Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-04-11
Mexicans in United States
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN

wished to offer their services to the
United States army. They expressed
sentiment that is widely felt among
the men of their blood. Our Spanish
American citizens are ready and will
ing to fight Old Mexico, or anything
else, and frequently are heard to say
SO. They make good soldiers, too In
Albuquerque, New Mexico, there Is a
militia troop made up largely of Next
cans, and they are especially enthust
astic about military training.
The greater. number of these Next
can citizens Of the United States live
in New Mexico, where they still con-
stitute the greater part Of the popula-
ton. There are probably about 100000
OF them Colorado and Arizona togeth-
er might contain another fifty thous'
and. and there are some Of the same
type in Texas and Southern California.
These Spanish Americans are not OF
the same blood as the Old Mexico Mex
leans. The dominant class In the south
ern republic claims descent from the
Spanish conquerors, but there is much
Indian blood, both of the ancient semi
civilized Mexican tribes and the saw
age ones. In New Mexico, on the other
hand, there is much pure Spanish
blood, while those of mixed descent
have in their veins the blood of the
Pueblo Indians-a very different race
from any Of the Old Mexican tribes. In
the days OF peonage, many of the Pueb-
los were owned by Spanish families,
and this resulted in an infusion of In.
dian blood into the lower classes.
These Mexican fellow citizens OF
ours are hyphenated Americans, who
wear the hyphen with an excellent
grace Their devotion to the ideals Of
their own race is only exceeded by
their absolute loyalty to Uncle Sam. In
the larger towns, all those Of the
younger generation go to American
In the out of tie way counties, where
the population is almost exclusively
I Mexican, little is heard but Spanish.
The Mexican citizen is quick to learn
English when he has the opportunity,
but sure to remember his own tongue,
and speak it in his family. -. -
| There is no class of American cit
J zens that take more interest in the az
fairs of government than these /Mex!-
cans. They are one and all politicians
and they have very considerable talent
| as a race, both for oratory and for
| practical politics. Before the last cleo
! ton, for example, in Ia county, New
Mexico, a republican convention was
held in which all Of the business was
transacted in Spanish. An enthusiastic
political campaign in the United
States carried on in foreign langl-
age would be an anomaly in any other
7 state in the union, but in New Mexico
1t Is usual Political speakers in that
state generally use either an interpre.
ter or speak first in English and then
in Spanish. Signs on stores are often
In both languages.
| There are no people in the United
States who have a better claim to the
title of American citizens than these
Spanish folks of the southwest. When
Kentucky was frontier and Illinois
was bowling wilderness, New Mexico
, was an old country with civilization
: and an easy pleasant life all it's own.
When Chicago was log fort and be-
| fore San Francisco was thought OF,
Santa Fe was an old city. Throughout
it's early history, New Mexico was u
sort of outlying territory living it's own
Mexico held dominion over it. Each
: possessed it for time, and sent it
! some good governors and some bad
ones Then it became a part Of the
! United States and had much better
government than ever before. The
! Apaches were driven out, and the rail-
roads came, and with them much
+; "dinero" from the far away east. These
: things. the Mexican people know, were
done for them by Tito Samuel" they
! know that If they belonged to Old Mex
leo now, there would be sad times,
Wherefore, they are very loyal part
of the citizenry of the United States.