El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-01

great stock of the latter and as
? looked at the silk dresses and mems
suits Of one kind or another I be-
thought me Of the warnings 1 had
when 1 spent my first night in Mexico.
My adviser was an old resident said
In going to bed on the ground floor
you must be careful to put your trousers
under the mattress and lay your other
clothes near the wall farthest away
from the window, especially so if you
keep your blinds open. The country
has many sneak thieves and there are
/ professionals who have jointed rods
with a hook at the end, by which they
can reach through the bars and drag
out your clothing. You must also watch
out for your pockets, and especially in
crowds and on the street cars 1t is
not safe to leave your car window open
while travelling on the railways and
you want to keep track Of your cam
era"
.sThe Revolution and It's HOId-Ups.s
Since then I have found reason to ap-
preciate these suggestions A man trav-
cling with me had his pockets picked
two days after he entered Mexico and
| this has scared him so that re now
! does not venture out without one hand
D in his trousers I am told that the
I thieves steal wire cable and electric
wiring. They cut through ethe roofs tn
get into the stores and WarerUOns and
even try to rob the poor boxes OF the
churches. The railways lose thousands
DOlLS from the cars anu lL4-h1 Ch
cry year and they even take ths fish
plates from the rails. EOrni1g left out
of doors unmatched is SAFE and am
| told that doOrmats are usually Shalned
I down. 1t is not safe to put an ash
barrel out into the street and DOtted
plants and flowers are sometimes
stolen while vacant house frequent
" loses its lead oipe, electric globes
and bath fixtures.
Just now in these revolutionary times
much of the stealing is barefaced and
open There are parts Of Mexico which
swarm with brigends and bauditu and
where 1t is unsafe to travel even by
rail or in automobiles This is espe-
cially so outside the cities. Indeed.
in a recent railroad ride which I took
through a disturbed section carried
my surplus bills in my stocking. I had
$3.50 in American money, consisting of
a 500 bill, two $50 bills and a $40. I
put these next my bare feet, with the
idea that if my train were held up
they would not be found. Fortunately,
I got through all right, but the pas
sengers on the same road two days
later were robbed by a party OF ban
dts. and lost all but their clothing.
In the mountainous DISTRICTS even
zones clothing is liable to be taken, and
there are recent instances where men
have been stripped and left naked So
far Americans and other foreigners
have been robbed only of their money.
but such eases are frequent
Banking and Money Matters.
i
best to travel in a country like this
with a letter Of credit I have one IS
sued by the Riggs National bank OF
Washington on one Of the leading
banks Of London. and with this 1 can
get money in any Of the cities. The
place I patrOnize here is the National
Bank OF Mexico, an Institution whose
capital is more than S17, 000. 600, with
deposits which compare with our
largest United States banks Its prof
its are something like 5000, 600 a year
and it has branches in nearly every
Mexican city.
q Another big bank here is the Bank Of
London and Mexico, which was esLab-
lished by British capital at the close Of
our civil war and which is paying
Omethlng like y percent on its stock
And then there is the Mexican Bank
Of Commerce and Industry, backed by a
capital Of $4,000. 600, some Of which is
held by the Deutsche Bank Of Berlin,
some by the Speyers Of New York and
by business men here in the city, and
also the Mexican Banking company
which has a capital Of about $4,000. 900.
Nearly all the banks are owned by
foreigners The BancO National IS
largely backed by French capital, the
branch Bank OF Montreal by the Ca
nadians, and there is also a Chinese
financial organization, with a capital
Of a half million OF so.
Altogether there are "a chartered
banks in Mexico City which are doing
a business of several hundred million
q
capital amounts to more than SI00.-
10000 in gold, and the dividends paid
range all the way from to 16 per
cent The stock Of nearly every bank z
IS far above par, and this is the same
with the life insurance and many Other
financial institutions The country
now is on a gold basis, the unit being
the peso or Mexican dollar, which is /
worth just about so cents.
What Mexico Owes.
In .5554fo- -
there are mortgage banks similar to {
those existing in France, which extend /
credit to agricultural and mining en-
terprises- These. to a certain extent. !
are under the minister Of finance and I
they are intended TO aid in the develop
ment Of the country by lOaning money 4
to farmers and others One of these I
banks is known as the institution Of 4
Loans for Irrigation Works and the {
Encouragement Of Agriculture. It was 4
started with a capital Of S1O,OOOOOQ 4
and bond issue Of $50, 000 900. guar
anteed by the national government A !
Few weeks ago congress authorized the
capital stock to be increased to over !
Mexieo's Oldest Bank.
The eldest lOaning institution in /
Mexico is the Monte de Piedad. Of /
which I have written It was founded /
before our Declaration Of IndepeDd- I
ence was signed way back in 1775 with ]
a capitalization of $500, 600, its purpose
DeluS 10 Tree Lue poor people from the
usuriOus rates OF interest charged by
private pawnbrokers. The foundar
was a rich mine owner, who had what |
then was the bonanza mine Of Mexico. (
This was situated near Pachuca, and !
along about the time that We were I
the revolutionary war If had I
yielded SIS 900, 900. Its owner
was noted for his extravaganza.
He gave several Warships to Spain !
and loaned the king million dollars.
The same mine is still worked and IL /
is now owned by Americans.
The Monte de Piedad is also a saw