Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1899-11-24
THE MfXlCO or TO-DAY
Vice pr<sidenf of That Count, Y
Makes Interesting Statements.

l
sal suffrage and a constitution and
form of government modelled on those
of the United States, Mexico is march
ing joyously forward along the path
of progress, and will be found quite
ready for the twentieth century when
it arrives. She is worthy to stand be-
side her great sister republic-and
what prouder boast than that can a
nation make?
SO far as natural advantages are
concerned there is no country in all
the world that compares with Mexico:
all the fruits and plants indigenous to
America, between the tropics and the
poles, are to be found growing in her
soil, and her situation, perched so high
between the Pacific ocean and the
Gulf of Mexico, saves her alike from
the extreme heat and cold that are to
be found at any altitude in the United
States. There is little difference be-
tween the temperatures of summer and
winter throughout the larger part of
her area, the greatest variation of the
thermometer being caused by day and
night.
All that the poets have written about
the beauties of natural scenery might
with entire truth be applied to the val
ley in which the City of Mexico is stu
ated. 1t is lovely, and it's guardian
mountains are infinitely solemn and
grand. But as Senior Matias Romero.
former Mexican minister at Washing
ton, remarks in his recently published
book. which tells so much about our
country: Each traveller in his turn
describes the valley (of Mexico) in
which he has tarried longest as the
loveiiest in all the world: nowhere else
do the snowy crests or volcanic cones
rise in more imposing grandeur above
the surrounding sea of verdure, all
carpeted with the brightest flowers"
Mexico is besides the sanitarium of
the world. and many invalids, especial
ly consumptives. are cured there
But nature was not contented with
all this, she also made Mexico the
worlds treasure house. For 800 years
she has produced one-third of all the
silver that was mined. The produc-
ton at present is more than SEQ 900, 900
per annum. When Ii Hung Chang was
in Washington he asked Senior Romero
how much silver Mexico was mining
and how long she could keep up the
supply. Senior Romero. trying to be
conservative. replied that Mexico was
turning out $4,000. 900 per year and
could keep it up for 200 years Ii
would not hear of such a thing He in
sisted that our minister had been so
long away from his own country that
he had forgotten details and that he
must be mistaken about the abundance
of silver. Mexico expects to supply
the world with $10G, G00,O coo OF silver per
annum soon.
Not much has been done in the way
of gold mining III Mexico, and the
Spaniards never found the great de-
posits from which Montezuma filled his
treasure house. But the gold is there
and the rush and scramble for it may
still come, filling up the country as fast
as California filed up. In Oaxaca
there is known to be Il gold belt as rich
as those of South Africa, California
and Alaska combined. What has been
wanting in Mexican mining is modern
machinery and methods. By means of
these many rich mines that had to be
abandoned because the thrush of water
was too great for the primitive ma
chinery to contend with, will be pump
ed out and worked again.
Iron in mounds and mountains. and
gems, as one might say, by the wagon
load, copper in the very greatest album
dance. quicksilver, lead-what you
will-MeXico's mineral treasures are
far beyond count.
Carelessness and ignorance of the
past denuded the great central plateau
of the forests which grew upon it. The
wood was used for fuel, and the coun-
try is now suffering on account of this
action. Railroads and new industry
are aggrayating that situation. For
one thing, it has so seriously affected
the rainfall as to produce arid lands
where were formerly good farms. and
for another thing it has made fuel so
scarce that coal is now sold at from
SIG to s22 a ton, which, of course, is a
very serious difficulty in the way of
developing industries.
But the fuel problem can easily be
solved by working new coal fields re-
Gently discovered and extending our
railroads to the old ones. and the lead
ing men of the country are alive to the
Importance of doing this. In Sonora
alone there is a carboniferous area
several miles in extent, with innumer-
able veins from five to sixteen feet in
thickness, OF hard, clean anthracite
coal COllldlllIIS oS nigh percentage u
carbon as the best that is furnished by
Wales. And that is only one of many
large coal fields to be found in Mexico.
Humboldt said in 1924 that the uni
versities and scientific institutions of
Mexico were then the lest in America.
That, perhaps, is no longer true. The
rapid growth of the United States in
population and wealth has enabled the
universities here to pay the highest
prices and fill their professors chaiI1
with the best talent. With 12,000,OOO of
population, Mexico has 100000 chill
dren in primary schools supported by
the federal government and the states,
and in addition to these there are ST.
600 in private schools. and $4,000 of both
sexes in the one hundred and thirty-siX
technical schools established and main
tanned by the nation and the various
states.
These free technical schools are not
altogether an unmiXed blessing as the