El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-01-12
CITY OF MEXICO.
Our NeighbOrs Find Amusement Over
Foot b Ill and the Theatre,
CITY OF MEXICO, Jan. I,

CITY OF MEXICO, Jan. I, '97
In this city the new year was ushered
, in about the same as it is in the states.
Some people sat up and watched the
old year out and the new one in; others
went to bed to sleep: others were sc
drunk that they couldn't distinguish
the difference in time, while others still
worked and thought not of the dying
year nor of the one being born. Your
hum BILE servant was of the last lot and
when the old year was rung out was
deeply interested in the intricacies of a
very interesting proof sheet that a
Mexican artist that did not understand
English had just manufactured for the
columns of the TwO-Republics. OF
course bad proof at twelve O'Clock al
night always leaves the proof reader
in very amiable frame of mind and
that was the condition [ was in when
the new year was ushered in.
The new year has brought to this
city cloudlsss days and bracing, balmy
air: all are pleased and they feel better
that cold, wet and disagreeable
autumn has just past Even here one
can see the effects of winter as the
trees are leahess and the valley of Ana
huac is not now carpeted in the beauti-
full green that greets the eye of the Wis
itor a little later in the season.
IMPROVEMENTS.
| There are number of Improvements
in progress here just at present and
many more are contemplated Tor the
near future. Among the most notable
of the improvements now in progress
are those going on in and around the
castle of Cha pultepec. The grounds
are being filled in and leveled up and
the famous old acqueduct is being torn
down and hauled away to fill up holes.
The park around Chapultepec is
! IL
enlarged and beautitied when the work
now in progress is finished. Just to
the north of the castle the grounds are
being laid out for the Mexican Inter
national Exposition but this work is
progressing slowly and not much is be
ing done in that line. Many new and
elegant buildings are under constr uc-
tion in the centre of the city and when
finished they will add greatly to the
beauty and sta bilIty of this southern
metropolis.
THE FOOT BALL TEAMS
OF the Universities of Texas and
Missouri trod the gridiron in this city
between Christmas and New Year and
have returned to their native heaths.
The two games that were played here
were witnessed by large number of
people-MeXicans and members of the
foreign colonies, excepting Spanish,
(the latter attend nothing American
just now.) The Mexicans did not like
the sport and called it the "American
bull fight" They said it was too
rough and would never take in Mexi-
co.
l see that the tariff agitators in
congress are already talking about
raising the tariff of Mexican cattle. 1t
seems to me they are awful quick in
trying to Jump onto something western
aud assist Mexico in building up new
factories and refrigeratOrs. just as
soon as a prohibitive tariff is put on
Mexican cattle those same parties who
were instrumental in raising the tariff
will form stock com panies and come to
this republic and start refrigerators.
Mexico now buys almost all her canned
and cured meats in the United States
and this market is growing larger
every year as the natives become more
accustomed to the consumption of
foreign foods. A high tariff on Mexican
cattle will result in the establishment
OF refrigerators and canning factories
IN this country, thereby cutting off a
large and growing trade that the |
United States now has with this coun- !
try.
MEXICAN ORANGES.
l also see that the California fruit
growers are after the Mexican orange |
trade and want a prohibitory tariff put
on that fruit. Why they should kick |
for this l cannot see. as the Mexican |
orange does not come in direct com
petition with the California fruit, |
neither does it lower the price Of that |
fruit. 1t is true that a large amount
of oranges have been shipped from |
this republic to the states and the |
trade is growing annually, but the |
Mexican crop comes in after the Flor
ida crop has been marketed and the |
n l.,
fornia crop is ready for the market. |
Any one can see by this that the Mex
lean orange trade does not come in
direct competition with any OF the |
orange crops of the United States, but
only fills in gap between the crop of
Florida and that of California, and
keeps a continual supply of oranges in
the markets of the states. The MeXi-
can orange is much more perisha BILE
than the crop from the states and can
not be held so as to bear down the
price of California fruit.
LEOPOLDO FREGOLI.
The theatre going people have been
having great treat in amuSements in
the person of one LeOpoldo FregOli.
He is one OF the greatest impersonat-
ors and lightning change characters in |
the world-if not the best of them all. |
FregOli was engaged by the principal
Jn6aUre mandSeuSuL III New Orh dI
very high figure and the manager |
felt shaky after the deal as to whether |
he would be able to pay the price |
promised. He has now been playing |
80 days and there is no abatement in
the rush to the box Office to secure |
seats and if seats are not procured a |
day in advance there is no chance of
seeing this great actor. He has no
troupe but gives a whole show himself
and during the performance be repre-
sents 90 different characters-men and
women, old and yOuLg-he does not
only represent them in dress, but in
voice and facial expression as we'll.
They are all represented so quick that
it looks impossible for one man
to do it. He walks out
of one stage door as a man in full
evening dress and comes right into
another door in the full dress of a lady
and singing in a high soprano voice.
l was behind the scenes in one of his
plays and saw him make the changes,
and while he carries no troop he has
about fifteen men stationed behind the