Evening star., 1922-06-04
BY KARL X. KITCHEN.
7 F you expect to read about beau
/ tiful dark-eyed senoritas. stall

you begin that you will be disap-
pointed. For what I am going to set
forth are ,facts. And the facts about
Tia Juana,ar very different from the
fiction thatShas been printed about 1t.
about 1t.
Before l visited Tia Juana I pic
tured it in my minds eye as an exotic
Spanish city. studded with fountains
and palm trees and brimming over
with life and gayety. l pictured its
beautiful streets thronged with lovely
ladies in picturesque mantillas, bands
playing In the plaza and fat padres
basking in the ambient spring sun
shine. In fact, l could almost hear
snatches of passionate Spanish songs
amid the clinking of glasses in the
great cafes And I pictured to myself
how ! would join the eager crowd of
we'll dressed Americans in the Casino.
where roulette was the only game.
This is how ! pictured Tia Juana
And before l tell you what found
let me advise you to remain away
from ii IL you want to preserve your
IL is best to know the worst, I'll carry
on.
Picture the cheapest looking movie
set" of a frontier town you've ever
seen in a wild west picture, with the
main street lined with "honk "a tonks"'
and saloons. and with ragged poems
and slovenly Mexican soldiers loung-
ing on its sidewalks-and you have a
| closeup of Tia Juana
A more dreary and desolate looking
village than the old town of Tia
Juana" would be hard to find any
| where in the world. Its one and two
| story frame buildings are of the fim-
sest construction. Its Mexican in
habitants are of the most forlorn
variety of the genus bum" And its
| solders-they're the biggest laugh
I've had on the coast.
IWHf the Mexican government
maintains a military establish
ment at Tia Juana is a mystery.
There is nothing here 10 protect
in fact. nothing that any one would
accept as a gift without a protest
And l doubt if the soldiers would
even be any good at running. Those
Their uniforms were In rags.
Far be it from me to cause interna-
tional complica tions-to break up the
friendship between sister republics
and all that sort OF thing by setting
forth the facts about the Mexican
military establishment at Tia Juana
But even a "cocoanut rider like Bill
Hart could go down there and chase
the entire army over the hill with his
unloaded revolver-and his stiff upper
lip. The only drawback to such
proceeding would be the uninteresting
ride back.
There are not more than four or
five struggling blocks of houses in
all Tia Juana. And they are nothing
but a succession of gin mills. dives
and honk "A -tonks. run by Americans
There is practically no native popu-
lation. The town depends on one
day tourists for Its prosperity.
say "one-day tourists" advisedly. Any
one who has been there once never
returns
Why. then, you ask, is Tia Juana
worth writing about? And 1 hasten
to answer: Because it is the nearest
and most accessible spot where Amer
leans can buy drink without break
ing the law.
That's the only excuse for Tia
Juana-theres no reason for it's ex-
istence.
Tia Juana is just across the divid-
ing line between Mexico and Cali
fornfa-some sixteen miles from San
Diego. AS Mexico'is legally wet and
as passport formalities have long
since been abolished, it is not sur
prising that a good many thousand
thirsty Americans visit it daily.
X 4
OUR prohibition laws have made
~ Tia Juana mecca for the
thirstily inclined. who either want to
bootleggers or do their drinking
within the law. There is nothing
but the drinking facilities to recon-
mend Tia Juana. 1t has other attrac-
tioris, Of course, but I can only warn
you against them.
First and foremost of these other
attractions is the race track. The
Tia Juana Jockey Club. an American
enterprise, provides more than a hum
dred days Of racing every year. But
it is the last place in the world where
a sane person would think Of riskinE
his money. Not that the races are
crooked. wouldn't assert that, al
though Ive never known Of a track
where there wasn't Jockeys ring.
But 1t is impossible. to make any
money at Tia Juana even IL one is
lucky enough to pick a winner now
and then. The odds are always
against you.
This, of course, does not prevent
thousands of we'll heeled Americans
from visiting the track and betting
their money on the chariot racers
that run here. On race days the roads
between San Diego and Tia Juana
are crowded with automobile ana
motor busses, and. in addition. through
rA6s trains direct 70 taA TRACK arr
xun from Les AnGsfeA more than
four hours away.
Thsrs 10 no roulette or any other