Evening star., 1912-09-02
THE MEXICAN SITUATION.
AS THEY SEE US.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

ity in the new world. he usually winds
up by being just as mean toward the
mean American as the mean American is
toward him.
But when they do find an American who
comes in the proper spirit. who is as con-
siderate of the Mexican and his ways as
the Mexican is polite to him. he is hailed
as a brother and no one could ask for
better treatment than such an American
gets. He finds no servants more polite.
no people more ready to offer to him the
best they have. But his kind are too few
to overbalance the evil impressions made
leans who stay in Mexico a long time get
over the attitude of the impatient pill
grim and frankly find much of interest
and value in their ways and customs,
they can never overcome the feeling that
the smoothing but a. -blankety-blank-
greaSer' attitude of the transient Amer
ican engenders in the heart of the Mexi-
can
There is another reason why Americans
are not liked so well in Mexico as the
Americans Go There tos of the gov
and Make Fortunes. eava e us 'h.u hs
lieve. Americans have gone down there
and have, with little capital. a consid-
cradle amount of scheming and whole
lot of money, made fortunes. while the
Mexican has stood idly by and marveled
at their wizardlke ability. They have
made great deal of money. Beforethe out
break of the Madero revolution it was
estimated by the American consul gen
eral to Mexico. Arnold Shanklin. that
the holdings of citizens of the United
states in that country represented a value
of more than billion dollars. OF course,
this Is by no means to be taken as a
measure of the original capital invested.
Perhaps a quarter of that sum would
represent the actual American cash in
vested in Mexican enterprises. The rest
represents the profits that have grown
out of pioneering investments.
There are many who declare that when
the American pioneer goes into a country
like Mexico he attempts to hog every
thing. and makes a most unreasonable
profit out of his operations. When one
thinks only of the size of the profits and
understands nothing of the conditions
under which they are made such con-
clusion would seem warranted. But this
pioneer has his side of the story. too. He
says that, going into a country where
unsettled conditions obtain-and that dp-
countries-is like taking A foLr-to-one
shot on a horse race. The chances of los
ing are against you, and you must de-
mand the odds. He usually has to go into
missing all the pleasures of dwelling with
his own people and putting up with all
the hardships that are found in semi
civilized surroundings.
With all these facts in mind, 1t is not
a mystery why the average Mexican
does not look upon the United States
and its citizens with any too great favor.
This feeling is shared equally by the
SO per cent of illiterates as well as by
the more intelligent. 1t grows as they
fhn Ynyion fn~
their military prowess. Travelling through
that country. one frequently hears a
boastful American remark, and usually
in the presence of MeXicans, that we
could take an army of 5000 and lick all
Mexico. Some are little more conserva-
tive and assert that with 5000 men the
poorest general in the American army
could march to Mexico City and dupli
cate all that Gen. Taylor did when he
defeated Santa Ana, routed the enemy
at Churubusco and scaled the heights
of Chapultepec. 1t may easily be fmag
ined that the Mexican cannot agree in
this opinion and that the contempt 1t ex-
presses for him, his people and his
country arouses feeling of resentment.
Mexicans have patriotic feelings. Their
patriotism, 1t is true, has never reached
those heights where love Of country is
higher than self-interest. or, rather. where
the good of their country can be distin-
guished from their own good. 1t is a
kind of patriotism characteristic of all
Spanish American peoples, which is in
tense but often misguided. They will un-
hesitatingly launch a revolution if it
serves their own interests and they think
they can succeed, without the slightest
consideration of the effect it has upon
the good name of their country. But
with all that they are among the world S
most resentful people against foreign in
vasion, and against the assertion so often
heard in this country that they are not
fit for f-government. Intervention In
Mexico would inevitably result in the
fusing together of all Mexico into an
army of resistance against the interven-
ing power.