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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1963)
10 A- This It Mtxico MONDAY. JANUARY U. 1963 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON Mexico, Land of Contrasts, One of Most Complex Nationsof Americas By HARRY FERGUSON Mexico City -U1FD- Man ' persons are convinced the av- erage Mexican is a lazy lei low who reclines all day against an adobe hut sleeping off heavy meals of chili con came. There is exactly . much truth in that as there is in the undying legends that every Englishman wears bowler hat and every French' man keeps a mistress. The average Mexican likely to wear (arm or tactory overalls and work eight hours a day. Chili con came was invent . ed by an Inspired chef in Tex as and is unknown in Mexico except . in restaurants cater ing to American tourists. , Mexico probably is the most complex nation in the two Americas. And It is a land of violent contrasts. It was born in violence an uncount ed number of years ago when a massive upheaval of the earth determined Its present topography of a central pla teau ranging up to 8,000 feet above sea level, until the last three decades it lived in vio lence with war and revolu tion being the normal way of life. Wilion Lotei Tamper Governments were over thrown with such dizzy speed that one president was in of fice only 47 minutes. Killing the chief executive was so firmly established as a way of changing administrations that President Woodrow Wil son, a patient man, finally lost his temper and denounced Mexico for "government by . assassination." Mexico City, the capital, Is a modern, shining mas of glass and steel architecture. , Not too far south of it there is thick jungle where the land and the people have not changed much in the last 300 years. There are 90 separate languages or dialects spoken in Mexico and there are pock ets of people who might as well be living on the moon so far as outside contact concerned. In the southern state of Chiapas a high ridge runs be tween the villages of Zina cantan and Chamula. If there were a road between the two towns, It would run for about eight miles. But there isn't any road, and there is no neeJ for one. The residents of Zina cantan and Chamula speak different languages and wear different kinds of clothing. Each village is ruled by council of elders, and the fed. eral government is some mys terious force that is too far away in time and distance to worry about. A resident of Zinacantan would think long about walking eight miles to Chamula as an Amer ican would of taking a trip to Borneo. Land of Contrasts The violent contrasts are everywhere. Mexico is more than SO per cent Catholic, but the church is forbidden to own property. The church it self, the ground beneath it and the air above it are the property of the nation and the Catholic clergy uses it only on a sort of lend-lease basis. The streets of Mexico City and other large urban cen ters are jammed with auto mobiles, but there is no such thing as a Mexican motor car. Foreign firms do manufacture some parts of a car in Mexico, but the remainder of the auto usually the engine has to be shipped in and assembled after arrival. Communism is detested by an overwhelming number of Mexicans, but they live hap pily under a system that has borrowed heavily from Marx ist philosophy, including the nationalization of many in dustries and the expropriation of land to be divided among the peasants, many of whom live on communal farms. Early Cities Found There Is strong evidence that there was a highly devel oped civilization in Mexico 1,000 years before Columbus discovered America. Archeol ogists, patiently fitting togeth. er the pieces of the puzzle, are convinced that splendid cities were being built in Mex ico when Britain was a fog- bound outpost of the Roman Empire inhabited by savages and Germany was a dense forest in which men lived like animals. . Progress continued down through the years in Mexico and moved to a pinnacle when the Aztecs established their capital on the site of. what is now Mexico City. A prophet had told them to keep wan dering until they saw an eagle devouring a serpent. Then they were to stop and settle down. This is said to have hap pened in 1325 on an island in a lake. The eagle was perched on a cactus plant de vouring a serpent and the Az tecs began the construction of the city of Tenochtitlan. It may have grown to as much as 1,000,000 population, but in any event it was one of the largest cities in the known world. Much of the lake has dried up now, but Mexico City is still the capital and the eagle devouring the ser pent still is imprinted on Mex ican coins. Astecs Wroia Poetry ' It was a highly developed civilization. The Aztecs knew how to reckon time, how to raise cotton and weave it Into cloth, apparently understood the rudiments of astronomy, had an army and a navy, and wrote poetry. They also built enormous stone temples, which can still be seen and in which they appeased their gods with human sacrifices. Some historians say 20,000 prisoners and slaves were sac- Like a Funeral Opening of Congress Had Floral Trimmings and Lots of Handshaking 1 r' '.