Evening journal., 1914-05-01
declares MEXICANS
HATE THE Americans
Writer Attributes Bitterness
to Abuse on Part of BuSi-
ness Men in Country
HAVE KILLED MEN
WHO WOULDN'T OBEY
Ry WILLIAM g. SHEPHERn

lJnlteu .IreSS| stan Correspondent.
MEXICO CITY, May do Mexi-
cans hate Americans? They do; mill
lions Of them do. And during the
past two months in Mexico / have
learned why so many Mexican In
dians wish to kill or abuse American
mine managers and planters. have
heard, first hand, from Americans,
more than one terrible story of how
they abused their Mexican employees.
These stories have been told to me
in boasting spirit In the days when
Diaz ruled with his iron hand, Amer
leans, as a rule, treated their Mexi-
can workmen as the most cruel of the
slave owners Of the old South treat
ed their black slaves.
i've ridden into a bunch Of them
and moved them down with ma
ohete as if they were dogs" one
American told me- l won't give his
name because he has in his possess
sion, at this moment, letters threat
ening his life when the rebels enter
Mexico City. He is rich and infuen-
tial and his fortune has been made in
Mexico
1T was the only way to treat
them" he said. "Now and then some
of them would get drunk on my ranch
in Tampico. / found the best way
to do was to ride right in amongst
them with a big knife and slash right
and left as they scattered. If any
ghowed fight I'd shoot them. Re-
volver I'm one hand, machete in the
other. That was the way / used to
fix them We'd have the funeral the
next day and peace for a long time
after that. I'd have the governor Of
the state and the mayor of the near
est town on my payroll and I'd re-
port the slaughter to them-it was
only a slaughter, too, let me tell you
and they'd always answer that /
had done just right Those were
good old days, the Diaz days. The
foreigners had plenty of rights then"
"One time / had quarrying con-
tract on the west coast" another
rich American told me recently. I
had about 5000 very religious MeXi-
can Indians As soon as / got my
camp established an archbishop sent
out a priest. He rugged up a church
and every time he rang the bell all
my Indians stopped work for a few
minutes for devotions. / saw pretty
! soon that ] was losing time by it, so
= hunted up the archbishop and said to
him.
Look here, want to come to
some terms with you about that bell
ringing. If you'll agree to make a
schedule which provides for that bell
being rung only two or three times
week I'll build you a little church
cut there in my camp and I'll cut the
wages of any Indian who doesn't have
his money ready when the church
collectors come around
"The bargain lasted two years, until
| the old priest was called away and a
new one came. He was dead honest;
/ couldn't do a thing with him. He
started ringing the bell on the old
schedule. l told him about the ar
rangement / had with the bishop.
1 don't care what arrangements
you've made with the bishop he told
me, It's my duty to ring that bell
every day at the proper times and
I'm going to do it.
"That night / ordered my boss to
burn the church. 1t was done. The
old bishop sent another priest and
my foreman ran him of" Since the
revolution began in Mexico and the
Indians discovered their power, en-
masse, this man has received hun
dreds of letters from former work
men threatening his life.
A miner in Guanajuato, who has
lust returned from Washington,
where he endeavored to persuade
President Wilson that Intervention in
Mexico was necessary, said TO me;
"I've had to kill Indian workmen who
wouldn't obey me. There's no possible
way to get along with a Mexican and
treat him kindly. You have to beat
them like dogs. ANY time one of my
workmen is suspected of stealing ore,
he is brought to me and / start right at
him with my fists. i knock him as near
/ senseloss as / can and then make him
confess"
Another American boasted to me; 81
had a strike in my mines one time, in
the Diaz days and / asked the COVER
nor of the state, who was ON my pay
| roll. to send me some soldiers. Instead
of that he sent me lot of uniforms
and rifles and ammunition and a COM
mission as a major in the Mexican
army. He told be to organize an army
of my own, and give it all the orders l
pleased. told some of the strikers
they'd have to Join the army. ! put
them in uniform, gave them rifles and
/ bullets. and took them to the mine. L
ordered them to shoot against the
strikers. and they did. They killed so
of their brothers and that ended the
strike"
Perhaps if an ''Uncle Toms Cabin
had been written years ago of Mexican
slavery by Americans, the present revo-
luton might have been avoided. The
death rate of Americans in the present
revolution is undoubtedly due. in a
large measure TO grudges of years
standing and TO bitter recollections Of
cruelty and injustice in the minds OF
Mexican workmen. The more one looks
into the matter the more one is con-
tlfoool that tha Rol0iaug in the COuOu