Hattiesburg daily progress. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 18??-1909, 1903-11-23
OLD MEXICO.
Americans Are Changing the Natives
Lazy Customs.

Americans Are Changing the Natives
Lazy Customs.
The capital, the enterprise and ini-
tiative of the American peop.e have
enabled Mexico to leap from the tenth
to the twentieth century. Mexico's
fourteen millions of people are grow
ing thousand years in as many
weeks. The whole territory of the
republic Is owned by about 1000 land
barons, with millions of poems for
serfs. American enterprise, with its
investment of 100000, 900, has dealt
peonage deadly blow. The peon un-
der the Mexican system earned Is
cents day, and was always kept in
debt by his patron, who held him per-
manently by this obligation, and
transferred him with every sale Of the
estate to the purchaser. But the
Americans, with their railroads, farm
ing methods, smelters and industrial
energy generally, have bid up the price
Of laibr to rs cents, 81 and more a
day. The peon thus pays of his debts
and becomes free man. The Mexi-
can Government offers free education
to his children, from the elementary
school to the university, and schooling
will soon become compulsory.
Mexican trade with the United
States is constantly on the increase.
We, sold the sister republic in 1901
1902 a third more than all the rest OF
the world combined. We bought from
her four times more than she sold to
all other nations. The uncertain
value of Mexico's silver money affects
trade injuriously, making it gamble.
The bootblack must raise the price OF
his shine when silver deprecates.
Wages do not rise correspondingly.
Capital figures on a margin OF 30 per
cent, and yet often loses money.
American capital is, in spite of this
drawback, pouring into the land OF the
Montezumas. Seventy per cent. OF all
American money invested in Mexico
has gone into railroad development.
The Mexican Central has taken $780,
000, 1000; the National, $107 100000.
Eighty per cent of all Mexican rail-
way capital is American. There is
now a railway mileage there OF 1000,
and it is steadily growing. All the
important systems but three are own
ed by Americans. They have acquired
the National from the British and the
Gulf line from the Belgians. The
United States furnishes the operating
officers, conductors, engineers and
sometimes the entire train crew.
American methods are rejuvenating
the old Mexican mines. Americans
are improving the great ranches and
developing the manufacture Of cotton
faster than the raw material can be
supplied by Mexico. Some OF the raw
cotton has thus to be imported from
the United States. There are Ameri
can factories Of every kind every
where. Americans are constructing
great irrigation dams and canals. The
Mexican people are adopting Ameri-
can ways The American circus has
taken the descendants Of the Aztec
sun worshippers by storm. The type
writer is popular institution. A
wireless telegraph system connects
the opposite shores OF the Gulf OF
California Best of all, the Mexicans
propose to elect a successor to Diaz
without a revolution. Even more
striking is the grasp Of American
capital and enterprise on the Cana.
dian dominion.
The spirit of Old Glory. therefore,
reigns from Yucatan to Greenland.
and blesses a whole continent with an
Americanizing benefiting its every
interest.-Louisville Herald