, 1881-04-24
but they have not the rich field to work in
which is generally supposed.

| NiI1EH ~ EC!lE4Al auiPoSIAs
The railroads are to be built on a rather
uncertain subsidy, 10 be collected out of the
customs revenue. Tie subventiOn ranges
between S., coo and $4,000 per mile, and ay-
eraEes about ST., coo. The Mexican Central,
| which is tho extension of the Atchison. To-
] peHa & SANTA FG, and will have 4 length Of
J. /, 9u.. miles, has lien upon per cent Of the
| frontier duties collected by the Republic.
| The jay Gould line, in which Con. Grant is
interested, will be 2;5s miles long, and is al
| lowed per cent Of these revenues. The
| line known rs Gen. Grants and Romcro's,
! which runs across the country,-a distance
| OF SIG mles,-has its subsidy, to be collected
! i'll the same manner. But the customs reye-
nues of the Mexican Republic amount to only
about $40, ,000, ,O00, while the average expenses
of the Government are about 81, ,coo, 900. It
is small wonder, under these circumstances,
that DR.. Rice comments rs follows:
1t is greater pE0blcni to my mind what ~ to
be done With tho railroads after they arc COM
pct5l. Mexico Is certninlya poor country. 1t
Is not simply IN tlnpovesIshcd % countIy. IT,, with
haustc'i, for no degree ot agricultural and COM
1nercai distress Is beyond tho possibility OF re.
cupcrAton. This country Is naturally pnor.
Volcanic fires have bns.ttI Its surface. Vast
sections, hundrcus Of square leagues, are htat
extinct cr.tcrs.. inaccessible mountain sides
and tops covered with everlasting snow; almost
botton'css !orgcs and caions, prccipiccs which
arise or descend like wall nlonG miles Of dis
tnnce, nre everywhere thronshont the % country.
the mountain edges. There Ii TN abundance of
streams from tho ever melting SHOWS Of tho
Of navisnuie water The streams fiow into
iandt II es % as ndy ~" cx's S oa sE
su,lrcc. till they disappear. On tho sides
ot the mountains they tnrn an abundance OF
watcr.powcr; but thoro IS no uso for the poScr.
One source OF business Tor tho railroads will bo
10 carry out the products Of the mines and to
import supplies for tho mining population Iiut
their present production before this will furnish
business Tor huff Il dt'zcn great raiEronts.- Tho
cottee-crop will affori but little freight for tho
railroads, as rrone OF tho lines more 1han touch
tho eo1pc-brlt. watch is extremely limited.
There will be some hides from tbs surplus Of,
cattle. But, with but nut, acre Of urahte Lind tn
ten 1t1rougho the whole country, there will
ncrcr be raised pros1slcts Ut the soil til amy ma
tcrtal quantity beyond tho supply required for
and no imports beyond what is purchased with
the precious metals shipped out Of tho country.
The penn f ts Mi Wants m n1 few S
for vast quantities Of costly Gootls to furnish
railroad frcfght-that Is, not lit years. If ever. Il
does not seem possible ~ for Tho tfio railroads in
cent i'll dividends. !
The building and operating Of railroads in
Mexico arc by no means cheap, notwlth- |
standing the low wages paid for labor. The
ties for the construction Of tho roatis arc
brought down singly from tho mountains at
a cost Of 81 Il piece. There is no coal in |
Mexico yet discovered, and nj forests except
those which grow high up On the mount |
aims. The nearest coal deposits upon which |
the railroads can rely are in tile Indian Ter |
ritory, Northern Texas, New Mexico, and |
Arizona. The men who have undertaken to
develop and modernize Mexico by the loco
motive have a much larger contract than Is
supposed. The most serious /
aspect which the scheme presents is that
American capital may, through The subsi-
dies That have been granted By the Govern
nent in the shape Of mortgages OIL the rove
lucs obtain 4 lien. upon tho Governments
resources, which may III time and by reason
Of forfeiture lead up to 4 project for fore
closure and annexation as Il means for secur-
ing payment.