Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-05-26
CARP.
THE WELL-kNOWN SCRIBE is
IN FORT WORTH DAY.
Constantly Hunting New Worlds to Write
Up. and Ready to Die When He Fails to
Run Across Something Crisp.

| Washington City from Old Mexico.
| Mr.. Carpenter was in Mexico gathering
| material and data for letters which ne will
| supply to representative journals of the
larger cities. AS correspondent and as a
| newspaper letter writer Mr. Carpenter is
| reporter, but his individuality is INSOFAR
able from his writings, and he might
be termed q journalistic litterateur;
not litterateur in the sense that his writ
ings will be lasting, the character of his
work forbidding anything more than
ephemeral recognition, ibut in the sense,
that his work and its character when.
measured by the receivers yard stick Of
the day, will size up near the yard wide
and all wool standard of modern newspaper
literature.
The young newspaper man might escape
the tendency to run in the ruts, If he could
be SO fortunate as to NEE / with a few
Frank Carpenters in the course OF his
career. His mind is a store house Of in
formation of the men and affairs of this
day.
Mr.. Carpenter is light comp!exioned, of a
very decided type. spare built, impresses
you as being nervously organized, and
taking into consideration the range of his
work and the amount that he has done, is
human dynamo governed by idea. Some time
ago Mr.. Carpenter went around the world
on an intellectual junketing tour in the in
tereSt of the leading journals of this coun-
try. He has interviewed the King of Corea,
the King of Greece, the Khedive of Egypt,
been presented to numerous courts, not
excepting Queen Victoria's, and talked
to Ii Hung Chang, whom Gen.
Grant called 1.-The Bismark of the Chinese
empire He has been everywhere, seen
everything, and his work is more lucrative
than the salaro received by the chief JUS
ffice of the supreme court Of the United
States
To a GAZETTE representative he talked
Mexico from Montezuma to the Pulque
plant, from President Diaz down 10 the
peon, whose subsistence is furnished by the
few cents wages. The first thing he pro-
duced on THE GAZETTE was history of the
saints written in Latin III 1918, Nellum COW
cred and uniquely annotated. This book
Mr.. Carpenter bought for dollar; it is
probably worth $500 Another interesting
mon clay by Panduro, the greatest Mexican
sculptor, who will exhibit his work ut the
Worlds fair. Mr.. Carpenter said that the
MeXicans were easy to trade with.
Talking about Mexico and its develop
ment, Mr.. Carpenter said that the immense
development that that country is undergo
ing IS throwing open to civilization
trritory whose possibilities seem
fo be unlimited and where
brain and capital will produce results
greater than any country he knows Of As
u side issue he remarked that, ''TeXas is all |
right, and Fort Worth must have a great |
future before it,
Continuing the line of his talk in regard |
to Mexico he said:
David A. Wells was in Mexico six or eight |
years ago, travelled over the Mexican Cen |
tral and Vera Cruz road and said that |
Mexico was all barren. The truth is that |
not until now has the best part Of Mexico |
been penetrated by the railroads. The |
road running to Tampico from San
wilderness and it cuts into a strip of terri |
TORY, after it leaves the mountains. fifty |
miles long and 100 miles wide, which is |
covered with dense growth Of underbrush |
and which has soil as rich as suano and as |
black as your hat Upon it oranges and |
lemons grow wild, and sugar needs but |
one planting for many crops, and in the
foothills back of this is the finest OF coffee |
growing soil. There is some talk among |
capitalists of buying and colonizing the
lands, but the great danger from this will |
be the emigrant might have to spend the
chief part of his earnings in quinine.
"The widest scenery in the world is along
the Tampico road, another new road which
IS now being built. l went over this mar
row gauge, which runs through miles of
he finest coffee land, only about a tenth of
which was planted. At the terminus of |
this road l took a ride on the longest
street car line in the world.
1t runs from Jalapa to Vera Cruz
ind is seventy-two miles long. The cars
Ire pulled by four mules, which are
hanged every hour, and go in a gallop all
he time. A vast area of new country is
being opened up south of Mexico City, by |
he Mexican Southern railway company |
This is the road Gen. Grant planned,
W is being carried on by company which
hS no connection with the company Grant
represented. 1t is already running for u
LAYS ride or more, and will soon reach the
Fllf of Tehuantepec on the Pacific coast
Ghe territory through which it goes is full
# valuable mines and rich agricultural
ands. In addition to this there are a |
lalf dozen new roads opened up"
Are there many Texas men in Mexicol"
More than from any other state in the
Union. You find them everywhere. They
re active, brainy business fellows, many
f them raising stock; some of them own
aciendas and some Of them are operating
he railroads.
The question of pork packeries came up
nd Mr.. Carpenter said: 1T is a wonder
o me that more Texans are not interested |
here is a pork packery at Monterey,
nd another big one is being +
ut up in Mexico City. The prices of cured
leats in Mexico City are enormous, three |
r four times what they are here, and the |
ian who has monopolized the pork trade
t the Mexican capital has made five
lillions of dollars out of the business
n the most unscientific basis. He began |
V killing his own hogs and peddling the
.eat around on his head Now his
acking establishment will compare with
ny of Chicago's immense institutions of
lis kind.
Let me tell you something peculiar:
le MexicaEs cross the ram with the hog |.
nd the result is hog sheep, which looks
owever, like the hog, but which has a
Icy wool under the bristles and runs
lore to the fat than the pure hog"
In regard to their religion Mr. Carpenter
lid: IF the money that has been put
ito churches had been put into '
iilroads. Mexico would be the t
lost civilized nation on the globe 9
t one time believe the church owned | 1
of the property of the nation.
Ut since the establishment of the republic I
lie property has been confiscated, the |
lurches and monasteries have been | {
inverted into hotels and manufactures | c
nd the priests only dare to go on the
reefs dressed in plain citizens | !;
othes. The old cathedral at Pueblo is the $
lost magnificent thing 1 ever looked at. !
he ceiling is decorated with gold leaf and I
,escoed most deliberately. '
l.T - = l. ~ ~. :. 1