Mexico -- History -- 1910-1946; Mexico -- History -- Revolution, 1910-1920
That was the situation when I went to Nogales. Nogales, Arizona, and
Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, really form one big straggling town. The
international boundary runs along the middle of the street, and at a
small customs-house lounge a few ragged Mexican sentries, smoking
interminable cigarettes, and evidently interfering with nobody, except
to collect export taxes from everything that passes to the American
side. The inhabitants of the American town go across the line to get
good things to eat, to gamble, to dance, and to feel free; the Mexicans
cross to the American side when somebody is after them.
I arrived at midnight and went at once to a hotel in the Mexican town
where the Cabinet and most of the political hangers-on of Carranza were
staying; sleeping four in a room, on cots in the corridors, on the
floor, and even on the stairs. I was expected. A temperamental
Constitutionalist consul up the line, to whom I had explained my errand,
evidently considered it of great importance; for he had telegraphed to
Nogales that the entire fate of the Mexican Revolution depended upon Mr.
Reed’s seeing the First Chief of the Revolution immediately upon his
arrival. However, everybody had gone to sleep, and the proprietor,
routed out of his back office, said that he hadn’t the slightest idea
what the names of any of the gentlemen were or where they slept. Yes,
he said, he had heard that Carranza was in town. We went around kicking
doors and Mexicans until we stumbled upon an unshaven but courteous
gentleman who said that he was the Collector of Customs for the whole of
Mexico under the new government. He waked up in turn the Secretary of
the Navy, who routed out the Secretary of the Treasury; the Secretary of
the Treasury finally flushed the Secretary of Hacienda, who finally
brought us to the room of the Secretary of Foreign Relations, Señor
Isidro Fabela. Señor Fabela said that the First Chief had retired and
couldn’t see me; but that he himself would give me immediately a
statement of just what Carranza thought about the Benton incident.
Now none of the newspapers had ever heard of Señor Fabela before. They
were all clamoring to their correspondents, wanting to know who he was.
He seemed to be such an important member of the provisional government,
and yet his antecedents were not known at all. At different times he
apparently filled most of the positions in the First Chief’s Cabinet.
Rather medium height and distinguished-looking, suave, courteous, and
evidently very well educated, his face was decidedly Jewish. We talked
for a long time, sitting on the edge of his bed. He told me what the
First Chief’s aims and ideals were; but in them I could discern nothing
of the First Chief’s personality whatever.
"Oh, yes," he said, "of course I could see the First Chief in the
morning. Of course he would receive me."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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