The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1888-09-19
MEXICO IN MOTION.
I. swift Revolution in Life and
Habits.
railroads Magic Touch-Reifg-
ion changing-The Modern
senorita.
,,erien 80 . Bo.tou nerald.

stale 0f cHaHEf, nc oa1 pfutf -
.towly giving way 70 the new. The
.s.c,.,esiassical regime has given place
permanently 10 the civil and military
ses;n,s The men on top here are no
longer powerful bishops, bat men Of
sas;rs with a sssord in one hand and
law book in the other. and the COM
NOR school is springing up on every
s;de The railways and the telegraph
haze done wonders in changing things
"a Ibis country, and. when the rail
xsvs are mentioned, not much credit
can be given the earliest Mexican rail-
vax that between Vera Cruz and this
e;ty for the line j. not long enough,
de- not touch enough large towns
and penetrate sufficient number of
,sases 10 change the nationalhabit.
Thing went on at the old Jog tFot
mi the Central rail say threw its long
steel band OF over 100 miles d0sn the
grea. plateau Of Mexico, and brought
he e6ief cities OF the tabieian into
daily communication with one aBoth-
~ Not only we're large towns and
rites fifN NpfttItI VIII fstS 1AEtt IT.
hon. but hundreds Of once completely
i.olated hneiendas, or great rural es-
tates-each a petty prineipality ~
Itself-were placed in connection BY
steam with the large towns. After the
Central was opened the different
branches OF the large Mexican families
scattered over the tab!eland began TO
ret on social terms once more. Peo-
ple began visiting who, in the days Of
the plodding stage coaches. rarely or
never saw one another. In the old
DAYS Il was big undertaking TO come
down from the city OF Chihuahua to
the CITY Of Mexico; such journey
was something 10 prepare for. and to
undertake only after ones will had
been made. Yoa might be two months
on the road or six weeks; y0u were
pretty SURE 10 meet robbers, and il
vas. therefore. not well 10 take much
cash along with you; aud then. too,
the diligences had a happy go-lueky
way OF rolling over at times and spill
inc the passengers.
Things move quickly here in this
blessed railway era. 1t j. but few
weeks since the city Of tiuadalajara got
into railroad communication with this
city. and. for the first time in its his
tory, the charming tropical city which
i the capital OF The state OF Jalisco,
and possessing 5000 inhabitants, WAS
placed Ia communication by railway
with the modern world. Before May
last il required eight or ten days. ae-
cording to the weather. for the Quad
alaiarans to get to Mexico. Since the
Pullman sieepefs began running be-
tween the two cities there has been
much social movement among their
respective iuhahitants. and many OF
the best families Of these cities, allied
by blood and marriage. are going to
and fro in quite the same manner ~
Americans 10 from city 20 city. And
the same ease of communication Is
now possible all over the tabieland,
rendering possible seciable changes
never dreamed of before people here
got into the connection with the big !,
busting. modern world outside.
Even in house furnis hings there Is
a marked Improvement In one great
furniture shop, the other day, | saw
$4,000 worth Of exquisite tapestries
ordered for a single private house.
There were tall vases ia the windows
valued at 5000 pair. and paflor sets
up in the thousands. There are houses
IN Mexico furnished like palaces, and
filled with articles brought from the
finest workshops OF Europe. The other
day | saw in a great shop, which has
resident partner In Europe hnting
articles of luxury, a statute for Mex
lean gentleman which cost 5000, aud
this was - stand IN hall. Mirrors
worth 5000 were in stock, and the
most costly classes OF porcelain aud
chinaware There are several OF these
rich shops here, ana oil seem To be
making money,
Naturally the railways, in changing
customs aud ways OF life, first show
their modifying Influences In exter-
mails, as ia dress and house furnish
ings, bat change Is bound to be made
in social customs. Mexico derived its
habits OF lite from spain AT time
when Spain was still overrun by Moor
ish traditions and customs Colonial
Mexico faithfully copied the pat
tern Of Mother Spain, and stuck
~ the example long after many
Spanish cities became Europcanized.
But the influence OF the dead and
gone Moor Is still strong in both
Spain and her former colonies. The
Moorish house holds its own here.
with it, quiet exterior and lavish
sdornment within. with its barred
Windows and heavy gates rather than
doors and its grouping OF all the liy-
ing-rooms around a courtyard, thus
making q house as open us day in
side, and destroying that privacy We
gain In the North from the the system
81 IL. eeTr he
Mexican hou e. with its rooms com
municaiing by glazed doors. and each
room opening by another door upon a
corridor, i almost semi public. Its
air OF privacy consists solely in the
big outer door and the barred windows.
Inside these houses, many OF them as
beautiful as dream, filled with birds
and tlowers, and gently noisy by the
FLASHING OF fountains. live the women,
whose outer life is heiEej about with
absurd old Moorish traditions, con-
trary "a the native Mexican spirit oi
liberty and to the tendencies of the
age. Mexican women are the severest
critics OF the ancient customs. They
rebel against them, and sigh for 4
greater measure OF social freedom.
Ask almost any scnoflta, and she viii
tell you that "hic is stupid and dull.
that there is 40 social gayeiy and that
she Is tired 10 death of IL, and wants
to 90 Ia New or Paris
II you wish TO keep a young girl
eontente9 with the old or,lero things,
restrict her reading 20 her prayer
book, don't let her sec novel or a
newspaper. and keep her Gagged up IN
The house, Then, perhaps. she will
Imagine that this Is the lot OF women
the round world over. But women
are keen, and it doesn't take long for
them to discover that men have made
The rnles by which one-half the human
race are expected to live in meek sub
leotien. There i not man alive with
the soul OF mouse who would sub
NIT 70 the rules governing women,
even IN the freest counties When a
giri Of Is sOoS out on the street she
docs not wish to be protected" hy a
byear-old boy in knickcfbockers She
thlnks, and rightly, that she ought 70
ee able % 20 hy herself, Il she -
,wiSaeS, and that il men viii speak TO
her and annoy her, the police ought
" lock them up And she is exactly
tiSht A woman. Young or old. should
ne as Tree from luulestaiiou In the pub
nc streets a. a man, and il she is not.
wen the lamp posts are lacking their
N,tess ornaments. In this biz CITY OF
Mexico, with rich houses, great
ShaFcheS, electric lights, street ears,
luxurious shops. and all the appli-
ailees az civilization there IS
not = single solitary cafe where
lady can 90 without male
ssVoi q take an ice or a light
lunch This is a humbug and no