TRANQUILMEXICO IS WORRIED ABOUT YORK€¦ · minded philosopher of Laputa always kept a flapper in...
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TRANQUIL MEXICO IS WORRIED ABOUT NEW YORK Article and Photographs by SHERRIL .SCHELL There is something informal about the lace counter OPINION on the boat among the Americans was solidly lined up against the professor who was taking his wife to Mexico. If ho wanted to bring her along, why hadn't he selected Cali¬ fornia, Canada or some other tranquil spot for his vacation? Why choose Mexico of all countries, where both would be insulted, robbed or possibly murdered? In the smoking saloon blood-curdling stories were exchanged for his edification.tales of horror that would have supplied material for a hundred movie plots of the regulation border variety. The fifth day out the professor was seen to leave a half-emptied glass of Scotch on his table and hastily make tracks toward the purser's office. On the way he encountered his wife and stopped to tell her that he had decided to take her home on the same boat. Mrs. Professor was not so easily managed. She wanted to know the why and wherefore, and the professor was obliged to sit down and relate what he had overheard. A well-dressed Mexican gentleman reclin¬ ing in a nearby steamer chair listened to the conversation with serious expression. After the professor had finished his report and had taken up the subject of return tickets he sprang to his feet. Introducing himself and apologizing profusely for having "listened in," he plunged into an eloquent defense of his country. Speaking with the authority of one who had lived his whole life in Mexico, he assured them that their fears were ground¬ less. He guaranteed them complete safety and finally brought them round with a promise of introductions to high officials who would smooth the way for a certain archaeological enterprise they had in mind. The professor had some misgivings, how¬ ever, as the steamer slid into the bay of Vera Cruz. "Sinister looking Indians were as¬ sembled on the dock and rent the air with their cries. These were the cargadores.in other words, the baggage express of the sea¬ port. Going down the gang-plank the pas¬ sengers "were obliged to run the gauntlet of a mob of dirty peons, who clutched at their clothes and battled fiercely with each other for the privilege of carrying their luggage. Although there is a night train to the City of Mexico, the wise traveler waits over until next morning so as not to miss the scenery along the route. Timorous Americans figured that it would be less dangerous to travel by daylight, but gave the scenery as their excuse for putting up with the heat and mosquitoes of a Vera Cruz night. The little squad of soldiers provided as an escort was not one to inspire confidence, and nervous fingers felt for« unaccustomed automatics as the train stopped suddenly a few miles out. Strange as it seemed, no bandits appeared, only a straggling group of Indian women with roses for sale. Evidently tli3 dreaded encounter was to happen further up the line. As the train panted up into the high mountains the stage was set in perfect fashion for the dark¬ est deeds. Just the spot for a bloody encoun¬ ter with Zapat'.stas, Villistas, the Americans knew not what. But "it was roses, ro3es all the way," and baskets of strawberries and Mexican onyx held up temptingly to the car ¦windows by sweety-voiced Indian girls. A few weeks ago one of the leading Mexi- «m papers ran a page of recent crimes in the united States under the heading: "Shall Mexico Intervene?" The American colony is getting rather sensitive about the publicity given to our lawlessness in the Mexican dailies and spends a good deal of its time in trying to explain it away. There also seems to be a plethora of American crook pictures now showing in Mexico, which also adds to its embarrassment. Sorna of the foreign resi¬ dents say they are glad to see Mexico getting even. If the average American thinks of Mexico as the land of bloodthirsty banditti, the Mexican is rapidly coming to the con¬ clusion that all Americans are either safe- blowers or y«sggmea. It is a common sight in Mexico City to see youthful «employ««»«« carrying bags of gold and sálv«r from one bank to another. Strolling along Francisco Ma¬ dero Street, they stop every now and then to chat with a friend or to gaze in a shop win¬ dow. It is true that there is an occasional hold-up in the City of Mexico, but the per¬ centage of crime dur¬ ing the last