New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-06-14

wait for news and the army waits u
advance or 10 be recalled we all SIT IL
dark caves called portales, ana wohuel
why we came here. On two sizes VI
the main plaza at Vera Cruz are caie'
ond restaurants. In front OF them
over sidewalks. stretch arcades IKE th'
one in New York in front of Manson
Souare Garden and in Piccadilly IN
front Of the Ritz. These are the
portaley. and on the surface the llic
Of the city is the life Of the portales'
Under the portales you breakfast
and dine at the portales; you arrange
to meet a man there. The people sa!
the portales believe Huerta Will re-
sign: and the answer is that 1t is oni!
"nortales gossip" 1t Is there that the
nowspapers. extras. handbills and po-
liticai prociamations are first dlstrlo-
uted. il is the distributing centre also
for all unknown germs and baciln
These are brought there by flies, dogs
beggars. bootblacks. in the dust from
the street, in the food you eat.
Under portales are rows of tables TWO
and three deep, and around them' day
after day, gather the same people, the
same officers, the same refugees. Occa-
sionally an officer, who Is on shore
leave for the first time, or who mas
been on outpost duty in the sandhilis'
will find a. the tables a brother ofhcer
he saw last in China or the Philippines
and there will be a roar Of welcome
To the jaded ones ii is a pleasant diver
sion. We who for weeks have been
prisoners in the portales never see
face that is unfamiliar; we know what
every man Is going TO say before ne
says it, what he is going to drink be-
fore ne names it, and even the things
he is going to have for dinner, because
the things we can have for dinner
never change. This is especially true
of the tablecloth.
Music to Dull Ears.
The portales are patronized almost
exclusively by men. The American
women here from Mexico City came TO
Vera Cruz because their men folks
we're driven here by the fear Of death.
That is their only reason for coming
to Vera Cruz that ] can under
stand. To the wives of navy officers
and army officers Vera Cruz is by our
government the forbidden city. Pos
sibly the wives believe that by this
edict they are hardly used. They are
not. To those who know Vera Cruz, it
is an act of our government in regard
to Mexico which is quite comprehen-
sible.
For those hundreds of enforced
bachelors the portales offer but one
diversion. Every night an excellent
band belonging to one of the regiments
plays in the plaza. But. contrary to
custom in other Latin American coun-
tries. II does not attract the grace and
beauty Of the city. At that hour, un-
der electric light globes. slow moving
carriages and automobiles do not pass
in review before the portales upon the
tesselated tiles Of the plaza in oppo-
site circles: beautiful senoritas do not
promenade Maybe there are none. Ir
any event. we never see them.
Before General Funston. as military
governor destroyed il the portales
possessed one distinct attraction-they
were the birthplace of all riots, excite
ments. revolutions. These were started
by proclamations. and until the genera
announced that he alone enjoyed the
monopoly the right to issue procla-
nation belonged to everybody. 1t wa:
precious privilege. If YOU did not
like a man. instead of horsewhippins
him or hiring gunner TO shoot him, OF
on a dark night waiting for him dowr
an alley with brick in a stocking
YOU issued a proclamation. In 1t you
called him everything the law of libe
forbids. Procedure was simple. You
printed your proclamation in the form
Of handbills. hired the bootblacks &c
distribute them among the tables wher
the portales were most crowded ano
from behind a tree in the plaz6
watched the effect.
Where Things Are Started.
In this way in the past many iio'
broke loose, many revolution was
launched. 1t was a recognized game
If after reading your proclamation no.
body waved his napkin and shouted
death to somebody you lost. But II
before the policemen tagged them, the
bootblacks got your proclamation dowr
at each table your revolution won
The only objection TO this game was
, that it always was pulled off at the
noon hour and spoiled the luncheon
BY the time we had discovered whether
the handbills were advertising ice colo
American beer or were asking what
have you done with the tongue OF
Vamon Mendez the luncheon was cold
or the flies had eaten it. The last
! proclamation was issued by the Car
ranzistas, and the two patriots who
launched it were arrested by marine
who knew no politics, but whose or
ders were TO discourage disorder. After
their patriotism had cooled for twenty
four hours In Jail General Funston sent
for them