El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-04-08
SEEING GARCIA,
THE BUSY MAN
Where One Gets Most Re
liable Information on the
Mexican Border.

Seeing the Mexican consul is an event
in Fl Paso. IL is something ike court
weel, in Kentucky, has tang Of the
, white bo,1se receptions on New Years
4 and much OF the Mexico mat the older
! residents of FL Paso loved so well.
Ceiling on the Carranza consul is no
email cE2emonv TO be taken lightly
4 Tbere is as much formality about meet
4 - M representative OF the Mexican
/ nation as there is in wearing ones first
tuu dress suit. ~ "a,
/ etreef II was once the residence Of an
FV PasO FAMILY. The consulate is
! pebbIe dashed building with a weather
! beaten sign III front and many mott
i cfas'' posted on the doors. Downstairs
: is the Mexican section of the interna-
/ tioncI boundary commission with which
the public has little business.
Guard ut Door.
/ I'm , narrow and winding stairway is
/ whefe the business Of the Mexican re-
] public on the border is transacted. A
. guard sits at the head OF the stairs and
. shoos correspondents TO one SIDE and
O. Iahorers seeking SalVo conductos" 10
a another Interest ceuters in the first
door to the right Of the stains, for there
D is where consul Andres Garcia has his
office and where the international call
ers are received. There are always at
least ten waiting to see the consul
Their business must be explained in
detail
! Thursday afternoon there was a Mex
b ica, Iahorer in blue denim OVeralls. well
. worn and washed. waiting to see the
consul He wanted safe conduct TO
/ return to Mexico and he mad spent %
] cents in getting a South FL Paso shave
/ and hair cut before making his formal
call His tonsorial efforts were in vain,
/ however. for the consul was occupied
! with some important matters ana the
J laborer was informed that. as no "salvo
3 conducto" was necessary Toy him to re
} n
him to waste a good afternoon waiting
~ 'e' & WaIehfuI Walters.
Sitting on two Of the three chairs at
the head Of the stairs were two robOsa
I hooded Mexican women, each with a
child. The younger of the two women
carried a letter which she gripped
tightly in her right hand while she held
fast TO the sticky hand of n little
| cherub with blond curls and q dirty
/ dress. The older woman was escorted
by a manly little fellow Of six years
: and an umbrella. The boy carried the
l umbrella, which was as tall as he was
and which he held in an UNCONSCIOUS
/ imitation OF a rifle as II the military
idea had been bred into the younger
( generation by the five years Of war
Many Notices.
There is mucn to see and read in the
! waiting room OF the consulate and the
I fact that the afternoon was slipping by
l did not seem to worry any OF the wait
!
! artistic posters containing Carranzas
/ decree Of free land for everyone in
Z Mexico, picturing a peOn pIoWlng IN
! the field with the sun OF liberty rising
in the east There are also notices when
I to call at the consulate, when not to
1 call, when 'facturas' can be obtained
and when they cannot be obtained, with
. q few notices in English and Spanish to
/ the general effect that the consular OF
/ ficials will not be in their offices on
/ Sundays or national holidays as IL any
one expected Mexican officials TO be at
Consul Is All Business.
Once inside the door labeled "cOnsuP
] the atmosphere is entirely different and
the office Of consul Garcia has the APP
pearance of an office of the general
7 manager Of some Dig business or thar
I of a bank president. ROlltop desks are
/ filled with official looking papers;
/ there are seats around the wall for Wis
I itors. but visitors have little chance for
/ visiting, as the consul is all business. He
offers his callers a clSaret rolled IN
[ three wrappers Of paper and asks your
business and gives you an answer
I promptly
Consul Garcia sees hundreds OF
] callers each day and he has learned the
American trick Of conservation OF time
and he has a wonderful ability to get
/ At the point Of a matter under discus
sion and give clear cut answer with
/ out delay or evasion.
/ For his personal friends he has more
| time. In the afternoon when the hour
for callers has passed and he leans back
I in his chair and inhales a deep breath
of strong tobacco smoke, then he is the
true host He permits no one, by phone
or in person, to disturb him while he Is
I receiving his friends. he shows YOU
/ the picture which Gen. Obregon had
/ taken after the battle of Celaya, where
4 the Carranza commander lost his arm
Z On another wall is an autographed pc
! ture Of Gen. Carranza and on the Oppo-
/ site wall q picture showing consul Gar
I cha standing in the center of a
I group Of Villa and Carranza Of
! ticers at the time the peace pro-
focal was made by which consul
1 Garcia delivered the entire state of Chi
huahua to Gen. CarranZa without
| bloOdshed in a closet of his room are
| the rifles, belts and pistols which are
souvenirs Of the Villa revolt. which he
shows along with bandit Maxine Cas-
I tillo's pistol, Gen. Manuel Banda's
sword and other relics of villa
Gives Out News.
{ Once each day consul Garcia receives
! the newspaper men and gives out the
news he had received from Chihuahua
and Queretaro. He knows news like a
! trained reporter, puts the correspond
J ents on their honor not to write what
/ he asks not to be written, and. Of all
the news sources in FL Paso since the
American expedition went into Mexico,
consul Garcia has been more reliable.