Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1920-10-14

Nine Ysars Of Stormy History He
Kept His state From Being Involved
In Any Of the Revolutions That Dis
rupted Mexico and Then Puzzled
Everyone by Quitting.
The sudden demise Of public off,
cial In Mexico Is such an every day
occurrence that the peaceful reSigna-
ton of Gen. Estaban Cantu, governor
of Lower California, was scarcely no
ticed by Mr.. Average American Citi-
zen. Cantu's peaceful passing into
private life is not being ignored, how
ever, by shrewd students Of interna-
tional events, writes Paul ]. Brindei
I'm the Chicago Daily News.
ANY man who can peacefully resign
his office in Mexico on his own terms
is worthy of American interest. Add
the fact that Cantu ruled successfully
most of Lower California through the
nine stormiest years Of Mexico's MIS-
tory, and you have another interesting
item. But most interesting of all is
the seemingly unanswerable question
of "why did Cantu resign" True. De
la Huerta and Obregon had threatened
dire things against him. including In.
vasion Of Lower California. If he did
not. But they we're hundreds of miles
away. and other attempts had taught
Mexican expeditionary forces. from
Diaz to Carranza. that only military
expedition Of great power could cross
the hundreds of miles Of burning sands
between Mexicali and Mazatlan. Yet
Cantu resigned, and with very little
dickering. except for certain rights and
amnesty for his followers.
Appointee Of Porfirio Oiaz.
n Like most things in Mexico, good and
bad, Gov. Cantu and his administrn-
ton dated back to Porfirio Diaz. From
1911. when Diaz appointed him. to the
time of his resignation. Cantu defied
successfully all efforts to involve Low
err California In the mess the rest OF
Mexico is in. While the MaderOs.
Huerta. CarranZa, villa, Angeles and
Zapata each strove to succeed to the
crown of Diaz, Cantu stuck to his
knitting as governor In his border
capital of Mexicali, opposite CaIexico.
Cal, metropolis Of the Imperial VAL
ley.
The best token of his success In re-
fusing to be one of the many ''saviors"
of Mexico is evidenced by the fact that
while good American citizens were be-
ing used as rifle targets during the
hectic days following Diaz's fight. as
far as is known no reputable citizen of
the United States ever lost his life or
even was molested in Lower CalifOr-
MIA during Cantus administration.
Cantu's success as an administrator
also Is shown In that. unlike any other
place in Mexico. passengers on the re-
Gently completed San Diego and Ari-
IONA railroad find II extremely difficult
to determine when they are In the
United States and when In Lower Cali
fornia, as this newest extension of the
Southern Pacific zig-Zags its way from
Yuma. Ariz through Mexicali. CalexI-
co and FL Centre I'm the Imperial val
ley then back to Mexico again. finally
winding up in San Diego, through Tia
Juanna.
Tia Juanna's Rise to Fame.
In their anxiety to reach that west
coast Mecca Of the thirsty-Tia juan
na-many ChicagOans en- route to the
Democratic national convention in
San Francisco passed through Mexicali
without realizing their proximity to
one OF the few Latin-American poll
ticians worth meeting. Tia Juanna.
planned by Cantu to be the Monte Car
10 of North America. has had mush-
room growth In the last few months.
especially since July 1. 1919.
Two years ago before the completion
of the San Diego and Arizona "cut.
Off" 1t wasn't even on q railroad map
and was practically unknown except
to some of the sporting fraternity of
San Diego and Los Angeles. Today II
and its American sister, Tia Juana.
5000 permanent inhabitants, not to,
speak of daily influx of the thirsty,
averaging several thousand per day.
Moreover, Tia Juanna. Mexico, has |
more saloons than can be counted on |
hot August afternoon, fair race. |
track, half a thousand adventuresses
and every variety of gambling game !
from "black jack" to faro and rou
lette. No wonder two through Pull.
mans are operated daily from Chicago
to San Diego en- route to Tia Juanna.
Or that the two daily trains from San
Diego frequently run in two sections
as far as the Mexican border.
Mexico the Last "oasis."
This description of Tia Juanna is not
given to further advertise the town,
but because II is further evidence of
the astuteness of this canny Castilian
governor. Safe from Mexican invasion
by the desert, Cantn realized that I'M
States there probably would be re-
iteration Of the demand that the
Unitad States purchase Lower Cali
fOrnis. Every few months for the last
decade or more, this agitation has been
resumed. usually following story Of
II Japanese naval base having been
discovered" along Magdalena or Tur-
tie bay. Americans long have cast an
envious eye on this strip of territory
jutting out into the Pacific. In 1915
seven men were indicted by a federal
grand jury In Los Angeles for an al
legged plot to invade Lower California.
overthrow Cantu, take possession of
the territory and seek annexation to
the United States.
With Americans from dozen west
erD states fQcking to Tia Juanna for