Imperial Valley press., 1914-06-02

off when he's in their presence. These
collar-and-cuff persons have tempor-
ary party headquarters in some build
ing in the capital, and these head
quarters look exactly like ward, city,
county or state headquarters in any
American city. 1t is Uttered with
handLills, posters and pamphlets and
filled with collared- -and-cuffed politi-
clans.
Bus you'll notice that there is only
one headquarters. That's the one that
belongs to the party of which the out
going president is member. The
outgoing" president in Diaz's time
and he will be in Huerta's, too-is
always the leading candidate for re-
election. He permits few other per-
sons to make believe they are candi-
dates against him, just for appear
ance's sake, but he knows that our
friend, Juan Martinez, won't vote for
them. The outgoing" president, un-
der Mexico's election laws, always
owns the election machinery, and there
is no way to get it away from him.
About two weeks before election
day, always a man comes around to
Juan's house. Juan isn't home; he's
away, at work of course. The man is
an election official; he talks with
Juan's wife. He wants to know what
kind Of a man Juan is. Has she ever
heard her husband talk against the
president; or against the governor
of the state? She never has, certainly.
AS soon as the election official sees
that Juan is just common, every
cay, workaday type Of Mexican, who
won't run amuck on things political
he leaves certificate for Juan. This
certificate entities Juan to go to the
polls to vote and when Juan gets
home at night and asks the "Missus"
what has happened during the day,
she hands him the certificate, which
Juan tucks away, against election day.
Juan is now duly registered voter.
At last the Sunday rolls around;
election day is always on Sunday, in
Mexico because Diaz, at the request
of his friends the great ranch owners
in Mexico set the custom so that the
voters would go to the polls in their
own time instead of the bosses Juan
goes to the polls. The chances are he
doesn't want to go, but his boss who
is probably a big factory owner, or a
big farmer, who wants to stand in
with the president and governor, de-
sires Juan's vote.
So Juan turns up at the polls. The
polls usually consist of a table placed
in one of the big double-doorways
which lead from the sidewalk into
the patio or some business house or
residence in Juan's neighborhood.
Around this table sit men in collars
and cuffs and high silk hats. If there's
anything that throws Juan into a panic
it's high silk hat. There are thou
sands of officials in Mexico who hold
office just on the strength of high
silk hat (Which they have owned for
years) with long black Goa. thrown
in, for extra measure. Mexico is very
peculiar that way. Off comes Juan's
sombrero; he tucks it under his arm
and looks frightened; he doesn't know
it, but he's a better man, every inch
of him, from his sandled feet to his
kindly brown eyes and Indian cheek
bones, than any one of the spindly-
shanked, thin-fngered, frayed-hatted
half Spanish, half-Indian politicians
before him.
"What's your name?' asked one
High Hat. Juan names himself and
hands out his certificate. Another
High Hat rises from his chair. takes
the certificate and says to Juan, in
effect, "For whom do you vote for
PRESIDENT" Juan tells him, our aloud,
SO that everybody around can hear.
If he doesn't speak loudly enough, the
High Hat repeats it, in loud tones.
It's a sure thing that somebody re-
presenting Juan's boss will lie there
to hear how Juan votes. Then, at 6
o'clock, the votes are counted. On the
night of Sept. Is, 1910, half an hour
after the polls had closed, l went tc
the home of Francisco l. Madero who
had just been elected president, and
asked him if,he thought the election
law and the manner of voting in