El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-19

into almost any state of Mexico in a
Pullman car. He is in no danger of be-
ing robbed. The coming of the rail-
/ road has done more than anything else,
/ probably, to transform Mexico"
A study in contrasts, sure enough,
/ between the days of the middle seven
ties. when Mexico had no rail COM
| munication with the United States and
boosted only one steam road, that be-
tween Neracruz and the capital; and
1910, when one settles himself in an up
holstered seat AT the cry -.All aboard
] for Mexico" and need not, unless he
| wishes, touch foot to earth until he
reaches his destination. even though it
| be the Guatemalean frontier.
The Read to the South.
Soon the call will be "All aboard for
! Guatemala and Salvador" and +All
7 aboard for Yucatan." The Pan-Amer-
! lean railway. which now begins at
Gamboa, on the Tehuantepec railway
| ends al Mariscal, on the Mexican side
| of the Suchiate. With a few months
an International bridge will be
| built, which will give the Pan-Amer-
| lean connections with the Guatemalean
| railroad, extending from Guatemala
city to Ayutla, where the junction with
the Pan-American will take place.
Picks and shovels are already making
the dirt fly on line to connect the Sal
vador railway with the Guatemalean
railroad. The completion of these
stretches will add important links to
the fractional parts of the great Pan
American system that will, almost be-
fore we know it, provide an all-rail
route from the United States to the
Panama canal, through Mexico and
along the Pacific coast of the Central
American republics.
Yucatan will shortly be gathered into
the steel mesh with which Diaz has
striven to bind together the component
units of the Mexican republic. A con-
cesSion was this week granted by the
government for the construction of
line from this place to Campeche, the
capital of the state of that name on the
coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
At Campeche, connection will be had
with the United Railroads of Yucatan,
which run TO Merida, the capital city of
Yucatan, and into the heart of the
peninsula. 1t has long been the ambi-
ton of the government TO bring Yucca
tan into the railroad zone of Mexico
both from commercial and political con-
siderations- The new line, which car
rles a government concession of up
wards of Sc, 100000 gold, exclusive from
will be given, will be about 500 miles in
length.
Through Rich Region.
1t will run through the richest and |
most fertile country on the American |
continent, a region which has been pre-
vented from developing in proportion
TO i1s natural advantages throIgn lack |
OF transportation facilities. Tie conces-
sionaire is an American, the capital foy,I
the road is American, and it will Be |
built by Americans. When completed ii |
will afford an outlet by rail from |
Yucatan, which is now compelled 10 ship f!
and receive all its products and imports |
by water. bring broad and highly pro- |
ductive territory into profitable devel- /
opment and afford an all-rail route |
from the United States into the |
of the great central railway system of
the country
BY the granting of this concession is
marked the elimination of Mexico's ac-
complishment in railroad building, un-
der the policy by which the construc- |
ton Of steam lines has been fostered by |
the giving of liberal subsidies. The road |
into Yucatan is probably the last which i
will be aided by contributions from the ;
Mexican treasury. Originally there we1e /
designated seven lines of prime import /
ance which, it was stipulated by law, |
might be given subventions All of |
these concessions have now been taken. |
The lines for which they provided have /
either been laid or are under construc-
ton.
Railroads Necessary.
Diaz realized early in his career as |
president that Mexico must have rail-
roads. They were manifestly essential |
to her industrial and commercial devel-
opment They were equally vital for
another reason. Lack Of means of easy
and speedy communication between the
capital and the various states hampered !
the federal government seriously in its |
efforts to prevent revolutionary up
risings and to put them down after
they broke out 1t was impossible, in
the lack of railroads, TO move troops
expeditiously from one part of the
country to another. Order was a funda-
mental requisite to stability of govern
ment and progress. Order could not b.
main tanned when weeks and months
were required in which to march troops
to the scenes of revolutionary disorder.
With the railroads, the government.
palpably, would have a firmer grasp
on national affairs. For with them the
country would be brought more closely
in touch with the federal authority.
uob SHRD LUthem an tmanernanem
Diaz Built Railroads.
we shall build railroads." said Diaz.
Before his time in office ONLY one
railroad had been completed, the Mexi-
can, from Veracruz to the canitaI TbjS