THE. SUNDAY OREGOXIAN. PORTLAND, AUGUST 22, 1909
I
TOTS
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WHEN President Tart and President
Porflrio Diaz meet, sometime next
Fall, on the International bridge
that connects E.I Paso with Ciudad Juarez.
It Is probable that the ceremonies win
eclipse anything ever een along the his
toric Rio Grande. '.' .. ".
All Texas Is taking a deep interest In
the meeting of the Presidents, and not
lees interest Is manifested by the better
classes of Mexican on the other side of
ihe border. It is planned tb have the
Presidents meet on the international
bridge, across the Rio Grande River, con
necting he American; city of El Paso
with the Mexican city of Juarex. The
bridge, across which thousands of Amer
ican tourist go every year to witness the
hull fights which re a feature of
Juarez life, will" be; gsily decorated.
The Presidents will be seated exactly in
the center. President Diaz. on his side,
will be urrounded by' Mexican dignitar
ies, while President Taft will have no lack
of gold lace and epaulets to counteract
the dazzling display made by the officials
from Mexico. A banquet on the bridge Is
part of the plans under way. American
and Mexican, bands will vie with each
other In making m'isic the National hymn
of both countries being featured. Soldiers,
Texan Rangers. Mexican Rurales. Indians
from the Southwest and Mexico, cowboys
right off our own range?, and vaqtrros
from the Mexican cattle ranches, and bull
fighters from the celebrated rings of Vres
ldent Dial's country will add life and col
or to the festivities tlit will follow the
friendly exchange of greetings by the two
Presidents. And the invitations will be
delivered to both President Taft and Pres.
Ident Diaz by two American cow-punchers
who will art as pony express riders.
:
It will be the first time an American
and a Mexican President have met, and
Jt will be one of the few times In history
that rulers have clapeii hands across the
border line dividing their respective coun
tries. El Taso hns entertnined many Pres
idents, but never under Mrcumstances that
hint of international peace and good will
and consequently El Paso Is solng to see
that nothing is left undone to make the
proposed meeting something to be long re
membered by the people of the United
States and Mexico. ' .
There Is no more interesting city In tho
United States than Kl Paso, U.ike Santa
Ve, It holds a strange mingling of the old
s.nd :he uew. One linds every evidence
of American rush and.' enterprise in tho
heart of tho' city, butlln the outskirts
unlets one except the fashionable resi
dence section of Sunny Top there Is a
pronounced Mexican air to everything.
Alone liie white roads that lead one
through the' high, barren mountains to
the parched desert, on finds the square,
one-storied houses of adobe that tell of
Spanish architectural' Ideals. Dark
kiiind men and women sun themselves
against the white wall In the Spring
and Fall, or smoke the cigarette in tho
cool and shady courtyards in Summer -for
nearly every house in El Paso has it
court. Here one hears Spanish and Span-i.-U
on'y. All the white, men in thlB pan
of the country can patter" the. lingo
some of them like natives, but a ma
jority just well enough to get along.
'
Olio of the greatest smelters in tbe
V est is located at El Paso, and in recent
years msny manufacturing Institutions
hae located in the city. Mining men
make their headquarters here, and the
American residents are proud of the way
El Paso Is booming." But the average
visitor does n;t care so much for the
fine business blocks, and the rattle of the
electric cars along the paved streets, aa
for the lazy slouch of the Mexican burro
drivers bringing in their loads of wood,
and the windows wrfereln sit the Mexican
lapidaries at their wheels, polishing beau
tiful turquoises which come in from the
gem mines at Herejerllla and Sliver City.
New Mexico. El Paso Is the center of
the turquoise industry of the United
States, most of these beautiful gems,
which are found in such profusion in
Southern New Mexico being brought In
for polishing. Artisans who possess a
high degree of skill are required for the
work of converting the rough turquoises
Into marketable gems, and it Is always
Interesting to watch the El Paso tur
quoise polishers at their endless task.
At El Paso is the headquarters of the
officials who guard the border line be
tween Mexico and the United States and
prevent smugglers from bringing their
goods Into this country duty free. Tho
late "Pat" Garrett, the celebrated slayer
of the outlaw. Billy the Kid. was for
several years custom collector at El
Paso, and the mourning in town wat
general when "Pat" was shot and killed
not many months ago by a New Mexico
ranchman who "got the drop" on thrt
noted gun fighter. The Texas Rangers,
much of whose work consists in patrolling
the Rio Grande,' clatter Into town every
once in a while sinewy, bronzed chaps,
who ride with the cowboy's easy grace,
and who are never without a veritable
arsenal of weapons. The rangers travel
in twos and threes, except on special oc
casions when more are rcqulrec". It is
found, however, that the presence of a
Ranger or two on t"he scene of trouble H
Jut as effective as an army.
