The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-04-01
BUSINESS IN MEXICO
About the Queer Stores and Trades
Of the Capital.
BY Frank G. Carpenter.

silver are llkGWlSt d. hiSh. ehNSi q
saddle establishment next door which
has saddle and brides with trappings
Of silver. and am old that the hacien-
dado often spends several hundred
dollars on his equestrian OUTFIT IN ad-
dition 10 the cost Of his horse.
This land is one Of the rich and the
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 ave leather sanda
which are nothing more than two
strips of thick cowhide 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 Wl,n our wal"
Look at the sigh over the store In
front of which wo are standing. You
might think those letters spell Hats
and Sombreros." Thev do not. They
read "Puerto dol Sol c. "Gatr Of
the Sun A little furthe" eli IS a
layber shop called La Poll|,' or
'1he Pearl" an around the WY q
to~bacconist sells cigars n cigarettes
under the sign Of 'fThe White CAT"
| know Of a puioue sa!eor-puluue
is the beer Of the peasant. which goes
by the title Of "Tne Sanctuary,' anf1
in the Street Of ~" Holy Chest tli"re
is another called "Tne 1Iang-O4t IF
John the Baptist Some stores have
let's" THE Pearl IF the Occident,"
The White Rose La Perfumista''
and The Drinking Place TO IIidalgo.'
The Old-time merchant never puts his
own name over the store. but, like
the Chinese. chooses instead Sorle
fancy title which gives no Indication
of who he is Or what he is selling.
Il Business Methods.
The customs inside the stores are as
strange as the signs. 1t is only the
department stores and principal shops
which have any fixed prices, and you
are usually asked three times What
the merchant thinks you will pay
This is especially SO as to foreigners
whom the clerks are sometimes al.
I lowed to charge what they please, ir
which case they may receive a per
centage of all over the regular price
There is but little cutting Of prices
q Our motto is quick sales and small
profits. The motto Of the Mexican
merchant is big profits no matter nov
: slow the sales, and he keeps his good
on the shelves until the price is paid
lie buys on long time and one ant
two years credit is not
he sells largely for cash and he Otter
! gives credit. But am told he will
: not pay cash, even if he has idl
money when buying new stock.
l find that mercantile credi her
u are as good as those of the Unite,
States, although many men charg
: that The MeXicanS are tricky in deal
ing. They are said, however, to NEE
their bills, and it is claimed that 9
per cent Of these long credit sale
l are paid in full. The English an
~ ~ =, = 20 ~ r., n 4 - - fhir - I I
vantage Of it. whereas the America
G more often demands cash with tn
order. thereby losing a sale.
/ Fine Stores in Mexico City.
q There are now many America
n stores in the Mexican capital, an
le most of them have fixed prices MARI
6, ed in plain figures, but. even so. yo
can get some reduction in these da,
Of of hard times. About the finest estat
l. lishments are the jewelry store
st They are filled with gold and silvt
s. trinkets from Paris and with precio,
S, stones of all kinds. l find such plac,
es in almost every block, and along IL
Avenida San Francisco are mar
which would be a credit to Boston
r.. New York. There are also big gr,
IL ceries, dry goods stores and har,
n ware establishments. The curfo stor
TX are interesting. They sell Mexico
.ir drawn work., stamped feathers In Il
shape of pocketbOoks and purses, al
of Spanish fans, laces and mantilii
Nearly every such shop has a hs
ut peek or SO of opals, which it go
~ by the piece or the handful, accor
- ing to quality. Some Of these ston
are beautiful, n an especially Fl
20 one will bring 500 and upward. CT
- ers. which may reflect all the colo
~ of the rainbow, are punched togetI
"a and sold at 9 few dollars a pint.
~ There are cigar stores eycryWhe
" Every one in Mexico. from the lat.
weaEed baby to the gray haired {
- grown-ups on the edge of The gra'
" smoke cigars or cigarettes. THIS is
'on of male and female. Mexico mai
excellent brands Of tobacco, and IL
about twice as cheap :s in the Stat
You can get q fairly good cigar fol
leu nickel. and n that costs 70 &c
here would be worth es cents in
run United States. The cigarettes, VIII
are often put up in black paper, IL