The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-11-25
AZTEC-ME:XICAN ARCHITECTURE.

"Compania de Deslindes". (Demarca-
ton companies) with the object OF
securing concessions from the Fed
eral Government to carry out the
survey of a. State in whole or in part.
In exchange for such survey, (gen-
orally cheap. Inaccurate. or even
fraudulenD. the company received an
account of the concession, two
thirds of the surface OF 1.-THE excess"
which 1t found within the commons.
Not only that: but often, after the
Topographic survey had been made,
the "sitio'' for the Indians was al.
lotted from the poorer land, and they
were notified that they had to vacate
their original grant, or pay rent. If
any OF them opposed this measure, a
force Of Rurales was detailed to re
establish ORDER" and to apprehend
or, if necessary, to shoot the recalci-
trarits.
The surveying companies had also
the option to purchase the third left
OF the national excess, and of any
other public lands comprised in their
concessions. at a normal price, {us-
TALLY. so cts. Mex. per hectare) under
some pretext, such as that of PRO
jected colonization" About one
year after a company had secured
in this manner all the land which 1t
wantcl. 1t would allege innposibility
to colonies; and Immediately, the
conplaisant officials would relieve #
of the obligation on payment of a.
fine amounting to about rs cts. Mex
per hectare. =
~Feudal land-holders lost nothing
through the surveying operations, and
the more ambitious ones had an OPP
portunity for gain, whether as SHARE
holders in the companies or by an
nexing to their farms. under some
plausible pretext, choice sections OF
the land which might still have been
left: within the "commons.'' These
Land Companies were surreptittously
incorporated: in the United States or
In Europe, with a view to impede
any efforts which a native govern
ment might make to .aI1nul at q fu-
ture time land titles thus. secured.
There exists in Lower California
C"Boletin de la fSociedad de: Gaogra-
fla by Bsta distica de- 1913,". byi Eng.
Manuel Bonilla) an astounding ex-
ample of the monopoly exercised by
these companies; for there three
companies are:in possession Of no less
than IS per cent Of the whole area
of the territory, that is to say, 93,79S
square kilometers, an. area larger
than that of ireland, and which is
distributed as follows:
ts!itornia { %exiso Land 49," 3D. A''"'z'
Flores: 10 COMPANY: :itsss
Total .: ...,........: .ss.7ss 81"
The final condition which favored
the monopoly: of lands, both by FAM
lilies and companies, during the Diaz
regime, was the lack of equity in the
allotment Of the, taxes, due to the
fact that the largest landholders
were the ones who had. most to say
in: regard to taxation! 1T: seems in
credible, but there are cases-not
nfrequent-where the small landed
agriculturists paid on their holdings
IL per cent more per >hectare, than
the large, farmer nearby, although
the. quality of the land was exactly
the same. We find, for example.
that Enriquez ]C":Problemas Nacion-
ales," by Lie. Enrique Molina En-
riquez'> Mexico, b. F. cites, as. typi-
cal cases in the State rof Mexico, the
tax imposed on three farms as fol-
lows. -. 1
= Hectares Value. Declared.