-
The bridge that spans the Rio Grande
at El Paso is a wide, uncovered struc
ture. Tram cars rush across it. and here
one is halted by the customs officials
with their everlasting Inquiries about
your personal effects. The Rio Grande,
except in flood time, is the most disap
pointing stream in the world. The high
sounding Spanish name causes one to
conjure up a picture of a broad and
miglity torrent, whereas the opposite Is
the case. Generally the stream Is small
and sickly, and crawls along between
the gun-baked banks -like a sluggish
snake.
t'iiidad Juarez, at the other end of the
International bridge, is a typical Mexican
village. There Is nothing American
about Juarez, save on holidays, when the
Yankees flock across to take in the bull
fights. Then the plaza Is alive with all
. kinds and conditions of men. Indolent
Mexicans wake up and manifest surpris
ing vigor. Strains from "Carmen"' float
SCENES INLL PASO AND
XUA&EZ, YANKEE 'AND MEXICAN
TOWNS THAT FACE EACH OTHER.
ON THE WO GRANDE r.
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jMzrxTCo.lcizoss the:
. is ro G&a.nde m ojt z. Pas a.
across the plaza, and the shouts of thou
sands come from the bull ring, where the
contests are enjoyed "to the limit" by
the natives. Most of the Yankee tour
ists who enter so bravely oon sicken
of the bull-ring sights, and it is nothing
unusual to see one of them come stag
gering from the entrance, deathly pale,
and cured for all time of his curiosity
concerning bullfights.
Recently the authorities dealt the bull
fighting element ol Juarez a cruel blow.
Some Inkling of Dr. Wiley's pure food
campaign must have come to the Juarez
officials, who determined to be reformers
on their own accord. It ha long been
the practice to sell the carcasses of the
bulls and horses killed in the Juarez bull
ring to the eager public as food. But It
was found that this was inimical to pub
lic health. The bulls are killed under
the woist possible circumstances, some
times the flesh being so bruised by tho
repeated falls of the animal in the ring
that the meat will not keep an hour,
even on ice. The authorities decided to
stop the practice of selling this meat, and
the promoters of the bullfights immedi
ately filled the air with their protest,
claiming that the profits from the enter
tainments were so small that no more
fights could be given if the bull meat
could not be disposed of after the con
tests. The authorities remained firm,
however, and It remains to be seen If the
bull fight promoters were in earnest -or
were merely making a "bluff."
The bullfights at Juarez are generally
tame affairs, but occasionally some cele
brated bullfighter visits the border town.
His coming is heralded far and wide,
and the range of Northern New Mexico
are searched for "broncho" bulls whose
dispositions are warranted to be fiery
Many fighters have met with accidents
and there have, been one or two deaths in
the Juarez ring. Occasionally, just for
variation, the public Is invited to see a
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SyW diWiiif'fi-riVfitftf; it
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contest between a lion and a bull, or
something else calculated to stir the
blood of the most blase Mexican. ' .
-
Juarez used to be called El Paso Del
Nort, but waa renamed in honor of Jua
rez, who at this place began his march
to the South. which resulted in the over
throw of Maximilian. There is plenty to
Interest the visitor in Juarez, here ofte
see an occasional Rurale the counter
part of our American rangers on the oth
er side of the Rio Grande. The Rurales
are President Diaz's most dependable
milllBvry body. They are all-round fight
ers, and are the only one who can cope
with the terrible Yaquis and come off
victorious. They patrol the border line
in search of smugglers and other crim
inals, and render efficient service. In
co-operation with .the American patrol,
they make an effective border guard. In
all probability their leader. Colonel Kos-
holitzky, a Polish soldier of fortune, will
be at the head of President Diaz's body
guard when the meeting with President
Taft takes place.
