Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1905-08-09

600 pounds of wool are handled here
annually. There are several wealthy
Mexican ranchmen.
Solomon Luna, president of the
Bank OF Commerce, is the richest and
most progressive native in the terri
tory. He is the largest sheep and
land owner. His flocks amount to
10000 sheep. He has 5000 acres of
irrigated land under cultivation, and
next year expects to put in 5000 acres
of sugar beets. He has recently ar
ranged with a syndicate to invest
about $750,000 in a sugar factory,
which will he of great advantage to
the neighboring farmers, as the soil
and climate are admirably adapted to
the growing of beets. II is d~ifficultto
say how much land Mr.. Luna owns,
but his cattle and sheep range over
an empire. Most of 1t is government
land, however, for he controls the
water courses and that makes the
surrounding country subject to him.
Any one who buys up a water course
need not purchase the adjoining pas
lures, because they are worthless to
any one else. Thus. by buying the
streams and springs, people control
the ranges.
The Mexicans are not usually pro-
gressive. They live under the old-
fashioned patriarchial system. and
the masses are controlled in business,
politics and other respects by a few
leaders. There is no cate, however,
and while there is a certain aristoc.
racy, any man with brains and energy
can rise to leadership. . Frank Hub.
bell of this city is an example. His
father was a pioneer and his mother
a native, and he was born under the
humblest circumstances. But by rea-
son of his ability and energy among
the natives, and until recently con.
trolled the politics of the territory.
At the last election, however, he was
thrown down by "Bull' AndI ews. a
Pennsylvania politician, who is pro-
noting railroads out here. But every
body says that Hubbell will come to
the top again in due time.
The most surprising thing about AL
b%uquerque is a planning mill which
sends a large portion of its product
to Europe. There does not seem 10
be any reason why the house builders
of London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Bris-
toll and other European towns should
come all the way down into the in
terror of New Mexico to buy sashes
and doors, but they do it all the same,
and the factory here is today filing a
contract for 10000 doors, which are
shipped to Liverpool and Glasgow by
way of the Santa Fe road and Calves
ton, The lumber ONE from the
Zuni mountains where the
has 100000 acres of timber on the
old Atlantic q Pacific land grant. The
logs aye brought down on the Santa
Fe road 10 Albuquerque by special
trains on cars made for the
similar to those up in the lumber re-
gions Of Michigan. They are turned
into a saw mill, which a cut 200
900 feet of lumber a day. The lum-
Der is a peculiar variety of mountain
pine which is filled with small, red
knots, and finishes well. It is es-
pecially adapted for doors, sashes and
other interior trimmings, and most of
II is worked up in a big factory 23O
by 300 feet in size. The waste is
used in making packing boxes and
smaller kinds of holding. The box
factory is $50 by $50 feet in size. AL
together, about LOO men are en-
ployed, under the direction of Mr..
Jackson, formerly Of Buffalo. They
turn out an average of 1000 sash,
l,5O0 doors and five car loads of pack
ing boxes a day. The mills are owned
by a stock company, composed Of
Cleveland and Chicago people.
There is some other manufacturing
about Albuquerque, and the Santa Fe
shops employ about 700 men. There
is a great demand for laborers here.
but that condition is chronic all
over the Southwest, and high wage
are paid. The climate, like that of
other parts of New Mexico, is high,
dry and mild. The whole country Is
a natural s%anitarium for Tuberculosis
sufferers and others afflicted with pull
mOnaTy disease.
The city Is bound 10 grow. It's sit
uation Is more favorable for trade and
manufacturing than that Of any other
place in New Mexico, and It will al
ways be the commercial center of this
section.
WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.