Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-02-26

ascribed to the fact that the people are
mot so well prepared as are the people
of the United States to bear the discom-
forts of life and climate" and hence
there Is great mortality among the child
rem.
Mexicans are born in the Catholic
church. "Some of them, like the IN
dians, do not know much about religion
and keep their old idolatry, having
changed only their idols, that is, re.
placed their old deities with the images
OF the saints of the Catholic church"
The Protestants have, however, worked
hard in Mexico and have obtained foot.
hold. The public schools number
S,G75, attended by 1856 pupils, at an
annual cost of So, 45j,550. Parochial
schools and others number 3,129, with
1921 pupils. There are 1876 technical
schools, attended by 1G,S09 pupils. Mr..
Romero thinks that the education of the
Indians is an urgent problem. There
are only 25S newspapers in the country.
The valley Of Mexico is one of the
finest spots in the world. Surrounded
by high mountains, it has very rare
and clear atmosphere, which makes
hills forty miles away seem, when
viewed from the capital, only at the end
OF the city. 1t is a centre of magnificent
scenery, the view from Chapultepec hill
being among the most beautiful on
earth. The City of Mexico contains
100000 people, and among its many fine
buildings is the cathedral, which took
nearly a century to build, although
sometimes 10000 men we're working
upon it.
That Mexico is one of the very richest
mining countries in the world is well
known. Mr.. Romero puts the present
product of silver above $50 ZOO. 900.
The Neta Madre lode of Guanaiuato
alone produced 10000 between
l556 and 1903. Gold is sometimes found
with silver, and formerly, when the
amount was small, it was not separated,
for which reason old Mexican dollars in
China are worth more than new ones.
But Mr.. Romero expects that Mexico
will soon be one of the worlds largest
gold producers. The total coinage of
gold up to 1896 is put at 1876, GS5
and that of silver at So, 400. 95S, 40.
This would give Mexico one-third of the
total worlds coinage since the discovery
Of arig DIT
much of the silver produced is not
coined, and Mr.. Romero would place the
total production at from four billion to
five billion dollars.
The total length of Mexican railways
was, in 1895, close upon 1000 miles. The
total exports for 1S95-96 were. of
precious metals, SCI, S3S, 500, of which
SOL OIL SCI were to the United States; of
commodities, S4017S,3 0G, of which
SIS, $50, 034 were to our country. Next
cos total imports were for the same
year S42, 253, 93S, of which S2O,lI5. 7G3
came from the United States. Banking
is shown by Mr.. Romero to be very
profitable in Mexico, although still in its
incipient state. The dividends earned
and paid by the national bank are very
high. those for 1895 being lSI and If
per cent, respectively; and a short time
ago a surplus of $4,000, 600 was issued to
the shareholders as stock dividend
and then S5,000,000 of stock was offered
to the public, for which the subscrip-
tions amounted to SD 100000.
Such are facts presented in regard to
our sister republic by the statesman
who has so long and so ably represented
her in The United States New York
Sun.
THE RAIL WARFARE AND WAGES.
The war of giants, as men call the
struggle between rival interests in the
iron industry, may soon become a ques-
ton of labor. Two great companies
have started their works it'll full force
and with orders to keep thousands Of
men busy for nearly or quite year, but
"a deep cut in wages" is reported. 1t is
not unlikely that the laborers in either
or both of these establishments may
consider that they should not be used in
this way, in struggle between oppos-
ing combinations of capital. There has
been more or less prejudice against both.
The Carnegie company had a bloody
contest at Homestead four years ago.
The Illinois Steel company has had con-
trOversles, happily bloodless, of more re-
cent date. The public is not called upon
to Judge between the opposing combina-
tions. but it has some season to see that
in every such struggle for the mastery
of great industry the real rights of the
workingmen and the permanent inter-
ests of the people shall not be disre.
garded.
Under ordinary circumstances, it
would occur to everybody as obviously
reasonable and just that the struggle of
capital for larger profits and larger
DOWar sboul1 NOT no foun ht ont IL.