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try. This Argentine independence of thought, this Americanism, this feeling that they possess a distinct national character and distinct national interests, caused them to conduct themselves toward Washington during the war, not as a mere imitator, but as a nation freely choosing its own course.

This Argentine and American sentiment has a clear-headed and farsighted representative in the President, Dr. Hipolito Irigoyen. Naturally that gentleman is still the centre of a violent political controversy. Many of the charges which his enemies bring against him, especially those relating to his administrative failures, are apparently well grounded. Nevertheless, he will leave an indelible mark upon the history of his country for two reasons. He introduced secret ballot, and he cleared the way for an independent Spanish-American foreign policy.

Dr. Alessandri, the new President of Chile, occupies a position very similar to that of the Argentine executive. He represents precisely the same classes in his own country that are represented by the Radical Party now in power in Argentina. His foreign policy is determined equally by purely American motives, and wholly without regard to European partialities and influences.

During the storm of the last few years, the entente which existed among these three countries- though in a loose and formless way - has vanished. The important question now is, whether it will be revived. Three dominant factors will probably decide this: the liquidation of the World War, the strength of the sentiment of community among all Latin-American countries, and the relation of the latter to the United States.

With reference to the liquidation of the war, every country in South America is suffering acutely from the

world-wide political and economic crisis caused by the unsatisfactory peace settlements. Hand in hand with the resentment which this naturally produces is a deep moral conviction that France and her present policies are largely responsible for the present situation. Brazil, the only one of the ABC states which actually entered the war against us, has been deeply offended by the attitude of France in regard to the German vessels that she seized. South America still regards the French literature and language as the first in the world. But it draws a sharp distinction between intellectual France and official France. It applauds with enthusiasm Anatole France, who belongs to the Communist Party, Henri Barbusse, who edits the supplement of Humanité, the official Communist organ, and Romain Rolland - all three of whom it exalts far above Marshal Foch. The feverish propaganda which France is now conducting everywhere in the Western Hemisphere is not producing the slightest effect on this sentiment. Propaganda is all right when things are going your way; but it is helpless in face of disagreeable economic facts and spontaneous intellectual passions.

While this political alienation from France is strengthening the influence of the United States in Latin America, future relations with Washington will depend entirely upon the latter's policy toward its 'little brothers.' During the war the North Americans conducted a most grandiose propaganda throughout the Southern continent. They started out with boundless enthusiasm to win the markets of those countries. But they seemed even more intent upon comprehending the LatinAmerican temperament and winning the affections of their neighbors. Never were the intellectual and social movements of these younger countries so zealously and sympathetically studied

as they were in the United States. The results of all this have been considerable.

On the other hand, however, we must not overlook the fact that the more completely the English-speaking and the Spanish-speaking nations of the Western Hemisphere divest themselves of the traditions and characteristics of their colonial origin, the less they will have in common. The contrast between Catholicism and Protestantism, or, more accurately, between Puritanism, with its cold-headed, calculating attitude toward the world, and the artistic, enthusiastic Southern temperament; between self-discipline and fore-reckoning will-power and irresistible impulse, runs through the very nerve and fibre of the two American races. We must also bear in mind that, wherever the two come in contact, conflicts of interest as well as communities of interest are created. The South American instinctively feels that he always gets the worst of the bargain whenever he does business with his shrewd, hard-headed North American neighbors. He is, therefore, shy of dealings with them, and prefers his own easy-going, slower methods of doing business. We have an illustration of this in the respective attitudes of Argentina and the United States toward the Geneva Assembly of the League of Nations. The latter country, comprehending clearly its concrete economic interests, would have nothing to do with the League from the first. Argentina withdrew from the Assembly the moment an incident occurred which violated her ideal interests, her sense of dignity and self-respect.

We may expect President Harding's assumption of office to introduce a new era in the foreign policies of his country. Under Woodrow Wilson, the relation of the United States to Europe almost monopolized public attention. This compelled the other states of the Western Hemisphere to adopt a similar attitude. Probably a change will occur in view of Wilson's repudiation by his fellow citizens at the last election. Harding suggested this in his campaign speeches. The controversy between Panama and Costa Rica calls for a definite choice between the League of Nations and the Monroe Doctrine idea, in which we may expect Washington's traditional policy to take precedence.

