The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-06-11
Birmingham Man in Vera Cruz Writes More of
 American Experiences
CITY PROGRESSIVE
 IN MANY RESPECTS
But Local Underwriters Would Have Heart Failure If They Saw How Houses Are Wired for
 Electricity

Vera Cruz Mex. June 4.--tSpecial correspondence)- )-Bill Vines may be a long ways from Mex leo. but he has correctly summed up the situation, even though he IS further away than he claims.
 Richard Harding Davis was at the battle of Tampico. The atrocities, am beginning to feel, exist only Tn the frenzied imaginations of so-cailed Americans. whose dollars seem to De slipping away from them. All of the martyred refugees have the happy fac ulty of turning up here or at some other port and from morn till night they condemn the President because he does not send the standing army here to pull their imperiled dollars out of the fire. Once and so often one meets man of the Malaney type who will eoncede that the efforts to settle the
 question without war is best.
 l I had an musing letter from Bir- mingham today. A broker friend of mine there evidently thinks that the | city Is in ashes and that corner lots
 on Independencia can be bought for a
 song His frenzied appeal to ascertain l If Mexico lawyers can perfect titles, his
 wish to know if this is the time to strike would make a more wearied
 man than 1 have fit of laughter. 1t
 would surprise my friend to get off
 the boat here, and find the white way a
 blaze of light equal to. if not exceed , ing his own beloved goth St. to walk | into his hotel and find the housekeeper
 merrily running an electric iron over
 the linen. and with machine operated
 by motor sewing up such of 1t as needed repairs. He would sit up and
 take notice for fair when he learned that Armour's man had landed ma or
 der for several tons of lard. and that
 the only thing to indicate war is the number of mules and men quartered
 about the city.
 Example for Others
 | By the way, this man Armour seems | to know just exactly how to develop
 his foreign trade. His representative
 here is a native who has offices in
 the same building as the British con
 sul. This native knows the people,
 their ways and desires. and he has
 the reputation of developing more
 business of Its kind than any man in | this section.
 When the revolutions come along Ar mour does not have to worry about getting his men out for the native is
 on the job selling the goods to both
 parties to the combat. It would be
 vastly better for all interests of simi- lar character to take leaf out of ArA mours book.
 | The Ypiranga and the Bavaria, about
 which boats there has been such hue
 and cry. sailed for the states today. The Mexican Herald, the great jingo paper here. declares that Huerta got the arms, but reliable native papers say that they are still at the Port of Mexico, where landed. The American
 authorities were prompt to bring ac- tion against the ships and they had to give an enormous bond before sail ling. At this juncture it does not seem that the arms will figure very largely in the war. From all accounts the Germans have been backing Huerta to the limit in return for certain concessions that were commonly reputed to be awarded them. Reports of landing the arms pro- lvoked a great deal of comment here, all Of which was more or less inter- esting.
 Figures On Cost of War
 I ran across man today who gave
 me some highly interesting figures