Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-06
ernor behind him, Col. Robertson brought
in American capital and enterprise by

sixty miles. Col. Robertson built rail-
road to reach the mines. and company of
local and American capital was formed to
build furnaces. rolling mills, plate mills and
other manufactures, which have attracted
a large American population. making this
the most American of any town in Mexico.
The American Invasion.
There are about 5000 Americans in the
immediate vicinity, who constitute the
moving force of all the great enterprises.
In northern Mexico are about $4,000 Amer
leans, with at least $500 900 of capital
invested in mines, ranches. manufacturing,
banking and other lines of business. More
natives can talk the English language here
than In any other part of Mexico. Business
is very generally conducted in English.
Monterey is the only town in the republic.
except the capital, with an English daily
newspaper, which was started by Col. Rob-
ertson about five years ago. and now has
reached circulation of about $500 for the
English edition and $4,000 for the Spanish
edition. Both editions are conducted upon
American lines, with linotypes. perfecting
presses, private wires, associated press
dispatches, and are printed on the same
presses but have separate stats.
Monterey is being gradually transformed
into an American city with modern i'm
provernents and conyeniences 1t is the
only town In the republic where you can
ind genuine American residences built
after American designs with brick. u has
been demonstrated that the American style
OF residence is quite suitable to this
climate as the Moorish. which prevails
everywhere else in Mexico, and that ma
chine made. kiln baked bricks are Just as
good as adobes. There is a brick factory
here turning out 100000 bricks year
red and cream colored, and every one of
them is contracted for in the city of Mon
terey as fast as 1T is made The city is
paved with brick and has the best streets
and sidewalks we have found in Mexico
A suburb has recently been started about
three miles from the plaza. in which every
house is built entirely in the American
style and surrounded by a garden and a
picket fence. 1t can be reached by cleo
trlc car lines and good macadam road.
Americans in Surrounding Country.
The country south of Monterey on the
railroad to Tampico is largely settled by
Americans from Iowa, Minnesota Nebraska
and Illinois, and is being rapidly devel-
oped by individual farmers and corpora
tons, who are raising cattle, corn, sugar
oranges and other fruit. The planters in
this vicinity have been more generally sue
cessful than those in the southern part OF
the republic. Mr.. Hanna our consul at
Monterey says that the slopes are health
ful, the people can live very much as they
do at nome and appear to be making money
and quite contented The ADVANTAGES are
cheap land. the ability to raise two crops
a year and profitable markets large
american colony has been running about
four years at Chamal on the Tampico road
growing corn, sugar, fruit and raising i'm
proved live stock 1t is composed entirely
OF people from the northwestern states and
Consul Hanna says the colonists frequently
can upon him and give good accounts of
themselves.
Not far from Tampico a syndicate of
Texas negroes has recently purchased a
million acres of land. which they propose
TO cut up into forty acre lots for an exclu-
SiVely negro colony to grow sugar bananas
pineapples and other tropical fruits A
similar experiment attempted In north
ern Mexico a few years ago, but it was a
failure.
Only People With Capital Wanted
ms is no place for people without capt.
tai. There is no opportunity here for clerks
or professional men or others who expect
indoor work with salaries, and no farmer
should come down here unless he has money
enough In the bank to pay for his land
and improvements and to keep him and his
family for at least one year, and pay their
expenses back to the states in case of sick
ness or failure. Machinsts and skilled
mechanics are always in demand but
wages are not so high as they are at home
They sound higher because the amounts
are expressed in silver, which is worth
only half as much as American money
When you hear that man is getting $50
or 500 month in Mexico, it means SIS
or 500 a month in the money you are &C
customed to.
Various large improvements are talked
Of The most important buildings In pro-
gress is a fine union railway station of
steel and brick, being erected by the Ma
tional and International roads, at a cost
of about S500,000. Mackenzie, Mann & Co.
to whom | have already referred of To-
ronto, are expanding in the neighborhood
of five million dollars in gold on water
works, street car lines, power plants and
other enterprises. According to common
report Swift & Co. of Chicago, are going
to build a big packing house and cold
storage warehouses to supply northern
Mexico with better meats. but | do not
hear that anybody is going to build new
hotel, and, like all other Mexican cities,
Monterey needs one very badly. A first
class modern hotel would be the best adver-
tisement that could possibly be devised for
this town. Monterey IS about halfway be-
tween st. Louis and Chicago and the City
of MeXica There are many attractions to
induce travellers to break their journey
here and capitalists would certainly be Inn
pressed with its commercial and industrial
advantages But nobody would dare ask
a man who is accustomed to the luxuries
or even the comforts of life to put up with
the hotel accommodations that Monterey
now affords. Everybody admits this view
of the situation. Everybody laments the
lack of q decent hotel, but with all the
boosted enterprise and wealth of Monterey,
no one has yet made a move to supply
1.-THE long-felt want" Col. Robertson says
he will build a hotel as soon as the new
waterworks and street car lines are fin
ished.