Simultaneously, public opinion in Latin America is drifting in the same direction. But while sentiment there is growing more averse to the League, it is also crystallizing in a more definite demand for full equality with the United States. Rumor has it that the new President of Chile plans a visit to Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, to discuss a resumption of the ABC policy. Chile's attitude toward both European and North American affairs will continue to be thoroughly South American. It will oppose with equal resolution the intervention of Europe in America and the intervention of the United States in South America. Consequently, it is very likely that the foreign policy of the Latin-American countries, especially of the ABC states, is on the threshhold of a vigorous, independent, and new develop

ment.

MEXICO REVISITED

BY WILLY DREYFUS

From Frankfurter Zeitung Wochenblatt, June 8 (RADICAL LIBERal Weekly)

FOR the first time, after traveling several thousand miles through the United States, I am reminded of the obstacles we constantly meet when journeying through Europe. We come to a customs boundary. The three hours we lose during the examination is a minor matter, considering the great distances we have to traverse. The border official asks me curtly: 'Is that a Prussian passport?' It is probably the first time he has ever seen one. After me follows a Mexican, with a wife and ten children. The official makes no effort to identify the twelve members of the family by the photographs attached to their passports, but passes them on mere enumeration.

Laredo, Texas, on the American side of the frontier, is separated from Nuevo Laredo in Mexico by the Rio Grande, which is here as wide as the Rhine at Mayence, although at times so shallow that one can almost wade across it. The train halts midway over the steel bridge, and passengers who have no Mexican visées are sent back. When we reach the railway station at Nuevo Laredo, we understand at once why this formality occurs on the bridge. Tickets are sold, luggage examined, and all the other business is transacted in ridiculously inadequate quarters, half-lighted by a few miserable electric bulbs. The room is crowded with tanned Mexicans in shirt-sleeves and high riding-boots, their revolvers hanging handily from their belts; with beggars wrapped in filthy, ragged blankets; with untidy

tousle-haired women, and half-naked children.

Here, where I least expected it, I begin to hear German. The speakers are German-Americans of San Antonio, who are joyously improving the opportunity of being away from home to converse again in their mother-tongue.

Fully an hour and a half elapsed before the examination of our luggage was completed and we were again ready to start. It seemed at first as if the few examiners would never finish their task; but though slow, they seemed to be thorough and reliable. Promptly to the moment no small surprise to a person who has not yet recovered from his first impression of Mexico - the train started, and our thirty-six hours' journey to the capital was made practically on schedule.

Mexico City has an incomparable situation and climate. It lies at a height of nearly 8000 feet, in the middle of a broad plateau enclosed by lofty mountains. The sun shines practically every day of the year, and from November to May an umbrella is never necessary.

More than three quarters of the natives of the city are of Indian descent. They seldom wear overcoats in winter or summer, but during the cooler hours of the morning and evening they carry serapes, or brightly-figured blankets, slit in the middle to go over the head. Even in December and January, summer warmth prevails at midday. The natives wear broad-brimmed, conical straw hats the year through, and these,

together with their bright serapes, produce a most picturesque effect.

In spite of ten years of almost constant revolution, which has left deep traces in the city as well as elsewhere, the capital retains all the appearance and mannerisms of a great metropolis. You can buy any luxury or necessity that you will find in Paris, London, or New York, including German soaps, perfumery, books, and machinery, at reasonable prices. The better streets have asphalt pavements. Electric trams run regularly, and there are numerous restaurants, one of which is owned and managed harmoniously by a Berlin chef and a Paris chef. But the hotels are not above criticism. Even before the revolution, the city was not overwell-provided in this respect, and several have closed, or are badly run down, as a result of that disturbance. Places of public entertainment are numerous. The movies are as crowded as everywhere else in the world, and American jazz bands have brought this latest product of modern culture to the Mexicans.

Although the streets and highways outside of the centre of the city are often in miserable condition, both private automobiles and taxi-cabs are numerous. Before the war, French machines were common; but the Americans now monopolize the market. In fact, the local word for taxicab is 'Ford.' Few of the modern public buildings are to be compared with the structures erected in the Golden Age of Spanish power and culture. The wonderful climate has preserved many old churches and palaces which date back to the Conqueror, even though little attention has been paid to their repair. The museums and ruins exhibit many survivals of the old native civilizations.

