The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-09

out of ten of the Mormon men are n
 dustrious. They work with energy ant
 enthusiasm. But sometimes a shiftless one appears, who is willing to live by
 the labor of his women. Recently 2
 Mormon arrived in one of the colonies
 with two young wives. They were
 strong and willing to work Instead ot doing anything himself he sat from
 one days end to another and watched
 the two labor with hoe orc mattock
 Finally he became tired of the colony
 and expressed a wish to return to Utah
 Whereupon the two wives sold thei1
 products and shipped him away. They
 remained, however, to look after the
 crops on their little farm.
 Mormon converts are gained invaria-
 ply from among the most humble class
 es of the population. Two thousand
 missionaries are at work all the time
 in the United States and Canada, and
 in England and Europe, adding to the
 Mormon fold. In justice to the Mor-
 mons it must be stated that the con-
 verts they make usually are bettered
 in every respect. Thrift is a cardinal
 principle in the Mormon creed and 1t
 is exemplified nowhere better than in
 the colonies of northern Mexico Com- fortable homes, cultivated fields and abundant crops show that the Mormons
 on the whole are industrious, frugal and economical. They are obliged to main
 tain a community of interest. They
 labor together and assist one another
 in everything that Is to be done
 At present there are eight colonies | of MOrpanne in Max-tro with o
 bined population of nearly five thou
 sand. They are Colonia Juarez the 1 capital colony; Colonia Diaz. Dublan,
 Oaxaca Pacheco, Garcia Chuichupa
 and the recently established colony of
 Morelos. Colonia Juarez is situated in' narrow valley, and the land is irr-
 gated with water from the Casas Gran
 des river. The neat brick residences of the settlers are hidden in grapevines 1 and thick clusters of pear, plum, peach | and apricot trees The water runs in | clear stream through all the cross streets and is turned into yard or gar den at will Here the president of the stake" which embraces all of the col | onies, resides He lives in handsome
 brick residence that cost $10,000, He guides the destines of the Mormons in Mexico with the head and hand of a capable captain He is a man of edu- cation and of unusual intelligence and was at one time a candidate for gover- nor of Utah. He is the first and last court of resort for all internal troubles and disputes
 The Mormons build schools in their communities even before they erect church. All of the colonies have their schools and ar academy is maintained at Colonia Juarez. There are a princi- pal, five teachers and more than four hundred pupils. In this colony there is a grist mill, a canning factory and oth- CT industries. There is tithing store, the only one in the colony, but there is not saloon, nor tobacco shop, nor a policeman in this or any other of the colonies
 Duban is the largest colony. It is also the most important commercially. It is four miles from the terminus of the railroad, and is situated in a broad valley. The village, which has about one thousand inhabitants, is scattered | over several square miles of territory. The Mormons of Dublan have thousands of acres of rich land, which produces | abundant crops. They have beautiful orchards and gardens. They have laid | the foundations of a splendid temple | and a large school building. They have 1 Q tithing store here as in Colonia Jua- | reg, and each Mormon contributes 10 | per cent of his income to the support | of the Church. He gives. labor lum- 1 Der, fruit, meat, milk or money, depos l iting 10 per cent. of whatever he may | have at the tithing store. In addition | to this taxation the Mormons of Dub Ian have a self-imposed income tax of 8 per cent, which is to be used to build | and equip their academy.
 Oaxaca is 105 miles from the railroad but it is reached by an excellent road which the Mormons built, They were not contented with the mere trail the Mexicans used for two hundred years, and instead graded a roadway upon which bicycle might be easily ridden the entire distance. Oaxaca is on the Bavispe river, and while this colony has plenty of water for irrigation purposes, there is no irrigable land The people are poor and do not appear as industri- ous or as successful as tn eMormons in the other colonies. Their houses are without glass in the windows, and they have no carpets and many of them nothing more than dirt floors. The traveller going through Oaxaca will find t impossible to purchase butter, eggs, potatoes or other provisions. The peo- ole appear to live principally on bread and honey.
 The new colony of Morelos, to the vest of Oaxaca, promises to be the lar sest colony in Mexico. Thirteen fami- ies are there now living in tents and working hard to prepare their irriga- ion ditches and clearing the land of ; he mesquite bush. This colony has { i've thousand acres of rich soil upon | which it can produce several crops an- { lually Fifty more families will soon lrrive. All or nearly all the men have nore than one woman in their tents Whether they were wives in Utah or ( lot it would be impossible to say In 1 Iexico, where concealment was no | onger necessary, each woman was do- | ng her allotted share of the work about heir temporary habitations.
 We have fine agricultural and graz ng lands here," said q Mormon "and { ve are just a hundred and twenty-five niles from the railroad, with a fair respect of a road building hv herc ir, |