El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-29

poor The rich have so much that they
squander their money, and the poor are.
so desperately so that they do not
( realize how poor they are. The most Of
them dress in cotton, with a blanket
which costs not more than a dollar.
They have leather sandals which are
nothing more than two strips of thick
coWh1de large enough to cover the sole
Of the foot and tied on with strings.
such footgear costs about rs cents a
pair.
Some Queer signs.
But let US go on with our walk.
LOOK at the sign over the store in
front Of which we are standing. You
might think those letters spell Hats
and SOmbreros." They do not They
read Puerto del Sol" OF Gate Of the
sun" A little further on is a barber
shop called La Peria," or, THE Pearl
and around the way a tobaccOnist sells
cigars and cigarets under the sign OF
The White Cat" I know of a pulque
salOOn-pulque is the beer Of the peas
ant, which goes by the title Of The
Sanctuary and in the Street Of the
Holy Ghost there is another called
The HangeOut of John the Baptist"
Some stores have such names as We
suvius,' The NiOlets," The Pearl CT
the Occident, THE White Rose" Ia
Perfumista" and The Drinking Place
to HidalgO." The old time merchant
never puts his own name over he
store, but. like the Chinese. chooses
instead some fancy title which gives
no indication of who he is or what
he Is selling.
odd Business Methods
The custom inside the stores are 90
strange as the signs It is only the
departments stores and principal shops
which have any fixed prices, and you
are usually asked three times what
the merchant thinks you viii pay. This
is especially so as to foreigners, whom
the clerks are sometimes allowed to
charge what they please, in which case
they may receive percentage OF ali
over the regular price
There is but little cutting Of prices.
Our motto is quick sales and small
profits. The motto Of the Mexican
merchant. is big profits no matter how
slow the sales, and he keeps his goods
on the shelves until the price Is paid.
He buys on long time and one and
two years credit is not uncommon He
sells largely for cash and he often
gives credit. But I am told he will not
pay cash. even if he has idle money
when buying new stock
I find that mercantile credits here
are as good as those Of the United
States. although many men charge that
the Mexicans are tricky in dealing
They are said, however, to meet their
bills, and it is claimed that 90 percent
Of these long credit sales are paid
in full The English and Germans IN
derstaand this, and take advantage Of
It, whereas the American more often
demands cash with the order, thereby
losing a sale.
Fine stores In Mexico City.
There are now many American
stores in the Mexican capital, and
most of them have fixed prices marked
in plain figures. but, even so, you can
get some reduction in these days Of
hard times About the finest estab- Z
lishments are the jeWelry stores. They !
are filled with gold and silver trinkeIs |
from Paris and with precious stones Of !
all kinds. / find such places IN al /
most every block. and along the Ave
nida san Francisco are many which {
would be a credit to Boston or New I
York
There are also big groceries. dry
goods stores and hardware establish /
ments. The curiO stores are interest
ing. They sell Mexican drawn work. /
stamped feathers in the shape OF /
pOcketboOzs and purses. and Spanish 4
fans, laceS and mantlllas. Nearly every /
such shop has a half peck or so OF /
Opals, which it sells by the piece CT /
the handful, according to quality. Some |
Of these stones are beautiful. and an 4
especially fine one will bring 500 /
and upward Others, which may re ]
punched together and sold at a few i
dollars pint.
There are cigar stores everywhere.
Every one in Mexico, from the lately /
weaned baby to the gray haired old 4
grOWnup on the edge Of the grave,
smokes cigars or Clgarets. This is so
Of male and female Mexico makes
excellent brands of tobacco, and that 1
about twice as cheap as in the states
on can get a fairly good cigar Tor
a nickel. and one that costs 10 cents
here would be worth % cents in the
United States The cIgaretS, which
are often put up in black paper, look
deadly,i but the tobacco in them IS
mild and I am told they are good.
American shops
As to the men who are doing the I
business Americans own most Of the |
stores selling curiOs. hardware and
drugs. The French have the fine dry |
goods business, and the Germans have |
big establishments Of various kinds. |
German merchants as a rule speak
Spanish, and not a few Of them nave |
Mexican wives. AS TO the Spaniards,
they hold somewhat the same place /
that the Italians do in the United
States They have the corner
groceries, and they also peddIe goods
stay here only a short time, and then |
60 back TO Spain to spend what they
have made
Land of Small Businesses.
Mexico has many house industries,
and there are towns that make certain
kinds Of wares which are peddled I
about over the country or sold in small
shops by the natives About every city |
market you will find booths devoted to
fancy work pottery. shoes or cheap ,
dry goods and notions.
In all the villages there are little
stores run by indians. and here there |
are street pedlers and market men
who do not average more than five or |
ten dollars a day in the amounts Of {
their sales.
PeddIinE Goods at the Capital.
Mexico City Is fun Of peddlers, and
they accost you on every block. There I 7
are hundreds of men and women sell /
ing lottery tickets. I meet one such 7
every time / go outside my hotel He !
IS native Mexican six feet tail AMI J
as heavy as former president Taft. J
He has a bright cOIored blanket over
his shoulders and on his head a 7
sombrero as big as an umbrella. he
also wears a red shirt and trousers
and brown jacket, gayly embrOi- 5
Tered This representative OF Dame !
Fortune walks up and down Sixteenth I :
II September street all day long ask
ng every one to buy his lottery wares. y