Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-30

every electric line comes. They run in
trains, a dozen often being nose to tail
on the same track. and the midday trafnc
forming a big part of the receipts of the
road Our tramway companies get only
one trip out of the business man every
day: that is. his fares. morning and
evening. Here there are two more fares
at midday. for almost all go home to their
meals. The cars wait for the stores To
knock off and run III long professions
when bringing them back.
The service is good and the average
fare is equal to , cents OF money. Or.
if you go second class. they are cheaper.
All kinds of traffic here are lower than
ours. Cabs cost 80 cents gold per hour.
and YOU can have an automobile taxi at
10 cents for the first three-quarters OF
mile and at ) cents for every additional
quarter thereafter. Waits are charged
for at S1.2j per hour This is so. not
withstanding the labs are as good as our
own and they go quite as fast
But it is nov. $3.50. The ears have emp
tied the clerks and customers into the
stores. and business is well 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 ia sliioned glass windows. The most
intere sting 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 Som5reros of
plush and felt which the old-time Mexi-
cans wear. These sombreros are loaded
with silver and gold in the shape of EN-
broidery and most of them have heavy
bands of gold braid round their crowns.
Let us stop and look at some Of them
Here is hat big around as the tire of
a limousine. 1t is of bright red trimmed
with silver. The embroidery runs round
the crown. and it has eight strands of
silver wire as a hatband. That hat which
hangs above i; is gray. 1t is embroidered
with leather. and at the right and the
left are two sombreros of black. laced
back and forth with great bands of sill
Yer. There are hats as green as the wing
of that parrot which the peddler has
thrust into our eyes. and hats of plush
as white snow, with golden embrod-
cry woven about them. l take UP one
of these sombreros and put on a blanket
to make myself look like Mexican. and
am photogra phed to show how they look.
My hat weighs several pounds and it is
worth $40.
Other clothing costs almost as much.
1 go into a tailoring establishment fur
Their on up the street. and look at some
riding trousers of buckskin. with solid
silver buttons lining the seams. fine
pair costs $50, and the short roundabout
Jackets embroidered with silver are like
wise as high. | enter q saddle establish
ment next door which has saddles and
brides with trappinss of silver, and am
told that the haciendado often spends
several hundred dollars on his equestrian
outf. in addition to the cost Of his horse
This land is one OF the rich and the
poor The rich have SO much that they
sauaDder their money and the poor are
so desperately so that they do not real
lie how poor they are The most OF
them dress in cotton. with blanket
which costs not more than a dollar. They
have leather sandals 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 foot
gear costs about p cents pair.
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
or Gate of the SUM-" A little further on
is a barber shop called LA Perla.' or
1.-THE Pearl" and around the way to-
bacconist sells cigars and cigarettes under
the sign of THE White Cat. / know of
a puluue saloon-pulque is the beer of the
peasant, which goes by the title of THE
Sanctuary" and in the Street OF the Holy
Ghost there is another called The Hang