year was lower than in many cities of its size in the United States. From all accounts there seems to be a great deal of small thievery, but per¬ sonally I have never had the experience of being victimized by the "ratero." Nor have I over heard of any one being robbed at first hand. On the contrary, in going by streetcar to Tlalpam, one of the suburbs of the capital, I left a hand satchel under the seat and got off forgetting it. An American friend told me I would never see it. ae-ain. hut. within an hour I had, recovered it at the "lost and found" department of the street railways. A friend of mine, an American opera sing¬ er, put $150 in her pillow slip one night be¬ fore going to bed and forgot all about it for three days, when' suddenly, while driving on the Paseo, she remembered her carelessness. Rushing back to the hotel with stories of light fingered Aztec gentry ringing in her ears, she ran up four flights of stairs and found the money exactly where »she had placed it. Call¬ ing the $5 a month Indian chambermaid, she asked if she had known that the money was under the pillow. "Como no, señorita ?" the girl answered. "I have made up your bed twice since you put it there." Americans are not unpopular with the Mexicans. For the most part our compatriots who remained during the various revolutions and the Vera Cruz occupation went about their affairs freely and without molestation. Your average Mexican bothers his head very, little about recognition or the absence of recogni¬ tion. He is interested, first of all, in politics of a more local nature and only becomes ex¬ cited about our country when the newspapers proclaim the possibility of intervention. Some prominent Mexicans are bold enough to de¬ clare openly that they would welcome inter¬ vention, but the wise American does well to drop this word from his vocabulary when he crosses the border. Mexicans are a sensitive The Alamedas, City of Mexico, a garden of tropic flowers and a favorite promenade A glimpse of the Paseo, Mexico's beautiful avenue, which somehow suggests our own Riverside Drive and high-spirited peo¬ ple, and most of them see red if such a con¬ tingency is even hinted at. Speaking general¬ ly, the masses seem to be as well off as they were during Porfirio's rule. A great many of them seem to be un¬ derfed, but they have been underfed since the time cf Monte- zuma. On the whole, there appear to be fewer beggars than formerly, and the Indian popu¬ lation seems to be better clothed. The Obregon government is doing much for edu¬ cation and plans to do a great deal more when the treasury funds allow it a freer hand. The scheme already under way for the art education of the people is almost ambitious. Every child will be given the op- port unity of learn¬ ing some art or craft under the guidance of experts. An effort will be made to make the students forget European traditions and to concentrate more on native forms and designs. In spite of all her troubles our southern neighbor has shot ahead of us in the creation in her Cabinet of a Minister of Art. But, then, there were painters and sculptors in Mexico long before there was a United States. One likes to remind smug Bostonians that the University of Mexico was founded some fifty years or more before the Pilgrims lajided in New England. The instinct for art with the leisure and temperament to cultivate it may bring forth wonderful results in the future. Much is expected from the new school of painters and sculptors, young men who have broken away from French conventions and who are striving to revive the glories of the pre-conquest period. Already one genius has arisen, Diego, well known in Paris, who is called the Mexican Michaelangelo. His mas¬ terpiece, the impressive mural decoration in the Escuela Preparatoria, without betraying any signs of imitation, has all the breadth and power of the Italian master. This painting, "The Creation," the noted critic Best-Maugard declares is the greatest work of art in the Western Hemisphere. There are many amusements in the City of Mexico, and the American is never at a loss for something to do of an evening. The theaters and cabarets are diverting, and the opera, although not up to New York stand- THE ORIGIN AND RISE OF THE FLAPPER l_)_rf THE patient public ha3 been enlightened as to the habits of the flapper. But no one has attempted to explain whence came this new genus. Did the fiapper "jes* -grow" to blossom in 1922? Banish the thought! The flapper has been with us for moro than three centuries, accord¬ ing to philologists. In 1726 history first makes definite mention of the flapper. Swift, in hi? "Gulliver's Travels," -says: "The absent- minded philosopher of Laputa always kept a flapper in the family, whose duty wb*> to strike gently the mouth of him to whom the speaker addressed himself," The flapper was then some¬ thing to arouse memory. It was in this sense that Lord Chesterfield, in the year 1T47, wrote in a letter i "1 writ» you, fay way of a flapper, to put you in mind of yourself"-. Until 1852 did the flapper serve as a meek daily i*eminder. A writer in "Blackwood's Magazine" expressed the opinion of that d-*ay in hi.