New-York tribune., 1919-07-29
Glue MEXICO a Chance
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Having read with interest the nu-
merous comments regarding conditions in
Mexico, perhaps my personal experiences Will
interest some of the writers of these COM
ments.
l made two trips to Mexico, the latter
part of 1918, covering a period of seven
months, naturally feel that speak with
a little authority. Few, l am sure, of our
critical observers of Mexico have ever visited
that country, and this is absolutely necessary
in order to give unbiased opinion.
Do not for a minute foster the thought
that the MeXicans are an uncultured, bar
barous lot, a misstatement which l am afraid
we are guilty of making often. l recall men,
tioning my visit to Mexico to a highly edu-
Gated and intelligent American, and it amused
greatly to have him exclaim, "Do you
mean to tell me that you visited that coun
try of outlaws alone and unescorted?" 1t is
my belief that I am one of the few Ameri
cans who relied upon the protection Of the
Mexicans, and was entirely satisfied. After
leaving Texas and boarding the train in the
northern part of Mexico I expected to en-
counter no end of trouble, due to my scant
knowledge of Spanish, but after trying for
several minutes to tell the conductor that
l would like to procure a drawing room my
fears were allayed. Imagine my embarrass-
ment when the conductor asked me in per-
feet English what 1 was trying to say.
l certainly was agreeably impressed with
Mexico as a whole. Their mannersms are
charming; in fact, they possess the gracious
ness of old Spain combined with unlimited
patience. breach of etiquette is no less
than a crime. Certainly, lady is never
permitted to remain standing in a public
conveyance, as even the humblest peon would
Immediately arise.
To enumerate all the pleasantries encoun-
tered in Mexico would take too much space to
relate.
AS solution of the Mexican problem my
suggestion would be to give the government
and people of Mexico chance, but one, fair,
open, friendly opportunity to prove them
selves worthy of our confidence l do not
believe in war with Mexico, and may saw
that very few Americans entertain such
thought, so why speak about intervention
which undoubtedly will bring dissolution and
more" trouble to us, when there is way
of arranging all matters diplomatically and
without bloodshed? To this end let us frankly
and firmly support the President, Mr.. Car
rama, whom we have recognized, not by
simply saying that we do it, but by allowing
him to obtain his needs in our market. Let
us eliminate all smuggling of ammunition
by the bandits and let us give the Mexican
government all they need. If this policy
fhnr
native.
l am a redblooded American and because
OF the fact that | want my country to be
spotless in the eyes of the world | suggest
the above step. The papers are printing
lately the proceedings Of the "committee of
investigations now sitting in Washington:
among other things they mention the fact
that fifty Americans have been killed during
the last nine years, and quoting "The World"
OF the Gath:
I'm eight years in a Mexico torn by
anarchy and civil war number of Ameri-
cans have been killed and their murderers
have escaped punishment In the same period
in an America at peace, with courts func-
tionng and no rebellion, how many Mexicans
have lost their lives by unpublished murder?
Does any one know"
Does anybody know how many Mcxicans
have been killed in the United States during
the same period, whose slayers have been
unpunished?
There is no animosty in Mexico against
foreigners in general, or the Americans in
particular How is an ignorant bandit to
know on sight that he is assaultlng an Amer
lean, Brtisher or, in fact, any other for
cigncr? In a nutshell it is just case of
apparent prosperity in the burglars eyes,
regardless of nationality; a burglar is a
burglar whether in Mexico, here or any
other place. EVELYN A. EVANS
New York, July 26, 1919