davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

gold a mile and the second-class about
one cent and a quarter per mile. All of
the principal railways have first and sec
ond class coaches. but only the common
people and the Indians use the latter.
Nevertheless 10 per cent of the passenger
revenues come from the secondclass. The
poems love to travel, and whenever one
of them gets few dollars ahead he
spends it by giving himself and his family
railway journey. Sometimes he rides
as far as he can and then comes back
upon foot. One of the great sources of
such traffic is the religious shrines. The
they sometimes travel hundreds of miles
by rail in that way. The passenger head
OF the National railway tells me that his
road brings thousands every year to the
Church Of Guadalupe, and that this traf-
fic alone pays his road $15O,000 gold every
year. The railroads receive large reve-
nue by running excursions. and among the
events which add to the traff!, are the
celebrations of saint days. fiestas and
such attractions as bull-hghts. cock fights.
horse races and balloon ascensions.
During my travels here l have spent
considerable time on these second-cIass
coaches watching the people. The cars
are of the cheapest description Their
seats are hard wooden benches which
run along under the windows like an old
fashioned street car and have another
double row of benches running through
the center of the car with their seats
back to back, There are no cushions and
no rests for tine arms. The cars are
usually packed with men, women and
children. ranging in color from white to
a dark copper, the Indian types predomi
mating. Most of the men are clad in cot
ton, wearing sombreros and serapas. The
women are usually without hats bon
nets and they have shawls of cotton or
silk over their heads. All are bare
footed except for sandals of sole leather
tied to their bare feet with strings of the
same material. They have but little bag
gage with the exception of baskets or
bundles. which they bring into the cars.
X x
am told that the Mexican is fairly
good railroad man. About decade ago
more than - per cent of all the men who
worked on the roads were Americans.
The engineers, brakemen and conductors
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

came from the United States and every
city along the line had it's little colony
of American railroad employees. This has
been changed. Four-ffths of the Ameri-
cans have gone and the roads are now
altogether managed by natives.
The highest officials and the clerical
force in the general offices here are
largely Americans. but the rank and file.
who do the operating and running the
trains, are MeXicans.
y x
This has come from decision of the
railway managers made a number of
years ago, that they must educate the
natives to fill such positions if they
would have permanent employees at rea-
sonable wages. They began this. and.
wherever possible, transferred a Mexican
into the vacancy whenever a foreigner
left They taught the native telegraph
operators to become train dispatchers,
and they took the best of the carpen-
tiers. mechanics and boilermakers trained
in their shops and made them foremen,
shopkeepers and managers. They have
elevated native firemen on the engines to
locomotive engineers. have picked out the
best native brakemen and made them
conductors, and the same with every
branch of the operating force.
AS result. more than half of the rail-
ways are now run by native employees.
and that at five or six times the wages
they were receiving when they entered
the employ of the roads. but at very
much lower wages than foreigners could
be had. The natives received from - TO
40 cents gold per day at the time they
came into the service, and they are now
earning from SIS to $500 per day, and
in some cases more.
| am told that this experiment has
proved good for the railways. II has
cheapened the cost. and at the same time
has populariZed the management. " has
also helped to create a middle class I'm
Mexico. in which respect the country is
woefully lacking. Railway officials say
that these changes will be continued. and
that the number of American employee,
will be less and less from year to year.
FRANK q. CARPENTER.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
SoME Or TIE RA11HoAps co,1pEr1rons.

