The Ordway new era., 1914-06-12

u
hours and is in tropical. sea
level. cosmopolitan city. 1t Is
the same change as travelling
from Denver to Galveston, II the trip
could be made as quickly.
Or, If one comes by boat, the wide
mouth of an open bay opens invitingly
to the commerce of the world. The
outline of the city takes form in
two-mile sweep Of the water front.
There are low houses along the
bay with palms that wave above their
caves. There are square. four-story.
adobe hotels that back them up. The
solemn towers of ancient churches.
cross-capped. rise here and there.
The jungle slopes back up the town.
and beyond these is Orizaba, magnif-
cent among volcanoes. smoking majes-
tically from among her tropical SHOWS,
writes a correspondent Of the Philadel-
phia Record.
Coming in by rail before dreamed
that our flag would soon be flying over
the city, saw but few blocks Of
sQuare-built, balconied business houses
with residences above. before reach
ing my hotel. This establishment. by
name Hotel Diligencia. signifies dill
gence. This, despite the fact that 1t
was the hour Of the midday siesta.
and all the town was asleep. Yet per-
haps 1t portrayed diligence in COM
parison to other Institutions. for l
found motley assortment of Euro
peans participating Of "refrescas" in
its sidewalk restaurants.
This Hotel Diligencia is the hub Of
the town from the standpoint of its
external affairs. It stands on the
Plaza de la Constitution. which gives
an immediate secondary insight into
the matter of extravagant nomencla-
tlre. One has but to ask the name
of the main street which runs past
the other front Of the hotel for more
evidence Of the veneer of glory and
freedom that appears on a city map.
This main street Is Avenue de la In
dependencia.
Link to Outside World.
This slumbrous hotel of Diligence
ON Constitution square, Independence
avenue, furnishes a setting for the bat
tie of all languages of Europe. Vera
Cruz is Mexico's link to the outside
world, and the business interests that
do that business have their representa-
tives in that city. There are the Ger
man representatives of great mercan-
tile establishments, the English repre-
sentatives Of large concession holders.
the Italian officers for steamship COM
panies, the French agencies for auto
mobiles, the man from Chicago who
sells refrigerated meats in the tropics.
for the country is not self.supporting.
despite its riches.
About the Hotel Diligencia runs q
wide porch, supported at the outer
edge of the sidewalk by great square
pillars. About each of these is built
q table. Tropical Jungle trees add
their shade to that of the porch. So
10 produced a model setting for that
sidewalk restaurant effect much util-
lied in Europe but seen nowhere else
in all North America but in Vera
Cruz. About these tables sit citizens
of all nations. There also gather the
natives. About these same tables
may be seen those Mexican ladies' Of
today who bear the blood of the Span
ish conquerors infused with the best
OF the upper caste Aztecs, ana there
are produced nowhere, on earth wom-
en- of more lustrous beauty.
From this town center branch of in
Vulnerable narrow streets that multi
ply themselves until they have devei
oped city two miles long. as the
coast runs. and half as deep. Alto
gether 1t furnishes habitation for
some thirty thousand people. and is
the largest city on all the coasts OF
Mexico. 1t Ia the logical shipping
point for the trade of nation. and
would multiply itself by ten II the
Yankees had Mexico for as many
years. 1t has paved streets, sewers.
sanitation. harbor improvements. 1t
is magnifcently situatsd-a city OF
the future.
It is two blocks from the plaza to
the water front, and 1t was up the
street that leads that way that the
first American rife shots were fred
when Vera Cruz was seized the other
day. It was from the roof Of the
Parochial church. gray and forbidding.