Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-02-07
WONDERFUL IMPROVEMENT.
Changes I'm Mexico I'm the Last Quarter
of Century.

Changes in Mexico in the Last Quarter
! of a Century.
| Ex-Seeretary John W. Foster in the N. Y. Tribune
The first thing which strikes a visitor to-
! day who knew Mexico a quarter Of a CEN
| fury ago Is the facility and comfort with
which the journey to the City of Mexico is
! now made. When l set about the prepara-
| tons for my journey in 1873 l found that
| the only means of regular communication
was by a steamer from New York, depart
! ing from that port every three weeks, and
which occupied usually twelve rays in
| reaching Vera Cruz stopping at a number
| Of ports en- route. From that port to the
| City of Mexico a railroad had been finished
that year, which had been nineteen years
| in construction, a distance of 264 miles.
| Today four lines of railroad enter the Mex
lean republic from the United States, and
one can make the journey in five days from
New York to the City of Mexico In a Pull
man car on the regular trains with only
| one change, either at Kansas City or New
Orleans.
The second impression made upon the
| old-time visitor to Mexico is the every
| where prevailing evidence of peace and
| security to persons and property. Books of
| travel on Mexico written twenty-five years
and more ago are full of hairbreadth es-
capes from bandits assaults upon the dill
| gences, kidnapping of the rich for ransom
and the depredationS of robbers and revo-
| lutionsts. The passenger train between
the City of Mexico and Vera Cruz, the only
railroad in the country, carried car full
| of soldiers as an armed guard. and even
| with that precaution the mae passengers
usually wore side arms, and a guard of
| soldiers was kept at every station. No man
! of business or of importance ventured on
| journeys outside of the cities, large towns
| or haciendas (p.antation houses surrounded
| by high stone walD without a number OF
| friends heavily armed or regular escort.
| Today trains are running daily in almost
every state of the republic without any
| guards, assaults upon the stage coach have
| long ago ceased kidnapping is a thing OF the
| past, robberies on the highways are almost
unknown, travellers armed with pistols,
| rifles and swords Ga common practice in the
! pasO are rarely seen, and only in the re-
mote and mountainous districts The use
| of large bodies of soldiers to preserve peace
and order has been supplanted by individual
| gems d'armes or policemen. Beside the
visitors own observation of security and
| peace. the old residents of Mexico will tell
him that in this respect the country mas
undergone a complete transformation.
1t would be Idle to say that murder, rob-
| berry and disorder do not occur here, for
that would be to assert that the passions
of men have changed: but 1t is perfectly
correct to say that today outlaWry Is OIL
| rare occurrence in Mexico. and that in rev
| countries of the word is better protection
| afforded to persons and property. In me
| last twenty years the telegraph lines have
more than treb,ed in extent and in number
| of offices, and now at midnight there comes
| up to the National Palace in the City OF
Mexico from every near and remote town in
| the republic the message, mo hay move
dad" 1t is like the cry of the medieval
Waterman at midnight. AIS Well! that
assured the citizen of peace and security.
The primary cause of this state Of civil
| order has been the maintenance of a gov
| eminent of peace and of a continuous con-
| stitutional regime. Since the advent OF
| Gen. Porfrio Diaz to power in 1915 there
| has been no foreign war and no serious
| disturbance of an internal character. the
| only exception being the outbreak OF GER
tain semi-independent Indian tribes. In the
nreyfous fifty years Of the existence of the
! republic there had been as many presidents,
/ the majority of whom owed their existence
| to revolutionary movements. The wretched
| story of Mexican history of that period
| is too familiar to be repeated here.