is that of the Southern Pacific Company
of Mexico. This was projected by Harri-
man connection with our Southern
Pacific. and includes a number of lines
along the west coast 1t has now almost
a thousand miles of railroad. and has
concessions which entail the building OF
about five hundred miles more. This
road has been seriously injured during the
revolution, but many of the bridges de-
stroyed have been replaced, and improve
ments will be made as soon as possible
and the road completed. The Southern
Pacific lines connect the northwestern
part of the country with the port OF
as far south as Topic. They will be eN-
tended to Guadalajara in connection with
short strip of the National railways. as
soon as conditions are settled.
The first railway in Mexico was line
two and one-half miles long, which ran
from Mexico City to the Shrine of Guada-
lupe. This was built in 1854 and three
years later the concession was granted
for the old Mexican railroad. which ran
from Vera Cruz to Mexico City. This
was built by English capital under a
good concession, and it was completed in
1873. having at that time received some
thing like $12G00.000 in subsidies. The
road is about 300 miles long. including its
branches. and 1t cost over $30O00.OO0 or
about 100000 a mile When it was be-
gun the Indians objected to its construc
ton. and in order to paCifiy them the
work was begun at both ends and car
between the coast and the capital. AS
all the materials came from England.
this entailed an enormous expense. 1t
costing as much as 81 10 bring a steel
rail from Vera Cruz to the capital by
wagon. The same was so for time OF
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

not so. The Mexican railways are now
operated by forty Independent corpora
tions. The government has the majority
of the stock of the National Railways
of Mexico only, which have altogether
about 5000 miles. and it operates some
other railways. such as the Inter-Oceanic,
under longtime leases. The government
is improving these lines. and 1t is now
building eight branch lines which aggre-
gate over 1.116 miles. The most i'm
portant of these is road from TampicO
to Vera Cruz. with short line connect
ing with Mexico City.
The government roads are known as the
National Railways of Mexico They con-
sist chiefly of three main lines which
were merged into the one system In
1909 These lines are the old National
railway the old Mexican Central rail-
way and the old Mexican International
railway. In addition TO this, they include
the Vera Cruz and Isthmus railways and
the Pan-American railway. which has
been built to the Guatemala border. These
lines belong to the government in the
sense that 1t owns the majority of the
stock. The bonds are held abroad, as is
also a little more than 40 per cent of the
stock. The bondholders are operating the
property. and the chief officials are
Americans. The net capitalization of the
ing, is about $1330OO per mile, upon which
it had i'm 1911 net income of 3 per cent.
Preferred stock pays a per cent divi-
dend.
Outside of the National railways the
most important system in the republic
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

of whom are from Baltimore and are
constant visitors at the White House.
physical condition, for she gives much
time to reading and to the correspond
enee of the societies in which she is in
terested. Although not of the pro-
nounced intellectual type of her older
sister, Miss Margaret Wilson. Miss Jessie
has read law under her fathers direc-
tion-that is, such law as she required
when shaping affairs for legislatures She
reads tremendously on the topic of So
cial conditions in this country and in
foreign lands and subscribes to sew
eral foreign journals wherein she may
get the latest developments.
Miss Wilson is said to be the only
member of her family who champions
equal suffrage, but this is apparently a
superficial view In her early married
days Mrs. Wilson went to Bryn Mawr
where her husband was member of the
faculty. and that institution Is dean
among those who struggled for votes for
women.
\ X,
Mrs. Wilson, entirely happy in her do
nestle relations, of an artistic trend and
never felt the necessity Of giving suf-
frage for women more than an occa-
sional academic attention. But all her
Jessie perhaps the most enthusiastically
Becoming affiliated with work among the
poor, she soon realized that women when
interested could ameliorate conditions
that men had hitherto ignored, and from
this standpoint she has given support
to suffrage. She is, however. unalterably
opposed to politics for women as a pro-
fessiOn, to women desiring votes to OBJ
tain public Office or to crafty personal
ambition. Above all she depores acts
of violence committed to obtain votes.
Miss Jessie will not become active in
any suffrage movement. She views votes
merely as a means to an end not the
motive for ambition, and she will continue
her labors with the Consumers League
and her frequent visits to the lighthouse
in Philadelphia. This, with all the social
obligations that will come to her as one
of the first young ladies Of the land, will
preclude other efforts.
Miss Wilson is named for cousin Of
her father, Mrs. Jessie Woodrow Bones,
and. according to the family traditions.
the active ally of Cupid in bringing about
the happy marriage between her father
ard mother. Mrs. Wilson was the close
friend of Mrs. Bones, and when young
Woodrow Wilson came down to Rome,
Ga. to visit his kindred. Miss ''Emmie
Lou Arson was asked TO Sunday night
supper. He was given the pleasant duty
of seeing the young guest home, and ira
ditions say further that it was in cross
ing romantic bridge which divided the
home of the Bones family from the sec
ton wherein Miss Emmie Lou lived tina t
he formed the momen.ous resolution to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
MEAT FOR VEGETARIAN

