i
MZtSrORD (ORtCCKl MAIL TRIBUNE
Thursday. June 20. 1957
Wetback Season Gets Under Way; Border Patrol Ready for Problem
I:A::"n. Tex '? The ft
!5cfc Ka-'m .xicn na
iiooas try to snalc across the
R-0 Grande toward American
ia-nj jois- 3 00
The Barrier Pa'ro! Once the
'njo haeij group of men in
, intensely agricultural valley
-ranta ready to cope ilii the
prnocni. Pa'roiiTfin will ork
dav and r::gnt. In cotton fields
work permits in tne Lmted moved into the Rio Grande Val
State? Rains in Mexico, boost-! ley with buses, jecns, planes and
in? that nation's farm activity, ! other equipment for finding il
also will help hold down the legal laborers and shipping them
wetback count. back to Mexico.
Already patrolmen are pick-' Newspaper and radio adher
ing up wetbacks at better than Using in two languages told the
300 a month, and the harvest- farmers and the wetbacks that
inf season has yet to hit its the latter could leave the coun
stride. Since 1954, the percent 'try voluntarily if they left im
age of pickups at the river has mediately. Loudspeakers repeat
ed md-.sry, ax v.eil as on the been rising, while pickups of ed the message in Spanish from
rr.er. wc.mi k will foe picked those who have already gotten planes flying over vegetable and
Up. i'ngpr printed for the FBI
r.d if they ha: e criminal rec-;
ordi or are "repeaters charg
ed vi'h illegal entry.
In y.ex.co, an advertising ram
pa.gn of "no work in Texas" is
00 to diwrourage rich migration, i
Oticiais are bushing the "brac-
: into jobs here have been fewer ' cotton patches.
The Border Patrol appears to
h.ve the situation under con
trol. Not so a few years ago.
before "Operation 54" caused
hatred for the Patrol to hit
peak among farmers,
w hom used wetbacks.
Within the next 15 days, 170.-j
000 wetbacks wolked across:
bridges to their homeland. An !
untold number rode taxis.;
trucks, and buses across. The !
many of task force got another 44,875
during the 15-day period.
Through the next month, an-1
other 23.000 were trucked,!
flown, shipped and marched in-J
to Mexico. Sixty days later, the
task force was dissolved. The i
emergency which began during
World War II labor shortage per
iods, was over.
It was estimated last month
that there were fewer than 500
wetbacks working in the entire
Rio Grande Valley.
Angry farmers, left in 1954
with half-picked cotton fields
and a labor shortage, displayed
an almost unanimous contempt
for the Border Patrol. Charges
of "Gestapo tactics"' and "rough
ing up" flew.
The charge were never
proved to the satisfaction of the
Immigration Service. They were
never disproved to the satisfac
tion of the valley's newspapers
and farmers. Some resentment
still exists.
A Different Type
Recently, the valley Farm
Bureau, representing 4.000 farm
ers, endorsed a resolution to cut
the numbers of the Border Pa
trol. Bureau manager C. B. Ray
of Mercedes said the move was
motivated only by economy. He
said he did not know horn much
of the resentment was still felt
in the valley but that the Patrol
"wouldn't win any popularity
contests around here."
A former patrolman. James
Griffin, a major valley farmer
and rancher who was most crit
ical of the Patrol in 1954 when
it "made an, example of him,"
said many of the practices he
objected to are no longer in use.
Chief Border Patrol Inspector
George Harrison, who came here
with the task force and stayed
to take over the headquarters,
said the wetback of today is dif
ferent from the wetback of a
few yars ago.
"Those earlier wetbacks were
simple, honest people, just look
ing for work," he explained
"But these days we get only the
dregs. Many of them have crim
inal records. The honest laborer
can come over legally under the
bracero program.
The result of the mass clean
up has been a cleaner, quieter
valley. Wetback camps no long
er breed disease and cause urban
blight. Farmers are coming to
use bracero labor more and
more.
"The bracero is more depend
able," said Griffin. "You can
teach him how to run equip
ment, and he will slay with you
until the job is? done. In the
old days, by the time you got
a man trained, the Border Pa
trol would find him and cart
him off."
ero" prog a n whereby a limited The 1954 Cleanup
ni.jnber of Mexicans can be le-1 In 1954. a separate "task
, l:y processed for temporary force" of hundreds of patrolmen
m .4 v-KMKurtW.. ?
Fancy Kentucky Wonder
GREEN BEANS
iTiMin 1 1 - - -''- m'Tiufi 1 ii-inn 1 in nr
mmekmr fir rrrinuiiinri
11 & ur rmmmu
fe-airni .'
HADE!