-j remark: "It is an advantage to have a flapper about us to remind us of our faults." But the vicissitudes of time brought a change to flapperdom. A quarter of a century later ípund the flapper an object used to shoo away flies. Always with looseness as a character¬ istic, soon many things which were noticeably flat and loose began to be spoken of as flap¬ pers. Even the long shoes worn by negro mine strels earned the title. There is no missing link in the evolution of the flapper. In 1888 the term was applied tc a young cluck which tried to fly. Here, evi¬ dently, is the maternal grandmother of the would-be-high-flying flapper of to-day.and of to-night. At the beginning of the nineteenth century more particular instincts of the flapper began to be developed. Any loose part of an animal which flapped was a flapper. In the Museum of Natural History, the flapper of a porpoise on exhibition is shown to remind flappers whence they sprang. When, several years later, a man accosted a friend and said heart¬ ily, "Give us your flapper, old man," he was not «sking him for his ladye faire» He was merely offering to ¡-hake hands. The flapper did double duty for a while, and. took on the work of an intransitive verb, too, "To flapper" meant to "walk with a loose, flap« ping motion." It also meant "to quiver" and "to flutter," -which can all be noted in the flapper to-day. And, of course, it is a verb cf the active voice. So active that it brings before us the twentieth century flapper, the 1922, eight-cylinder, two earring model. The flapper's versatility is due to her ex¬ periences in so many forms of life. Her walk and the loose waist, are second nature from the days she was part of the porpoise. She still does duty as a daily reminder. She can still chase away flies, birds and others who prey, even gift-bearing animals. The flat shoes, erstwhile pride of minstrels, are even condoned, as is likewise the boyish grip of the flapper that only she can give. It's all part of her original nature, combined with the forces of her environment. She is the evolution of a type whic-h has been in the making three hun¬ dred years.___ Color a-plenty, both in ñowers and people. ards, is well worth while. When the new National Opera House is finished the Mexicans will have performances on a grander scale than those to which they have been accus¬ tomed. Negotiations have been opened witft the Chicago Opera Company to give the in¬ augural series, and a huge Tiffany glass cur¬ tain is being put in place which the Amer¬ ican cftlony hopes will serve as a refutation of the Mexican theory that America has no feel¬ ing for art. Then, too, Mexico has its Symphony Or¬ chestra and more than its share of vocal and instrumental concerts. Godowsky always fills a large recital hall whenever he comes here, at prices in substantial advance of what he receives in American cities. Tetrazzini was a prime favorite in Mexico City long before she was heard of in New York or London. "La Boheme" was given its' premiere there three years previous to its first production at the Metropolitan, and many important orches¬ tral works have been played by the National Symphony and other orchestras that are still waiting for a hearing in tjjis country. The great hero of the hour is an American. "Babe" WThite, "the human fly," is climbing nearly every day to the top of the great Ca¬ thedral, and "El Hombre Mosca" is a name that is on everybody's lips. Nearly fifty thou¬ sand Indians gathered one day in the Z«^calo, the immense plaza in front of the famous old church, to witness his hair-raising stunt and stood with popping eyes and dropped jaw3 while he pulled himself over the ancient stones of the facade and slid to the top of the flagpole on the tower. The shout that went up from the multitude of ecstatic In¬ dians would have made Jack Dempsey green with envy. A large