If one would learn to comprehend the soul of a nation, he should watch it not only at work, but also at play. Experts dispute whether Mexico City or Barce

lona has the largest bull-ring in the world, but no one questions that the ring in Mexico will accommodate 30,000 spectators. During the revolution, the Mexicans were deprived of their favorite sport, which has been resumed only since last November. According to reliable estimates, during the past few months more than 20,000 watches have been pawned in the city to get money to buy admission tickets.

The day I attended, every place was taken, for two of the most famous toreros, the Mexican Gaora and the Spaniard Sanches Mejias, were to exhibit their art. The indescribably repulsive and yet fascinating spectacle began promptly on the minute, the only thing in Mexico to do so.

An hour from Mexico City, at the foot of the giant range of mountains which surrounds it, lie the village and lake of Xochimilco. Pleasure-seekers from the capital resort there every Sunday. Narrow canals many kilometres long connect the village and the lake. Countless canoes, adorned with greenery and flowers, dot their waters. Everything is primitive, and yet merry and colorful. Simple places of refreshment line the canal, most of which have a dancing-floor with a strip of awning to keep off the sun. Little canoes glide between larger boats, carrying tiny stoves upon which Xochimilco women are cooking native dainties. One sees the whole process of making tortillas, from the mixing of the dough to the turning in the pan and the delivery to the customer, all which operations are performed with the naked hands of the seller. And Mexicans are not fussy about clean hands.

Abundant provision is made for the 'thirsty. The national drink of the Mexicans is pulque, the fermented juice of the century plant. It is a powerful intoxicant. At night the natives wend their way back to the city over-ballast

ed with this seductive beverage. They sway along in groups of five or six, locked arm in arm to preserve their equilibrium. Pulque has banished all the cares and sorrows of the world for them.

A broad boulevard more than a mile long, called the Paseo de la Reforma, leads from the centre of the city to the castle and park of Chapultepec. For a moment I felt that I was back again in Europe. The Paseo is lined with sumptuous résidences, which remind one of the Avenue du Bois, and the castle itself is not unlike the seat of one of our noblemen or princes. It has been the official residence of the Mexican president since the day of Porfirio Diaz; but its memories go back to the reign of Maximilian, more than fifty years ago. He and his wife, the unhappy Empress Charlotte, decorated and furnished its apartments in the style of the second empire. Most of the furniture was a gift from Napoleon III. To-day the guide shows you respectfully things which belonged to the royal pair. Scarcely an object which they used has been moved from its place. President Obregon, the present head of the state, avoids these formal apartments, and lives in a smaller dwelling near the castle proper. The only structural change since Maximilian's death is a bowling-alley installed in the dining salon by Madero. This alley is so arranged that it can be easily converted into a ball-room. The view from the castle terrace is incomparable. I do not know another prospect more enchanting than the one from this point over the city and its encircling range of lofty snow-capped peaks.

From 1877 to 1911 Porfirio Diaz, still known by the natives as Don Porfirio, ruled the land in peace and prosperity. Railroads were built, irrigation systems extended, and many attractive government buildings erected. Public finances and a banking system were put on

a sound basis, banditry practically disappeared, and some attempt was even made at general sanitation. In fact, compulsory bathing was instituted for a time, but had to be given up because the poor natives were so unfamiliar with water that several died from pneumonia after the experiment.

However, old Don Porfirio, in spite of his eminent services to his country, was forced to abdicate and go into exile when he was eighty years old. At once the instability of Mexico's political system was revealed. Ambitious generals and politicians began to fight for power, and the industrial and cultural progress of the previous reign was at once imperiled. Only after ten years of fighting was comparative tranquillity restored. The battles extended even to the capital, and at one time hostile forces faced each other for fourteen days, in the very midst of the city,. carrying on a petty warfare all along their front. In spite of the bitter hatred that reigned among these factions, they invariably ceased hostilities for breakfast, dinner, and supper, in order that the civil population might have an opportunity to make necessary purchases.

Mexico has not remained immune to Bolshevist infection. Moreover, the regular government has adopted measures, such as requisitioning the gold reserves of the banks, seizing private railways, and issuing worthless paper money, which are hardly to be distinguished from the practices of the Bolsheviki. However, radical theorists were decisively defeated at the time the last constitution was adopted. The present government is mainly concerned with encouraging the resumption of foreign trade, regulating currency, and developing the natural resources of the country.

Revolutionary commanders experimented with enough methods of raising

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