Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-04-11

Washington, d. c., April 6. Ever
since the trouble started in Mexico,
refugees have been pouring across the
Rio Grande in continuous stream.
Those of the more prosperous sort
have worked north as far as San An.
tonic and east to New Orleans in con-
siderable numbers. All classes have
flooded Ell Paso. where special census
recently taken by the government
shows that over half the population Is
Mexican. T., ss ....t5
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 such easy
way of life. When it gets too hot for
him in his own country he packs his
household goods in great creaking
wagon drawn by two scrawny little
cayuses and laboriously, moves his fam
lily into the United States. And then,
perhaps the Texas rangers start hunt,
ing Mexicans, and he signs and drags
his establishment YEARLY back across
the international bridge. He cares not
for factions or theories of government.
He prays only for peace to raise beans
and chile. w..
These Mexicans living in the United
States, as class have won for them
selves very doubtful standing. The
arrest of Mexicans who lived in Column
bus on the charge of being Villa spies
has not improved their position A
Mexican living in the border states
may be peaceful farmer, citizen OF
the United States. Likewise he may
be spy for any one OF forty-seven
different factions or an ammunition
smuggler, or 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
law abiding resident of the United
States on Mondays, Wednesdays and
Fridays and Mexican bandit on Tues
days, Thursdays and Saturdays. II for
any reason he Is not allowed to cross
the international bridge, he can swim
or wade across the river at night. and
make little spending money by carry
ing few boxes of cartridges, purchass-
ed in Ell Paso and sold for twice their
value on 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
221,915 persons In the United States
who gave Spanish as their native
tongue and Mexico as the land Of their
origin. Beyond a doubt, the number
has greatly increased since then. There
are $4,000 Mexicans in Ell Paso alone.
These natives of Mexico are not.
however, the only men of their race in
the United States. There is another
large element of Spanish speaking
Americans, who are as distinct and
different from these refugees as a cit
izen of Boston whose ancestors came
over in the seventeenth century IS
from a Welsh coal miner who landed
at Ellis Island day before yesterday
This other element is the Spanish
speaking population of New Mexico
Arizona and Colorado. The foreoears
of these people were living on their
same lands when New Mexico was sep
arated from old. They are practically
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
monument to the men who were Killed
in the battles of Valverde, 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 Mex
leans. (They prefer to be known as
Spanish- Americans if they are to be
distinguished at ALL, In the governor
palace" there is tablet In memory
of Captain Luna, who raised COM
PAW of native troops in 1898 and was
killed in Cuba. When the trouble with
Mexico first became acute, three mem
bers of the Chavez family, one of the
Oldest and best known of Spanish
blood in New Mexico, wrote to their
representative in congress that tney
tn Charlton. The groom Is son or
r,,1bo,+ CON this CITY.