San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-09-07
FOR LITTLE OR NOTHING.

WHAT It Costs to Live in Mexico.
"Do you know the cheapest
country on the American CONT
nent in which a man "a live?"
was the question asked by Col. j..
r. Summerville, Of Pittshurg, Pa,
Of a guest in the rotunda Of the
Menger hotel yesterday afternoon.
Col. Summerville was telling a
LIGHT man Of his visit to Mex
leo, and the guest although
he surmised that the speaker prob
ably meant Mexico, answered that
he had no idea which was the
cheapest country to live in.
"Well, Tll tell you," answered
the Colonel. ats Mexico. Now l
have been through several Of the
Central American countries and
have travelled some Of the west
coast of South America, but ] find
that in the tropical lands OF Next
co a man a live on fully % per
cent less than in any other country
with which / am acquainted.
"Last summer / went from San
Francisco to Guaymas, and from
Guaymas to Mazatlan to buy some
ore and incidentally look up some
mining property about which l
had been in correspondence. The
reason had not been a very favor
able one and the staples of life,
such as corn, beans and fruit were
dearer than usual, yet the prices
were such as to open an Americans
eyes verv considerably. Corn was
selling at what in this country
would amount to "a cents per
bushel beans and rice were very
low. In the tropics, fruit in their
season, were virtually given away.
Fori ten cents, III money, you
could purchase a full bunch Of
bananas, oranges sold at a half a
cent a piece and towards the season
at one cent.
cat a little semi-Indian village
on the Pacific slope of the Sierra
Madres, | found a coZy little home
of a California miner who had
lived in the place for eleven years.
The old mamie seemed to me,
some sixty years Of age--had near
ly all the comforts of an Ameri-
can home of the middle class Of
people. A Mexican woman kept
the place in neat trim and did his
cooking, merely for a living, food
and shelter; a moZZO or man SER
want, attended to all his hiddings
for seventy. five cents a week, Next
can money, while laborers worked
in his little plantation and small
stamp mill for from 20 to 80 cents
a day. or course his living eX-
penses were only the cost of pro-
visions at such ridiculOusly low
prices, the cost of cook and house
cleaner, and weekly stipend Of h s
mozzo which, together with Incl
dentals, did not, al far as | could
figure out, amount to over S3 per
week in Mexican coin. felt con-
fident that an American family
could live in that region of Next
co, il they got accustomed to the
peculiarities of the people and the
diet, comparatively speaking, as
this old miner.
"In no other nation on the conti-
nent, do | believe" continued Col.
Summerville, "cOuld a man enjoy
the same amount Of luxury for as
little outlay as in the tropical
lands of Mexico. Still, no matter
how poor 1 were, l would not want
to exile myself to such a back
woods, un-American country, and |
cannot realize how a man who
has lived V e so short a
time in the United States, can pos
sibly reconcile himself to such UNI
American surroundings"
Col. Summerville says that the
repeal Of the Sherman law was a
serious blow to the great silver
men of Mexico, but that it has had
the effect of developing the few
gold finds of the country. A great
business revival was expected in
Mexico in consequence of the pass
age of the new tariff bill, as well as
Of the Chinese war.
NOTICE TO CoLoRED PEOPLE.
Colored people are permitted to
use the FREE POOL, but are not al