San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-11

bauching the populace and retarding the
resources warrant. Mexico will never
be much Of a country until she cleans
up her own premises and cleans out
| those who defile them"
My business has permitted me to visit
Mexico frequently, and more or less
generally, over a period of many years
and, in the light of my own experience
| land which | have no reason TO assume
at all Unusually, / must say that the
editorial quoted from is about the most
inane and utterly devoid of any real
acquaintance with the subject in hand
that il has ever been my i'll fortune to
peruse Perish the thought that it was
inspired, or q species of propaganda,
but nevertheless it sounds like Wayne
=. Wheeler at his best-which would,
of course, be anyone else's worst. Pos
sibly the most charitable construction
to nut on this effusion is to assume that
it was written by one who had never
set foot in MexicO-although the ethics
of an editorial under such conditions
might well be open. TO question. To
say that no reasonable man (whOsC
power of observation is equal to his
thirst can go into Mexico and not
come out with a powerful respect for
prohibition, regardless of his feelings
when he left this "saloonless" land, is
simply asinine. The man who wrote
that editorial may have had a much
wider experience in Mexico than | have
although nothing he says indicates il
but | do not grant him any greater
powers of observation than mine (and
which may add fully equal my
Al, = hn hng
such as he is endowed with, provided
he has ever crossed the Rio Grande
at all, or for any appreciable length of
time. Of course, if one confines his !
powers of observation exclusively TO the |
red light district, in any country, he !
is apt to obtain a somewhat distorted |
view. But why pick on Mexico-and |
where visiting Americans are the great |
est freuuentcrs of the tenderlOin: |
Doesn't any truthful person, regardless
of his own predictions, have TO admit |
that all countries (including our own
and EOstcad and social refOrmers not
have their moral cess
pools? Why base an argument as TO !
Mexico's specific degradation on a con-
dition that generally exists?
Not having confined my own observa-
tons to the under world, but having a
personal preference for the other kind.
[ will say that personally / have seen
less drunkenness in Mexico, and among
Mexicans, than have witnessed among
our own people here in the United
States and under the present "dry"
CO regime - and l have, as before
stated, had considerable opportunity for
ndulging the observation that the edi-
.orial writer in question advocates. The
Latin races, as is well known, do not
= hog" their Ibations as we Americans
10 and Mexico is no exception.
Furthermore, | beg TO submit TO the
EDITORIAL oracle that some of the things
le will NOT see in MeXico-in the bet
er circles-that he does see here Gf he
,e not blind are: Intoxicated flap
,ers, booty joy rides and petting par
les, strip poker" parties, Adam and
Eve" bathing functions, Oriental dane
ng Tin ball rooms), pajama parties and
,indred amusements to which wees
,ecially our younger set-are now so
heartily committed.
On the other hand, there is something
hat he could see in Mexico, if he used
lis better faculties. and that is. more
cal politencss and innate courtesy tnan
e has probably beheld in this too busy
uuIllS MS "hOlC anu
owever extensive that may have been.
| have heard many reasOsns assigned
or Mexico's troubles but it remained
or this astute editor to claim that all {
re due TO booze. e
My own idea is that Mexico's great I
st curses are silly carnations from
eOple who have never been on Mexican {
oil or vapid excavations from those 5
Who have visited Our sister reDublic
or the sole purpose of indulging their '
arious appetites to the full and who '
Mount the moral platform on their re-
urn and lambast Mexico for having
uch faclities-which they themselves |
clip to maintain. w
VERY WEARY.