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Johnston Replies | 1 To Collier Attack On Hidalgo County fo The Herald: •4« In Colliers Magazine of June 22nd there appeared an interesting and educational story .entitled -High Handed and Hell Bent,” written by —a native-born Texan, as he intro l due** himself to the manv readers » * of this most popular periodical, and It Is deplorable indeed, not to say a shame, that such literary energy i should be wasted in efforts so harmful, not oniv to the citizens of Hidalgo county, but to the t country at large, and I cannot Imagine what could have ever In duced my learned contemporary to have engaged In such a disastrous I { work, unless It were the lure of a bag of gold coin, or that In his great enthusiasm, he himself mid th* sixtv cents toll and crossed that br dge leading to hell, indulging » while there in a delightful smoke of "mlrihuana” (Mexican loco wood) thus being transnorted to un known w-orlds and while enwranped * in the fumes of this blissful drug j determined to degenerate the char t, acter of the Baker gang, the Mexi ^j— can people and the good name of Hidalgo county. The Black Prince presented to his view the awful things which he so ably portrays. I have always made it a rule of my life to remain silent when I could not say a good word for « fpilowman. and even now would not say a word, were It not that my friends, my race and my native soil are infamously assailed, and prerented to the outside world In su^h a wav os to dlsrouraee out siders from even passing through onr country, much leas iom foreps ' with us in cur great development. The disa-trous wa-s of the earth the disuniting of families. blighting of many a home sweet home, are caused bv misunder standings. or by viewing the bone ! of contention from a different angle There are so many people j in this wrrld who make their pil j grimace through life, contempl?/ ' ing onlv the dark sides, never even attempting to find the bright side ! of anything, perhaps it Is because I of my established habit of locftms into the bright side of life, that 11 cannot agree with my learned friend's statements, although I ad mire him for his courage and feel grateful to him for having brought to the attention of the outside world, our little '‘Hell” as he Is pleased to call it. and for giving us j an opportunity to presnet it In a different light. I was. born and reared in Hi dalgo county, of Scotch Irish de scent on my father's side, of Mexican origin on my mothers. The sum of my existence has now I passed its meridian, and as yet. ' with few exceptions. I have passed every day of mv life here. I am In a position to better appreciate the magical transformation of this ereit Valley than any one else who 1 did not know it in its wild, unde veloped stage. I remember the time when if anyone was foolish enough j to exnress the hope that some day 1 a railroad would come into our ; country, he was laughed at and rebuked with “what in the hel! is i there here to ever brine a rail- \ road?” My friend states that "this j ' miraculous transformation did not j come into existence just because j somebody waved • wand over the | ' land or rubbed a lamp." that It was j monev. energy and brains that’ ef fected the change. Exactly so. mv ; dear brother, but give the devil his 1 dues. It was this terrible man. Yancy Baker, that had the vision, j j th° courage and determination to induce northern capital to come ; : here. Perhaps you will say that if IN PROCESSION FOR CHINA’S HERO Among those snapped in the great procession in Pekin. China, upon arrival of the body of the late Dr. Sun-Yat-Sen, China's first presi dent and Nationalist hero, are, left. Morris Cohen, only foreigner, for years the president’s bodyguard, and. right. Sun Fo. Dr. Sun-Yat Sen's son. Cohen, known as “Two-Gun Cohen,” is at present body • guard to Sun Fo. who is minister of railways in the Nanking govern ment. When the Nationalists took Pekin, they decided the body of the first president should be moved to a final resting place in the historic city. he had not done it some one else ! would, for it is so easy to stand the rgg on end after one is shown how. If A. Y. Baker with a handful of hateful Mexicans is able to carry out his points, control the courts all over the state, wind even the , overnor around his little rincer. pull the wool over intelligent Americans’ eyes, and is guilty or everything he is accused of: if. I :ay, he has such a wonderful execu tive ability, he ought to be m Washington, in Hoover’s place, ana not the sheriff of Hidalgo county. I could take each and every state ment made in “High Handed and Hell Bent” and show’ that there is a reason for every terrible thing that has been done here, or that everything is presented, viewed from a prejudiced angle. I would cheer rJly go into it. phrase by phrase, even accepting every statement made as true, (though there are many that are not so>. and by nrc enting them In a different light • on will see why “we” ere grateful lor the great, but inexpensive ad vertisement given us. However. I will not do so. for fear of being verbose and tiring my readers. Nevertheless. I will In comolirnce to a sacred duty, as a sincere friend cf A. Y. Baker, as a loyal repre sentative of the Mexican peoplh. and a true son of Hidalgo countv. endeavor to rti'i’lusion your minds cf the most grievous impressions made bv infamous statements. Mr. A Y is presented to you as president of a bank and the proud owner of a red and vellow pala-e "r. big as a country club. If A. Y has the ability to do all the things h° is accused of. he should he. as ,fa*ed before, not president of one of the greatest, banking institu tions in the state, but president of this great, nation. With regard to bis residence. I do not see anv rra "•on why he should ho rompelled to live in a grass thatched roof iaca’. lust because his political enemies or nther folks do not want him to Uvp ’ike a white man. If he has