MEXICO'S DANGER

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 87, 7 January 1920, Page 7

MEXICO'S DANGER

POLITICS, NOT BANDITS

RELATIONS WITH UNITED STATES Mexico's gravest danger is not from bandits, but from politics.' Hispanic Americans seem to labour at great disodvnntago when they attempt popular, government. In the abstract, thev aro rigid logicinns. Their constitution's and Jaws must bo theoretically perfect. But in the practical working of government they are unblushi'ng "porsonalists." A keen Mexican writer has said that tho difference between the Latins and tho Anglo-Saxons is that the Saxon respects ,]«»', even whon he disregards authority, while tho Latin cares nothing for law and everything for authority. Political parties, among' cur Southern neighbours fire concerned only secondarily, with principles. Thoir Teal interest is in the cause of a certain candidate. . : ' '

A common notion in the United States (writes a correspondent 'of tho Now lprk "Evening Post" from Mexico City) is that' Mexicans- aro: "treacherous." It has perhaps arisen from tho fact that in hand-to-hand fighting -.hey wo sometimes willing- to use methods which do not appeal, to tho AngloSaxon. But as a matter of fact loyalty is with them a principle, almost a national vice. It is the secret of a good denl of banditry. Robbers follow their chief more out of a desire to gratify him and promote some cause in which he is interested, or avenge some, grievance, than becauso they are of criminal instmcto.

In the political realm this game of follow your leader is universal. The lender in his turn stands by his supporters. All the rewnrds of office come to' the party that wins. 'So back of high-sounding platforms and manifestos of principles one has always to search out the chiof in whose interest tho group coheres. Tho principles professed hare precisely the weight which his sense of loyalty to his word may give them, nnd if, in the event of success, they po promptly into the discard his enemies aro not surprised and his friends aro rot concerned. The successful boss is expected to do as ho pleases and his position is greatly weakened if ho does not exhibit enough vigour in kicking out of his- way trammelling' laws ■. and'constiru.tions to show that ho at least has a mind of his own. '

This arbitrary ooiirso on the part of successful loaders, 1 ono which lias been ,practically jiniversal, Rives every possiblo opportunity to the opposition. "Not only do they Tesent the foot' that their man has lost and that they personally are thus deprived, of tan. with more vigour than ceremony, of any participation in tho rewards and emoluments of office, ' but they'ore ordinarily able to point out how grossly law, pledges,' right, constitutional guarantees and common jnstico are being- set aside. .',.'.

Press Rising to the Occasion, The half-dozen or, 60 of leading daily papers of this city oro doing just now a really excellent .bit of work.-- They are a genuine Fourth' Estate. Events of recent years have deeply stirred the intellectual life of Mexico. The mind of tho peoplo is alert to a degree that was never before known, Tho coming into power of the half-formed middle class and- the widespread..sense that the nation is Teally in process of being born give the organs of public opinion such an opportunity as newspapers have rarely had.

And thev are rising to the occasion. Although each-of' l the.:leading papers is known to be largely, dominated by some ntiblio Tnah, of whom it is, in a sense. th-j organ, a brilliant group of younu men is doing tho editorial' writing and exercising a wide range of disoretion. Practically all tho papers support the Government, since the feeling is eeneral that; by all means the fruits of the revolution must bo conserved. This general policy does not, however, nrevent them from handing vigorously the heads of Departments, and even'offering pointed intimations to Mr. Carranza. himself. -' .

Tho. newsuapei'3... are,,..supplying the nutriment; for the 'formation of public opinion not merely by 1 keen editorial writing, -but bv alert'and full news reporting. Besides tlio local news, column sifter column is cabled daily from New York and Madrid. Several of the papers-have each day a fujl page in ' English. They give a page to sports at least once a week, and have, illustrated Sunday supplements. As a result of "their foreign servico people here are better informed as to what goes on in New York and Washington than nre the. inhabitants nf those cities concerning matters in Mexico. The rude, ill-informed, and ill-tempered utternnces with reference to Mexico which mn.nv nf our . citizens and newspaper writers, and some, even, of our public servants, indulge in arc faithfully" translated 'into Spanish and served up day T>v dav In Mexican readers. That such things shinld awaken here a degree of TPwntment aiid ill-will is but natural. Yet the Mexicans aro more considerate than we should bei They attribute utterances-of this kind to ignorance or prejudice or interest of some sort, nnd do not '-barge them up to the American penolo at large This- diligence on the part of the papers io keep the, Mexican public informed as to what is said in the United States lias produced here a slinrij consciousness of the international 'situnt'op. There is no Mexican of even moderate brain power who does not understand flint an armed conflict with the United States would h*. disastrous. There is an increasing feeling that evcrvfhing within reason nnst be dine to stave off such a contingency. But, it would bo a grave mistake to fancy that the-p is no limit to this complaisane.s. The Mexicans to a man—and fh» ir«i«en wnt V> included—are dotermin«l to fieht rf thnir country is invaded. Intervention will certainly mean war. i

