The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1897-10-10

I
vile, Rio Grande City, Laredo Eagle
Pass, Ell Paso and Nogales claiming a
combined population of $1,000 people,
more or less, and it may be estimated
that half as many again live in smaller
places scattered along the valley of the
Rio Grande. A large percentage Of
these people are Mexicans of the poor
er class. Brownsville, Rio Grande City
and Nogales have no railroad outlet
to the north and in these places few
opponents OF the zone as an institution
can be found. The American opposition
to the zone is to be found in the cities
of Laredo, Eagle Pass and FL Paso, as
| it is claimed there that the trade OF
the American merchants in European
goods, such as silks and other Iuxuries,
is ruined by the proximity of the zone
and that the towns across the river,
i Nueva Laredo, opposite Laredo, Cui-
dad Porfirio Diaz, opposite Eagle Pass,
and Juarez, opposite Ell Paso, are built
| up at the expense of those on the Amer
| lean side.
One of the most earnest advocates of
the obliteration of the zone, a proper
ty owner and resident of Eagle Pass
writes as follows: 1.-THE lowest estimate
of foreign goods entered into the free
! zone from the United States at Cuidad
Porfirio Diaz is $500, 600 annually. TAX
| ing these figures for a basis and eSti-
mating the population tributary to this
point at 10000, it would give an annual
consumption of $40 per capita When
| it is considered that the earning ca
pacity of the ordinary Mexican laborer
| does not exceed rs cents q day in mon
| ey worth 80 cents on the dollar, and
that large families are supported on
| this amount, it is evident that these
goods find a market elsewhere, or, in
plain English, are shipped into the zone
and then struggled into the United
States or Mexico
| The opponents of the zone partially
succeeded in 1896 in getting the Con-
gress of the United States to suspend
| the bonding privilege. It was supposed
at the time the legislation secured had
fully accomplished the object in view,
| but a careful examination of the law
revealed the fact that, while Section
1906 of the United States Revised Stat
! uteS had been repealed, Section 3OU3
still allowed merchandise to be with
drawn from bonded warehouses for i'm
mediate expectation without the pay
ment of duties. The result of this leg
islation, therefore, was to prevent the
| through shipment of foreign goods, but
! still allowed them to go through with
out paying duty, provided they passed
| through the warehouses on the Mexi-
can border. That is to say, the privi-
lege was still retained by the statutes
not repealed, but the amount of Off
cial red tape necessary to the trans
action of the business was increased
to burdensome degree.
| Mexico could not afford to ignore this
presumptuous attempt of the Congress
of the United States to regulate the af-
fairs of another country, so the Mexi-
can Congress at once opened the en-
| try ports of Tampico, Vera Cruz and
Guaymas to the shipment of goods in
bond to the zone on the payment Of
f1712 per cent. of the regular duties The
result of the whole affair was a decid-
ed loss to the United States. We had
a monopoly, which, by our own stupid
ity, we have destroyed, as foreign goods
for the zone are now carried from the
South instead of from the North. We
legislated traffic from our own ports to
those of Mexico, and took freight from
American railways that it might go to
Mexican carriers. Considering the
matter from a disinterested point of
view, it would certainly appear that,
barring a possible increase in the temp
/ tation and opportunity to land and
smuggle foreign goods into the United
! States, the Mexican free zone has been
and still continues to be a benefit to
American trade, and that any attempt
! to commit the United States Govern
ment to a hostile attitude toward the
/ institution is instigated by local inter
ests unworthy of consideration. Mex
leo here offers us free market for ST.
0000 900 worth of goods annually, and
we have placed ourselves in the ridicu-
lous position of attempting to coerce
the Mexican Government into closing it
up.
Viewed from the Mexican point of
view, the zone is undoubtedly uncon-
stitutional and detrimental to Mexican
commercial interests. No manufactures
have been established within the limits
of the zone, as was predicted would
| happen. 1t constitutes an extensive
basis of operations for smuggling into
| the interior, impossible of effectual pa
| troll, except at enormous expense, and
| at the one custom-house at G. Porfirio
Diaz it is estimated that there is an
annual loss to the Government of over
| 5000, 900 in revenues from tariffs
waived This is the concern of Mexico,
| however, and not of the United States.
In an interview in the City of Mexico
with Senior Mariscal, Minister of For
eign Affairs, about a year ago, the
writer touched upon the free-zone con-
troversy and the possible attitude of
the Mexican Government toward the
question of it's permanency. He re-
/ piled, significantly: I'VE no longer
have a free zone, as we now collect 10
per cent Of the regular duties, and
he added, "all great reforms must have
beginning and be brought about grad
ually, as we have many political ques-
| tions to consider in a matter of this
kind in Mexico"
| Senior Mariscal here undoubtedly in
dicated policy of gradual abandon
nent. but it will necessarily be grad
ual, for the Mexican Federal Govern
ment has ever been forced to govern
| the people of Northern Mexico with a
| light hand. They are independent and
| aggressive, resenting any encroach
ments upon their most absolute State
sovereignty.
Compensation.
s'Sedgeley's marriage wasn't a hap