CRISP
TENDER
LARGE
BUNCHES
elery
EACH
PRINCESS GRACE TAKES A RIDE-Former film star,
Grace Kefly, now Princess Grace of Monaco, fastens her
"Mae West" just before taking a hflicopt-r ride from the
deck of the carrier USS Forrestal. She visited the ship
while it was in Monaco's port
On The Side By E. V. Durling
(Distributed by King Feiture Syndicate, Inc.)
Fogelson has stated that in so
doing, he found very helpful
our Horses and Women depart
ment pamphlet titled "How To
Handle A Red-Haired Woman "
He also found of some assistance
the wife training advice in the
report on the views of the star
gazers titled 'Living with a
Libra."
Saw Ethel Merman, the As-i
toria Nightingale, in "Happy
Hunting ' the other night. She
was never better. What Bill
Shakespeare said about the "in- j
finite variety" of Cleopatra
foet double for Ethel. She ha;
been in more musical hits than
ny feminine star who has ever
hone on Broadway. And I don't
except Lillian Russell or Anna
Held. Why does La Merman en
joy auch auccess? Well, she's got
rhythm plus. Her enunciation is
uperb. Her timing is perfect.
Her sense of humor is exception
al. The top flight lyricists, tune
smiths and writers know when
they hitch their wagon to the
tar yclept Merman, that wa
gon it bound to go places.
Twin
What the record weight for
twins at birth? That's what a
Bronx subscriber asks. She has
just become the mother of twin
hoys. One weighs seven pounds,
nine ounces, and the other was
eight pounds. She saye the peo
ple at the hospital considered
this unusual but did not know
the record. Neither do I. But
am checking. Incidentally, the
father of these twins is of Irish
descent. More proof of our
claim that if a girl marries a
man of Irish birth or descent
her chances of becoming a mo
ther of twins are -greatly increased.
Sidelight!
One of every 30 inhabitants
of New York City is on relief
Of Puerto Ricans now living in
New York, one of every 10 is
on relief . . . The name of a
barbershop on Broadway, near
36th st. Manhattan. is "An
thony's Tonsonal Studios."
Please Note
It should be kept in mind
that when Abraham Lincoln said
"all that I am 1 owe to my an
gel mother." he was speaking
of his stepmother. She was. of
course, Sarah Bush Johnston
Lincoln, the second wife of
Thomas Lincoln.
Longshot
As for luiigshots. consider the
experience of Matthew Hobson,
a London laborer. He borrow
ed two shillings, six pence, the
equivalent of about 35 cents,
from his landlady and with it
won 75.000 pounds, the equiv
alent of S-10.000. in a football
pool. And the money won is tax
free. Gambling winnings are not
taxed in Great Britain.
Passing By
Greer Gsr.-on. t itian-tressed
Iris'i beauty. My favorite red
.lid actres.-. Greer in com
1. -on with all bricktops. especial
ly those of Irish origin can be
' a" little difficult to handle at
times. Nevertheless nor husband
"Buddy" Fogelson. the tactful
Texan, has managed to succcss-fik-
i.rvnnnt this frequent ob
stacle to matrimonial biiss. Mr. I
Briefly
Now it is said fingerprints
can be forged. That is. the fing
lerprints of an innocent person
I can be spread around the scene
j of a crime by the guilty crim
i inals. A frightening situation . .
I How long can the outstanding
money earning power of a film
star last? Clark Gable and
Gary Cooper, both 56 years old,
are earning more money than
ever. With percentage of the
gross agreements their take
from one film can be as high
as $300,000.
Asidei
The bust and hip measure
ments of beauty contest winners
vary greatly but the waist meas
urements are nearly always 24
inches. Call this to the atten
tion of your wife if she is
thinking of trying for the Mrs.
America title . . . The title of
the next novel of the sensation
ally successful young French
writer. Mile. Francoise Sagan.
is "Dead Eyelids." Some title!
Is reminiscent of Gertrude Stein
My fr-vorite quaint title is still
that of the mystery story, "The
Corpse in The Derby Hat."
California Valencia
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MEDFORD'S FINEST MEATS SINCE 1940
STEAKS!!
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mm 12 to 16
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FRESH S A 1
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Red Radishes
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C
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Cheese
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Delicious
Tender
Wieners
with
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for the
Bar-B-Q)
iispsok
Best Foods
SALAD
OIL
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"CHOICE" STEER
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PORK LOIN
ROAST
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"DEW DROP" BRAND C TALL TINS
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100 TUNA IT J
ALLIGATOR SERVICE
Princeton, N.J. (f Bill
Jones of South Orange and Ray
Willey of Pittsburgh. Princeton
students, report a lively busi
ness since starting their Student
Alligator Agency, which orders
the reptiles from Florida. They
say some customers use the
allicators to greet unwanted
caliers and to' break dates.
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Through Saturday Night
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