hoi the ability to accumulate wealth, and this he has done bv hones1 means, why should he not enjoy it before he Is removed to the great beyond. If the county auditor lives in a big house, he must have had money enough to build it. and no one contributed to its erection, for T have not yet been ahle to com? ecross that philantropic soul, the free home builder, who would ex tend mp a he’nire hand to rebulV! my home destroyed bv fire some months aeo. so each and even’ on° must feather his own nest accord ing to his ability and means. an,d according to my notion it should to be everybody's concern. With reference to the schools of Hida’go county, a high compliment Is paid when my learned friend states that he cannot refrain from expressing his admiration for the handsome manner in which the Texas Tarn may Gang has provided for the re quirements of public instruction and while he points them out as fitting for the school children two centuries hence, they of them selves, if nothing else, should be an inducement to the homeseeker to cast his lot with us. Admitting that our taxes are higher tha« m any other county, is not this the banner county of the border, if rxt in the state? We have, as you have been told, the best schools, we have the best soil, the best irri gation systems, the best roads, the best of everything that makes life worth living. There is less crime committed here than in any other nart of the state. Who has ever heard of bank holdups or highwa robberies In Hidalgo county? A reflection to the honor of the worthy citizens of it. and to the credit of its administration. I do net in the least attempt to present my friends to you as angels, they are human beings and of course imperfect and liable to commit er rors. If the Tabasco school house, known as the Nellie Schunion 1 school, in honor of one of the best ■ and most honorable wome that ever walked the face of the earth, but who has passed to her reward, if, I say, this educational building I is lost in the woods, and my friends arc responsible for its erection ahead of time, this mistake is ex cusable. There Is nothing that will contribute more to the progress and development of any community than a good school, and likely that part of the country will soon be thickly settled. Two years ago. what is known today as the beauti ful Engleman’s Gardens was noth ing but a vast track of mesqulte and cactus, today thousands and thousands of acres are laid out in beautifully checked citrus trees and the splendid buildings. happy , homes and great development there in this short lapse of time. Is only an example of how *‘we” do things in the * Rio Grande Valley, hence the wonderful buildings which so concern my fri**nd may not sit In loneliness in that vast area very long. My friend points out in capi tal letters that out of the one hun dred twenty-seven children attend ing. there was only one of Ameri can tax-paying parents; the others were Mexican children and they of course are of tax paying parents, and justly entitled to receive as much benefit from the state appor tionment as any American child How’ fortunate this little American child, to be mingled with Spanish speaking children: why. he will soon be talking Spanish like a na tive! With reference to the abominable : Mexicans who can neither read nor | write their own language, much j less English, my friend is greatly mistaken, for It Is surprising what progress they have made in our public schools, and there are very few who are illiterates, these few of oast generations. The Mexicans have played a very important part in the great development of the Rio Grande Valley, for it was their labor combined with American cap tal that transformed the veritable Jungle into the beautiful gardens and happy homes, seen today every where in this earthly paradise. Thev are peaceful, law-abiding people, loving and kind, obedient and faith ful to tne American that treats , them half way like human beings, j Once their love and respect is: won. they will not hesitate to cross j that toll bridge and go to hell for , you. A. Y. has always been mind- I ful of their interests, and welfare: j they trust him and love him. hence his following. With regard to the nickle plated highways, the bonds, warrants, etc., I wil pass them unmentioned. | for to dwell upon them would be ridiculous and insulting to the in telligence of the American residents of Hidalgo county, suffice it to say that I believe my friend was mis informed, or was still delirious with the fumes of . that infernal we-d. when he indulgM in this part of his article. The dominions of hell are exten sive and far-reaching, the sun never r - sets upon them, why point out Hi dalgo county as the seat of the in fernal regions? There is hell ev erywhere. and we all catch It and even live in it sometime or oth»f. I may catch hell for writing tl?«^| but I dont care. I set out to 4k 9 fend as best I could my friend } my race, my native soil. Being one of those illiterate Mexicans referred to in my friend’s article, I cannot even hope to match my limited lit erary knowledge with him. but it is a satisfaction to at least have tried to uplift the truth which has been crushed to earth. If. as you say. brother we are hell bent, we are happy in the thought that we are embarked in a slow Arkansas train, and not In the Sunset Limited that we would have to travel on. were our politi cal adversaries in power. Adlos. brother, let’s meet at Rey nosa. the end of the toll bridge, emptv a few bottles of that cold beverage of which we saintly hypo crites are so fond, smoke a few pipes of marihuana, bury the hat chet and. well—nuf sed. FRED L. JOHNSTON. Mercedes. Texas, June 29. 1929. STEALS TO LOOK LIKE MAN BELFAST. — Miss Effie Tyson robbed a tailor's shop so sne could dress like a man and masqueraded for a month. —'■ ' =-i ; I Better Roofing I ^L,’ pfffg I At Less Cost! I * u p Beauty . . . Durability ... 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