The Ordway new era., 1921-08-19

the country, is approximately the size
of Harrisburg, Ell Paso, or San Diego.
San Louis Potosi is the size of South
Bend. Ind. while Vera Cruz. the great
est port of the republic and fifth city,
is smaller than Tampa, Florida, or
Charleston, S. c. Salina Cruz and
the other Pacific ports are little more
than villages with extensive docks. AS
a rule the cities Of Mexico are not
manufacturing centers but derive what
Importance they possess from being
the markets for the surrounding agri-
cultural country or mining regions.
While Mexico is largely agricultur-
al, and therefore rural, Its country life
Is strikingly different from that with
which farm-bred residents of the Uni
ted States are familiar. Seldom Is an
isolated farmhouse to be found; many
of the tillers of the soil live in little
villages and go back and forth to their
work, usually on the land of others.
These innumerable villages give one
the impression of being standardized
and are difficult to tell apart. They
are made up of low. rectangular fiat
loppCu huto VI iluu VI alopCt
and are huddled closely together. Be-
tween the forbidding walls of these
tomb-like dwellings, the tropic sun
beats down on narrow, dusty street.
Great Ranches and Plantations.
In addition to these more or less in
dependent villages of the common peO-
pie there are to be found In parts of
the country the haciendas or great
ranches of the landed proprietors, on
which are other groups of the newt
able t1at-roofed huts, the dwellings Of
the ranch's poems. In the hot country
of the south are extensive plantations
of bananas, rubber trees, cacao and
other special tropical products. These
plantations are often operated by for
eigners, and on them small armies of
day labOrers are employed. From the
forest of southern and southeastern
Mexico comes most of the chicle from
which the worlds chewing gum is
made; and from the plantations Of
Yucatan comes practically all the fiber
used in making the miles and miles
of bundle twine with which the huge
wheat crops of the United States are
tied into bundles.
Aboriginal traits cling to the mass
of the Mexicans who are such a short
distance in time removed from the
strange mixture of barbarism and CIV
ilizatiOn that marked the empire of
the AZtecS found by Cortez when he
landed on the gulf coast in 151S-a
civilization with its human sacrifices
in city carefully policed, and scrup-
ulously kept clean by corps of trained
"white-wings; with its refined can
nibalism beside an astronomical abil-
ity superior to that of the scholars
who arranged the Julian calendar !;
with Its institution of slavery the only
one known in the world which pro-
vided that every child should be born
freeman. They are an artistic peo-
pie, the Mexicans, apt musicians, mod
elers. basket-makers, featherworkers,
weavers and metal-workers.
Burial Vaults Are Rented.
Poverty brings Its tragedy into the
deaths as well as into the lives of
the masses of the Mexicans. Few are
able to buy burial plots, and the GUS
tom of merely renting vaults for a
short term of years has become gen.
eral. The lease Is often not renewed
and the bones are cast on heap of
millions of others to make room for
time for some other unfortunate.
Mexico abounds in holidays. Be-
sides Sunday there is an equal num-
ber of saints days and additional holy
and feast days to bring the total to
131 of the 36J.
Mexico's large unassimilated Indian
population and its even larger popu-
lation in which Indian traits predom-
mate makes certain degree of tufe
bulence natural condition In the re-
public south of the Rio Grande. The
United States had not SO long ago on
Its frontiers its Indian uprisings, its
stage-coach and train robberies, and
its bad men, with a penchant for
shooting up I" towns. Mexico Is still
in this stage of development. and be-
cause Of the heavy Indian element
In Its population. probably viii be
there for many years.