The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-25
Era of Progress Dates From
Decline in White Metal.
STARTED FACTORIES
And Stopped ImpOrtatiOns of
Foreign Made Goods.
Produces Enough Gold to Pay
Interest on Her Debt.


ago to spend the holidays with his fam
lily. He has just organized a corpora
tion composed of old friends in Kansas
City and Kansas, for the purpose of
colonizing a. large tract of land located
on the Panuco river and tributary to
the Mexican Central railroad and the
port of Tampico. This company pro
poses to locate a townsite at the head
of navigation on the river, in connec-
ton with the lands to be sold to the
colonists, giving an opportunity to peo-
pie with small means to secure a home
The conditions in Mexico, said MI
Henry, ARE a constant source Of sur
prise to those who go down there for
the first time. No one who has not
seen it for himself can understand the
process that has been made there
and incidents that have come under
my personal observation would I'LL
columns. The first thing that strikes
a close observer is the fact that things
are settled-that apparently bottom has
been reached. In this country the peO-
pie are burdened with statesmen who
all want to have a hand in running
the government, and the ordinary bus
mess man feels compelled to be repre-
sented in Washington by somebody
who thinks as he does, in order that
his business will not be deranged. The
result is that he has not enough time
to get his business in proper shape be
fore there is another turmoil and he
must rearrange his affairs in order to
be in accord with the policy of the gov
ernment.
In Mexico it is entirely different.
There has not been a financial statute
passed for more than twenty years and
there has been no change in the meth
DDS of doing business. The laws are
made and administered for the benefit
of the whole people and not for the ben
eft Of the few, and when they are made
they are enforced without favor or
partiaIty. For example, if you want
q a raj a
terred to the proper bureau and re-
celVed cOurteOuSly and with all the en-
couragement that one could ask. You
are asked Where you want to run the
line, and if it happens that the section
is already traversed by a railroad you
are told without any circumlocution
that you can't do it; that one railroad
is enough there; that as the rates per
mile are fixed by the charter, cOmpeti-
ton Is unnecessary; and that the
building of railroads to ruin each other
Will not be permitted.
when man wrecks a train in Mex
lco, there is no necessity for the organi-
zation of lynching party to hang the
offender If he is caught near the
spot he is shot, and if he manages to
get away no concern is felt, for it is as
nearly certain as possible that he will
De Shot anyway. If man commits
cold -blOOded murder he is decapitated
Ihe sentiment in Mexico is that there
IS no use in wasting time in trying to
reform such men and that the interests
of society demand that they should be
put under the sod as expeditiousIY as
possible. AS a result of this state of
| attairs, life and property are safer in
Mexico than they are in the United
! States, and any man who obevs the
law is certain of protection to the full
est extent of the law You don't hear
any discussion in Mexico of the aboli-
llOh OF capital punishment or of curren-
cy reform, or of any other of the nu-
merOus things that are constantly
! coming up in this country. If there
"a an
there as was recently held in IndiauaD-
oils to instruct the government in re
gard to the establishment of any new
system of finances it would be thO1Igbt
necessary to have them placed under
official inspection.
Now what is doing in Mexico? PeO-
PIE are coming IN there in large num-
| bers because it affords the best field
Tor investment in the world Not long
ago l stopped over night with an Amer
Ican living $50 miles south of Vera
Cruz, and during the evening seven
| young men came in, none of them over
/ 80 years old. and all of them era d11-
ates OF American colleges. They were
! engaged in raising sugar cane coffee
/ vanilla, oranges, lemons and other rrO-
ducts for export. They could find moth
ing that promised returns in the United
states and there they are prospering.
nave seen thousands of acres of land
] under the plOw that have lain faIloIv
/ Tor % years. An American implement
/ ueaIer IN a little town near CuadaIajara
4
I the past he's had sold LOO Anerica1 n
/ PloWs. Ten years ago the annual i'm
| ports of cotton and wooden goods from
/ the united States amounted IN more
| than $1,000, 900. This. wear tfe7, LIN
/ not reach value of $500 600 Cotton
factories have been started uD and now
the products of the United States are
not IN II with those of Mexico. the onIv
! foreign competition that amounts to
| Any any lnlhS pelng the fine grades from
france and England. It is much the
]
! factories have absorbed all the cotton
/ produced in the country and though
the production of cotton has baen
! greatly stimulated it has baen fo,7r,5
/ necessary to import large o1Iant;tiae
/ Of the raw material from the United
/ states President Robinson of the
NIeX1can central railroad told me re
/ Gently as the result of this great in
! crease in manufacturing enternrisae
| the income of the road during the first
I SIX months OF this year was so per cent
/ larger than for the same period of Ia CT
| years ago.
=. I might continue indefinitely on this
! Inc Inc evidences of prOSDeritv are
} to be seen everywhere PeopIe are com
/ ing in because they are certain of MAX
/ ing money there and everywhere in fhe
country may be seen new enterprises
startlng with foreign capital. which is
thus being drawn for the develODment
OF resources that are al yet in their in
! fancy President Robinson called nv
attention to another notable fact-tbe
associations of Mexicans for the cen
! duct Of business enterprises Formerly
the wealthy Mexicans lived on their
| great haciendas like feudal lords. They
/ had their enormous estates, cultivated
| by thousands of poems, by whom they
/ were reVerenced with a devotion scarce
| ly second to that accorded the AL
| mighty. They had few associates. were
| afraid to trust each other, and for the
| most part lived entirely to themselves
Nothing more clearly illustrates the ex-