Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-05-12

/ VINO Uly their oppealH Ior htHis eVsIyWh
during the day, watch their chnnee md
stink to the doorways;.
One night group Of Americans emerged
| from the American University Club ON
| Bucarelli street A bearded old man with
| n large sombrero on his head and with n
| frayed zerapc over his shoulders stepped
| in front of the group asking help. He
| carried something IN ms arms. With 1t
| he pressed his appeal 1t was u dead baby
-visibly dead for many days. The
| Americans shuddercd paBsed the old man
a coin, and literally fed.
/ nm giving n sordid side Of our neigh
boring cauital. The description is super
| fcinl. Ii can be told more completely
and more sordidly. There is no Use for
the American public to look into gambling
| dens and other dens which thrive during
| the long nights. IL would be futile to
| plead the cause of wretched men, women
! and children, the latter utterly lacking IN
| schools, teachers, morals, uplifting in.
| fiuence of any kind, and often foodless,
| millions of them, on our own continent,
while the United States contributes,
and is being asked again To contribute
| millions to feed starving people on other
| continents.
| Just call the Mexicans victims of revo-
luton and let it 90 at tfiat. Mexico Is
| none of our business ss-apparently. Our
| reputation for philantrophy, charity and
being big brother to the poor extends
North, East and West, but not South.
And, furthermore, Mexico does not want
it to extend South the political Mexico
| that controls the destinies of the greater
| Mexico today
Look at the sordid side of Mexico City
| and you are looking at most OF Mexico
today, possible exception being fucatan,
| which, fortunately isolated from Mexico
proper by jungle peninsula, has largely
| escaped the blight of revolution.
In June, 1919, an American writer visit
| ed Mexico and returned TO the United
| States bringing reports filled with Mexican
| government statistics, pink promises
| and much omission He described Mexico
| City by dav-the wonderful broad avenues
busy streets, wonderful private and public
| buildings, trolley car systems, the cargadors
| (porters)who carried his bags from the
| train to the machine which soon sped down
scrupulously clean, well lighted streets
| The author omitted saying that constant
watch must be kept on these cargadors to
| prevent the theft of baggage; that police
| take the number, description and desti
nation of every machine which leaves 8
measure, the occupants being robbed BY
the drivers: that the broad avenues
private and public buildings were con
structed during the only reign Of compare
| tive peace Mexico has known in eighty
| years: that the electric lights and the stree
cars were put there during that peaceful
time by foreigners who are still operating
them under considerable difficulty.
That author saw the surface and hf
looked no deeper. On the surface Il
looks alive, but | am still willing. aftel
my conversation with the Cientifico you'll
and subsequent Impressions. To admit that
if it is not dead it is in precarlous condl
ton.
I'VE shall have gambling houses a
will cockfights in abundance, vice dem
for the merely wishing. We shall also
have untruthful administrators, cashier
and defaulting paymasters, privileged
generals, highway robbers on the Avenida
Francisco l. Madero, gray automobile
bands we shall have everything thnt
harms US. causes us dishonor, shame OF
ridicule But bullhghts and lotteries
mol That is what you call strainlng a
gnatsl"
Many reaiers may ask !:
Isn't there something good to say
about Mexico
The answer just now is geographical,
speaking, yes. The cause of Meyicoa
plight is illiteracy, revolution and it
resultant evils.
The revolution may be charged to tn,
"Cientifico" class who, though hignl,
cultured. hold the peon classes in the dark
ness of ignorance and religious supersti
ton. There has never been any effort t,
uplift this Deon, who outnumbers the &c
mainders OF Mexicans four to one. Tel
years ago an idealist attempted to ait
Mexicos submerged so per cent. Revo
luton came, chaos followed and the gov
eminent fell into the hands OF inexperienc
cd irrcsponsibles. There it remains to
day.