Bisbee daily review., 1908-10-15
(By Franklin W. Smith in Enginee
 ing and Mining Journal)

The mining industry in Mexico, no less than in other parts of the world, has felt keenly the effects of last years financial cyclone. The gener- al collapse of the metal market struck a harder blow to the general prosper fly of the country than to that of the United States, for Mexico is still first of all mining country.
 Of the causes of the pre-eminence of mining, some are fundamental, oth. CTS are due to present conditions. Two Of the first are the very great mineral wealth of the country. and the com paratively large portion of it's area Gnsuited to agriculture. Of the other causes. one is the concentration of the land in the hands of a few famI. lies. This, with the practical absence oi land taxation that has made such concentration possible, does not tend to advance agricultural me,nods.
 Mexico's agricultural possibilities are great. and it will be well for the republic when agriculture and not mipine becomes the leading indus. ny. The breaking up of the large Iand holdings by system of land taxation and the development and education of the small independent farmer Ca host that must be ''humored, aa. slowly towards the light'3 would create a prosperous stratum in society where now there is abject poverty. and in proportion to its conservative prosper fly would be impervious to flood panic. The present policy of the gov ernment seems to tend in this direc- tion- What would be the mental at utude of business today if the United States were primarily a mining coun. try!
 Where all the lands a mining camp, each operating property brings local prosperity in Esrefee-tion to the amount of labor it employs and the quantity of local produce that it consumes, and in the broader world each exercises direct influence on the business of the distributing centers and the rail roads. The Mexican Central has pub lished the statement that IS per cent of it's freight traffic is due directly or indirectly to the mining industry.
 A rough estimate places Mexico's metal production for 1907 at $95, ,00O,- GOO. Of this silver represents about 45 per cent; copper, 25 per cent: gold. nearly 20 per cent; lead, s per cent, and other metals, the remain ing 2 per cent In other words, com modity metals formed so per cent of the product of the leading industry of tne republic, and the market price oi all of them recently underwent severe and simultaneous shrinkage,
 In his message to Congress on April l. 1908, President Diaz referred to the business depression, commented on the contrast between the prosperity of the national treasury and the strin- gency which some months past aas prevailed in the business world and said further:
 In my last message alluded to the troubled condition of foreign finan- cial centers which had produced a certain torpOr in some lines of our industrial activity At the same time there occurred a heavy decline in the prices of almost all our exportable products. owing largely to critical con ditions in the markets where they are usually in demand. as well as other circumstances such as thUSe that affect the price of silver. which is the most important of the articles in ques- ton. Naturally these disturbing fac- tors have been felt with greater CT less intensity in ali lines of business, occasiouing 8 stringency which, though attended with hardships, is also self-remedying thanks to the nat. uraI conservatism which in general characterizes the commercial commu, nifty of Mexico.
 When this message was written the price of silver was 5 3-Sc. Its aver age for the first ten months of 1901 was crosse per fine ounce: for the nine months from Nov 1, 1907. to Aug l, 1908, it was 54.929c., and for the week ending Aug. 19, 51.33c. These figures carry their own com mentary One company reporting net earnings of s215,000, estimates that the drop in silver cost it S3S. 1000 in re duced profits Another, not yet earn ing profits, sees a badly needed in- come from nigh grade shipments and concs ntrates, reduced by about S500C month.
 Without doubt many of the smaller properties. owned by weak companies have closed down; others are unable to ship ore that a year ago would have yielded a fair profit. But so far as known, none of the larger com
 panies has found it necessary to sus- pend operations as did the Greene
 Cananea, the greatest of Mexican cop
 per producers, a year ago. That this suspension. disastrous as it was 10 local business and to stock values. was wisely planned move, there can be no doubt It enabled the management to make needed changes in system land equipment and to perfect plans for more economical operation, some Of which were laid months before un
 der a prior management, The results of the future will show now wise a move it was.
 Tae mining industry of Mexico is practically wholly dependent on for. eign capital for its power to expand It was impossible that the worldwide depression should fail to make itself 1 felt in the republic Two years aga the mental attitude was, How much
 can we maker" recently it has beer
 How can we avoid loss?" and wher capital is in that frame of mind. il | is in no mood to undertake new enter prises. Early iR the summer, as con [ ditions were beginning to recover, 2 new factor was introduced. A long
 and elaborate new mining law was 1 drafted, containing some excellent
 provisions. but also four articles whici
 at once produced most vehement dis
 cussion. They forbade foreigners
 owning mines in the border States ' and foreign corporations owning then
 in any part of the Republic. The al
 legged reason was that these provis
 ioas would prevent trusts" from dom