The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-07-15
BIG MOVEMENTS in MEXICO

"ist estates Were ready TO hgy
I'm oi tnem' and the result was that
lne lands came into rhe
nands Of these rich owners Hvtna
nearby. hNih5
mere are now hundreds of s,,cb
ooe'lei1ehis IN Mexico, where the sur-
!ounolng lands have been ACQUIRED ~
.ne rlcn estate owners. Many of them
not useo, and their owners will
hel.ner sell nor rent. In this way the
residents of the town are comnelIad
70 work for these men in order ia liva
ahu the great estate owners can fix
tnelr own rate Of wages. There IS no
cnahce Tor the peon to get ahead; for
lie cannot buy the land back and the
system IS such that it has meant the
enslaVement Of the people.
among the schemes now proposed
m tnec hamber of deputies is to pur-
cnaSe or condemn these tracts and to
restore them to their owners. If this
IS zone h peOns will be largely free
Oh tnelr Ole masters, n they will
gradually become morec ivilized. 1t is
found that this has been the case with
the Indians Of the few towns which
did not give up their communal lands.
Ihey are more Independent n bet
ter in every way.
me Poems and the HaciendadOS.
Other movements to improve the
condition OF the Indians relate to the
'tklng away Of the power of the jefc
pOltIcos, or chief officers of the small
towns. The most of these officials have
been appointed through the influence
have oppressed the people to please
the men who put them in office. Ac-
cording TO the avs of Mexico, abso-
lutte liberty Is supposed to exist. 1t
does not. The local jefe politico has
the right to draft men into the army,
y n IN h oct
were given the alternative of entering
military service or sticking to their
labor upO the estates. If they start
ed 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 tOdayl. 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 at
tempts to improve the lot of the labor
ing men. Laws have been already
passed as to the hours and wages in
the factories. Formerly sue things
have been fixed at the caprice Of the
capitalists, and these men were SC
backed by the administration that the
WI IifC SOOIA w
the administration of Madero a ten
hOu day shift and a nine-hour night
shift were introduced into the work
shops Of many parts Of the country.
This was done with the consent Of the
factory owners, inducements being Civ
en- in the way Of reduction of the
taxes on goods made in such factor
les. According to the old law all fac
tories paid the government a tax OF
5 per cent on their gross sales. &c
l such factories as introduced the new
z labor regulations this tax was cut tc
] 4 per cent. and at the same time q
proposition was made to increase il
t to 8 per cent on all other factories
This policy will probably be carried
: out in the future n IT, result vii
f be better hours and higher wages.
The Mexican Congress.
During my stay here | nave spen
: some time in the Mexican Congress
I There are two Houses, the Senate ane
n the Chamber of Deputies. The Senat'
t holds it's sessions in the national pal
v ace, and the Chamber of Deputies ha'
z it's own hall in the business heart o
: the city.
. The building Of the chamber is 0
n stone. with doors Of wrought iron. |
v is of the shape Of the Pantheon, tn
Q hall being a great circular room up
held by many columns and roofe'
by a DOME. An enormous chandelle
of cut glass, as pig as q lWO-toH sac
of hay, hangs from the center Of tn
- dome. and it's many frosted light bulb
make the hall as bright as day.
% At the back. under the coat-of-arm
of Mexico, is the chair of the speaker
g and the seats run in c~oncentrlc row
= rising from the floor below the speak
er's desk. gradually to the bach
y Around the hall and looking dow
? into it are galleries. which during m
- visit were filed with spectators, Wh
u listened to every word of the speeche!
and who, it seemed to me. were niue
concerned in the proceedings.
"a Each member has his own desk an
IN chair, and the order in which tn
Up desks are kept is far better than thu
ne of orr lower House Of Congress-.
r. seemed to me, also, hat the Mexlca
~ statesmen act better than our Cor
"a cressmen do. They are more POM
IN n there is less talking, "nispefli
I'D and smoking While the debating SOC