vegetarian tenet of the religion in the
most fragrant manner. And / was more
astonished when, on questioning a
shaven- pated lama-and more than third
of the men there are lamas, as they call
their monkS--he told me that they We're
not offending against Buddha's vegeta-
rian decree. because, he said. Buddha
had enjoined his followers TO abstain not
from the eating of meat. but from the
taking of life of any kind, or even the
hard to imagine any ones getting a
steak or chop without either spillng
blood or taking animal life. this clever
old lama told me how they had solved
the problem.
THE only animal that affords edible
flesh in Tibet is the yak, an uncouth
hairy sort of a cross between a sheep
and a buffalo. When the natives got
to a point where they just had to have
a pot roast or yak srloin they caught
one of the animals and led him up on
the steep side of a mountain just above
a spot where the cliff offered a sheer
drop that guaranteed death to any
thing tumbling over. Then they would
tie that yak. fore and hind feet in a
bunch. deposit him on the steep noun
tain slope within a rev feet OF the
edge of the cliff-and go away-away
around to the bottom of the cliff, and
wait for dinner.
You see. they didn't kill that yak;
they didn't even spill drop of his
blood. They just tied him and left
him there. but it was a million to one
chance that the first move the unhappy
animal would make he would slide
over the edge of the cliff into eternity
and the dinner pot.
This old ba headed lama gave me
lucid explanation OF why the Tibet
folks. who borrowed their religion
from the Hindoos. took to eating meat
a practice 50 gajnst the religion which
they had emhrac efi 81 a-derflr. II was
easy ruau.n l., SAID .nI. he mia b.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

the Mexican Central railroad which runs
from FL Paso to Mexico City.
The road from Vera Cruz was capital
lied at $4,000, 600 and it has always paid
a good profit on the investment. For a
long time it had monopoly. and at the
start it's freight rates for this haul of
less than 300 miles were $40 a ton, and
it's passenger fares were 10 cents mile.
The road is a marvel OF engineering and
it has some of the steepest grades upon
record 1t runs from the lOwlands at
Vera Cruz right up the mountains. and it
has some grades steep that Siamese
twin engine, with a double-header, has
been constructed to mount them. This
engine has two fire boxes, two boil
ers and two sets of driving wheels to
make it GO With it the train climbs an
altitude of 800 feet in twelve miles. and
more than 1000 feet in twenty-five miles.
lifting YOU out of the tropics and into the
temperate zone.
A large part OF the old Mexican road
had ties Of mahogany and ebony. The
chief objection to the ebony ties was
that it was hard to drive the spikes into
them and almost impossible to get them
out when the rails had to be changed.
On the Tehauntepec road some of the
cost there from 3j to 30 cents each. The
ebony trees do not grow as large as the
mahogany trees and their ties are more
expensive to make. On the Mexican
road many steel ties have been employed.
These are hollow plates. about four
inches wide and of the same length as an
ordinary tie, so made that when turned
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
The Village Poet.

& ENATOR ROOT. praising one OF the
- American pictures at the recent in
ternational exhibition in New York, said
it was as poetical as an old storekeeper
he had known in his boy hood.
This storekeeper.' he went on. was
always doing kind things and saying
lovely ones. 1 remember spring when
ne was having his store reprinted. He
told the painter to leave certain cor
ner untouched for the time being. He ex-
planned that the young people at that
season did all their counting there. and
he didn't want them TO get smudged.
But objected the painter. these
young folks would be fools not to know
the smell of fresh paint.
Young fellow said the old store
keeper. you've never had a girl. that's
plain. If you had you'd know that when
folks are in love everything. wet paint
included, smells like violets and roses"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

