Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-08-01

Of iron, but these do not seem to work as we'll
"a the altogether steel ties. The Mexican
Central. which has a fine road bed, uses
wooden ties. and the same is the case with the
Mexican National or American narrow gauge
through line. Speaking of the Mexican Gem
trail ties reminds me of what one of the engi-
neers of the road told me as to Mexican con-
tracts. Said he: 1.-The average haciendado or
farmer of Mexico has curious ideas
of profit and work. Along the line
OF the Mexican Central there was man who
owned a strip of forest which was filed with
good tie timber. L asked him if he could
furnish me 5000 ties and what they would
cost me. He replied that he could and he
would let me have the 5000 for so cents apiece.
But suppose want 80, O0O' said L. oh, then,
replied the Mexican, Il will have to charge you
more, and couldn't let you have them for less
than IS cents apiece And if / want hun
dred thousand?' 1 went on. WELL said the
surprised farmer, a hundred thousand would
be great deal of trouble, and couldn't think
OF undertaking such job as that for less than
sl.50 apiece"
RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION IN MEXICO.
The above is one Of the peculiarities Of rail-
way construction in Mexico. The roads have
to be built by poems, and it costs about as much
to construct them. notwithstanding the cheap
labor, as it does in America. / have talked
with great many men engaged in railroad
business and they tell me that the Mexican will
not do one-fourth the amount that the Ameri-
can workman does and only the muscle work
Is done by the Nexicans. Indians who work
on the road get from fifty cents to seventy-five
cents day, and this is more than the average
wages paid them otherwheres. The railroads
have, in fact increased the prices of labor along
the lines of the railroad, but they do
not work much better for an increase OF salary.
One contractor who offered them double wages
for extra work tells me they did very well for
the fi-st two weeks, and then they laid off until
they ate up their surplus. There are come
Mexican brakeman employed on the railroads,
but as a rule the men who are engaged In run
ming the Mexican trains are Americans, with a
lew Englishmen on the old line from Vera
Cruz TO Mexico. The wages of Americans on
the Mexican roads are fairly good. Passenger
conductors on the Mexican Central get Sl65
month. and / think they get vacation of a
month every year. Engineers are paid by the
kllometer or the distance travelled. and they
make from two hundred to two hundred and fifty
dollars month. On the Inter Oceanic narrow
gauge engineers get salaries of $50 a month.
anu the salaries OF passenger conductors are
slOO and those of engineers 300 on the Vera
Cruz road. Among the Americans engaged on
the railways | did not find one who was dissat-
lshed- They al appeared to like the climate.
the people and their work. and not a few of
them had married Mexican girls, or better, had
brought American wives to Mexico.
TEE MEXICAN CENTRAL RAILROAD.
The biggest railway system in Mexico is that
Of the Mexican Central. 1t is owned princi-
pally by Boston capitalists and runs from Ell
Paso along the backbone of Mexico for 1,225
miles to Mexico City. 1t has two branches.
one OF which reaches out to Tampico. on the
gulf, and the other will extend to the Pacific
Ii Is broad guage. is we'll ballasted and has
American cars and through carriages from
New York and Chicago to the city Of Mexico.