The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-30
kCopyrighted. 1913, by Frank C. carpen-
fer
Mexico CITY.


~ ONE. take walk with me through
the business sections of Mexico
~ City and see how our lively sister
republic buys, sells and gets gains IT Is
now D. m and we are on the Avenida de
San Francisco, in the heart of the capi-
tai. 1t is the busiest hour of the day in
washington, Berlin, Paris and London.
Here the streets are deserted, the stores
are closed and their show windows are
covered with blinds of corrugated iron
The front doors of the chief business es-
Establishments are locked with great bolts,
and the town makes one think of the dead
city of Nijni-Novgorod on the Volga when
the fair is not on.
What is the matter?
Has the revolution again broken loose
and have the people fled for their lives
Nothing of the kind. These are the
business conditions at 9 o'clock every
week day all the year through. The
stores have been open from until J,
and they will open again from until :.
They are closed now for breakfast, and
the whole city, merchants and clerks,
orummers and customers, have gone home
for their breakfast or mid day siesta. The
average Mexican family has only coffee
and bread upon rising, and it's first real
meal of the day is now serving. The city
It on the road to digestion, and will then
so back to work.
Take your stand on the corner and
look UP the street. An hour ago it was
black with people, and the automobiles
and carriages few back and forth SO that
you could not cross without the risk of
your life Now there is not car nor
horse to be seen and the only men are
the policemen who stand and NOPE at
the corners.
Transportation in Mexico City
But let us go down to the Plaza and
wait till the street cars bring the crowds
back from their breakfast The Plaza is
the street car center to which nearly
every electric line comes. They run in
trains, a dozen often being nose to tail
on the same track, and the mid day traf-
fic forming big part of the receipts of
the road Our tramway companies get
only one trip out of the business man ey-
cry day; that is, his fares. morning and
evening. Here there are two more fares
at mid day; for almost all go home to
their meals. The cars wait for the stores
TO knock off and run in long professions
when bringing them back.
The service is good and Il average
fare is equal TO 3 cents Of our money. Or,
ff you go second class, they are cheaper
All kinds of traffic here are lower than
ours. Cabs cost so cents gold per hour.
15 cents for the first three-quarters of
mile and at cents for every additional
quarter thereafter. Waits are charged
for at sl-25 per hour. This is SO, not
withstanding the cabs are as good as our
own and they go quite as fast.
Mems Hats Which Cost $40
But it Is now $3.50. The cars have
emptied the clerks and customers into the
stores, and business is we'll under way.
Let us cross the Plaza and stroll through
the arcades which run along its west side,
with stores at the back. Between the pill
lars are booths. where peddlers are sell
ing all sorts of notions. The stores have
goods of many descriptions behind their
old fashioned glass windows The most
interesting of all are the hat stores. They
contain headgear of all sorts, from the
most modern mems shapes of New York
and London TO the gigantic sombreros %
plush and felt which the old time Mexi-