The Washington herald., 1916-04-08
SEEN AND HEARD
BY GEORGE MINER
Special Correspondent of The wssh-
fngton Herald.
tcorgrisht. 1916. by the Mcclure Newspaper
agndzesse.l

and should have special license to do
about as he pleases. He looks down upon
the native Mexican with utter contempt
and rates him as a vastly inferior being
that he is under no obligations to. He
appears to think that 1t Is perfectly all
right to abuse native in any kind of
way and to lie to and steal from him. No
code OF morals. no rules of justice are
needed in dealing with them. They are
below the law while the Americans are
above It.
In other words. Mexicans have no
rights which Americans are bound to
respect
1t is astounding the way the poems
have allowed Americans to maltreat
them. / am surprised that more Ameri-
cans have not been killed just on per-
sonal grounds and for revenge, for many
Of them have been very brutal and in
considerate.
whip and Abuse Them.
The Americans here beat and abuse
their servants as they would dogs and
don't treat them as though they were
human beings. / know this is a strong
statement. but also know II is true, for
have seen several instances of It,
That's the real attitude of the Gringo
toward the Greaser.
The Gringo despises the Greaser and
considers 1t perfectly right to defraud and
abuse him and that he should think him
self lucky to be allowed TO live; that he
is only tolerated, and has no real right
to his own country.
In his heart. the Greaser hates the
Gringo because he has never known the
white interioper to do anything to inspire
respect or affection. His ignorant, stupid
Iva 4,
evil, Just as It does starvation and small
pox and yellow fever and earthquake.
Now you know this beautiful and fertile
and rich country belongs to the Greaser
and not to the Gringo. y suspect IL my
counrtymen Rad not been quite so ar
rogant and greedy and dishonest and self
assertive many OF the deplorabIe incidents
that have sullied Mexico's history with
blood would have been avoided. Villas
wanton butcheries are things quite apart.
/ am not referring to them. Zapata,
am told. on the other hand, has never in
Jured, much less killed. a single Ameri-
cans. although he is Just as much of a
bandit as Villa and cuts off the hands
and feet Of poems with equal celerity.
An incident related at a bridge party
the other day shows the state of mind
the Americans maintain toward their
Mexican servants:
II have Just had a most terrible ex-
perlence." said a lady. my maso is the
most brutal and heartless thing alive.
What do you think the beast did? He
turned the hogs in to eat my little girls
pony. I'd like to skin him alive for 1t,
and he just did It out OF spite, to be re-
venged on me and for no reason at all"
The Reason why.
why did he wish to be rsvenged on
your" asked. The lady studied her
hand a moment, bid two no trumps and
replied:
mo reason at all. as I told you. He
was just sulky and ugly because / had
him whipped a few times recently. You
see. he was lazy and shirked his work
and then, too, he had been stealing bread
to take home. II you don't keep whipping
them they will steal everything they can
lay their hands on"
IT should say they would. - said another
lady. My masso Is only half-witted. but
he knows enough to steal We found
yesterday where he had stolen half a
dozen bottles of wine and hidden them
away until he got a chance to sell them.
Jim wouldn't bother to whip him so he
locked him up in the coal cellar to starv,
him into telling II any of the other serv-
ants were In II with him. II not, he'll
turn him over to the authorities and
suppose the poor dog will be shot, for
they are still shooting any one caught
stealing. you know"
And these were refined American ladies
discussing natives Of country in which
they were only visitors and interlopers!
am sorry to say that It is the general
attitude OF Americans and Englishmen
toward the peon class. Can you blame
them IL they have an innate hate for US?
These are the people who are clamor-
ing for intervention. They want Ameri-
can officials here and lots Of American
soldiers and a strong and staple govern
ment that will squelch in a moment and
murmurings or signs of discomfort that
may arise from the peon class. They
want to live IN security. prosperity and
luxury no matter II IS per cent of the
real owners OF the country are treated
like slaves and half-starved. They are
the people who scott at the Csrranza
government and predict that 1t will last
only a few months and that Mexico can
not be rejuvenated under 1t.
Real Sufferers.
OF course there are hundreds OF Amer
leans who have invested their money
here and spent years in developing their
farms or enterprises In a perfectly legiti-
mate and commendable way. The revolu-
ton of Mexico. / was discussing the
and they are the real martyrs Of 1t.
more's the pity.
1t is a singular thing that most of the
Englishmen here of the wealthy class
are in favor of the American annexa-
ton o fMexico. I was discussing the
question with one Of them the other day.
He was formerly a captain In the English
army and has been interested in Mexican
mines for years. He was very strong for
annexation. When pointed out to him
that 1900, 600 Indians and poems here were
of an entirely different race and would
never pass muster as American citizens
he advanced unique argument.
"Oh, he said, you need not bother
about them. Kill them off. They are
not fit to live anyway. You did It with