El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-07-12

neither sell nor rent. In this way the
residents of the town are compelled to
work for these men in order TO live,
and the great estate owners can Tx
their own rate of wages. There is no
chance for the peOu TO get aneddf LOE
he cannot buy the land back and the
system is such that it has meant the
Cuslavement of the people
Among the schemes now proposed in
the chamber of deputies is to purchase
or condemn these tracts and to restore
them to their owners. If this is done
the poems viii be largely free Of their
old masters, and they viii gradually
become more civilized. 1t is found that
this has been the case with the indians
of the few towns which did not give
Up their communal lands. They are
more independent and better in every
Poems and HacendadOs.
Other movements TO improve the con-
clifton of the indians relate to the tax
ing away of the power of the JeIe
politfcOs or chief officers of the small
towns. The most of these officials
have been appointed through the in
fluence of the big estate owners, ana
they have oppressed the people to
please the men who put them in office
According to the laws of Mexico, ao-
sOlute liberty is supposed to exist IL
does not. The local jefe pOliticO has
the right to draft men into the army,
and in the past the peOn WOrAmen
We're given the alternative of entering
military service or sticking to their
labor upon the estates If they started
to leave the jefe politicO would draft
them into the service; and if they were
in debt they could not leave In this
way the indians were enslaved IN parts
of the country, and they are practically
slaves in some regions today. Such
methods were even used in connection
with factory labor and some Of the
cotton mills were run in that way.
New Labor Questions.
The new movements include attempts
to improve the lot of the labOring men
Laws have been already passed as to
the hours and wages in the factories
Formerly such things have been fixed
at the caprice of the capitalists, and
these men were so backed by the ao-
ministration that the Workmen couiu
90 nothing.
During the administration of AIaderO
q 10 hour day shift and nine hour
night shift were introduced into the
workshops of many parts of the coun-
try This was done with the consent
of rha factory owners. inducements be-
ing given I'm the way Of reduction OF
the taxes on goods made In such rae
tories According to the old law all
factories paid the government tax OF
five percent on their gross sales TO
such factories as introduced the new
labor regulations this tax was cut 10
four percent. and at the same time
proposition was made 10 increase IL 20
eight percent on all other factories.
The Mexican Congress.
In the Mexican congress here are two
houses, the senate and the chamber OF
deputies. The senate holds Its sessions
in the national palace and the chamber
of deputies has its own hall IN the
business heart Of the city.
The building Of the chamber IS OF
stone with doors Of wrought iron II
is of the shape Of the Pantheon, the
haI being a great circular room up
neld by many columns ana I0oIed. Oy q
dome An enormous chandelier OF cut
glass as big as q Two ton STACK OF nay,
hangs from the center of the dome, and
its many frosted light bulbs make the
hall as bright as day.
At the back, under the cOaJ-ot-arInS
OF Mexico, is the chair Of the speaker
and the seats run in concentrlc rows
rising from the floor below the
around the haI and looking down into
il are galleries, which during my
visit We're filled with spectators who
listened to every word of the speeches
and who. il seemed TO me, were much /
in the proceedings.
Each member has his own desk !
and chair. and the order in which the
desks are kept is far better than that Z
of our lower house of congress 1t [
seemed to me also that the Mexican !
statesmen act better than our con-
gressmen do. They are more polite and /
there is less talking, whispering ana |
smoking while the debating goes on !
The house is much smaller than 4
ours. 1t has only 233 members, the /
being elected for two /
years. at the rate of one member for ]
each 10000 inhabitants.
Both senators and deputies receive |
salaries of 1000 Mexican a year. This 1
is equal to $500 gold. II is just one 1
fifth what our higher-paid congress /
men get The Mexican congress meets /
annually in two sessions. The first is q
from April ] to May 81, and the sec I
end is from September Is TO December !
Is. a permanent committee Of both I
houses sits during the recess.
Patriotism in Mexico
Tt seems to me that the MeXicans /
are growing more patriotic They !
are great stump speakers, and the re-
cent campaigns of the several presi-
ients have started the heads Of the
masses to working You can now hear
much talk about Mexico for the Mex
cans" and the demand for "a gov
eminent of the people for the people, /
ly the people" ono the PtseO de Ia
-Orma now stands the great monument
IF Independence, which was completed
TWO years ago. It is the finest of its
al Q