Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-03-03

How political and economic
changes in one country often depend
upon conditions in a distant land
are brought out in a bulletin u
from the Washington, d. c., head
quarters of the National Geographic
Society on Yucat:s, which dispatch
es from Mexico describe as now be-
ing "a little Russia"
1.-THE story of Yucatan in recent
time" says the bulletin, lis the story
of henequen fibre. Offhand that
doesn't seem to affect the average
American to any great extent. But
it does affect him every time he
buys a loaf Of bread. The story
might be framed like that of the
house that Jack built. Henequen
means reasonably cheap and plenti-
full binder Irvine; binder twine
makes possible the use of harvesting
machines; harvesters cheaper grain
production; cheap grain means
cheap bread; and so henequen and
arid Yucatan-play important
parts In feeding America and the
world.
Wealth From the American Farmer
THE other side of the story-the
rapid development Of the henequen
| tIuuoLly Aho ti0 pouiAA4 "a "SoAeA
into Yucatan-chiefly from the
| grain belt of North A~merica-un-
doubtedly played its part in swing
ing the political pendulum from ex-
treme feudalism to a close approach
to socialism.
"Henequen, which ID a sort of a C
tus not unlike the century plant or
the 'pulque cactus in appearance,
had been grown in Yucatan since
prehistoric times and its fibre was
used in local plantation and village
industries. But there was no out
side market of considerable magni-
tude for the fibre until the ~increas-
ing use of harvesting machinery in
the United States created a demand
for larger quantities of binder Irvine.
Americas Land OF Feudalism
Before what may be called the
henequen era in Yucatan a traveller
in the country might have imagined
with a few concessions to race and
climate-that he was in the heart
of Europe's old feudalism. Some of
the principal land owner had truly
baronial estates through which one
could travel for days. On the most
extensive estates were scattered half
a dozen or more great stone castle-
like hacI.iendas in the care of maj
or domos. In these sumptuous
dwellings members of the owners
family might not spend a night a
year, for they lived for the most
part in state in the capital, Merida,
or spent their time travelling in Eu-
rope or the United States. In those
days cattle raising was the chief
industry in Yucatan and prosperity
never reached below the few men,
bers of the propertied class.
Climate and physical conditions
gave Yucatan its feudalism. The
surface of the country consists of
only the thinest of soil and under
meath is porous limestone. The eli
mate is dry and hot half the year
but there is a reasonable amount of
rainfall during the other six months.
Yucatan is one of the few areas i'll
which there is an appreciable rain
fall but 10 streams or even stream
beds. AS fast as the rain falls dur-
ing the rainy season it seeps through
tho thin soil and soaks into the lime
stone. The lack of surface water
and the fact that hardly any food
crops can be grown on much of Yu-
catan's poor soil made it practically
impossible for the poems to exist eX-
cept under the wings of the great
landholders. |
Peonage Through Waterworks
"The latter constructed capacious
reservoirs at their haciendas in
which enough water was stored dur
ing the rainy season to supply all
their retainers through the six
months dry period. The situation
was helped out, too, by the cenotes, )