Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-01-15
MEX|C0'S WEALTH
CAUSES HER WARS
Has Been Blessing and a
Curse-Riches Are
Untold.

mately brought about the present tro,I-
bles, writes James Middleton in the
Worlds Work. Just how rich Mexico is
no one knows, for only small sections
have been made available Its gold and
silver have chiefly attracted imagination.
Four hundred years OF WORKING hay
merely scratched their treasures Mines
opened up by immediate SUCCESSORS of
Cortez are still Welding large returns
Mexico has produced one-thrd of silver
in the world These mines. and those
that yield copper, lead zinc. quicksilver,
antimony iron, and other metals, are
only the moro slitterine storehouses
Mexico has enormous stretches Of agri-
cultural land awaiting the intelligent get
tier. Millions of acres. with the Amer
lean mtrkot at their doors. are ideally
adapted to cattle and sheep or; :ire
Great stretches of forests contain not
only pine and oak. but the finest hard
wood. MeXico's oil resources. hardly
tapped may ultimately make it tho
world greatest producer Mexico has
more railroads than any other Spanish
American country its large cities contain
well developed street railways electric
| leht and power plants.
! The Mexican rides in an American train.
or trolley car: II he can read. he does SO
under electric lights or gas Installed bv
foreign capital Tho oil for his lamps Is
owned and pumped by American or Eng
lish enterprise He deposits his money
Hhen he has any, in banks owned by for
eigners. particularly F'renchmen. The
Mexican sonora makes her purchases at a
\ French department store. she buys her
household supplies from grocery shop
kept by a Spaniard. The Mexican buys his
hardware at shops controlled by Germans.
The Mexican miner works in mines ur
| smclters controlled ny Foreigners Moxi-
cans own more than foreigners only in
houses. ands and livestock, hreweries and
small retail stores They also control the
theatrical business.
NEW YORK THE REAL CAPITAL.
OF this foreign interest. the largest
part is American. The figures range
from SO.oc0nN to 81 ~, noO,ODD Many OF
the largest investments cannot be assign
ed TO any one natlon-they are rather in.
ternational. This Is true of the largest
investment. the railroads. With a few ex-
ceptions Americans built them all They
are American in engineering and con-
struction. Yet Europeans are the Iarges,
holders of Mexican railroad securities.
But the people Opening up" Mexico
are mainly Americans. Mexican com
merce with the United States enormous
lY exceeds that with any other nation.
lndustrially and financially. the real cap
ital Of Mexico is New York
Exhaustion of oil supplies is a ghost
that haunts the Industrious world. Stand
ard Oil. a few years ago. was almost in
a panic over the rapidly diminishing
product, and discovery of oil in Califor-
MIA. Oklahoma and other places saved it
from embarra ssment From surface indi-
cations, the Mexican supply Seemed mex
hausuble. The Waters Pierce company
Of Texas, which for many years had done
large oil business in Mexico. began
increasing It, In 1900, Mexico produced
practically no oil-now it stands neXt to
Russia and the United States
The Waters-Pierco company had hard
~ entrenched Itself when a new COM
petitor appeared. The English firm Of
5 Pearson & Son, Limited, had already
done work in Mexico. Its head, Sir
Weetman Dickinson Pearson, was well
known in the United States. Many wears
ago he had started to build tunnel I'M
der the Hudson His money gave on.
ana several years aftervard. William e
McAdoo' now secretary of the treasury.
finished the Person tunnel
pearson built two tunnels under the
East river for the Pennsylvania railroad.
inns frm also has done large amount
vi haFoor and dock work in England. the
Far East and especially in Brazil
AnoNt NM II made its first appearanca
IN Mexico, when Diaz was most mower
rul' Mexico had subsidized the building
on a railroad across the isthnnus ~
rehuantepoc. This road was poor,v
huilt. Sir Weetman Pearson. with tn,
government as partner, undertook to re-
build the line, a few years afterward
Sir Weetman undertook governmental
contracts in the harbor of Tamuico put
he saw more in this section. Tamplco
was 'he center OF the new oil industry.
OIL CAUSES REVOLUTIONS
Some newspaper historians find IN TN.
oil situation an explanation of the ro
cent political OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the oil
Of Tampico caused the Madero revoIu-
ton against Daz the Iuerta unrIsinc.
against Madero, and came near disturb
ing relations between England and the
United States One or two facts stand
out plainly enough. One IL that Diaz had
acquired dislike for the Waters
Pierce corporation. An explanation is
that the Americans We're charging
Mexicans excessive prices. Another fact
is that he showed favors to the Eng
lish concern In 80 Sir Weetman
Pearson was created Lord Cowdray; and
the British admiralty began to expert
ment with oil as A fuel supply. Mexico
acquired a new importance. Lord Cow
dray obtained large concessions from
Diaz, not only for oil but for pipe lines
and railroads. These gave him one great
advantage over competitors in that they
exempted him from local taxation and
export duties, Before the Congress
ratified these privileges, disaster bcfell
Diaz Nevertheless. Lord Cowdray began
refining on a large scale and entered
the Mexican market, Wehrc "A fierce
price-cutting war took place between
the English and American companies
Lord Cowdray has apparently gained
the upper hand Latest statistics show
that his company controls IS per cent
Of oil output Of Mexico,
The overthrownG OF Diaz apparently
promised better things for the Waters
Pierce company for the Madcro interest
was favorable to the Americans rather
than to Lord Cowdray.
The Madero Congress took no steps to
confirm the Cowdray concessions That
the Huerta forces have maintained the
Of