the present and the future

the old-fashioned don, accustomed to ox-carts, wooden ploughs, and a horde of men ready to serve him, no doubt views with dismay the changes being wrought by steam and electricity. the younger generation has been educated abroad, or in the states, and rather welcomes the innovations. the spirit of revolution and political unrest that prevailed for the first sixty years of the republic has lessened, even if it has not entirely passed away. education and immigration have worked wonders in the country; and, above all, the establishment of a government that for almost a third of a century commanded obedience at home and respect abroad is responsible for the mutation in mexico. it was an absolute republic and under a strong controlling hand. it was the family government applied to the state, for it was very paternal in its rule.

primitive transportation

mexico is a human country and is not without its faults. the greatest of these are, however,[457] the result of conditions for which the present generation of nation-builders are not responsible. a transformation can not be wrought in a decade, nor in a generation. and yet the real accomplishments of the past twenty-five years in mexico are marvellous. americans who have lived there during that time wax eloquent in describing the great change for the better. whereas formerly people hesitated to invest money for fear of political changes, investments in that country are now looked upon as safe, and mexican securities are given a fixed value on the bourses of the world.

modern luxuries and conveniences are being introduced everywhere. the people are simply installing in a hurry the things that other countries have been acquiring for the half of a century. every city is bestirring herself, and electric light plants, modern sewerage systems and water works are being constructed as rapidly as things can move in this land of procrastination. old and crude methods of power are being replaced by up-to-date machinery in mines and manufactures. electric railways are replacing the mule tram lines, and the merry hum of the trolley is fast succeeding the bray of the long-eared motor just mentioned.[458] mexico lagged behind so long that she has had quite a distance to go, and it will be a long while before she can entirely catch up with the head of the procession. material wealth is increasing. better wages are paid, and the surplus is being expended for more and better goods. the wants of the great bulk of the people are so few, that it must be a long time before there will be a great change in their method of living; but their children are being educated, and that in itself works wonders in their uplifting.

for more than twenty years the finances of the government have shown a surplus. what a contrast to all the years of the republic before that time. in 1876 the total revenue of the government was but $19,000,000 silver. for the fiscal year ending june 30th, 1910, this had increased to $53,164,242 united states gold. from a yearly deficit a surplus has been evolved which annually amounts to several million dollars. the total cash in the treasury at the date of the above report amounted to $37,042,857 gold. this statement shows a healthy condition of affairs. the government now finds willing buyers for its bonds, and all its obligations have been met promptly for a number of years.

[459]

finance minister limantour, who held that position for many years, proved himself to be a napoleon of finance, and his reputation extended to every financial centre in the world. establishing the gold standard was a great achievement. just a few years ago mexican silver varied from $2.05 to $2.40 for a gold dollar, and all business was unsettled as a result. now the government has established a rate of exchange of two silver dollars for one of gold, and all this was done without any friction or disturbance. it is to be hoped that the new administration will maintain the same high standard of financial integrity that has been handed down by its immediate predecessor.

the foreign trade of mexico runs into big figures. the total extra-territorial trade of the republic for the year ending june 30th, 1910, amounted to $227,456,025 in united states gold. of this amount $130,023,135 represented exports and $97,432,890, imports. of the exports $78,260,037 were of mineral products, while vegetable products were less than half that amount. an analysis of the imports shows by far the largest items were included under manufactured articles, such as machinery, textiles, chemical products, etc. arms and explosives imported exceeded a million and a[460] half dollars in value, thus showing that the government and people were even then preparing for the struggle to follow. by far the largest proportion of exports and imports was with the united states. imports from the united states amounted to the tidy sum of $56,421,551, an increase of twelve million dollars over the preceding year, and the exports to the united states were $98,432,859, an increase of almost an equal amount. the united kingdom is the nearest competitor in the foreign trade with our neighbouring republic. while the imports from the united states showed an increase of twenty-four per cent. over the preceding year, the increase from the united kingdom and germany was only twelve and eighteen per cent. respectively. imports from the mother country, spain, were less than three per cent. of the whole.

