The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-05-18

for The Times goes where he pleases,
when he pleases. in search Of odd stories
about this and that.
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico, Nav
4 Y l8.-Now the time has come to
leave Mexico. It's good to see Texas
over there across the river once
more. but it's sad to be leaving Mex
leo, too. There is a haunting en-
chantment about this strange land.
Before I came here took vow
with myself not to come as a critic,
nor as an analyst, and above all not
to try to interpret the Mexican
people. 1t seemed to me presumptu-
Gus of any foreigner to come here
and, after a few days or weeks, to
say this is good" or this is bad"
or Mexico should do this or that"
I didn't know then what a wise
Wow it was.
The other night European who
has lived in Mexico 30 years told
me: "A foreigner could live here a
hundred years, and he would not
understand the Mexican people. and
they would not understand him" I
believe that is true.
A ND speaking of the self-ap-
L n pointed critics:
In Taxco I heard a rich, loud
mouthed Californian sneering at
everything Mexican. He said, in an
old church: Just look at them
beams up there in the ceiling. They
didn't even have sense enough to
make them straight"
And in a delightful little hotel In
south Mexico, where it was hot. and
Mexican boys served the meals in
the garden, I heard an English .
woman say: >
1T is absolutely outrageous for
these boys to be serving without
coats on. 1t makes my blood boil.
We should leave the hotel"
AS far as I'm concerned, my whole
summation of Mexico is that ST
don't know" Would Mexicans be
better off with more civilization,
more sanitation, more education,
more food, more comforts? To an
American mind. it certainly seems
that they would.
DUT I am not one to say definitely
ID Eyes" Because with all that
comes an end to the Indian inertia,
an end to responsibility, an end to
the philosophy of living just for to-
day, an end to simplicity. And is it
good to end all those things? I
don't know. I don't think so.
An American in a small Indian
town was telling me the other day
about his cook. After considerable
trouble with unstable servants he
had found this fellow, down from
the mountains, and he seemed to be
the perfect answer-clean, intelli-
gent, reliable.
But one morning, after two
months, he came and said he was
leaving. But why?" asked my
friend. Aren't you satisfied? Isn't
everything all rlght?'
Yes, everything was all right, and
the pay was good, and he liked it
there. Then why do you go?" asked
my friend.
XXTELL, it seemed he had to go
w back to his mountain farm to
harvest his coffee crop. Yes, his
brother could do it, but he wanted
to do it himself. My friend argued
with him for an hour, but without
success. Finally he had an idea.
How much will your coffee crop
come to?" he asked.
So they figured and figured, and
finally worked out that the years
coffee crop would come to the
amazing total of five and a half
pesos.
Fine, I'll buy it." said my friend.
"I'll buy it, and we'll just leave it
there in the field And you stay
here with me, and in a year and a
half if you save your money you'll
have enough to set up in business
for yourself"
You know the answer, don't you2. .
The Mexican went home to harvest
his $1.54 coffee crop, and sit in the
sun while.
you see," said my friend, they
have no logic. The power of logic
is not in them. They are not ca
pable of reasoning" No?