Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-05-24
Mexican Journalist Claims Aztec Yarns Are Mer-
 est Fables
SAYS CODICES ARE
 ALL PLAINLY FAKE
Perennial Treasure Seekers Harm Country Below the
 Rio Grande

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, May 23.- According to Jose Ramon Palafox, a Mexican journalist, there are no hidden Montezuma treasures.
 "No doubt the stories circulated about the hidden treasures of the Az tee emperors have their origin in the sadly exaggerated accounts of old spanish historians, men who swallowed the yarns of the conquerors of Mexico and whose judgment had been upset by the few shipments of gold and sill yer made to Spain shortly after the taking of the Aztec capital,n said Senor Palafox. He added
 The amount of gold and silver in the possession of the Aztecs at any time was comparatively small and in the case of the people consisted of lit. tie more than few personal ornaments, The greatest store of these precious metals was found by the Spaniards in the imperial palace and this was promptly shipped to Spain by Cortez. Compared with the wealth of today even this was mere drop in the bucket The statement made by historians that Hernando Cortez sent shiploads of gold and silver to the king should not be taken too literally, for in all probabil ity it means no more than that heavy shipments of these took place.
 Tales All But Romances
 The accounts of the Montezuma treas. ure is merely a counterpart of simi- lar extravagances found on many pages of history. We read of the fabulous wealth of the people of the Euphrates valley, of the ancient Egyptians of India and other parts and so far have never found trace of it. In their day no doubt, these people had certain amount of gold and silver, but they never had enough to cause us moderns to call them rich. Dispersed among them in the form of currency as is the case today, their wealth in precious metals would have made a very poor show. ing
 {, Gold and silver, then, as in the case of the Aztecs, were not used at all as mediums of exchange, or were used only in very limited way. Rulers paid and received tributes in the form of gold, and as rule converted it into, articles of practical value or objects of art. The old records show this down to a very late date. The tribute collected by the kings of Egypt, for instance, were gold and silver vases, statuettes and the like. We see Rameses reward the ser vices of his generals by hanging al golden chain around their necks, and so on.
 Conditions in Mexico when the con quistadores got there were the same Metals did not figure to any extent as money or it's equivalent. In the pal ace of the emperor gold and silver was found in the shape of cooking utensils, toilet articles and wall coverings. Per haps a small store of gold and silver ingots was also discovered and so, mo- doubt, was a small quantity of precious stones.
 Goddess All Fakes
 The so.called Aztec codices telling of the whereabouts of hidden treasure are all spurious and are sold to unsus- pecting foreigners for fancy prices. It is an industry somewhat analogous to the making of antique furniture and jewelry. Of course, only the most cred ulous are taken in and usually one ex- perience suffices to tell the purchaser of a cOdeX that he has been humbugged.
 However, sometimes great deal of harm is done by an interruptions man getting possession of so-called cOdex. He is enterprising enough to turn his purchase to good account, as far as he is concerned, but those who have been foolish enough to believe his plausible stories will find that the Montezuma treasure is no more than fable-is, in fact, a swindle. Probably no one knows Mexico better than do it's natives, and nowhere are traditions any better ob served. In view of these facts it would be more than strange that the Mexican should sell information as to the treas Ire when he could lift the hoard him. self.
 Asked what he thought of the eodex now said to be in the possession Of an American by the name of T. A. Kenyon, Mir. Palafox expressed himself to the effect that in all probability it was no better than other documents of that kind and that quite often so called codex was well enough executed to even deceive those familiar with the subject.
 "A great deal of harm has been done to Mexican investment opportunities by ancient mine and hidden treasure