in the matter of trade, as is shown by the trade statistics, the united states is easily the predominant factor. the proximity of the country has probably been the cause of this, as it has led americans to investigate the natural resources and invest money in railroads, mines, public works and many other enterprises. the same influence can be seen in the banking interests. there are a number of very[461] strong banks in mexico, of which the banco nacional, or national bank of mexico, is the most influential. this bank was established in 1881, at a time when the financial condition of the country was anything but prosperous, and its growth has been continuous and at times almost phenomenal. this bank and one other are the only institutions that have the privilege of issuing bank notes in the federal district, although some banks in other parts of the country have the same privilege. the bank of london and mexico, originally a british concern, but now owned by french capital, ranks next in importance, although it is very closely followed by the united states banking company, an american enterprise with a number of branches throughout the republic. there are many other banks, some of them under the banking laws of the republic, and others private enterprises, which gives mexico very good facilities for the transaction of all kinds of banking and commercial business. in 1893 there were only eight banks in the entire republic, but now there are more than sixty. they have a circulation of nearly $100,000,000, and a capital in excess of that sum. the american influence, and the banks controlled by americans, have aided greatly in the development[462] of business between the two countries, and it is the writer’s belief that similar establishments throughout the rest of latin america would be one of the greatest aids to the extension of american influence and commerce that could be devised.

the increase of manufacturing has been quite noticeable in recent years, and eventually will cause a diminution in the imports of certain articles. quite a number of cotton factories have been established in certain sections of the country, and the labour has been found quite well adapted to that class of manufacturing. establishments for the preparation and curing of meats have also been built under government concessions, while tobacco factories, which work up the very excellent tobacco grown in the country, and breweries have been established in many sections of the country. the mexican tobacco is said by those who pose as experts to have a very excellent flavour, and by many is claimed to be superior even to the cuban article. the product grown in the state of vera cruz has the best flavour, but a number of other states produce large quantities of the weed.

the greatest enterprise now operating in mexico, excepting only the railroads, is the[463] mexico light and power company, a canadian corporation. this group of men own the electric light and gas plants and the tramways of the city of mexico, puebla and a number of other cities. as a part of their enterprise they have built a great dam by means of which the waters of the necaxa river are utilized for the production of the electricity. this is distant ninety-six miles to the northeast of the capital. fed by springs this river becomes a good sized stream before it plunges over a precipice of four hundred and sixty feet, and a short distance beyond is one of a still greater fall. the main dam is one hundred and ninety-four feet high and about thirteen hundred feet wide, and contains an immense amount of material. it is built of stone and concrete. by means of this and the auxiliary dams a valley has been made into an immense reservoir, so that the dry season might be provided for when the natural flow of water would be insufficient. it is claimed that enough water can be stored to run the power plant through two years of continual drouth. the water is carried to the turbines by means of pipes which pierce the mountain, bringing to each turbine a stream of water six feet in diameter and carrying all the force of a drop exceeding one[464] thousand feet. the total transmission lines reach a length of more than two hundred miles, and the capacity of the plant is two hundred and fifty thousand horse power. at the present time this company supplies all the electric power in the capital, as well as several mining enterprises, and as soon as the plant is wholly completed, will supply puebla and other cities. its franchise is from the mexican government and is in perpetuity. this simply gives an indication of what can be done in the development of the natural resources of mexico. in a country where fuel is scarce and high priced, the value of the water power is accordingly increased. there are many other waterfalls awaiting development, and it only needs the necessary capital, and a combination of far-sighted men, such as those who compose the canadian corporation above mentioned, to supply the great need of mexico for cheap and satisfactory power.

