The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-01-26

rylng on tnefT operations ComDara-
lively without funds
Southern Mexico is econorlicstfv
and socially living under condit.at.
similar to those which prevailed 5u
Europe in the sixteenth century lG.
same is true IN a degree with resp-,t
to northern Mexico. But the people
of that secion have been more aSSer-
tive and have secured substantial i'm
provementS in their economic and -,.-
cial condition
People Essentially Agricultural
The people of Mexico are eSs~r-
TALLY agricultural. but they have beer
deprived of the land Probably les
than five per cent Of the families I'm
Mexico own their homes One OF the
first acts OF the Spanish conqueror wa
to distribute the arabic lands OF the
people among his lieutenants. and Tor
church establishments Some small
communities III the remote sections
or such as occupied less desirable
land, were left undisturbed But as
whole the nation was made home
less, and has SO continued TO TINS
day. This is. and will be. the caus,
OF revolutions in Mexico until thu
question is settled.
The natives occupying the land
were awarded with it TO the con
querors as serfs. Later they were
| nominally freed. but they had uv
means of subsistence and no places
| for abode except the miserable huts
grouped outside the walled Enclosures
| Of the buildings on the great estate
| In wages they are paid twenty-five
centavos per day. They are permitted
| to keep a few chickens and occa-
sionaliy a goat or two, but II they
show the least inclination (" increase
| their possessions their ambition ia
promptly cll bed.
| All Poems In Debt
! The law OF Mexico makes i. :.
| crime for a person in the employ q
| another to leave service while it,
| debt TO the employer. Consequent.
! the great landowners take good carc
| that all their poems are in their debt
| The religious instinct OF the poor peo1l
is made use of for this purpose. IN
| minimum fee of the church FOR mar
| riage, baptism and ceremonies Of Ik,
| character is ten pesos. 80 pecn coul1
| accumulate or have so much wealth
| at one time If he is ambitious 20 Wed
| his wife in church. or to hay his
| firSt-born baptized, the fee. with the
| expense Of the fiesta. makes him ii
| debtor for life. Debts of the poems
are regarded as real property ard are
| inventoried with it and added to the
| purchase price in case Of sale OF the
| estate | Will mention, as illustrative
| of the conditions, that the fertile state
| of Morelos. in which the Zapata move
| ment has been rampant for years. il
| owned by tWenty-Saven men.
What is true in respect to agricul-
| tural labor is in a measure true o.
| other labor, except where labor condi-
| tons and wages in the United States
have affected conditions in Mexico.
With the Development Of southwest
ern Texas, the mining industry along
| the border, and the extension of con-
tinuous lines of railway from this city
to the Isthmus. a new world has been
| thrust upon the horizon Of the Mex
! lean Of the north. Instead of twenty
five centavoS he is able to earn three
or four pesos a day in the Texas cot
ton fields on the American railways
married in church, to have his chill
dren baptized, to live in a decent
house and to educate his children:
and he does all these things.
He has learned to read his own
language, and in most instances has
picked up a little English. The better
circumstanced Of the northern Next
cans invariably learn English and ed
ucate their children in the United
States. 1t is these facts that make
them rebels against the condition OF
the South and Of the old Mexico
The new leaven> is at work, and no
Diaz nor a thousand Huertas, with
all the money in the world, could re-
/ store the peace Of the old regime 1In-
less enough foreign soldiers were
| brought in to put the adult Mexican
population underground
Hopeful Sign.
The way the Mexican peon has
responded to these new conditions is
not only hopeful sign for the fu-
ture, but it is a marvellous demon
, stratIon Of the potential power OF
the race. A few years ago the Ma
tlonal Railways Of Mexico-some
, Twelve thousand miles-Were wholly
operated by Americans. Today that
entire system, from division super
1ntendents to trackmen, is in the
: hands of poems who generation ago
f mad not heard steam puff They do
/ the engineering, superinte and
| manage the shops, construct cars
coaches and locomotives that would
y DO credit to any shop on this side OF
the line