The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1906-04-20

the development of sugar, coffee and rub
ber We visited both Pacific and Allan
tic gulf ports, Coatzacoalcos being the
port on the Atlantic side of the isthmus.
and Salina Cruz on the Pacific side. The
Tehauntepec Railway company, which
means the republic of Mexico, and an
English syndicate represented by Pear
son & Son, are doing an immense amount
of work at both ports, and on the
Tehauntepec railway, running from one
10000 has recently been appropriated by
the government, and is being expended on
1t is the intention of the Mexico govern
ment to make this Tehauntepec railway
across the isthmus, formidable compe-
titor of the panama canal route, and it
is sure to have established an enormous
traffic before the canal route is finished.
They now have contract with one of
the Hawaiian Sugar companies, to ham
die 100000 tons of sugar, beginning with
January lst next, and we were inform
ed by the management of the road that
they now had enough trans continental
business in sight to keep them busy for
year, after the road is formally open
ed for business.
ga great deal has been said, and writ
ten in the past two or three years about
wild and speculative development
schemes, which are going OH in tropical
Mexico, and from what have heard DUR
ing this trip there, none too much has
been said or written Unfortunately,
men have Intentionally and willfully
concocted development schemes with no
other end in view, apparently, but to de-
fraud the subscribers, while others have
undertaken to honestly develop and have
failed because they did not have the abil-
ity to manage, or the necessary means
with which to do it, while others have
and are being successfully developed,
where the men who have interested
themselves in the enterprise have been
business men, capable of managing the
development work, as well as manage
the corporate end of the enterprise, with
wise and honest intentions, and as stat
ed, are succeeding. One of these is the
TobascO plantation.
"The only incident during our entire
trip which in any way married our pleas
ure was that which occurred one even
ing about half past nine o'clock, just af-
ter we had retired to our berths in the
Pullman car attached to Vera Cruz &
Pacific railway train. The writer had
just dropped asleep and his companion,
Mr. Fiield, was just in the act of lodg-
ing himself in his berth, when a lamp
exploded in the rear end of the car and
in less than five seconds the whole end
of the car was on fire. Mr.. Fifield yelled
'fire' and the writer bounded out to
find everybody else had bounded out
and were scrambling for the front end
of the car. 1t was a very hot night
and no passenger in the car had more on
him. or her, than the law required, and
in this condition all made their exit to
the coach in front of the sleeper, minus
a stitch of our clothing, grips, or any
thing else. AT that time the train was
running its usual speed, and it was
some little time before the train crew
could get the train stopped. Fortunate
ly there was not breath of air STIR
ring, and through the heroic efforts of
the Pullman conductor, his porter, and
the train crew, the fire was put out, but
the car was so badly burned it had to
be abandoned"
4 IL l.