, Mexicans Used to Belnq Poor. One 1 of the pleas which the interventionists urge is that .we-ought to come into Mexico to Wing relief to the starving people. Somo sections of the country have been hard nit by the fighting between factions. Villa unset'.all orderly ways cf life ih Ckihnnhui for a considerable time and Zapata in Morelos nnd parts of Pueblo, and Mexico (State). But nothing moro easily deceives the superficial observer than poverty in Mexico. For years, centuries even, the poor people hero have been poor. They are used to it. The climate is a littlp Taw, to be sure, up on the plateau, but as a matter of fact a very scant supply of clothing is essential. As for food, the corncake and the black bean do not look attractive, at least to those who have not tasted them, whereas in reality tliey are far superior in the essential elements of food to the rice of the Chinese, tho raw fish of Japan, or i'v«"i tho scant and. unsanitary fare of our own city slum dwellers. T do n-"> f think that people aro starving' in any part of Mexico. 'This seajon's rain* have been abundant. Indian corn is a friendly plant, easily raised. It begins to yiol-1 food within about three month' of tne sowing. And a Mexican with corn is assured against starvation,— against hunger, in fact, for he does not Teally require anything else. I have not been in Chihuahua but everywhere I havo travelled the corn crop is phenomenal. It would appear that tho food supply is assured for at least a year. ■- Again, we aro urged to come to Mexico's rescue because- the Government is hated.and weak, and cannot keep order. One would have to search very closely indeed - to find evidence that the Carranza regimo is a hatwl despotism, enforced at the muzzles of rifles. The President goes about with,fewer secret servico men and guards than are thou;.: l '' necessary in our_ own country. Ho takes horseback rides into the suburb: He gets down from his private cir when travelling through the republic, nnd walks about the streets of provincial towns. No attempt, on his life has vt been made, so far as I know. Ho is tho object, personally, of very little vituperation. Indeed, the romr.laint oft<"i is that ho is an "easy boss"; too patient, too tolerant, especially of shortcomings anion? his subordinate's. . There is much grumbling at the Government, to be sure. Mexicans as well aa foreigners donounoe it for inefficiency

and alleged general worthlessness. But absolutely no substitute for it is in sight. The Government of Cnrranza may bo unpopular,, but it is not beinjj forced on the people. Those who are dissatisfied simply shrug their shoulders and submit. After all, it is a Mexican Government, and by (lie Mexicans any Mexican Government is held to be better than any foreign Government could bo.

Bandits Control no Territory. Tho clinching argument, however, in favour of mure or less violent intermeddling on our- part is that the Mexican Government -does not protect life nnd properly, and cannot becauso so much of the country is not under its control. Only a short time ago a map was widely published in our country professing to exhibit in great areas of -black the territory doniinnted.by rebels. That map was and is a graphic lie. "While there may bo soma flexibility of meaning in such a word as. "control," the fact remains that there is not a place in I lie country that is actually held by bandits in resistance' to the Government. There are areas where bands of men roam and hide. There aro sections of railroads exposed to their sporadic attacks. But then? is not one of theso regions where they dare openly make a stand against the Government's forces, not a mile of any important railway over which they undertake to say "no trains shall pais." Rebels do not hold a single Stale capital or town of any importance. There is not a State without its representative sitting in the Federal Congress.

No' map jCan convey any proper conception of the difficulties of the Mexican terrain. The regions in which banditry persists are rougher than any country to nie found i.n. the United States., ,A large proportion of the mountains of Mexico are more precipitous' than. those of our country. They are in the tropics, which means a dense vegetation, mostly ' clotted with thorns and spines. They are uninhabited and without ronds. Sounds of soldiers who do not know the trails soon get lost. Only smnll units can be manoeuvred in such regions, since lines of communication are virtually impossible. The bandits, familiar with tho paths and hiding places, and having control of the scattered settlers through intimidation or bribery, can usually elude their pursuers. Their standing rule is when hard pressed to disband entirely, gathering again days or weeks later at some designated rendezvous. In . cases of emergency thny hide their horses and rifles and become peaceable rancheros. It is. easy for us to fancy that our soldiers would soon make an end of theso marauders!, but as n matter of fact when they. have, tried it- they havo succeeded no better than the Mexican troops. The-Pershing expedition did not catch Villa, and, more recently, tho troops which so vigorously went after Eenteria and 'his gang, who kidnapped two American aviators, did just about wha-t the Mexican troops usually man- | ago to do. They shot'one or two in tho running fight. They -captured a few etragglers. But the chief and most of his bnnd got away. Those aviatprs, by the way, announced that- they had been captured ou the American side of the border. They apparently forgot how such a thing would reflect on our border patrol. As a matter of fact, their machine was found more than a hundred miles within Mexico. So was. one-.the other dny on tho Mexican Gulf of California. Why do our aviators keep flying ovor Mexican territory? . It is a needless insult to Mexican self-respect. As a mattor of fact, Mexico submits to a good many nin-pricks from us that we should no 1 venture to inflict on n strong nation, i Can it bo imagined that this nntion isj any less sensitive becauso it is weak? I