Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-04-10
kEXICANS In THE
UNITED STATES.
By Frederic J. Haskin.

Ever since the trouble started in
| Mexico refugees have been pouring
across the Rio Grande in a continuous
| stream. Those of the more prosperous
! sort have worked north as far as San
! Antonio and east to. New Orleans in
! considerable numbers. All classes
! have flooded FL Paso, where special
census recently taken by the govern
inent shows that over half the popula-
| ton is Mexican
! The aristocratic refugee sets himself
up comfortably in some city in the
United States and plots and works for
the glory of Mexico and himself: but
the poor peon has no sucl, easy way of
life. When it gets too hot for him in
his own country he packs his house
I hold goods in a great c"eaking wagon
drawn by two scrawny little cayuses
and lahoriousiy moves his family into
| the United States. And then, perhaps,
! the Texas rangers start hunting Next
cans. and he signs and drags his estab
I lishment YEARLY back across the in
ternational bridge. He cares not for
factions or theories of government. He
| prays only for peace to raise beans
and chile.
! These Mexicans living in the United
states as q class have won for them
selves a very doubtful standing. The
! arrest of MeNicanS who lived in CO.
! lumbus on the charge of being Villa
! spies has not improved their position
| \ Mexican living on the border states
| may be a peaceful farmer, citizen of
! the United States. Likewise he may be
Il spy for any one of the forty-seven
! different factions. or an ammunition
smuggler. or a bandit. Furthermore,
| the situation is most anomalous in that
| he has only to cross the Rio Grande to
change his political status. He can be
! a law hiding resident of the United
States on Mondays Wednesdays and
! Fridays. and Mexican bandit on
| Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays
! If for any reason he is not allowed to
cross the international bridge he can
i swim wade across the river at
night, and make little spending
money by carrying a few boxes OF car
| tridges. purchased in Ell Paso and sold
| FOR twice their value OF the other side.
There is no accurate knowledge as to
how many of these MeXicans there are
in the United States. The 1910 census
showed that there were then 221,91
persons in the United States who gave
Spanish their native tongue and
Mexico as the land of their origin. Be
yond a doubt. the number has greatly
increased since then. There are $4,000
Mexicans in Ell Paso alone.
These natives of Mexico are not, how
ever, the only men of their race in the
United States.
Spanish Speaking There is an
Native Americans. uoant - snan
ish speaking Americans. who are as
distinct and different from these refu-
gees as a citizen of Boston whose an
cestors came over in the seventeenth
century is from a Welsh coal miner who
landed at Ellis Island day before yes
terday. This other element is the Span
ish- speaking population OF New Mex
leo. Arizona and Colorado. The fore
bears of these people were living on
their same lands when New Mexico was
separated from old. They are prac-
tically all native citizens of the United
States. and Uncle Sam has no more
loyal sons under his flag.
In the plaza at Santa Fee there Is a
monument to the men who were killed
in the battles of Nalverde, Glorieta and
Peralta in the civil war. These men
who died fighting for the Union. and
saved the southwest from the Confed
crates, were nearly all so-called "MeXi-
cans" (They prefer to be known as
Spanish Americans il they are to be
distinguished at all) In the governors
palace" there is a tablet in memory
of Capt. who raised company
of native troops in 1898 and was killed
in Cuba. When the trouble with Mex
leo first became acute. three members
of the Chavez family. one of the old
est and best known of Spanish blood
in New Mexico, wrote to their repre-
sentative in Congress that they wished
to offer their services to the United
States Army. They expressed a senti-
ment 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 n. NJ, there is q militia
troop made up largely of Mexicans. and
they are especially enthusiastic about
military training.
The greater number of these Mexican
citizens of the United States live in New
Mexico. where they still constitute the
greater part of the population There are
probably about 100000 of them. Colorado
and Arizona together might contain an
other fifty thousand. and there are some
of the same type in Texas and southern
California.
These Spanish Americans are not of the