primitive ploughing near oaxaca

it is unfortunate for mexico that mining has absorbed almost all of her energies, and agriculture has been allowed to drop into a secondary position. one cause for this has been the spanish characteristic, as represented by the original conquerors, of seeking quick wealth instead of attempting to coax out of mother[465] earth the treasure that she possesses. there are labourers in plenty, if they are properly instructed, but the hacendados, as well as labourers, adhere to the most primitive methods. it has been said that “earth is here so kind that just tickle her with a hoe and she laughs with a harvest.” this is not true of all parts of the country, of course, for much of it is mountainous and of a broken character, but the statement will apply to large portions of the republic.

the government of mexico has endeavoured to improve agricultural conditions by disseminating information as to scientific methods of cultivation, irrigation and fertilization, but very little of it has had a noticeable effect. the government has also distributed large quantities of seeds and plants with little effect. in most parts of the republic the land is tilled just as it was four centuries ago. it is really surprising that, in spite of these antiquated methods, the results have been so good as they are. as mentioned heretofore the wooden plough with a small iron shoe, which merely scratches the surface of the earth, is still used; men may be seen cutting wheat with the sickle, and much of the threshing is done by driving horses and mules around a ring covered with[466] grain, just as it was done in the old biblical days. the winnowing is accomplished by tossing the wheat and the chaff into the air, and then the grain is hauled to the haciendas or markets in clumsy and ponderous two-wheeled carts.

a hacienda run upon modern american methods would certainly be a much more profitable enterprise than when conducted after this style. in a few sections of the country, one will find a plantation here and there where some new methods have been introduced and american machinery employed, but these are rare. even in the valley of mexico, not far from the city of mexico, the most antiquated methods will be seen employed at all times. the richness of the land and its cheapness has caused the floating of many land companies in the united states. they can show great prospects on paper, but the trouble is that many of them have been floated by unscrupulous men, who care nothing for the interests of the stockholders, but are looking simply for promoters’ profits. when the real buyers reach the land they discover that things are not as represented, do not find conditions of living to their liking, and in a very short time the whole enterprise is dropped. many have probably[467] lost practically all of their savings. these things, of course, cannot be entirely guarded against, and they certainly fail to prove that mexico is not a rich agricultural country. they simply demonstrate what fraud can be perpetrated upon people in a country where the land is teeming with fertility. land values have undoubtedly advanced in the past few years, and some enormous tracts have been purchased by americans, which are already showing profits for the owners.

there has been much criticism heaped upon the mexican courts, and a great deal of it has been deserved. the judicial system of mexico is copied rather after the french and spanish than the anglo-saxon system. in recent years the procedure has been improved greatly, but it still needs other changes in order to bring it up to the twentieth century standards. in years past american railroad engineers, who were unfortunate enough to run over some one, received harsh treatment in mexican jails. the law of incommunicado, by which an accused person is locked up for three days, is still in force. it used to be that a wounded person could not be touched or moved before the arrival of the authorities, which caused much suffering; but this at least has been abolished.[468] the judicial system, which includes supreme courts, district courts, circuit courts, police courts and other minor courts, is intended to give justice to the defendant in a criminal action, and to both parties in a civil action, but in many cases—to an american—the result does not seem to be satisfactory.

the jury system is in use in mexico, and nine persons compose a jury. the jurymen may consist of both natives and foreigners, but the members must have some occupation, education or independent means. the law provides that the accused must be acquainted with the names and number of his accusers, and must be confronted with the witnesses who testify against him. the testimony is all taken down in longhand writing, which is a tedious process, as followed out in mexican courts. in criminal cases it is generally read over to the witness and signed by him, which method, although it is cumbersome, sometimes gives a degree of certainty and correctness to the testimony. it is true that in many cases the points that are raised by the accused are treated with very little consideration. this is not the fault of the law, but is the result of its maladministration by the officials, just as similar instances are the world over. arrests of natives are made for[469] all sorts of offences, many of which are trivial, and they are generally kept in jail for several days before they are finally given a hearing. foreigners are usually treated with great consideration and substantial justice is done them. it probably is not good policy for citizens of another country to criticise mexico, when there are so many blots upon the administration of justice in every civilized country, and the united states is not an exception. local conditions, public clamour and other things influence the action of courts in mexico, just as they do in every other country.

