Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-06-15
AMERICANS IN MEXICO.
THE POSSIBILITIES FOR COLoNIsTs IN
LOWER CALIFORNIA.
Though Many Things are in Their Favor,
Life is not all Bed of
Roses There.
Especial Correspondence Of the RECORD UNION

Would | advise the struggling farmer
to sell his little tract in the inclement
north and invest the proceeds in the more
generous soil of this summer country ?
Most certainly not On the contrary,
would earnestly protest against such pro-
ceeding on the part of the poor man, until
he has looked the ground over thoroughly
for himself and intelligently calculated the
possibilities and the drawbacks. The rich
man, or the wcll-to-do, can afford to try
experiments, but for those to whom exist
ence is struggle, who began life with
nothing and whose families have increased
faster than their capital the serious ques-
tion of wherewithal to be clothed and
fed can best be coped with in the United
States.
l want to tell you fairly the pros and
| cons within my knowledge To induce
immigration here, the Mexican Govern
meut has made liberal concessions. By
going through the formula of becoming a
colonist, the settler is exempt from mill
tary duty for twenty years, and for this
length of time nearly all articles of neces-
slty and home consumption come to him
free Of the heavy import duty which for
/ others makes living so expensive in Mex
ic1. BY the late colonization law, he is
also exempt from land taxes, and taxes on
! personal property, being subject only to
certain stamp duties on accounts docu-
ments and writings. and to the duties.
interstate and municipal, which exist in ali
the States and towns Of Mexico on tobacco,
spirituous liquors, and few articles Of
| luxury. On the other hand, there is the
LACK OF RAILROAD coMMUNIcATfoy
To be considered, the great distance from
all the acknowledged centers ofcivilization
and the fact that he is living under for
eign Government, which, though running
smoothly in Diaz hands, has not in the
past proved itself the most stable under
the sun. President Diaz is not immortal
nor is it likely, however much he NAV
wish it, that he can spend all his life in
the Executive chair. According to the
high-handed methods Of these uncertain
people during the last half century. might
and opportunity make right, and it is not
impossible that a subsequent Administra
tion may undo all that has been done bv
this, take away every inch Of soil that has
been ceded to Americans. and make If adj
visable for those sons of liberty to skip
home across the border faster than they
came. Besides all that, not least among
the present drawbacks to immigration from
the United States is the fact that the
English are possessing themselves and alb
solUte!y controlling the gigantic scheme of
! colonization that was begun as a purely
American enterprise
Then there are the eyer-present doubts
which certain claims, based on old Span
ish grants, have cast upon the reliability
| Of titles to land purchased hereabouts. So
far, those mildewed grants have not invali-
dated single purchase Of the Interna
| tonal Company, but some of them make a
great deal Of annoyance. Those troubles.
however, are not limited to Lower Califor-
MIA, for in other parts of the world broods
OF claimants have been spawned from vast
tracts Of real estate. Everybody remem-
berS how the indefatigable Myra Clarke
Gaines harrassed New Orleans within an
inch Of its life; how the peace of Chicago
was assailed by claimant who enioved
the heritage of an Indian grant, and how
great properties in New York were at
tackled by the heirs of Dutch settler.
Anneke Jams.
AS TO THESE SPANISH GRANTS,
They have every one been forfeited long.
long ago. The crown did not give away
It's possessions in such generous measure
without attaching conditions calculated to
bring in some return. 1t stipulated that
mines should be worked, colonies estab-
lished, and yearly tribute from the in
crease of the land be paid into the public
treasury. For time the conditions were
perhaps, complied with but eventually
the settlers became Indifferent, progress
stopped, mines were abandoned, and the
country lapsed into ruin. Meanwhile, the
far-aWay mother country was too much
worried by troubles at home to pay close
attention to her infant colonies in the New
World, and then, through the Mexican
revolution, she lost them entirely. The
Mexican Republic never renewed those
ancient grants, and the people of the PEN
insula lost all interest in it-until Yankee
enterprise made it of value Then with
much and many threats they set up
mythical claims, which few have been so
foolhardy as to bring into the Courts.
While land in Lower California is not
particularly cheap as compared to much
In the United States, it has not vet gone
beyond the reach of men in moderate
circumstances. For example, the best
town lots in San Carlos bring from 500 to
$1,000 each, according to size, and in the
beautiful valley of San Rafael, which has
$4,000 acres of rich, black loan, sells for
$50 per acre, and there are no trees to cut
down, no stumps like decayed teeth to be
extracted, no malaria, and neither exces-
sive heat nor cold. The International
Company especially encourages the immi-
grafton of working people Labor is not
so high here as in some portions of Upper
California, but the laboring man is spared
many of the expenses incident to life in a
colder climate.
THE CLIMATE Is PERPETUAL MAY.
Frosts are unknown except in the highest
attitudes, and flowers bloom the whole
year through. In the valleys, which are
generally well watered by mountain
springs, semi-tropical fruits flourish to per-
lection. There are lemons, oranges, figs,
bananas, olives, grapes pomegranates,
apricots, side by side with apples, corn,
wheat, oats and barley. Among possible
products, as demonstrated by experiments,
are sugar-cane, cotton and tobacco. Grapes
are grown in the valleys without irriga-
tion, but on the mesas it is required for all
except citrus fruits Raisin grapes grow
better here than farther north, and
prunes and nectarines command good
prices Apricots flourish here as in few
places on the globe, and always find abun-
dant market, dried or canned, both in
Europe and America.
Among the ranches that have come un-
der my observation, few will do as
samples. There is that of New Hamp-
shire man, who came to Upper California
thirty years ago and has lived some time