The Washington herald., 1913-09-28

Gus to me-" he said, though he knew that
the official knew he was untruthtul, anu
should like to show my appreciation
Il cannot accept any favors from you,
/ the official answered. II shall be pleased
however, II you will inclose your present
in an envelope and put it on my table
after / have gone out of the room.
Zachary TAYLOR, the first American in
vader of the land beyond the Rio Grande,
once said that there are thorns on all
the shrubs and trees and growing things
in Mexico
Merchants among the Aztecs were per-
sons of much dignity. They Travelled from
town to town protected against enemies
and robbers by armed guards. Their
descendants are fond Of selling things
lottery tickets. bouquets, newspapers, and
fruits.
He Get. There Just the Same.
Silent and solemn, an indian will squat
on the sidewalk in the shade Of some
building. Spread on the ground In front
of him will be a half dozen joints OF
wilted sugar cane, some decaying pa
nanas, three or four miserable oranges,
and a stunted lemon or two. He Is a
merchant. and, like the half-bloods or the
pure MeXicans who are prosperous enough
to do business indoors, one can buy or
pass on.
Neither by word or look will the Indian
solicit ones trade. He will tell you that
musk melons cost 10 cents each, or that
two may be had for . cents. In vain
one attempts to show him the inconsis-
tency OF his prices. He says nothing. You
buy a melon for 10 cents and pay for IT.
YOU buy another and pay for that NO"
does he understand? No man will ever
know But while you explain and inquire
and count your money he will, very like
". work a 2O-cent piece on you and call
il a quarter. Thus in tine end he wins
his case and pockets the cash.
The love of money Is as intense In
Mexico as anywhere else in the world.
Its manifestations, however, are not al
WAYS clear to the Northern mind.
Seemingly the country is basking in the
SUM- 1t drowses. strangers should un-
derstand, with one mighty alert eye on
the main chance.
Mexico is money mad. the same as the
United States, but in a way that is
characteristic Of itself. Also 1t is
skepticaL Huerta needs money and Is
drumming the outside world for loan
There are millions OF it hidden in his
own home ground.
An American bank in Mexico City sue
cessfullv sued native in Puebla for
s.. 500 To the lawyer who went to col
Iect the money. the man said: I can
not nay YOU but my father Will The
father expressed irritation at the suit.
1T wasn't necessary to sue. I am re-
sponsible. Come" And he led the way
10 the cellar under his adobe house,
where there were 400 bags of silver and
$1,000 in every bag.
Not ReyoIutionists, hut Robbers.
Not ten per cent Of the money in
Mexico, so rumor runs is deposited with
banks. Bands of robbers, calling them
selves revolutionists. go through the re-
public looking under beds, grubbing in
gardens and patiOs and plowing up
fields with forked sticks. Revolution,
therefore. has become, generally speak
ing, a pillaging and not a patriotic en-
terprise.
Roesters are fought for money and so
are bulls everywhere in the country.
Gambling is a national vice. Indians with
no belongings but the cotton shirts and
trousers on their lean bodies. the straw
hats on their heads and the goat-hide
sandals ON their gnarled feet buy frac-
tions of lottery tickets for FIVE cents. |
good is always about to hap
pen but never does.
) tall Mexican, slim-legged, wearing
huge silver spurs on his boots and long
pistol at his side, gallops up TO the |
lottery building in Mexico City on a
old women at the entrance stand back, |
for the Mexican owns a maguey planta- |
ton. brews pulque, the national intoxi- !
cant, and is rich and fierce.
DismOunting, he enters the dingy, clay
covered building and returns to the street |
in a moment with a printed list of the |
tickets drawing prizes the day before. |