detachment of soldiers provided to keep the crowd in order had its hands full in keeping the mob from storming the Cathedral as the great hero descended. "Babe," it seems, has no liking for the embrace«; of en¬ thusiastic Indians and'was obliged to make, a strategic exit through the sacristy to escape them. His picture is to be seen everywhere. in the movies, in newspapers and magazine--*. while every peon proudly carries his photo¬ graph in the ribbon of his sombrero. There is one class, however, which has not joined in the general triumph, and that is the bull-fighter fraternity. The leading matadors are said to be most envious of the American's spectacular success. Gaona, Silvetti and Bel- mont*?, spoiled darlings of the -people, are be¬ ginning to sulk, an! their friends say the} are fearful lest their supporters acquire î taste for steeple climbing and lose their relisr for the sanguinary delights of the arena. Bui "Babe," it appears, is not in Mexico-for long He is looking for other worlds to eenquer il South America. In the Argentine arid Brasil where the corrida is taboo, he will probably not come up against professional jealousy o: a serious nature and will be master of all hi surveys. Bullfighting was forbidden under Carranzi and many at.ribute the old President's down fall to the detested law. The day after th news of his death reached the capital a cor rida was given with great eclat in the ball ring. Since then no reformer has tiared t raise his voice, and bullfighting remains mor thr.n ever a national institution. The govern ment is of the opinion that bullfighting is boon to Mexico in the present stage of its eve lution. It Í3 supposed to act as a safety valv for revolutionary steam. Be that as it maj the gate receipts certainly show no signs o dwindling. On the contrary, the 1921-*2 season was a record-breaking one. Abou 25,000 people attended the recent Covadong corrida, paying $6 gold and more a hea for the privilege. President Obregon and tb aristocracy of the capital graced the func¬ tion, to say nothing of the entire America colony. American residents denounce bul fighting to a man, but if one happens to 1 looking for an elusive compatriot of a Sunds afternoon one is pretty sure to find hi: seated comfortably in a front row of tl Plaza de Toros.
Transcript of TRANQUILMEXICO IS WORRIED ABOUT YORK€¦ · minded philosopher of Laputa always kept a flapper in...
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TRANQUILMEXICO IS WORRIEDABOUTNEWYORKArticle and Photographs by SHERRIL .SCHELL
There is something informal about the lace counterOPINION on the boat among the
Americans was solidly lined upagainst the professor who was takinghis wife to Mexico. If ho wanted to
bring her along, why hadn't he selected Cali¬fornia, Canada or some other tranquil spotfor his vacation? Why choose Mexico of allcountries, where both would be insulted,robbed or possibly murdered? In the smokingsaloon blood-curdling stories were exchangedfor his edification.tales of horror that wouldhave supplied material for a hundred movieplots of the regulation border variety.The fifth day out the professor was seen
to leave a half-emptied glass of Scotch onhis table and hastily make tracks toward thepurser's office. On the way he encounteredhis wife and stopped to tell her that he haddecided to take her home on the same boat.Mrs. Professor was not so easily managed.She wanted to know the why and wherefore,and the professor was obliged to sit down andrelate what he had overheard.A well-dressed Mexican gentleman reclin¬
ing in a nearby steamer chair listened to theconversation with serious expression. Afterthe professor had finished his report and hadtaken up the subject of return tickets hesprang to his feet. Introducing himself andapologizing profusely for having "listened in,"he plunged into an eloquent defense of hiscountry. Speaking with the authority of onewho had lived his whole life in Mexico, heassured them that their fears were ground¬less. He guaranteed them complete safetyand finally brought them round with a promiseof introductions to high officials who wouldsmooth the way for a certain archaeologicalenterprise they had in mind.The professor had some misgivings, how¬
ever, as the steamer slid into the bay of VeraCruz. "Sinister looking Indians were as¬sembled on the dock and rent the air withtheir cries. These were the cargadores.inother words, the baggage express of the sea¬port. Going down the gang-plank the pas¬sengers "were obliged to run the gauntlet ofa mob of dirty peons, who clutched at theirclothes and battled fiercely with each otherfor the privilege of carrying their luggage.Although there is a night train to the City