ask his companion that question which is
the keynote of life and love Tradition
says further that it was a moonlit night
and that they stopped on the bridge to
watch the waters running below. Mrs.
Bones still resides in Rome, Ca. and her
lovely young namesake is her frequent
visitor.
Miss Jessie in addition to all these ac-
complishments is acknowledged by her
sisters to possess decidedly domestic
traits. She used to love in the days of
their more quiet life to get up nice little
supper long after the servants had re-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
man wants to do some
w thing that's against his moral

f<vVYHEN man wants to do some
Nv thing that's against his moral
code he doesn't do it until the
temptation of the want gets strong
enough, then he'll figure a way around,
even if he's got to sit up night for ten
generations to find out how to do it.
And that's just what those Tibetan fell
lows did who wanted meat and didn't
know how to find it, because it was
against the most pluperfect dogmas OF
their religion, which was strictly vege-
tarian.'
Thus spoke a former attache on the
staff of w. W. Rockhill, once United
States minister to China, who Travelled
with that famous diplomat and explorer
when he made a daring dive through the
interior of that mysterious country, and
crossing into Tibet, penetrated nearly to
the walls Of the sacred city of Lassa.
X
1T was a good many years ago." he
said the other day at the State De-
partment when, revisiting his old haunts,
he squared himself away for a yarn
1T was years before the British ever
got up into that country that we made
our way there. We found the Tibetans
the most strict of Buddhists; indeed,
their religion was the major part OF their
daily lives. Every ceremony that could
lend dignity to their creed, every manner
of showing a constant face to their deity
was in persistent daily and hourly prac-
tice. Every one-eXcept one.
That was abstaining from eating meat.
Every Tibetan eats all the meat he can
get. which isn't much. and. as | had
been down in India, in the very home of
Buddhism. and seen the horror with
which even the most lax of the faith
there looked upon eating even the wing
of a canary bird. ! was astonshed Ia
find the Tibetans offending against the
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

things have been decidedly bad on the
roads from here to the north. The Mex1-
can Central to Ell Paso was out OF COM
mission for more than year, and the
Laredo road has had many hold-ups and
bridge burnings Conditions upon it
were especially bad shortly after Madero
was killed, and some of the regions
through which it passes had many rebels
and brigands.
As / came here over that route, some
months before the battle at Mexico City,
the passengers on my train discussed the
possibilities of a tunnel being blown up.
and since then some of the bridges have
been burned and rebuilt. HOld-ups by
bandits and rebels frequently occur be-
tween here and Vera Cruz, and, in fact,
there are but few regions where travel
is positively safe. If there are soldiers
on your train, there is liable to be shoot
ing by anti-administration brigands, ana
your life is in danger. Ii there are no
soldiers the train may be held up and
robbed by the rebels or bandits, and the
passengers without regard to nationality,
be forced TO hand over their money,
watches and jewelry at the point OF the
revolver. In some such cases the pas
sengers are searched to see If they are
giving up all that they have ana IN
others foreigners are freed after their
potketbooks and money rolls have been
handed over. For this reason ] am hid
ing my money. l always carry num-
her of good yellow bills as reserve
fund for accidents, and these now Keep
in my socks while travelling by train l
would say however, that in several num-
dred thousands miles of travel all over
the world, this is the first time i have
done so.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

tired. Especially was this her delight
when her father was compelled to burn
the midnight oil. She would concoct deli
cious little sandwiches out of cold yege-
tables and meats. make coffee and evefl
stir UP dough for biscuits or griddle cakes
in a bewilderingly short space of time.
The President is never so well satisfied as
when his second daughter superintends
the culinary arrangements, and when he
is overfatigued and suffering a loss of
appetite no one can tempt him SO success
fully
1t is characteristic of the feminine oc-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

ing will go into the White House dur
ing the next four years which does not
meet this requirement
Miss Wilson'S appearance does not cor
respond with the serious views she has
adopted She is perhaps the most ap-
proachable of the Misses Wilson, a cir
cumstance easily explained through her
long connection with settlement work.
Her sisters are charming, but, like Mrs.
Wilson. are somewhat reserved until the
acquaintance is well established. Miss
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
BY MARGARET B. DOWNING.

