Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1912-08-12
WAR AND WEATHER
CAUSE COST OF 4
F0ODSTUFFS 4
To RISE \
MEXICO CITY HAS
SMALL FOOD SUPPLY
Grain Shortage is More Marked
as No Crops Have Beer CuI-
tivated NJ Many Sections Of
Republic,

llVdleu IN Wdlly NeCll0llS OF
Republic,
In, MornIng .Iournh srcciei Iensed wircI
Mexico cilN ANS, l--~ Weather
conditions coupled with The rcNom-
tan. taking mcu from the fields and
ntcrruptne railway communication.
have caused markcd Increase in
the cost of living IN MoNico The
ment supply, which camc from tho
grazing lands in chihuahua, Coahuila
and parts of sonora, has been cut
off for many months, and when it
became possible to ship cattle, 1t was
found that they had either scattered
In the hills or been killed by the
rebels for food. The work of cor
railing ana driving cattle is stll a
pernous one. and few men are avail
able for the task The cost Of meat
has accordingly risen to fun twice
its ordinary level.
The grain question is still moro
serious. since II Is upon the cereals
that the vast majority of the people
depend for sustenance ana since 1t ~
therefore upon the poor that the bur
den fails most heavily In many
parts Of the country the lands have
been allowed To lie lallow- This ia
partially due to the inability OF tho
land owners ia get worl<ncn, but II
Ia also due to the fact that many
wealthy land owners have resorted to
this means TO force the poorer classes
40 x linaHish their denwnds for di-
I vision o. lands. The corn crop or
last year was one ui tn, bsst Mexico
has known IN many years and there
are still large quantities Of grain IN
the storehouAes Of the large land
owners This iA being held for what
IL bclicved 10 be the inevitable FUR
ther rise in the price Of hat staple.
The chick pea crop, which for
Years has been one of the richest out
puts Of tho state of sonora, is Il fall
uro this year, due IN part 70 the
weather and ia part 10 the activity
Of the YaQui Indians The loss VIII
run into Millions The governor or
the state estimates his personal loss
al hnlf a million pesos. The bean
crop. another staple, viii be poor
where ii has been planted on ac-
count of early frosts aud heavy rains.
Early ia July The valley land At
the northern extremity Of the pla-
team which Is known as the national
pinnary,' was flooded until in places
thr water reached depth of two
feet la the open country. The corn
crop then lust beginning TO come up.
was ruined and the wheat crop,
some ef Which had not yet been har-
vested on account of the disturbed
condition and discomfort among the
men. was also lost This was fol-
lowed shortly hN early frosts in tho
valleys of Mexico and in the Sierra
lunrcz Then came II series OF han
storms. which further damaged the
crops.
So grave has the situation become
hat the government has boon forced
d tate corniztucc OF IT, The city
.oimoh Of MeNico city ana the cham
ier Of commerce. are attempting to
.each "a solution Of The difficulty. The
nethod adopted under Ike circum-
aauccs ny ne previous administra-
ion was for mo government to inn
port grain free OF duty from tho
tniird States ana Argentine, and sell
( to the people from government
llsfnhuime stations at cost plus the
xpense of transportation. This meth
vi hHs been fought SO far by two
Influences the land owners
nd ihe department of the treasury.
4ant influential persons whose crops
nvr uof been affected or who have
RAIN in store. ale bringing all their
influence 10 bear The treasury is
,w aud st ihe present time IT is es-
uatrd thd the customs Will fail
.oO.nu0 short of the revenue de-
irtd from lhat source last year.
hi4 IA tne Whom the government
mueh in need OF lnnds for the
of the country. is
rous argument Al best, however.
Gam no moro than delay the neces-
ir legislation. and it. is certain that
ic government viii not al this tima
.k. the risk OF letting tho people
.feadt Impoverished hy war. 80
nnefN
Results of tho general elections
.r senators and deputies TO tho ma
0nah assembly. which occurred
nis in July. have not met with
,neral approval. In many cases
auds have been proved and reports
,d accusations of influence brought
bear have been frequent.
Most Of the complaints have been
failure on the part of the authori-
es To prepare fun lists of voters or
pr.,iae tn. voters with tickets of
! the parties. The complaints CONS
r the most part from the smaller