of Mexico, the wise traveler waits over untilnext morning so as not to miss the sceneryalong the route. Timorous Americans figuredthat it would be less dangerous to travel bydaylight, but gave the scenery as their excusefor putting up with the heat and mosquitoesof a Vera Cruz night. The little squad ofsoldiers provided as an escort was not one toinspire confidence, and nervous fingers feltfor« unaccustomed automatics as the trainstopped suddenly a few miles out. Strangeas it seemed, no bandits appeared, only astraggling group of Indian women with rosesfor sale. Evidently tli3 dreaded encounterwas to happen further up the line. As thetrain panted up into the high mountains thestage was set in perfect fashion for the dark¬est deeds. Just the spot for a bloody encoun¬ter with Zapat'.stas, Villistas, the Americansknew not what. But "it was roses, ro3es allthe way," and baskets of strawberries andMexican onyx held up temptingly to the car¦windows by sweety-voiced Indian girls.A few weeks ago one of the leading Mexi-
«m papers ran a page of recent crimes inthe united States under the heading: "ShallMexico Intervene?" The American colony isgetting rather sensitive about the publicitygiven to our lawlessness in the Mexicandailies and spends a good deal of its time intrying to explain it away. There also seemsto be a plethora of American crook picturesnow showing in Mexico, which also adds to itsembarrassment. Sorna of the foreign resi¬dents say they are glad to see Mexico gettingeven. If the average American thinks ofMexico as the land of bloodthirsty banditti,the Mexican is rapidly coming to the con¬clusion that all Americans are either safe-blowers or y«sggmea.
It is a common sight in Mexico City to seeyouthful «employ««»«« carrying bags of gold andsálv«r from one bank to another. Strolling
along Francisco Ma¬dero Street, they stopevery now and then tochat with a friend orto gaze in a shop win¬dow. It is true thatthere is an occasionalhold-up in the City ofMexico, but the per¬centage of crime dur¬ing the last year waslower than in manycities of its size in theUnited States. From allaccounts there seemsto be a great deal ofsmall thievery, but per¬sonally I have neverhad the experience ofbeing victimized by the"ratero." Nor have Iover heard of any onebeing robbed at firsthand. On the contrary,in going by streetcarto Tlalpam, one of thesuburbs of the capital,I left a hand satchelunder the seat and gotoff forgetting it. AnAmerican friend toldme I would never seeit. ae-ain. hut. within anhour I had, recovered it at the "lost andfound" department of the street railways.A friend of mine, an American opera sing¬
er, put $150 in her pillow slip one night be¬fore going to bed and forgot all about it forthree days, when' suddenly, while driving onthe Paseo, she remembered her carelessness.Rushing back to the hotel with stories of lightfingered Aztec gentry ringing in her ears, sheran up four flights of stairs and found themoney exactly where »she had placed it. Call¬ing the $5 a month Indian chambermaid, sheasked if she had known that the money wasunder the pillow."Como no, señorita?" the girl answered.
"I have made up your bed twice since you putit there."Americans are not unpopular with the
Mexicans. For the most part our compatriotswho remained during the various revolutionsand the Vera Cruz occupation went about theiraffairs freely and without molestation. Youraverage Mexican bothers his head very, littleabout recognition or the absence of recogni¬tion. He is interested, first of all, in politicsof a more local nature and only becomes ex¬cited about our country when the newspapersproclaim the possibility of intervention. Someprominent Mexicans are bold enough to de¬clare openly that they would welcome inter¬vention, but the wise American does well todrop this word from his vocabulary when hecrosses the border. Mexicans are a sensitive
The Alamedas, City of Mexico, a garden of tropic flowers and a favorite promenade
A glimpse of the Paseo, Mexico's beautiful avenue, which somehow suggestsour own Riverside Drive
and high-spirited peo¬ple, and most of themsee red if such a con¬tingency is even hintedat. Speaking general¬ly, the masses seem tobe as well off as theywere during Porfirio'srule. A great many ofthem seem to be un¬derfed, but they havebeen underfed sincethe time cf Monte-zuma.
