The daily morning oasis., 1920-03-16
TAMP|CO BANDITS
BEHIND COUNTERS
NOT BEHIND THE
COUNTRY KIN D
By RALPH H. TURNER

Omitted Press Staff Correspondent
TAMPICO, March 16.-The city of
tlty OF Tanlpico lives oil, thinks oil
and literally, breathes oil, but such
d petroliterous atmosphere is not ne
cessary to inform the new arrival
Gnat ne is in an oil town, or boom
town. He learns that the first time
ne makes expenditure.
The visitor comes to. Tampico full
Of tales about the bandit operations
n this vicinity. He hasn't been here
long however, before he begins to
feel the bold bad highwaymen out in
the wilds must be poor pickers COM
pared to the Jesse James outfit which
confronts him in the form of trades
men, proprietors, and hotel men whose
methods perhaps are. less dangerous
but certainly as effective.
It's comon saying throughout Mex
ico'that if salaried pan is contem-
tplating move to Tampico from any
| other part of the republic, the human
instinct of preservation demands that
ne receive the same number of Ameri-
can dollars, as stipened, that he has
been receiving previously in Mexican
pesos. And the reasoning doesn't
seem to be far from wrong when it
/ is considered that the prices are about
the same here in dollars as they are
elsewhere in pesos
This method of extortion is made
! doubly simple by the fact that the
dollar possesses just twice the value
of the peso, being accepted at one
to two ratio, and by the additional
phenomenon that Tampico knows only
dollars. It's a strange financial fact
that American money circulates here
almost exclusively, due both to the ex-
tent Of American, penetration" and
the scarcity of Mexican money,
Old American greenbacks, tattered
and torn even patched togather with
court plaster, are legal tender in the
market, the club or the office, while
ragged Mexican newsboys, develop
ing the gambling habit at an early
age can be seen tossing the American
nickels at line drawn on the side.
walk. Only at the Postoffice, the
customs house and other government
al agencies are pesos required in pay !.
ment.
Tampico admits, not without show.
of pride, that she is one of the, high
est priced cities in the world to-day.
The single fact of being an oil town
would entitle her to that distinctions
but in addition Tampico is a foreign
community, where food and other ne :.
cessaries for the American and British
residents must largely be imported
from the United States.
The oil companies have recognized
/ the abnormal conditions, not only by
high salaries, but by paying their en-
ployees' expenses, including "board
and room" whether the latter signi-
fies life in a hotel or in one of the !,
residences that form a part of the
foreign colony. The continuous
growth of the American and British
population has created a demand for,
houses, apartments and hotel accom-
modations that far extends the supply
with the result that many of the COM
panies have undertaken to provide
quarters for their employees, eithe~
by new construction or the remodeling
of old buildings.
Anyone will tell you mournfully, of
TampjCo's strain on the pocke;bo'k,
cit costs $40 American money day
for man who lives in the hotel,''
beinoaned an American bachelor.
There's onl one strictly modern hotel
"This dosen't include any clothing and
such," he continued, "just room, food
laundry, a shoe shine now and then,
perhaps a cocktail before dinner, and
bottled water instead of the local pro-
duct that may carry disease"
And then the housewives recount
how native servants formerly employ
ed for$5 and 81 a month now demand
SIS and 500. /
Chinese cooks now prevail in the
Continued on Page Four)