The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1941-09-11
The Cherry Tree
Where We Huiched Out
The Truth
. WAR IN MEXICO
. JUST AS IN u. S.
. WAR TALK SCARCE
IN WESTERN STATES

MEXICO CITY-Seven days Of
driving from Washington, the war
capital of the world to this ancient
capital of the Aztecs. Seven days of
transition and transformation. But
today, not of Mexico City, but of the
events that are observed along the
way.
A guitar-ever present-sounds not
far away as this is written. And a
voice in song-purely MeXican-con-
ducive to forgetting about the alarms
of war. But yesterday the President
of the Mexican Republic delivered an
address to the opening Congress that
did not forget about war.
War is here as elsewhere through
out the world.
If some of the people of the United
States forget about it, so do some of
the people of this nation below the
Rio Grande.
But more about Mexico later.
X X X
We start from Washington. During
the first day of driving through Vir-
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for which there seems no excuse, ex-
cept the most idiotic driving. Cars
smashed to imbecile wrecks because
of imbecile driving. We drive at so
and 55-and cars pass US at 60 and
70-and we come upon horrible
tangles of steel and shattered glass.
Through Tennessee the most cur
vaceous road, but with much beauty.
And through Arkansas the great
est feeling of safety-drivers are
trained to keep their own side of the
road No speed limit, but you had
better not do any driving that can be
classified as reckless. If a cop sees
you cross the center line three times
he comes alongside to see what is
the matter with you.
X x x
The war-as you drive west-seems
to register less and less. The full
story needs to be told over and over
again. What does Hitler mean? Why
do we face the supreme crisis? 1t
needs some tall telling-and now!
The cities pass-Knoxville, Nash
vile, San Antonio, Laredo-Laredo,
which back during the days of the
end of the first World War saw the
birth of the Pan American Federation
of Labor. An interesting parade of
cities, with an interesting country
side rolling in the intervening miles.
Twenty-six hundred of those miles.
A great trip-if you observe just a
little.
There are some amazing facts here
at the end of the trip-some also
along the way. One should spend
weeks where only days are available.
Mexico has been revelling in
smashing tourist season. Merchants
are abandoning the midday siesta
TO catch the tourist dollars. Customs
Of ages break down before the drive
Of the main chance. And clerks are
very patient with customers who
often are imperious and outraged be-
cause things are not as they are at
home.
At Wales, small town along the
way, at the foot of the steep climb
up to Mexico City an orchestra and
a soloist appear at the hotel at in
the morning to serenade someone who
has a birthday.
And the Mexican hotel attendants
think it most uneXplainable that some
of the guests should register such
emphatic disapproval of the pretty
gesture of felicitation planned by
some friend.
| x
Contradictions on every hand.
Strange things along the way. Sinis-
ter Nazi monkey work-peons who
scarcely know there is a war-a gov
ernment that is with the United
States to the finish-and before you
reach the border some United States
areas that are almost as unaware of
the crushing weight of the war as a
determining factor in the history of
| the human race. But more-and more