El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-11-17
FREE ZONE
COMMITTEE
Citizens Of Juarez Have Re-
turned From Mexico City.
MET ENCOURAGEMENT
president DIaz Expressed Himself
10 More than willing to Do Any
thing In MS Power for the peo-
pie Along the Border and favors
the tnternational Dam.


pie Along the Border and favors
the international Dam.
The free zone of northern Mexico
will be altered in some way to the ben
eft of Juarez and vicinity.
This was the promise OF President
Diaz and his secretary of the treasury
Senior Limantour.
Romulo Escobar and Espiridion Pro-
vencio. the committee selected at
mass meeting in Juarez a month ago
to visit the president and request some
changes in the zone laws and insft
on early action in the international
dam case. returned from Mexico City
Thursday evening and yesterday made
their report to the citizens.
The report was hardly as encourag-
ing as the committee hoped to make
but it is enough to satisfy the people
of the drouth stricken valley that
something will be done for them in the
near future.
Governor Ahumada. OF Chihuahua,
who had preceded the members OF the
committee to the capital. met them on
their arrival there and went with them
in person to call on the president. The
secretary of the treasury, Senor Liman-
tour. was also present and a half day
was spent in discussing the conditions
that confront the people here. The
committee explained that since there
was no water for irrigation there was
no way to make livelihood. and since
zens engaging in any kind of manufac-
turing or Industrial enterprises. the
country was fast being depopulated.
They also explained that the farms
of the valley would not now produce
enough for a family to live on and not
ing to leave the country and seek en-
ployment in other fields.
President Diaz received the commit
tee in his private Office and took a
great deal of interest in their business.
He stated that this state of affairs was
the contrary he had been giving the
matter a great deal of thought. He
and Secretary Limantour had had the
question up for several months and
thought he would soon be able to do
something for immediate relief. Pres
ticle $50 of the tariff laws of Mexico
were in the way of immediate action,
but he thought tnat that could be over
come. Article $50 treats on the sub
ject of raw material shipped into the
free zone from the United States and
into other articles. and shipped into the =.
interior the articles manufactured go
as manufactured goods from this coun-
try. That is. when leather. for instance
Is shipped into the free zone and there
harness OF saddles are made of it and
be paid on the manufactured article in
stead of on the raw material alone. :
This virtually prevents the people in !
the zone from manufacturing anything
out of raw material from the United
States.
On the question of the total aboli-
tion of the zone IL seems that there
are objections coming from the people
here. They contend that most of the
articles of food come from
the United States and If the free zone
is entirely abolished the tariff rates
would have to take effect at the bor-
der and the necessities of life would
be so high the common people could
not buy them at all. The question is
a complicated on eand will require
some time to- settle.
When the international dam ques-
ton was raised the president grew en-
He thinks the dam should
be built at the earliest possible time
but has left the entire matter in the
hands OF the United States government
Aspiroz at Washington has all
to aet in the matter but has
been unable To get Secretary Hay 70
do anything. The president is entirely
with the action of the people
of Juarez and the valley below in with ,
drawing their objections to the clause
in the treaty providing that no other
dams should be constructed in the riv-
above here. and says he will agree TO-
any provision advised by the people
on the border.
OF course nothing is to be done by
the Mexican government except to
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