The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1896-07-21
Continued from Lost teeek J
THE LAND OF THE MONDAY
SUN.-MEXICO IN MID WINTER.
BY JUSTICE WALTER CLARK, LII, D.
From Arena for June.)

lately dead, who had formerly been
political opponent, but who after this
alliance took a seat in his SOL in laws
cabinet. Sonora Diaz is exceedingly
popular all over Mexico.
The Spanish pronunciation in detail
would require a grammar, but in gen
eral it may be said that q is Gh, e is a
/ is ee, o is broad o, and u is 90. Hu il
40, ju is Uh, j is h, h is silent, double
is y, and q before e and is Unlike
French, in which no syllable is accen
ted and in which, according to the
French Academy, on an average two
fitths of the letters on a page are silent,
in Spanish, every syllable is pronounced,
and there is an accent on some sylla
BILE, generally the next to the last, and
this stress is more decided than in
English, being in many cases almost q
drawl on the accented syllable. AS a
curiosity the pronunciation Of the
names of several of the towns is here
given, the accented syllable being in
italics: Mexico is Meh eco; Aguas Cal
ientes is Ah-WdS Cal i en-tas; Catorce
is Kay-tOr see; Guanajuato is Wah ma,
1Uhat to; Guadalajara is Wardly ly
har-rer; Guaymas is Wye mas; Jalapa
is Ha lap per; Lagos is Lab Cos; Leon
is Lay-OuCn; Morelia is Mo rag Iva;
Queretaro is Kayret arc; Oaxaca
is O-ah- hack er; Orizaba is Gree
zub bah; San Luis Potosi is San
La ees Poto- see; San Miguel de Allende
is San Ne gil day Ayen,d y; Tampico is
Tam pee CO; Torreon is TORY Otcn
lula is Too la; z acatecas is Kaky tag
cas-. Sometimes the meaning of a word
depends on which syllable is accented,
as pa pa means a potato, while pa pa,
with the accent on the last syllable,
means father.
While the Mexican leaders were wise
enough and patriotic enough to save
their country from the fortunes snd de
depression of the gold standard and
falling prices which we have had to
endure, many years ago they found
their foreign debt $3.50, 600, OOO) gold
and silver were at a par, and not anti
cipating any attempt to demonetize
the latter in order to double the value
of the former, they unwisely consented
that the interest on this foreign debt
as a matter Of convenience-should Ee
made payable in London and ID gold
They did not know there was any IN
convenience in it then, but they have
found it out now, as, like " deb
tors and taxpayers. they are paying
double what should be justly paid. IC
is just like contracting for ten thou
sand bushels of wheat and then doub
ling the size of the bushels. Mexico
has about 800, OOO, 900 of other debt
created more recently, but, taught by
experience, this is payable, like our
debt, in coin, and their Secretary of
the Treasury, unlike ours, pays the
government creditors in coin Of the
same value as that in which the debt
was created, and interest On this debt
is paid in the same money in which
taxpayers have just received 81 25 per
bushel for their corn or wheat and IF
teen to eighteen cents per pound for
their cotton.
The railroads reflect the prosperity
of the country and show steady in
crease in receipts, though their rates
Owing to the enhancement of the value
our currency are practically half
what ours are. To take one railroad as
an example. TIE receipts of the Mex
lean Central, which were So, $50, 900 in
1885, were nearly doubled five years
later, being in 1890 Sc, 425, 900. This
rose to So, $50, 900 in 1894, and last year
added over a million to that, the re-
ceipts for 1895 of this one railway be
ing So, 1876. 900. The railroad station
houses throughout Mexico are in the
best style and many are very hand
some, and plats ornamented with flow
ers and tropical plants r frequent.
These random observations have been
thrown together, as they may possibly
serve to amuse or interes ts some of your
readers. Before giving some idea OF
the parts of the country l visitoG on
my return, as will now be done, 1 may
add that Americans will find it agree
able and very pleasant, if they can
find friends to introduce them, to visit
the American Club, just opposite the
Iturbide Hotel. Our c~ountrymen who
frequent there, and especially those
who maintain the club are a fine type
of men. The two dailies printed in