The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-23
ffi it a ~ U
QUAINT IN
 OF IIIST
If People Were Not Su Monterey Could Be Mads Greatest Winter Re-
 sort in the World
Rx HIGH N. ROBERTS

Monterey. Mex. November 22--(Special) h their greed for the gold of the Azleo Indians. the Spaniards. pressing nofth- ward from the City of Mexico, founueu Monterey n.ure than DO years ago Monterey IS ,hc dpital of Neuva Leon' the home of the Reyes. Maderes, Garcias and other immensely wealthy fanilies' numbers Of slightly lesa than loo'eeo peo- ! ale and has progressed rot at all. N rr- is surrounded by picturesque noun tains of solid rock, on which grow no verdnre or trees. t is on thessanks or l the diminutiye stfeamf vatarina. The surrounding country is wonderfully | blessed by Lature.
 It is | beautiful place. The streets are marrow. less than three times the width of trolley car; it's buildings are as q rule of single story; and yet scattered. throughout the metropolis are the most beautiful plazes. in which are massed rosies of every nue. and the most mag nifieent tropical fruit trees.
 On the outskirts of the city are melting plants for iron and other metal. Amer can enterprise has constructed splendid system of street railways An American brewery gives the place another stamp of | modern ClNlIlEdtlon
 Adhere To Old Customs l The people adhere to the old spahish customs The ladies of tie better class, repose behind lon barred windows. sell dom permitting theii gaSe to behold the ordinary man not q memler or the lah- fly. The people delight in the bull fight and the coclx;Lg main. The men smoke cigarettes, eat hot tamales and wear large and heavy sombreros. Only the women of the wealthy refrain from ap- bearing on the streets with heads sur rounded by shawls.
 Monterey, as stated. has practically l0o,- GOO people, and is more than 200 years :, old And yet the only elevator in the city Is in the American brewery.
 AS soon as you cross the Mexican bor1 der scantiIy clothed children. rushing from huts built Lear the ground, sur- round the train. crying, "Une eentavos. Americana"
 Even in the heert of Monterey one be- holds examples of the same abject pow erty. In this city. one of the most mod ern of Mexico. people live in mud houses a few feet high. with matched roof and ground floor rather, mother and chil- uIeH, Il uoE dHu peAHdPS Sodi VI eN's huddle together in the night time. and sleep reclining on the earth.
 Wealthy in Heart of City
 And yet, nearer the center of the city. live the immensely wealthy. It is said that there is nowhere a more unequal division of the money of country than in Mexico For instance. it is said that the Garcia family possesses so many acres of land that it required an express train half day to penetrate and pass over it's territory
 In Monterey. the families of wealth live in the heart of the city, while the poor li.e nearer tie outskirts. more removed from the sourd of traffic and the dust and odor of streets and markets. visitor soon acquires the impression that the Mexican is too indolent to con,plish and too slothful 10 better prin- eval conditions. Americans who live in Monterey. however. claim that while this impression is true but for natural and political upheavals the American cit zens of Monterey would have aecomp lished much more than they have. It is said that every evidence of higher civ ilization in Monterey is due to American leutt1pllSe dDcitcu anu locicic GU py a few public spirited Mexicans, among the number being President Porfirio Diaz and Gen. Bernardo Reyes.
 City Has Been Unfortunate
 During the last five years Monterey has had enough misfortune to dampen the enthrs asm of any people. In 1906 1t suf- fered an epidemic of yellow fever, not a malignant type. but yellow fever, just the same. In 1909 the Santa Catarna, which today Is a stream less than foot in width and an inch in depth. rose al- most in a night from its shallow bed and I overfowed the western section of the | city, drowning 2000 people. Practically since the hour of that disaster, the peo- pie have been distressed by perpetual rev clution.
 But it seems that in spite of these wis., itations, Monterey might have accomp- lished something within space of 200 years There is not an elevator in single hotel of the city. There is not bath in single private room of single hotel. The hotel guest does not enjoy the benefits of waterworks At his table | there is not a clean napkin for every meal Seldom does one see finger bowl. 1 The entire story of Mexico, it seems, is | one of no accomplishment through in- dolence. A visitor can remain in a Mex ican city one day and learn the reason why the armies of Mexico have never been able to stand against the inferior forces of superior race. They are too indoent to fight, and therefore too indo- lent to care whether native prince sits upon the throne or whether a foreign country dictates it's governmental pol . icy.
 The influence of enterprise would make Monterey the winterng spot for the uni verse Near the city is Topo Chico springs furnishing continual running stream of l06 degrees temperature. Na- tive Mexicans have builded a pool from which hot water is pumped into bath tubs of a type with which Queen Eliz- abeth must have been familiar. Had American enterprise. control of Topo Chico, Hot Springs. Ark, would be pushed off the face of the earth. During
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