NEW LIGHT ON MEXICO IT is only natural that Mexico
should have made a most unfavourable impression on Mr. Waugh, conservative and good Catholic as he confesses himself to be. Yet some of its manifold charms took hold of him, as is evident from many passages in the first 5o pages of his book. The diversity and magnificence of its scenery, the striking monuments of Spanish colonial times, and the many humorous contradictions which make Mexico the Ireland of the North American continent all made appeal to him. The rest of the book deals with serious subjects, is written with deadly seriousness, and lays bare the miserable condition into which the country has fallen. And it is quite time that such a book was written. A vast quantity of literature about Mexico, mostly from the United States, has appeared in recent years, and has all been tinged with false colour. The character of Porfirio Diaz (whom Mr. Waugh rightly describes as a Mustapha Kemal or Musso- lini) has been belittled by these writers, while Carranza, Obregon and Calles, whom he exposes as blood-stained and self-seeking scoundrels, have been held up to the reader as righteous reformers. Similarly, much too much has been made of the revival of the Indian spirit by modern writers, while, as this book shows, there is no colour question in the country and the white mestizo and pure Indian play equal it'itrts in affairs of State.
The fetish of the strike and the, to us, inconceivable and fantastic relations between employers and employed under the present Labour Law are naturally described at some length. The strike of school-children against their teachers, which he actually witnessed, and the subjection of the learned staff of the National Museum to their janitor in matters concerning conditions of employment and discipline, are well-nigh in- credible to any who have not had the unhappy experience of being employers in Mexico. The rule prevailing in every trade that promotion must be by seniority and not by merit is in itself sufficient not merely to discourage the business man, but to ruin his business.
Mr. Waugh has much to say about the recent confiscation of the oil properties, and states the case .for the owners with complete fairness. He marvels at the complacency with which the robbery has been taken by the British public, who, while roused to fury by the bombing of ships, British only in name, in Spain, have accepted this gross injustice with little more than a murmur. He cynically but correctly explains the con- trast by the reminder that Mexicans have a Left Book Club Vocabulary. The chapter 'entitled " The Good Neighbour " deals with the confused and intricate relations between Mexico and the United States from 1810 to the present day, and is a masterpiece of conciseness and precision. The writer must be new to this field of research, but has covered the ground most admirably. He rightly marks as a turning-point in the relations the memorable phrase of President Wilson, " I ant going to teach the South American Republics to elect good men," which he followed up by the punishment of General Huerta, which punishment, as Mr. Waugh aptly says, " has lasted many years now and no one has suffered more than the innocent." It is difficult to agree altogether with the con- demnation of the actions of Ambassador Wilson in I912 and 1913, who was following the practice of foreign diplomacy of that day in Latin America—namely, to look upon military revolutions as the normal course of affairs to support the strongest man for the time being in any Republic and to hope for the best. These were certainly the views at the time of Sir Edward Grey, then our Foreign Secretary. To turn out Nature with a pitchfork has only resulted in her return, and in such a form as is leading to the moral, political and economic ruin of the country. The policy of the Good Neighbour was initiated by Dwight Morrow in 1927, and the strange and pathetic spectacle was seen of a man equal to meeting any emergency in Wall Street being slowly and surely duped by the astuteness of Mexican statesmen. The policy has been continued till today, and is aptly defined by Mr. Waugh as verbal geniality, which he understands is taught as a subject in commercial courses at American universities. It has meant a truce in the bad relations of a century's duration and more, and President Cardenas has taken every advantage of it. The subjects of land reform, education and religious persecution are all most adequately treated, but the last two chapters are perhaps the least convincing, attempting as they do to draw general conclusions and to look into the future. From Mexico, as from Africa in Roman days, as the author himself says, semper aliquid novi must be expected, and to prophesy what form it will take is more than usually dangerous.
But the book is a very brilliant one, sad though its story is. It reminds us that little more than too years ago Mexico in culture and civilisation was superior in every way to the United States, and has today fallen almost into barbarism. Equally sad is the story of the experience of British investors in the country who look on helplessly while some 30o million pounds of their money are disappearing, if they have not already disappeared, down the Mexican drain. Uncle Sam, however, who is also concerned, though not to the same extent, is by no means helpless. By little more than a stroke of the pen he can impose such an economic stranglehold on Mexico that, tighten her belt as she may, she can only hold out for a few months. But would Mr. J. L. Lewis permit it?
WILLIAM GOWER.
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