Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-04
Sanitary improvements.

According to the latest census, Vera Cruz
had 20, 1872 population, and today it probably
has So eco, although the people claim 49,
OU, great many improvements are GO
ing on There has been thorough rel
o: nation of the city since Pearson Il Co..
The big English contractors, began to bulio
a harbor These reforms are largely re-
spcnsible for the improved health condl-
tions. There is now an excellent supply
OF water: sewers have been and are still
being laid in the principal streets; the re-
pulsive surface drainage and stagnant wa
ter which prevails in 80 many Mexican
cities Is being gradually abolished; sanitary
regulation are being enforced in the tene-
nent houses; the food offered for sale in
the markets is inspected every morning;
campaign is being waged against the mos
quitos. that have always been the most
annoying and the most dangerous of al
pests, and quarantine regulations are en-
forced very strictly. Every house in the
city is inspected at least once mohth
and in the SUNNY sections at least once
week 1t is difficult TO persuade Next
can poems to take any care of their health,
and when they get sick they Will not send
for doctor for fear of being taken to the
hospital. Throughout the world it is the
rule that the more wretched a peasants
home may be the stronger seems to be his
attachment to 1t, and a Mexican peon pre-
fers to die in a repulsiFe, fettd nest OF
filth rather than recover in a cool, COM
Portable hospital.
The greatest Improvement In Vera Cruz
however, has been In the shipping faclli-
ties. Although this is the principal port
of Mexico since the conquest, ii was only
an open roadstead. There were no docks
and no shelter for vessels. which had TO
anchor out beyond the surf and trans
ship their cargoes by means OF lighters.
Rough storms called "northers' prevail
from September till April, and usually last
two or three days. when every ship had to
y,Ctrf aID,. AVID fn1yA ,.4f,, hNlyr Goo
rifice Island, on the coast three miles be-
low. and there remain until the storm sub
sided, when they could go back and finish
loading and unloading Originally the river
was the harbor, and the city now called
Antigua was the original port; but the
Spaniards were too lazy to keep the chan
mel clear. bar of sand formed and grew
so high that the vessels could not pass 1t,
so the shippers had to come down to the
beach and adopt very expensive, incon-
yenlent and dangerous system of handling
freight.
The New Harbor.
F3r seventy-fve years the government and
the shipping interests talked about building
harbor, and several contracts for that
purpose have been made from time to time
but nothing practical was accomplished I'M
I'll 1898, when the celebrated English firm
of contra ctors, g. Pearson e Son. of which
Sir Weetman Pearson is the head under
of the century and created a harbor for
Vera Cruz. This firm had already done
very successful piece of work for the Next
can government, piercing a tunnel through
the mountains to drain the valley of Mexico
and 1t has since constructed and is now
operating a railway across the Isthmus of
TehaunteDec
They built q sea wall extending from
shore to shore to inclose an area of $50
acres and left an entrance about 1, 600 feet
wide, protected by breakwaters The In
closure was dredged TO depth of twenty
eight feet. The earth pumped up by sue
ton dredgers was discharged upon the
beach, and by that means area of ninety
acres was reclaimed from the Sea. The
larger portion of the reclaimed land has
been reserved by the government for Off
cial purposes, and a custom house bonded
warehouses, store houses, machine shops
building for the post and telegraph depart
ments and other structures have already
been erected. The remainder of the new
made territory has been leased to various
shipping merchants, steamship companies
and railway companies which have their
terminals here with abundant switching
and storage room. The piers are we'll sup
piled with modern machinery, moved by
electric power, for loading and unloading
vessels, and electric lights have been placed
SO that the work can continue at night as
well as day in all kinds of weather. The
freight trains run Immediately to the side
of the vessel, and a cargo has to be han
died only once with electric cranes and
OtIiti tOtstiHe HdCHtfeiy. instead OF TOUR
or five times by hand when il was neces-
sary to use lighters before the harbor was
built.
l do not know of any city In the world
that was so badly off for shipping facilities
as Vera Cruz was ten years ago; nor Go |
know OF any city that Is so well fixed for
such business as Vera Cruz is today. The
three railways entering the city have re-
Gently arranged for the erection of a union
station on the dock so that passengers can
step from the steamers to the cars and
vice versa without going up into the city
A Famous Old Castle.
The ancient and famous old caste of San
Juan de Uiua. which has had 80 eonspica-
Gus part in Mexican history. still occu-
pies prominent position In the foreground
of the harbor. 1t covers a little rocky
island and was built by the Spaniards in
1852 as fortress and prison for political
offenders 1t was considered in those days
the strongest fortification in the world and
the English and Dutch pirates whacked
away 1T u In vain. over and over again.