Imperial Valley press., 1939-03-02
Land of Manana' Fades
Into Land of Laborer' -
But Without the LabOrer

: t--------
ey." he added. you're given a first
class marriage hcenSe-and charg-
ed so pesos for it! If you wear
ragged overalls. its a second class
marriage. and you pay five pesos
for the license.
Otherwise there's no difference"
Registration of newly born in
fantS follows the same procedure.
The baby is either first or second
class, according to the wealth of
the parents. And the fee is ac-
cording to standard, also.
Industry Doomed
Dominance of the lower-intelli-
gence classes is working toward
obliteration of Mexican industry
and business. Smith believes.
"A man can't quit business in
Mexico, you know" he explained.
once you've started a business,
the government figures you've ere
ated job. and it's not your proper
ty. It's the property of the man
who is hired to fill it. You can't
fire him. even if you're losing
money. and you can't go out of
business. You've got to 60 on until
your business is broke, and then
you must hand it over to the gov
ernment. The government hands
it back to the so-called laborers.
Can't Fire Laborers
"That's the way they carry on
their appropriation program
Domination by powerful labor
unions of Mexican industry has led
to many queer incidents, Smith
said. This domination is achieved
through ruling that an employe
cannot be fired by his employer
without the consent of the labor
union. the syndicate"
And in four months in Mexico
I heard of only one instance in
which the syndicate upheld the
discharge of a laborer," he added.
That particular man ran knife
clear through the stomach of a
fellow employe in smelter-and
the company had to pay him three
months severance wages in order to
fire him.
Smith recalled a visit to a glass
factory in a central Mexican state.
AT one table a girl was trying
to work, and seven fellows were
sitting at her table talking to her."
he said. They weren't doing any
thing else. When I left the factory
asked the foreman what the seven
men were supposed to do.
They're working here, the FORE
man told me. but I can't say any,
thing to them. or they'll kick me
out-and I've been here IA years,
now. can't make them work. Under
their contract with the factory,
they don't have to work unless
they want to. I don't know what's
going TO happen . >"
Beauty Destroyed
In 5000 miles from coast to coast
in Mexico, Smith said ne saw only
one tractor, and out of hundreds
Of formerly great haciendas, only
two remained in their original
beauty. The rest, he said, were rag
ged ruins. falling into decay under
peon manage cement.
Practically all goods sold in Mex
ico are manufactured either in the
United States or Germany, Smith
said.
Tourist Is King
THE Germans are getting
strong hold on business down there.
But they'll never dominate politi-
cally. There aren't enough of them
in Mexico"
The lot of the tourist in Mexico
is becoming increasingly difficult,
although still pleasant, according
to Smith.
The tourist is king" he said.
They want his money. Nobody
else has any"
Then Smith made a wry grimace.
But you've got to pay some
body peso to guard your car
every time you park it." he added.
"or there won't be anything left
but the bones when you come back"