The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1915-04-01
. . o . o . . o . o . o . o y
BY DAVID BRUCE.

90 o Q o o o o o . o o o o o .
BY DAVID BRUCE.
CHIHUAHUA, Chihuahua, Mex
tcO, March 31.-I shall never for
get my-first day here in a Next
can city-Chihuahua, the capital
of the villa government, $4,000
population.
came expecting to see horror
and starvation, suffering and an
arrogant soldiery. And instead !
saw peaceful, comfortable, we'll
fed population. l saw people who
four years ago had never worn
shoes or tasted meat; and all of
them wore shoes-American-
made shoes, at that.
This, of course, is the seat Of
the Villa civil government, which
Is organized much more efficient
ly than / imagined possible.
Sees Little Drunkenness.
Villas hand is quick to appear
where questions Of public inter-
ests are involved and the civil
authorities fail to get results.
Before coming here l had
some vague picture of
country grooming i'm distress;
of a sOldiery given over to
license, robbery and rapine.
There are no such cOndi-
lions in Chihuahua. Nor are
there such conditions, accord.
ing to reliable information,
In TorreOn, Aguas Calientes
or Guadalajara.
/ have seen less drunkenness
during the three weeks l have
been here than have seen in any
United States city In a like period
Further, of the MeXicans
have seen drunk, only three
Or four were soldiers. have
seen more drunken Ameri.
A., cans than Mexican soldiers
and civilians combined. 1
have never seen q woman in
suited here. And il drunk
en- soldier or officer should
insult an American woman
he is shot.
also thought all business
would be at a standstill here. 1t
is Not. or course it is not run
ming full blast, but there is quite
q respectable amount of 1t going
on.
Shelter Busy.
The smelter, five miles out, is
running to capacity. The mines
at Santa Eulali, Cast and other
places are running, although
the operators - Americans - are
threatening to close down be-
cause the government is trying te
increase their taxes from 5 to
12k per cent.
Crops of all kinds are grown In
the surrounding country wherever
there are the two requisits--men
and water. The street cars run
every day.
The gun factory, of course, runs
night and day; as does the pigmy
mint which turns out copper 5
centavo pieces, the only coin
money in northern Mexico just
now.
Wages Going Up.
Naturally the question of bust
ness brings up the awful stories
of starvation one hears In the
states. If you have read much of
the conditions In Mexico before
the revolution you doubtless re-
member the standard wages for
q peon was 20 cents a day and
that no peon ever wore shoes or
ate meat. Tho peon doesn't have
to work for that any more. His
wages are going up and the pay
of over-priced Americans import
ed here by the American corpor-
atoms Is going down.
Have Opera, Too.
: A Mexican widow became ena-
INQUIRED of an American and con-
siderably shocked our country
man by proposing to him. She
strengthened hor plea by the
statement that he had only to
give her so pesos or 1915 to run
her household each month. Re-
gardless of this amazing economic
arrangement the American re-
fused, but Mexicans tell me she
could have done 1t and they could
have lived well.
Someone might ask what these
revelution-stricken people do 10
amuse themselves. Well, here in
Chihuahua. a town OF $4,000, we
have grand opera every evening at
FL Teatro Centenario. And / am
/ compelled to remark that it is
very good grand opera.
They have pianist who plays
5 Chopin's Polonaise as do not be-
lieve 1t was ever played before.
Then there is Ell Teatro de los
Heroes, where a stock company
plays an excellent show each even
Ing. There Is a thriving squad OF
moving picture shows end the
best band on the continent plays
for the public in the Plaza every
Thursday and Sunday morning
and evening.
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