Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1913-08-18


hot utilissima) and to plant these
they killed the trees by making dres
around them. burned the surface over
and planted with a stick sharpened In
fire and in this way destroyed the
forest. The weeds were pulled by
hand. They had the maguey from
which they took the sap but 1t was
not used for intoxication. They under
stood neither distillatfon, nor ferment-
alton till Europeans came.
They had game, but few fish. as
their appliances for securing either
were rude and Intellectual.
They ate iguanas. allisators. arma-
dilios, turtles and eggs Of all reptiles,
batra chians. birds and Ashes. They
collected berries of the cactus. bugs
grasshoppers and other edible insects
and stored them S food. The MeXi-
cans were N the most simple ana
primitive state of savagery when dis
covered. II the reader is familiar with
wild Indian life anywhere he can
easily understand what 1, would be II
deprived OF the weapons, tools ana
implements introduced by white men.
Before white men came to buy the
furs and skins of wild animals the
people Of all America had no market,
no money. no merchantable commodi-
ties whatever. They existed. naked
and untutored. as the A-tans OF AUS
tra!ia within the memory OF men stu
living. Their numbers were limited.
their sufTerings great, their pleasures
few.
Poverty Strieken--Arid.
Sr.
last really great traveller who under
stood the vast region then embraced
In Mexico. He plainly said that the
whole region west of the Tooth merid-
ian was gradually becoming a desert.
and any cool dispassionase observer
must agree with him
The poverty of Mexico Is the great
est trouble. There is no rich prairie
to be plowed.
Revolutions" so-called. whether
they fail or succeed can not help the
people of tina: hopelessly worn and ex-
hausted nation. There are 100000
people in Mexico, 100000. at least. are
of Indian blood: perhaps 100000 pure
Indians. Nearly all these latter are
Poems and iTTede-snahiy poo-. the
whole people of Mexico is the most
!ovable race in existence. They are
honest. polite. gentle and grateful IN
proportion &c .Ae!- poverty. The Amer
lean notion that peon is a slave is
utterly unfounded; peon means an I'M
skilled worker or common laooref. !
never saw a man or woman in Mexico
who was not free to go or come when
they wanted to. Poems never want to
leave homes and families: with the ex-
ception OF a few Migrants, they live
and die where they We're born as most
OF the people OF the world do. and those
who wander generally regret 1t sooner
or later. Mexico Is in the condition we
are rapidly approaching. thru waste.
OF the 100000 people OF Mexico
not 1900 are expecting to gain in any
way by any revolution. Mexico is no
watermelon"
Spain owned Mexico for 3ee years.
Those were booming times The for
eats were cut, then burned over. and
utterly destroyed The virgin lands
were exhausted by more than 100 years
Of destructive farming. Then as the
forests disappeared the rains ceased IN
many vast section, almost entirely. The
mines were exploited to their=fulleS'
capacity, till nothing was left but the
mines where the ore costs more than ii
Is worth to get It into bullion The
mines Of Mexico, as , whole, are
worked at a great loss. but so hong az
stock can be sod outside OF Mexico
many mines are kept open.
Mortsaaed For Morn Than Wealth.
The promoters have saddIed about 81
eeo. ooo. 900 Of visible debts on so-cailed
Il.
roads and uncounted millions of paper
securities, so-called. based on conces.
siore Of every conceivable proposffon
from growing chicle for American gum
up to tunneiling mountain chains 10Y
irrigation work. and all these proper
ties' are unloaded on small investor
in North America and Europe at a total
loss to the holders.
What would we think in these states
or Canada Of railroad 500 miles Ions
with only two trains week? SeVera
such properties" are in Mexico. There
is very little in Mexico to ship from
one part OF the republic to another
What one state produces every state
produces Iowa produces more foot
| than all Mexico. Interstate commerce
| is only a waste OF force. Each city hal
| its irrigated lands-the only land OF any
value-its factories or its mines and al
| they need rs more corn to make tor
tillaG
| Americans might as well know tha
| there are no more unexpioret
natural resources in Mexico. We hav'
a lot Of Mexico" in our Rocky noun
tain states. about 4o00oo.ooo acres o
Of utterly useless mountain. plain ant
! desert. most OF which Is gradually be
coming worse desert. A few irrigate,