where
they still pillow with sticks and cultivate
their land with the crudest possible
tools, and few articles of modern manu-
facture are seen among them.
The Administration of Porfirio Diaz
has labored hard and wisely to change
this condition of things. The building
of railroads has been encouraged to
bring these remote districts into close
communication with the centers of edu-
cation and enlightenment immigration
has been invited by liberal land laws
and concessions. agricultural <eplonies
have been established and education
has been made free and compulsory,
but the law is not strictly enforced. In
spite of these efforts the indolent. inn
provident Indians continue in their old
WAYS and seem absolutely impervious to
progress.
Sensational articles have appeared in
our magazines on Darkest Mexico"
describing the ignorance. poverty and
shiftlessness- of the mixed bloods and
the Indians and ascribing this without
justice to their form of Government
The truth is,-Ihey are not what they
are because of their Government, but
in spite of it. Such an element, II can
be readily imagined. is fine material for
demagogs and seditious leaders to work
upon, and to the personal ambition Of
these demsgoGs can be attributed a
large part of the ills which afflicted the
country from the time of its independ-
ence until it fell under the control of a
man strong enough to govern it.
Races in Mexico.
DR. Leon. the most recent student Of
the Mexican peoples. estimates that
there are about 100000 pure-blooded
Indians and somewhat more Of Mesti-
EOS or mixed bloods. He divides the
people into II great families, speaking
$50 dialects. SinguIarly. there is little
mixture OF these different peoples, and
In the same town the people on each
side of the street will speak different
language. They will also dress differ
emily and have different customs and
euperstitions. While a large proportion
Of the Mexicans pretend to be Chris
tians. their Christianity is only thin
finn over mass of pagan beliefs. Gus
toms and superstitions. They observe
the Saints Days and some other church
rites. but these are purely formal. and
behind them are the thousands-of
years-old customs. ideas and practices
of the Indian Tribes with their beliefs
childishness Modern shrines have to
be built on the sites of the ancient
temples. but the worshipers are almost
as wholly heathenisk as they were be-
fore the Spanish conquest. They learn
but few trades. and their main indus
tries, beside agriculture. are still basket
and mat making and the manufacture
of pottery. They have only adopted the
most necessary of civilized clothing.
Their food consists mainly Of corn
beans and chilli peppers. Their cooking
utensils are mostly pottery. with only a.
moderate use of tin and iron vessels
Their greatest vice is the use of alco-
holic stimulants. but even of these they
do not take the white mans liquors. bur
make their own as their forefathers did.
Mexico Not a Republic.
AlfhO the Constitution OF Mexico is
substantially that of the United States
translated into Spanish. and turnout it's
system of government there is the
strongest effort TO make it's political
institutions partake Of the nature of
ours. vet Mexico is as far from being
p real Republic as is China. If ever
Mexico becomes a real Republic II will
be after many generations have been
educated UP to what a popular Govern
mont ronane and after all ~ +tnir
ent ideas have been educated out Of
them. 1t is exceedingly hard for anv
of the people, for the people and by
the people. and it is perhaps harder for
Mexico than for any other Under the
| Latin system people are not taught that
| their welfare is in their own hands. and
they must do the right thing because il
| Is the right thing. On the contrary
must do the right thing, because some
| They obey the law when they cannot
and the consequence will be bad II they
do not. The main danger is that Por-
firio DiaZ has been an autocrat of the
most absolute type. He is benevolent
desDot, If you please. and has ruled the
country with n sole idea of its own
good. hut ne is an autocrat all the
same. The fatal quality about despot
is, however that no matter how pure
and upright may be his own character
and institutions, he cannot make his
snbordinates come up to his level
Everywhere his agents will be using the
power for their own purposes and To