Newspaper Page Text
ago, they toppled six Mexicans sharp
shooter out of the place. On the top
of another building facing the park,
stands a marine with a flag in each
hand, wig-wagging messages- over
theroofs of the town to the ships
"in the harbor. Here goes a huge ma
Tine, in blue, perched on the seat of
'a tiny sprinkling cart, drawn by a
tiny burro.
"The navy's on the water wagon,"
someone yells. "Three cheers for the
wine mess." The marine whacks the
burro, gives a hoot and his rattly
water wagon sprinkles a wobbly
stream along the plaza asphalt.
On another side of the plaza 60
marines stand patiently at attention
while a famous war artist sketches
them. A group of curious civilians
surround the artist's easel and, from
time to time, he yells, "get out of my
way. Give me some elbow room."
There's a yell in another part of
the plaza and a company of khaki
clad infantrymen swing into the
square. They're army boys, p'art of
the thousands who have arrived only
today to relieve the jiavy of the duty
of policing the city. Soldiers ride by,
singly and in pairs, on rangy, mangy
Mexican ponies which they have
picked up goodness only knows
where. There's a quarrel at the table
near you. Two shoe-shining boys
are demanding 50 centavos for shin
ing the shoes and riding leggings of
a couple of infantrymen and the lat
ter think the price is too high. The
infantrymen can't talk Spanish and
the only English word the dusky lit
tle shoe shiners know is "meester."
These American soldiers may have
conquered Vera Cruz, but they can't
conquer the bootblacks, so the in
fantrymen pay their fifty cent pieces
and depart, calling the bare-footed
boys "greaser robbers."
An army aeroplane circles over
the town but within two days Vera
Cruz has become accustomed to the
sight and only a few persons crane
their necks to see it
By this time evening is falling. The
tropic sunshine has disappeared; a
cool breeze is blowing in from the
Mexican gulf. Three thousand per
sons or more fill the plaza soldiers,
bluejackets, white marines, white
clad men and women, brown Mexi
can beauties in white and browner
Mexican men in sombreros. The elec
tric lights blaze out a'mong the trop
ical trees of the plaza. The wig-wag
men on the 'roof are using blinking
electric lights now-, instead of their
flags. On a balcony stands a little
Mexican girl waving her arms in
imitation of the wig-wag men. It'&
a trick she has learned since the
gringoes came. It's almost bedtime,
for her, and for grown folks, too, be
cause the city is under martial law
and taps sound at 9 o'clock.
Soon the streets will be deserted
and the houses dark. The only foot
falls on the pavements will be those
on guard', or of belated newspaper
correspondents, working their way
from sentry to sentry down to the
cable office. Out in the sandhills in
a circle that reaches miles beyonji
the town, American soldier boys are
keeping their vigils. UncleSam is
really on the firing line."
CHICAGOBRIEFS
Peter Reinberg, president of school
board, may be ousted by reinstated
school trustees.
Miss Margaret Warner arrested un
der Zion City anti-kissing law. Girl
alleged to have embraced Mr. Simons,
cashier of Zion City bank.
, Chicago churchmen- divided on
faith cure. Believe more than spirit
ual treatment necessary in orgaiuTp
diseases. Christian Scientists claim
faith alone necessary.
Alexander Aiello, 1717 De Koven
st, and Mrs. Donato Repueticchio,,
709 De Koven St., shot by unknown
man. Woman may die.
Church plans called "frivolous, hys
terical, cheap and vulgar" by Dean
Shailer Mathews of University of
Chicago. Terms multitude seeking
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