Omaha daily bee., 1896-10-12

insa; by ms system me peon Us hlW9ys
after generation or poems live on the same
| hacienda and always under the same Condi-
bidden by law for % number OF years but
two-thirds OF the poems DO not know. u, rs
masters take good care not to teach them
hacienda while owing the hncicndado any
money, and Mr. Hacicndado sees TO IL that
when settling up accounts there Is a ball
ance due him, which keeps the peon per
relic Of the boronia system has made the
tacicndado lord ana mastCr OF every man,
extensive possessions Right here a quo
tltiou from Aristotle, from his first book
Of politics, is most hitting, where he writes:
The science OF the master reduces ITSELF
to knowing how TO make use of his slave.
He IL the master, not because he Is the
use of his property The slave constitutes
part of the wealth. Of the family" This Is
exactly the position of the hacendado and
the peon OF Mexico today. Tho peon is
simply worked for the advantage of others,
subject 70 the most intolerab.e prtyauons
reach state OF Independence. So In the
midst Of the magnihcence of The hacien-
and life OF ease and luxury Tor the CON
Sumption OF the great land owners OF MeT-
C0usi1e ed the creature of his master and
vcritable fxture to his possession by des-
tiny.
GOOD FUTURE IN STORE.
After 800 years of isms Mexico is now
emerging from nn arrested Development
and has a good future before 1t. Under THIS
republican form OF government, which, IN
fact Is "A military dcspotism, the great
masses of tho working people have little
social and absolutely no political standing.
The machinery of the government in It's
legislative functions, can and does exercise
an unbridl 'd sway with impunity. Organ
ICED labor Is unknown here which is con-
sdercd great blessing. But that country
today U,at has the best system OF trade
organic ttions and the greatest number of
union men per capita of it's population Is
the foremost In wealth, progression and the
happiness of its people. The true test of
civilization and greatness of nation de
pends on the intellectual and moral worth
of its working classes All laws inscribed
on the statute books of nations bearing on
the welfare of the toilcr have had their
germs planted I'm the soil of trades unions
and by them quickcncd into life in present
able forms for adoption, and that country
which has done the most on these lines
stands at the head of civilization.
The cry is raised that there are no poor
houses in Mexico. but that is no indication
of the absence of poverty, as your commit
tee can fully testify without fear of con-
tradiction. as the voice of the mendicant
supplicatng aims rang in our ears all
through the country, and poor houses would
be a blessing to many of the wan faces and
gaunt, cmaciated forms that crossed our
oath while there Often in witnessing these
and other distressing scenes we wished that
many of our friends In the rank of organ
i2ed labor could look through our eyes and
behold conditions 1t would ne doubtful for
them to otherwise believe. There are no
mamma trees I'm the land OF the Monte2umas,
where you can pick three meals a day Off
their branches, or. II one Is too tired to
reach for the fruit, lie under its broad
branches and wait until the fruit drons
into your mouth nor Is IL a Schlnrraffen-
land, where roasted poultry is flying
through the air or baked white fish or
boiled trout In its streams; not often does
milk and honey flow here. Instead, in the
l. 200 miles of the country your committee
e
few fertile tracts of land occur. clothed
with sage brush and cactus and supposedly
watcred by spring from a ncighboling
mountain. Under the influence of such "A
spring some vegetation bursts forth ana
covers a more or less extensive area, but
has long ago become the hating place of
some prospcctor or small farmer, and I'm
several places such oases supported a con-
siderable population. BY means Of irriga-
tion some corn and cotton are cultivated
and owing to the short crop OF corn in
Mexico brought about by an extended sea-
son of drouth, President Diaz recently is
sued proclamation taking the import duty
off American corn and millions OF bushels
of our corn is shipped to Mexico daily as
a result.
In the cities of Zaca:ecas and Guiana
juato, with populations of 10000 and 20 O'O
| respectively, we failed to get butter and
on inquiry we We're informed that If we
| paid 81 a pound butter would be purchased
| and kept for our exclusive use.
| BETTER NOT GO TO MEXICO.
Your committee would caution American
workingmen against going to Mexico with
! out sufficient funds TO bring them back, or
| there. or they will be obliged 10 subsist on
| cactus and the sap of the tequila plant
| American who was conducting a prosperous
| business in one of the cities which your
committee visited why 1t was that the for
| eigners all seemed to be making money. no
matter what business they We're engaged
in. he. with CHARACTERISTIC Yankee frank.
| ness. replied: THE laborer here Is different
| from the laborer In the states. Here labor
Us wIth. fns"'p and we have no brains to contend
| According to n census taken in September
| 1895 Mexico has a total population of II 0O)- e
| 00O people. of which number nearly 60 0N
| are Indians $500 eco are mixed race of In
| dams and Snaniards-this is the pcon class.
| Together they represent about 50 per cent
| nf the total population of the country, and
! directly contribute not one cent to the sup
| port of the government. The government
| Is supported and maintained by the balance
| Of its Dopulation-2 500, ,ON-whn are desiE-
mated as the white race: and consit Of
spaniards Englshmen, Germans, French,
| Italians and Americans,
| The mission intrusted to your committee
| is n peculiar one. We We're sent to study
the social and financial conditions of a far
| away people We are plain tcileTs, Injured
| TO the hard knocks of the factory and
| workshop, and none are better qualified 10
| investigate or to feel and sympathize with
| the workers of another country than men
| from our ranks. We did not go loaded with
| credentials. to be entertained by the people
| of the better classes. or yet as scholars to
| describe the monuments of historic interest
| or to have our poetic fancies inspired hy the
| landscape and azure skies. build up
| wasted energies in the healthful air of that
| southern cline, but to go among the com
| mon people who are of our own class, and
| study conditions from that standpoint.
| Hence this eplstle does not abound in high
| sounding platitudcs on the sublime and
| beautiful of that country but on facts that
| still exist and are ready to speak for them
| selves to those who will go and seek as
we have done; and sould they do so they
will feel as we do. that the American
working man Is a prince compared to the
| working man of Mexico. That in this coun-
! try all stand equal In social and political
| life, and In that political right they should
| exercise with care the faithful discharge of
| their duties, unprcjudiced and unbiased, by
| supporting such principles will do the
| greatest good to the greatest number, ire
| spective of party politics or the machinery
| Of either party, who may manipulate condi-
| tions and measures for personal gain to
| the detriment of the whole people
| Fellow workers, appreciating the honor
! conferred upon us, we thank the Chicago
| Trade and Labor assembly for the conf
| denco reposed in us on sending us upon so
| important n mission, and believe that we
| have fulfilled the duties assigned to us free
! from prejudice, as I'm this report we have
| simply held the mirror up to nature and
| chroncled events and conditions just as we
| found them.
In conclusion we submit herewith a com