o champion of the
National Consum-
ers' League is more
deeply in earnest
than Miss Jessie
Woodrow Wilson,
second of the three
daughters of Presf-
dent and Mrs. Will
son. One of the
first of the settle
ment workers to
join the league,
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

cupantS of the White House that each has
a little room wherein is a dainty little
service, and that frequently there are
supperS and luncheons there whereof the
public gets no account. Miss Jessie has
an exquisite little tea set planted by her
mother and one which served the family
for best for many a year. When she
has some chums or those whom she must
consult at length about her philanthropic
work, she can get her small brass kettle
humming and produce tempting little
bit in a twinkle. and without seeming 10
neglect for a second the work in hand.
itants of India. where Buddha starred
his religion. to abstain from eating
meat. because the climate is so hot that
the human body doesn't require any
animal food; rice and its kindred grains
are sufficient.
But Tibet, which lies across the
Himalayas. is a cold and inhospitable
country for climate. The result was that.
although the natives tried for nearly a
dozen generations to stick TO a vegetable
diet, they at length began to break
away, because the temptation toward "A
meat diet was too great TO be finally re-
sisted. Hence, they put up that scheme
OF suicide on the unfortunate yaks."
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13
A Matter of Environment.

HDESSIMISM and optimism. said pa
vid Belasco, ARE for the most par
merely a matter of environment. Go
into a barber shop and look at the man
waiting to be shaved with seven or eight
others ahead of him. He is always pes
simst. On the other hand. the man who
is 'acXt' in The chair is an optimist with
-. exception"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

MEXICO CITY.
AILWAY travel in
Mexico just now is
mighty uncertain,
although the rail-
way officials say
they expect things
to quiet down from
now on and the
travel and bust
ness conditions to
show a steady i'm
provement. For the
past few months
III 49, thu
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

upside down they look like trough. The
Interoceanic road uses steel disks to
hold the rails, tying them together with
a cross piece of iron. but these do not
work as well as the solid steel ties
A large part of the Mexican Central
railway is laid with wooden ties, and
this reminds me of a story one Of the
constructors tells as to Mexican con-
tracts. Said he:
The average haciendado here has
queer ideas of business / found a strip
of forest along the line of the Mexican
Central which might have supplied us
with goodly number of ties. I called
upon the owner and asked him at what
rate he could supply us with 5000. He
replied that the price would be 80 cents
each. I then said. But suppose I take
$1,000 ties
Oh replied the man. In that case
I could not let you have them for less
than Is cents apiece.
"'And if l want 100000?
lone hundred thousand ties ex-
claimed the farmer. raising his hands. L
doubt whether | could get them out. 1t
would be a great deal of trouble. ! could
not think of undertaking to supply that
number for less than $1.5O each. -
1 find the Mexican railways well IMAM
aged and the cars exceedingly comfort
able There are Pullman sleepers on all
the main lines and under ordinary con-
ditions one can take his berth or drawing
room at st. Louis and go to Mexico City
without change. The eating arrange
ments are excellent and the fares are
about the same as in the states.
AS to local travel. the rates are less
than those of our country. the usual first
class fare being two and four-tenths cents
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

LER Successful Champion
1 / ship of the Minimum
Wage and Ten-Hour Law
for Women-Engrossed in
Settlement Work, and Is
Affiliated With Many I'm
portant National Movements.
Her Work in Connection
With the Consumers League.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-13

Jessie has chatty way of meeting every
one and seems to know Just how to sound
the conversational depths of her visitor.
Naturally she loves children and is sell
dom seen without some OF her small
kinspeople in her company. Her little
grandniece, Josephine Cothran, is her
shadow and constant companion when
she drives of an afternoon.
MisSJessie is fond of tennis. and may
be seen for several hours each day on
the grounds which President Roosevelt
had fenced in from tile southern gar
dens. Miss Eleanor Wilson occasionally
joins her sister, but she is not dew
otee. Miss Jessie usually gets an oppo-
nent from among her girl friends, many