"In the vicinity of Juarez are many
American cattlemen, who have been
driven to Old Mexico hy the rapid set
tlement of the cattle"- ranges in the
United States. The mining interest of
Northern Mexico are generally passing
into the hands of Americans. In fact,
there is such a vast American Influence
in Mexico that the celebration attend
ing the meeting of Presidents will be
decidedly more American than Mexican
in tone. President Diaz has always en
couraged American settlements in Mex
ico, and his greeting is bound to be" most
friendly. At present the "iron man" of
Mexico is engaged in a campaign for
re-election. Th election does not take
place till next year, and the public Is
concerned chiefly In the Vice-Presidency,
as it is conceded that the man who
get this post will succeed Diaz when
that official retires at the end of his
next term. Rioting In the interests of
General Reyes, who opposes the present
Vice-President. Ramon Corral, has even
now been a feature of the campaign. And
in El Paso it is hinted that if the Reyes
Corral factions "start something" at the
International function that is being
planned, a bullfight will be a tame affair
to the argument that will follow. No
such feature is looked for, however, and
all along the border two great nations
are primping themselves and making
ready for one of the greatent interna
tional lovefeasts - in history.
El Paao, Texas.
Hun' to Pronounce "Automobile."
New York Press.
Battle rages in the Bookman over the
pronunciation ot "automobile," which
Webster's and the Century say ought to
have the accent on the "mo." The Book
man reckons that these ortheoplsts are
the sort of persons who always "smell of
fried things," Just- as, according to an
other authority, the man who writes
"whilst" is pictured In the mind's eye as
wearing a grease spot on hi waistcoat.
Our arbiter contends for "AU-tomoblle"
as the pronunciation sanctioned by the
cultivated, the enlightened, the remnant,
the very few.
We agree with this verdict only condi
tionally. Usage makes .pronunciation, and
usage both common and cultured alike
shuns AU-tomobile. Au-to-MO-bl and
automo-BEEL. The best ways to pro
nounce automobile are "machine,'' buzz
wagon." "motor car" and plain "car."
Woman of S8 an Kxpert Swimmer.
"Portsmouth. N. H.. Dispatch to New
- , York Press.
Mrs. Patrick Burns, 86 years old, of
Dover, is today reckoned as the most
expert swimmer on the Rye Beach
Coast. Mrs. Burns takes a dip in the
water at Wallis Sands every day. and
her aquatic powers are a source of
amazement to the hundreds of Summer
visitors. The dally sea bath has been
her custom for years, and no lisesaver
on the coast can teach her anything
about cleaving the crater.
She is an artist at floating, diving
and swimming on her back. She de
lights mostly in diving, and can make
as pretty a plunge as the instructor of
a swimming pool. Recently a girl
bather at one of the beaches lost a
valuable back comb from her hair and
several of the men in the water at
tempted to recover it. but failed.
Mrs. Burns then came on the scene,
and after a few dives brought up the
lost article, while the crowd on shore
vigorously applauded her act. Her life
Is marked with works of charity, and
she is credited with being: the best in
formed person relative to the Catholic
history of New Hampshire.
Nerve of Theater Deadhead.
Tit-Bits.
Oscar Asche, who, with hi wife. Miss
Lily Brayton, is on his way to Australia,
his native land, which he left IS years
ago, remarked just before' he set sail,
apropos of the slump in theaters, that
the deadhead is a destroyer of drama.
"While I was touring with a certain
highly, respected manager we were
playing at a long-famous old playhouse
in ,an ancient town. We had billed
'Macbeth' for Friday night, but during:
that day the theater burned down. For
our next week there our chief contrived
to borrow a playhouse a little way out
of the district. ' On reaching- there to
rehearse on the Monday the manager
received a letter saying that the writer
had been given two dress circle orders
for the performance of 'Macbeth,' but
as that play was not performed owing
to the destruction of the theater, the
writer surmised that the manager
would remit the money value of those
orders."
A SO.NG OF THE SIMPLE LITE.
ftf I jVould sail o'er tne seas away
To a land where 'tis always hprlni.
I'd .sit on the grass rhrnuph the livelong 17
And hear the songbirds sing.
When I waa hungry I'd go to a palm
And shake till the cocoanuta fell:
Then I'd eat mv dinner all quiet and caliv
With no other dlch but the rhell.
When I m thirsty I'd find a brook,
And lying down on the ftrand
Among the gay f lowers In a ehady noolc,
I d drmk a drink off from the sand.
When I waa ulcepy in some tall tree
Of the forest I'd seek repose;
I'd elecp all night with my ehln on my km
And cling to ti e bough with my toea.
When I was feblp and old and fat
And iny time had come to die.
I'd hltoh my soul to a vampire hat
And fly with him up to the ak4