The age-herald., 1897-08-08

LIFE'S OPPORTUNITIES IN MEXICO. | Frugal Young Europeans the Worst Gem petitors With Americans.
 | Mexican Letter in Boston Herald.
 I have received from many readers of the Herald inquiries rsgarding the | chances for young men in this country, and mainly the would-be pilgrims to this country are men of purely commercial, that is, mercantile, experience, and so naturally look toward a field already well filled here by Germans, Frenchmen 1 and Spandards. It is exceedingly diff cult to advise young men, other than. if | possible, to come, here, look over the field. and have enough money to get | back home with in case of dissatisfac- l lioan It is possible that in certain lines | of goods there would be an opportunity | for the young man who has genuine business talent, for the born merchant will get on anywhere. Knowledge to some degree of proficiency, of the Span ish language is Indispensable to the man who would address himself to the peo- pie of the country for the sale of his merchandise. And a fair knowledge of the elements of the language may be acquired at home of good teacher.
 The lines on which the progress of the country is being made are tropical agri- culture and manufacturing, and skilled m,sn in theSe matters are likely to find | positions. It is not to be put out of sight l that the struggle for existence is Keen, even in Mexico. The alert and energs tic | Spaniajrd from the north of Spain is a hard man to beat as trader; he can and will live very economically and has no desire to make a show till hs has a capital accumulated. The Jews are com mercially keen, but they never flourish l alongside of the man from the north of 1 Spain, who all his boyhood, has bean ac- customed to hard work and self-deniai and has phenomenal talent for acqulsi- I ton. The average young American and 1 young Englishman as well, likes to have | good time as he goes along. but not so is it with ths hardy young Spanish l mountaineer, who finds, all around him 1 here, rich men of his race living in grea,. mansions and controlling large busi- 1 nesses. who scrimped and saved and de- 1 nied themselves even the comforts of life for twenty or twenty-five years, when, having accumulated perhaps $50 900, l started out on broader lines, went into I manufacturing or agriculture and I amassed weaRlh. Now the young Jew is 1 not capable of this prolonged abstinence | from the good things of life;s when yhe first gets fair salary he likes to make a | better show in dress and to go to pub lie amusements, etc. He is a money maker, but not so good a money-keeper | as the Splniard.
 The young Germans here are hard ] working, bU by no means so Saving aIi fllfe SpaniarJfs of tir-ir own age. The Ger man is very social, and likes his beer and good company, and it all cos. s. The old Fashioned frugal German lad is a rare bird nowadays. But the German Is a trade competitor the American may fear for he always acquires tfs9 language and not infrequeDtly marTies into a Mexican family, and 80 gains prestige and social connections 44fia
 The Frenchman in Mexico, largely In the dry goods business, are mostly from single town in France a small place inha bjed by hardy race acoustomad to hard struggle with fate. They can hive on little. and work and wait pa Identity for better times 0t7'
 IL begins to hook as if the world of bus fness was to be dominated not by the seff- indulgent, however capable, but rather by the grubbers and men of one idea, and that idea money. Tthe Spanish lads and the French boys. who, if requirsd, can sleep on counter, and be up sharp al 6 to chean and put the shop 10 rights, are going through the hard school out of which many American milhouaifes have been graduated. It takes nerve and pluck and heap of patience to climb up in this way, but the chap who mounts the ! ladder of success over the rounds of pow erty and hard fare usually stays up when he gs.s to the top.
 Now, in ak Spanish-America you will find the same conditions i'm the merca ntile world The European is a keen business man, a scraper together of the odd pen ndes and a careful and prudent investor of the resultant dollars Therefore the young American who be!akes himself to any of the Latin American republics Ito go | into trade must have deal of persistence and probably will do, on the whole, quite as well at home. so
 Mexico requires men witt, small capital to go mostly Into agriculture. friend In the city of Pueblo mentions two busi- nesses which would pay handsomely, the breeding of mules. and rubber manufac- turing. All rubber goods used here arr imported and 1t would seem that in a few staple lines a rubber n1annfacturer might do we'll here as he woupf be work ing on a silver basis, and besides, qlave a stiff tariff behind him.
 The breeding of goats for their skirs is a lucrative business and has made sev- eral large fortunes for men engaged in It. There Is said to be no end to the deTnta nd for good skins. The widest and cheap est land is that used for the pasturage of the animals.
 Coffee has had a setback on account of the fall in, price. but Is by no means an urrattractive industry, and who shalf ga Y that the price of coffee will keep down? i
 Tobacco, too. Is a fine business. reuuir- ing some skfil In the curing. on which the market value of the leaf depends The culture of tobacco is incrsas sing rapidly and the exporta tion to the United Stat cs Is growing all the time It Is pity th <S a group of wdeawake young Amerfcane could not get work on a first-c,aes tobsc- co pia ntatlon and thoroughly learn the business Then they would be ready to l take up ranches of their own with e surety of making living and laying ur some thing. When the United s5tates gets Hawah ard Cuba. there will be plenty of Nsbow room for ambitious young men with taxbs for wild hfe in the tropics. | Wort form fn6igesSon and dyspsps.e | cured bT tle1nw InGram Idthia WAter