On the whole, thereappear to be fewerbeggars than formerly,and the Indian popu¬lation seems to bebetter clothed. TheObregon governmentis doing much for edu¬cation and plans todo a great deal morewhen the treasuryfunds allow it a freerhand. The schemealready under wayfor the art educationof the people is almostambitious. Every childwill be given the op-port unity of learn¬
ing some art or craft under the guidance ofexperts. An effort will be made to make thestudents forget European traditions and toconcentrate more on native forms and designs.
In spite of all her troubles our southernneighbor has shot ahead of us in the creationin her Cabinet of a Minister of Art. But,then, there were painters and sculptors inMexico long before there was a United States.One likes to remind smug Bostonians that theUniversity of Mexico was founded some fiftyyears or more before the Pilgrims lajided inNew England. The instinct for art with theleisure and temperament to cultivate it maybring forth wonderful results in the future.Much is expected from the new school ofpainters and sculptors, young men who havebroken away from French conventions andwho are striving to revive the glories of thepre-conquest period. Already one genius hasarisen, Diego, well known in Paris, who iscalled the Mexican Michaelangelo. His mas¬terpiece, the impressive mural decoration inthe Escuela Preparatoria, without betrayingany signs of imitation, has all the breadth andpower of the Italian master. This painting,"The Creation," the noted critic Best-Maugarddeclares is the greatest work of art in theWestern Hemisphere.
There are many amusements in the Cityof Mexico, and the American is never at aloss for something to do of an evening. Thetheaters and cabarets are diverting, and theopera, although not up to New York stand-
THE ORIGIN AND RISE OF THE FLAPPERl_)_rf
THE patient public ha3 been enlightenedas to the habits of the flapper. Butno one has attempted to explainwhence came this new genus. Did the
fiapper "jes* -grow" to blossom in 1922?Banish the thought! The flapper has been
with us for moro than three centuries, accord¬ing to philologists. In 1726 history first makesdefinite mention of the flapper. Swift, in hi?"Gulliver's Travels," -says: "The absent-minded philosopher of Laputa always kept aflapper in the family, whose duty wb*> to strikegently the mouth of him to whom the speakeraddressed himself," The flapper was then some¬thing to arouse memory. It was in this sensethat Lord Chesterfield, in the year 1T47,wrote in a letter i "1 writ» you, fay way of a
flapper, to put you in mind of yourself"-.Until 1852 did the flapper serve as a meek
daily i*eminder. A writer in "Blackwood'sMagazine" expressed the opinion of that d-*ayin hi.-j remark: "It is an advantage to have aflapper about us to remind us of our faults."But the vicissitudes of time brought a changeto flapperdom. A quarter of a century laterípund the flapper an object used to shoo awayflies. Always with looseness as a character¬istic, soon many things which were noticeablyflat and loose began to be spoken of as flap¬pers. Even the long shoes worn by negro minestrels earned the title.
There is no missing link in the evolution ofthe flapper. In 1888 the term was applied tc
a young cluck which tried to fly. Here, evi¬dently, is the maternal grandmother of thewould-be-high-flying flapper of to-day.and ofto-night.At the beginning of the nineteenth century
more particular instincts of the flapper beganto be developed. Any loose part of an animalwhich flapped was a flapper. In the Museumof Natural History, the flapper of a porpoiseon exhibition is shown to remind flapperswhence they sprang. When, several yearslater, a man accosted a friend and said heart¬ily, "Give us your flapper, old man," he wasnot «sking him for his ladye faire» He wasmerely offering to ¡-hake hands.The flapper did double duty for a while, and.
took on the work of an intransitive verb, too,"To flapper" meant to "walk with a loose, flap«ping motion." It also meant "to quiver" and
"to flutter," -which can all be noted in theflapper to-day. And, of course, it is a verbcf the active voice. So active that it bringsbefore us the twentieth century flapper, the1922, eight-cylinder, two earring model.
