Page:The Mexican Problem (1917).djvu/51

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DEBT AND CITIZENSHIP
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pupils can "lick the teacher." If the teacher is the stronger—sometimes by moral force and sometimes by brute force—there is order and discipline. But if the teacher enters a contest and is downed, he is no longer head of that school and, if he is to remain, some "big boy" must keep law and order for him.

On many a hacienda in Mexico, and over many years, a skirmish, even with pistols, between the manager and his peon workers was regarded as a proper lark. If the manager got the better of it, the belligerents went peacefully back to work and everybody was happy because the boss had sustained his position.

Mexico is not a difficult proposition when once you understand the Mexican character. He is the same childlike, dependent, trusting fellow whether at work, play, or revolution. He is simply in need of a strong helping hand.

DEBT AND CITIZENSHIP

The Mexican peon is not thirsting for land or rule. There never yet were twenty thousand votes cast in Mexico for a president. The ballot will not redeem the Mexican from the peonage system in which alone he has confidence. Singular as it may appear, his independence and