IN the event that a neighboring country turns copycat and engages in a war of aggression, what are we going to do? How are we going to raise an army? That would be a real problem because it appears that we have more chiefs in our reserves than Indians. However, if all else fails, we can always resort to the now ancient practice of the Quinta.

What is the Quinta? It means the 'fifth.' During the Spanish colonial period, names were drawn by lots and those who drew the fifth lot — the unlucky number — were conscripted. The hapless individuals were always indios, the natives. It was the business of the president of the Board of Statistics, usually a friar, to declare whether the young man who drew the quinta was physically fit or not for military service.