The flapper's versatility is due to her ex¬periences in so many forms of life. Her walkand the loose waist, are second nature fromthe days she was part of the porpoise. Shestill does duty as a daily reminder. She canstill chase away flies, birds and others whoprey, even gift-bearing animals. The flatshoes, erstwhile pride of minstrels, are evencondoned, as is likewise the boyish grip of theflapper that only she can give. It's all part ofher original nature, combined with the forcesof her environment. She is the evolution of atype whic-h has been in the making three hun¬dred years.___
Color a-plenty, both in ñowers and people.
ards, is well worth while. When the newNational Opera House is finished the Mexicanswill have performances on a grander scalethan those to which they have been accus¬tomed. Negotiations have been opened witftthe Chicago Opera Company to give the in¬augural series, and a huge Tiffany glass cur¬tain is being put in place which the Amer¬ican cftlony hopes will serve as a refutation ofthe Mexican theory that America has no feel¬ing for art.
Then, too, Mexico has its Symphony Or¬chestra and more than its share of vocal andinstrumental concerts. Godowsky always fillsa large recital hall whenever he comes here,at prices in substantial advance of what hereceives in American cities. Tetrazzini wasa prime favorite in Mexico City long beforeshe was heard of in New York or London. "LaBoheme" was given its' premiere there threeyears previous to its first production atthe Metropolitan, and many important orches¬tral works have been played by the NationalSymphony and other orchestras that are stillwaiting for a hearing in tjjis country.The great hero of the hour is an American.
"Babe" WThite, "the human fly," is climbingnearly every day to the top of the great Ca¬thedral, and "El Hombre Mosca" is a namethat is on everybody's lips. Nearly fifty thou¬sand Indians gathered one day in the Z«^calo,the immense plaza in front of the famous oldchurch, to witness his hair-raising stunt andstood with popping eyes and dropped jaw3while he pulled himself over the ancientstones of the facade and slid to the top ofthe flagpole on the tower. The shout thatwent up from the multitude of ecstatic In¬dians would have made Jack Dempsey greenwith envy.A large detachment of soldiers provided to
keep the crowd in order had its hands full inkeeping the mob from storming the Cathedralas the great hero descended. "Babe," itseems, has no liking for the embrace«; of en¬thusiastic Indians and'was obliged to make, astrategic exit through the sacristy to escapethem. His picture is to be seen everywhere.in the movies, in newspapers and magazine--*.while every peon proudly carries his photo¬graph in the ribbon of his sombrero.There is one class, however, which has not
joined in the general triumph, and that is thebull-fighter fraternity. The leading matadorsare said to be most envious of the American'sspectacular success. Gaona, Silvetti and Bel-mont*?, spoiled darlings of the -people, are be¬ginning to sulk, an! their friends say the}are fearful lest their supporters acquire îtaste for steeple climbing and lose their relisrfor the sanguinary delights of the arena. Bui"Babe," it appears, is not in Mexico-for longHe is looking for other worlds to eenquer ilSouth America. In the Argentine arid Brasilwhere the corrida is taboo, he will probablynot come up against professional jealousy o:a serious nature and will be master of all hisurveys.
Bullfighting was forbidden under Carranziand many at.ribute the old President's downfall to the detested law. The day after thnews of his death reached the capital a corrida was given with great eclat in the ballring. Since then no reformer has tiared traise his voice, and bullfighting remains morthr.n ever a national institution. The government is of the opinion that bullfighting isboon to Mexico in the present stage of its evelution. It Í3 supposed to act as a safety valvfor revolutionary steam. Be that as it majthe gate receipts certainly show no signs odwindling. On the contrary, the 1921-*2season was a record-breaking one. Abou25,000 people attended the recent Covadongcorrida, paying $6 gold and more a heafor the privilege. President Obregon and tbaristocracy of the capital graced the func¬tion, to say nothing of the entire Americacolony. American residents denounce bulfighting to a man, but if one happens to 1looking for an elusive compatriot of a Sundsafternoon one is pretty sure to find hi:seated comfortably in a front row of tlPlaza de Toros.