-::. - Ara. WMt By DICK WEST Washtngton-HJPl)-My mental impressions are not always as reliable as plaster of pads, , but the open- lng of the 88th Congress in some ways reminded me of a gangster's funeral, Among other things, there were gather ings of rela tive j dressed to the nines, profouse sprout ings of hot house flowers and lines of curious onlookers. Such trappings are associ ated in my mind with the last rites of a prohibition era crime czar. I half expected to see a horseshoe wreath with a streamer reading "So long, pal." But if the background was somewhat funereal, the spirii that prevailed was more like old home week. There is no warmer camaraderie than the reunion of politicians who have survived an election. Fully 30 minutes before the session began at noon, senators and congressmen were assembling in their re spective chambers lo catch up on their handshaking. They lhoo. hands with ach other Individually, and than they shook hands with ach othar In groups, ring-around-tha-roty style. Oc casionally, they tvan t'-ook hands with themselves. Then began the ceremonial opening, which is as highly aiyllzed as the mating dance of the whooping crane. But each chamber docs It differ ently. The Senate, being a con tinuing body, knew In ad vance who its presiding offi cer would be - vice Presi dent Lyndon B. Johnson, as stipulated in the Constitution. The Constitution doesn't stipulate Johnson exclusively, however. Any vice president will do. The Senate proceeded swift ly to the swearing in of new members, most of whom actu ally were old members. Among the returnees was the 84-year-old dean of the Sen ate, Sen Carl Hayden CD- Ariz.), Among the newcomers was a 30-year-old Massa chusetts Democrat whose nama I didn't catch - Can nady, or something Ilka that. The House knew in advance who its presiding officer would be, too, but It had to pretend that It didn't. It must elect a speaker every two years. This year's contest-was be tween Reps. John W. McCor mack (D-Muss.) and Charles A. Halleck (R-Ind.). McCor mack won, 256-175, the point Grant Given To Record Languages Portland - A grant to re cord some of the nearly ex tinct languages of Oregon has been awarded to a Portland State college associate pro- lessor oi aninropology. Dr. Joe Pierce will study "Indigenous Languages of Oregon" under a year's grant or $10,900. awarded by the National Science Foundation. There were approximately 52 languages being spoken In Orrgon at the time of white contact, Dr. Pierce said. An thropologists have scanty data on about 10 Oregon lan guages; grammars for two and almost no Information on sev eral others, he said. Dr. Pierce pointed out there is an extreme urgency in re cording some of the languages before Ihcy disappear entire ly. He cited some 15 languages with loss than 10 speakers each left In the slate, while several other languages arc thought to be extinct. CANDID St. Louis-IUPII-Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) Dean Ned Cole called for increased interest In the church choir, with the comment that "a good singing voice is not a requirement." spread being almost identical to the party line-up 1 1 the House. McCormack must have been confident of the out come. Copies of his extempo raneous acceptance speech reached the press gallery even before the voting started PAYOFF Now York -luril- Credit life insurance policies have paid off $836 million In debts for Americans who died In the past decade, according to the Institute of Life Insurance. Japanese Forester Plans 05U Lectures Corvallis - Dr. Ayaakira Okazaki, professor of forest management at University of Kyoto, Japan, will be lecturer In the Oregon Slate university school of forestry during spring term. Okazaki will come to Ore gon in late March under the auspices of the Louis W. and Maud Hill Family Foundation of St. Paul, Minn. He is author of more than 50 publications on Japanese forestry and is a worldwide traveler. H i s professional trips include two visits to the United States earlier and a special lecturing fellowship to Germany. During spring term at Ore gon State university, the Jap anese forestry leader will de liver a series of public lec tures, conduct seminars, and confer with forestry faculty members and students. COMEDIAN MARRIED Hollywood - tUPIl - Comedian Bob Newhart was married Saturday In St. Vincent's Ro man Catholic Church to Vir ginia Q u I n n, 22-year-old daughter of actor William Quiim, , 50 NEW CAR LOANS 4 PER YEAR PER $100 U, DOWN AND UP TO 30 MONTHS TO PAY With a new ear loan from The Oregon Bank, you pay a hu er rate of interest. Your loan is arranged quickly, with no hidden costs no halloon payment and no prepayment penally. You choose your own insurance agent. Before you buy, compare our loan costs! Telephone us for the cost on your deal . . . S7J.731Sar 773.J13f man FtDiui otrosiT msuivict com EXAMPLE: You wtKt a ntw cur priced at Your irmU-in f worth syOO. Vmi borrow SI ft) (or 30 mon. Your (itrrct bunk loftn lMmvntS Art only per month. I. Medtord 701 I. Jackson Si. Rooue Vjll.y 1 109 Court St. ft rare. rificed at the dedication of n temple in 1487. What brought about the downfall of this Indian civili zation was an ancient legend that some day white gods wearing beards would come out of the east. In 1519 when Montezuma II was emperor of the Aztecs runners from the east coast brought word to the capital that the white gods had arrived. Corias Conquers Mexico The chief white god was a 34-year-old Spaniard named Hernando Cortes who had sailed out of Cuba in search of glory and plunder. He was a bold soldier, a cunning dip lomat and he had a wide streak of meanness in his make-up as Montezuma was to learn to his sorrow. Cortes landed on the east coast of Mexico, founded the city of Veru Cruz and signed up a beautiful Indian girl named Malintzin to be his interpreter and to aid and comfort him in any other way he chose to specify. Then Cortes burned h i s boats to cut off the last line of retreat and marched inland with 508 Spanish foot soldiers, 32 archers, 13 musketeers and 200 Indian burden bearers. Malintzin got one of the 16 horses in the expedition as payment for services render ed. Montezuma greeted the white god with affection and reverence. In a few years Montezuma was dead, the Az tec empire had collapsed and Cortes had so thoroughly con quered Mexico that the land and the people would never be the same again. Next: Tht Mexican People today who thty are and how they got that way. 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