The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1911-03-24
SIDE LIGHTS ON OLD MEXICO
AND ON HER NEW REVOLUTION

en- years III WHICH Io cOupIele lHel'
payments.
"In order that settlers may become
attached to their properties and in
duced to take a personal interest II
their cultivation they will be forbid
den to mortgage or sell their lots unit
they shall have paid for them in full
An amusing incident happened il
Guadalajara not long ago. Two citi
zens of that place whose estates ad
Joined were constantly engaged in
wordy war. One of them was a chick
en- fancier, and the other prided him
self on his vegetable garden.
A vagrant chicken which had wan
dered beyond the precincts of the fan
ciers chicken run invaded the vege
table garden of his neighbor. Tho
chicken enjoyed itself hugely amOnl
the lettuce and tender sprouts of the
garden until discovered by the pro
prietor. who Immediately called in The
services of gendarme.
The officer of the law thereupon ar
rested the chicken and hailed it before
the comisario of the district. who en-
tered on the police blotter a charge
against the fowl and incarcerated it ir
the jail Notification was then sent tt
the owner of the chicken setting forth
the tale of its depredations and inform
ing him he might release his fowl and
reclaim it by the payment of $40. The
chicken is still in durance vile.
A man was knocked down by Il troll,
ley car recently and was Immediately
arrested for injuring the car, as in fall.
ing the buttons of his coat scratched
the vanished surface of the vehicle
The City of Mexico is possibly the
best policed metropolis in the world,
but its officers, while vigilant, take
every instruction given them in lit.
eral sense. They will arrest anybody
or anything that violates a city ordi.
nance.
A short time ago there was Il col
lision between two automobiles, one OF
the machines being so badly damaged
that it had to be left at the place
where the accident occurred. The per
sons occupying the machine were
promptly bundled into the auto which
was able to proceed, and the entire
party went to the police station.
But that did not excuse the broken
car. 1t was formally arrested on the
spot and an officer detailed to see that
it did not get up and limp back to its
garage. BY some chance the broken
automobile was forgotten for two days,
at the end of which time the police
captain discovered that he was shy enc
gendarme. Investigation discovered
the gendarme asleep in the machine.
where he had camped out ever since
charged with its care. And it is very
cold up on this Mexican plateau at
night, as the City of Mexico is more
than mile above sea level.
Fires are few and far between in the
City of Mexico. as most of the build
ings are built either of stone or adobe,
with walls two feet or more in thick.
ness The fire department is there
fore elementary in character. and when
it turns out on parade it resembles q
dog and pony circus. The engine is
about the size of a teakettle and is
spiritedly dragged around by a little
long cared burro.
There was fire in a photograph
gallery not long ago, and the depart
ment was called out. The gallery was
situated on the third floor and the to-
tally inadequate engine was unable to
get stream that high. When the
fire company arrived at the scene the
jefe in charge lined all of his men up
along the sidewalk and carefully call
ed the roll before they were permitted
to get busy with the fire. The fire.
of course. took every advantage of
this opportunity, and by the time the
firemen got on the job it was beyond
control.
Among the fire fighting equipment
! was a small extension ladder. and It
required fifteen minutes to erect it.
ascend 1t, and they cannot be blamed
in view of what happened afterward.
Finally, some FIVE minutes after the
ladder had been set in place, one
brave soul essayed the ascent. and
Just as he reached the top of the lad
der it collapsed and slid together.
! This landed the daring fireman op.
pOsite the second story balcony.
He stepped off on the balcony into
safety and was rewarded with thun
der of "bravos" from the spectators
below Tipping his hat in apprecia-
tion of the applause. he stood there,
the admired of all behoders. while
his companions in arms below cheer
ed as wildly as the rest. Having
! faithfully performed their duty, they
watched the fire burn itself out and
then called a policeman and arrested
it, also the proprietor, because in Mex
ico if a fire occurs in your establish
ment you must tell the authorities all
about it, give your real name and be
glad to escape with a life sentence.