New-York tribune., 1891-05-17
AMERICAN MONTEREY.
SIGNS OF PROGRESS IN MEXICO.

SIGNS OF PROGRESS in MbAiOo'
A CITY IN TRANSITION sTATE-oPposiSo
TENDENCIES ON THE BoRDER-REsuLrs
OF AMERICAN ENEnGy-THE GOV:
EMINENT AS 1T IS
FROM STAFF CORRESPONDENT OF rHE Tribune
Monterey. March las the border Is ap-
proached signs of Americanization are mui'ipiio"
At Aeuas Calientes there is pie; at Catorce une
cream-jug is restored to its place in the oomcsao
economy at Salillo there are biscuits ana griooie
cakes; and at Monterey breakfast Is served s'
half-past seven, with toast steak fried pota'oeS
and an omeet TO these dietary changes rom
central Mexico, where the heavens rain tortuaS
and where friioles and tomatoes are gathered IKE
mama In the dewy morning, are adued o'ne'
tokens of contact and afiiation with the northern
race Tho iror-pointed crooked stick. which Is
still used largely IN the south as plough ID re-
placed by the improved American drag. Inc
clumsy carts with solid wheels drawn by oxen
that are lashed with raw-hide from the horns
to the woke have disappeared, and in their place
are seen light farm wagons from the north Inc
saw-toothed sickle has gone out Of use and cradles
reapers and threshing machines Of American man.
ufacture are in the barns In Monterey there IS
n marked reaction against the square, hat-roofed
houses with gardens in the interior courts and
gradual approach American house architecture
The roofs at least beginning TO tllt, ana lrane
houses with piazzas are familiar objects. lhere
is o large and influential Yankee colony ana IL Is
changing the aspect OF the city. English is
spoken at every turn. The characteristic Mexl-
can costumes are missed from the plaza The
fanciful names usually applied to Spanish-Ameri-
can shops as street signs are falling into dlsfaVor
here. and storekeepers are venturing TO put thelr
own names in large gilt letters over their doors.
The hotels are conducted on the American plah
without any attempt at compromise. The most
significant sign of all is the general suspension
of business on Sunday. In other Mexican cities
the stores are open at all hours on that day, but
here the iron gates are closed and the wooden
shutters are in place The band plays in the
plaza afternoon and evening and there Is bull
fight advertised The old Spanish spirit is still
disclosed by the recreations Of the city; bnt the
old order Of ideas habits and tendencies is passing
owav. The Americans have captured Monterey.
citv In a transition state between Anglo-Saxon
and Latin-American civilization presents incon-
oruous aspects The rawness Of the one contrasts
protesauely with the decadence of the other.
Monterey is like boy with an American tailor
made suit of clothes several sizes too large for him
and o. tattered Mexican sombrero that is too small
for him. with the SNOWY gilt braid coming un-
ravelled at the knot. What is American In the
town is underdone and what is Mexican Is over
done The street-car system is a network Of sid
ings tum-outs and branch connections without
practical efficiency. The avenues are broad end
arv. but the town is lacking in compactness
and straggles aimlessly in every direction. There
are excellent railway communications, hut the
trains from the north and the south arrive at
midnight and the stations are several miles from
the centre of the city. A Yankee gong sounds
noisy Jubilee for each meal at the hotel and the
cooking and service are so bad that the traveller
sighs for Mexican fonda plate of beans, and
glass of pulque. These are proofs of the irnma-
turity of American institutions as transpanted
here Then there are evidences Of the staleness
of Mexican civilization. The bull-ring is big
stable. The churches are debased samples OF
Renaissance architecture The cathedral is mod
ern pretentious and bare. The alameda is for
lorn and neglected The most picturesque ruin
in the city, the old palace Of the Bishops, is used
as an artillery barrack and not kept in good
repair The bells in the churches make great
cangor at every quarter-hour of the day. as though
they were protesting vehementy against the
American invasion, and unconciliatory Mexican
residents speak in loud key and with shrilly
accented Spanish, as though they were anxious
to emphasize their nationality; but these are signs
of the inevitable decline of the 0ld-tme order.
There are more Americans I'm Monterey than
in any other Mexican city except the national
capital The stores are filled with Yankee no.
tions and the warehouses with improved Ameri-
can farm implements and mining machinery.
American capital is going into the largest of the
three smelling works under construction, and
the other two are under American management.
The railways have been built and are operated by
Americans The factories. which are employing
large share of the working population, are falling
into American hands. The Impulse which the in
dustrial development of northern Mexico has re-
ceived since the completion of the leading rail-
WAYS. the National, International and Central, has
come from the impact Of Northern en-
ergy Monterey is destined to become a
great centre of manufacturing and border trade
and TO be identified more and more closely every
wear with the commercial and mining interests
of the Western States of the American Union.
While losing its characteristics q Mexican city
IL is assmilating the elements Of American enter
prise energy and progressive elements. There are
adequate compensations for the sacrifice Of those
picturesque effects Of architecture and costumes
which tourists from the North miss when they are
seeing the sights of the town. Monterey must al
ways however, be city worth visiting for it
commands grand prospect of the Sierra Madre,
and lies in the centre of a plain between two Inn
posing mountains, Sia and Mitras. one over and
the other under 1000 feet In altitude. With an
elevation of 800 feet above the sea, it has q
fine equabe climate and all the conditions re-
quired for public health. There are hot baths
few miles away possessing valuable curative
qualities, a great natural spring in the heart of
the town, and drives of varied attractions. There
is, perhaps. no other Mexican city where Ameri
can residents can find more cOngenial climate
or can live with greater comfort.
Mexican prejudice against Americans is still a
strong popular feeling but it is declining. Some