576 



THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



At Nogales where the Southern Pacific of Mexico enters the United 

 States, I watched the interception of pedestrians crossing the line, and 

 assisted in searching the baggage of passengers who came in by rail. 

 The quarantine on fruit is maintained and its real purpose clearly com- 

 prehended by those in authority at this point. At Naco, Collector 

 Randall's duties in this matter are light, the movement of fruit being 

 in the opposite direction, from the United States into the great mining 

 town of Cananea located fort}' miles away. Records show the only im- 

 ports of fruit to be Sonora oranges via Lomas and Del Rio en route in 

 bond for foreign points. No local traffic from this point can reach fruit 

 growing or fruit fly districts in Mexico. At Douglas a pernicious 

 practice formerly prevailed. Mexican oranges in carload lots were 

 routed through in bond to Agua Prieta and eventually brought back 

 across the line in small quantities to be distributed in Douglas and 

 adjoining towns in Arizona. Collector Fitzherbert has effectually 



Fig. 335. 



Street car from Mexico at El Paso, Texas, stopped and searched at the 

 international line by federal officers. (Original.) 



stopped all such procedures as this, and no Mexican fruit can now 

 pass into the United States at this point. The railroad crossing the 

 international line at Douglas reaches only to Naco Zari, about ninety 

 miles south. No fruit of any kind is grown in the territory tributary 

 to this road. There is no railroad crossing at Columbus in New Mexico ; 

 a cattle trail stretches its interminable length into the desert on either 

 side of the national boundary. Here the simple question of distance is 

 a protection that automatically protects, and precludes the possibility 

 of bringing in fruit by any of the methods of transportation available 

 on this route. Nevertheless, the Customs inspector stationed at this port 

 has his orders to confiscate and destroy all fruit that he may encounter. 

 El Paso is the crux of this quarantine situation on the border. Here 

 arrive trains over the Mexican national lines from all the fruit fly 

 districts in Mexico. Under normal conditions the tourist traffic is large 

 in voliune and constitutes the real danger. Curiosity is inherent in 

 each of us, and the all too common antagonism to any attempt to regu- 