in addition to the railroad connections the steamship lines form a very important part in the national transportation of mexico. the long coast line on both the pacific ocean and gulf of mexico provides many ports. the national traffic between these ports is quite a considerable item, but the foreign commerce is still greater. at the present time mexico has direct steamship connection with the united states, canada, europe, south america, central america, the west indies and the orient. the principal ports are tampico, puerto mexico (formerly coatzacoalcos) and progresso on the gulf, and salina cruz, acapulco, manzanillo, and mazatlan on the pacific. there are[470] in all more than twenty steamship lines that have contracts with the government for carrying the mails, and nearly all of these enjoy subsidies of large or small amounts or enjoy certain privileges or concessions.

the most important company operating is the one known as the ward line, which conducts a weekly service between several mexican ports, havana and new york. this company has some very good boats, and does a large business between all of those ports. the mallory line, the mexican-american line and the munson line have regular service between mexican ports, galveston and new orleans. there are also several companies that make regular trips between vera cruz, tampico and european ports. on the pacific coast the kosmos line, operated by the hamburg american company, have a regular service from seattle down the west coast of the united states, mexico, central america and south america to europe by the way of the straits of magellan. the pacific mail steamship company operate about three boats a month from san francisco to panama, where connections are made for new york and west coast ports of south america. the american-hawaiian company have boats which sail between hawaii[471] and salina cruz. there are also, in addition to these mentioned, a number of coast lines on both the pacific and atlantic side, which do a considerable traffic between the various ports. the canadian-mexican pacific steamship company recently began to operate boats between victoria, british columbia and salina cruz, and gives a monthly service between those ports. in order to develop and facilitate this coast traffic the mexican government has spent a great deal of money in providing harbours and docks at a number of the smaller ports, in addition to the larger enterprises that have heretofore been described.

mexico has not a great number of navigable rivers. on the pacific side the mayo, the yaqui, the balsas, the rio grande de santiago and one or two others are classed as navigable streams, but because of bars and other obstructions they can be used only by boats of comparatively light draft. on the atlantic side, just below the isthmus of tehuantepec, is the grigalva river, which is a broad and imposing stream. large boats ply regularly up this stream to san juan bautista, a distance of about seventy-five miles. small boats go up still farther, the boat traffic extending clear to the mountains. the usumasinta river is an[472] affluent of this stream, and is navigable for small boats even beyond the guatemala border. the coatzacoalcos river, which flows into the gulf at the town of the same name, is quite an important stream, and furnishes an outlet to a considerable territory. the papaloapan river, which flows into the gulf of mexico near vera cruz, has been dredged and made navigable for a considerable distance into the interior. it has proved a great benefit to many small towns and plantations there situated.

north of vera cruz are the soto la marina, the tuxpan and the panuco rivers, all of which are navigable for a hundred miles or more. as an adjunct to the navigable streams and the deep water ports the government is now building an intercoastal canal, which is similar to the one proposed along the gulf coast of louisiana and texas to connect the mississippi and rio grande rivers. there are a series of lagoons and small lakes that lie just a short distance within the coast line, and which can be connected and deepened. they will then form a convenient and safe waterway for navigation. the government is spending several million dollars on the first link of this system, which will connect the ports of tampico and tuxpan, a distance of about a hundred miles. half of this[473] section is already finished and in operation, and it is estimated that in three or four years more this part of the canal will be finished. this waterway has a width of seventy-five feet and a uniform depth of ten and one-half feet, and will connect the mouths of the panuco and the tuxpan rivers. the panuco, near tampico, is fifty feet deep, and the deepest draft ocean vessels can come in and unload at the docks of tampico. the section of the canal already opened is constantly filled with long and narrow boats, manned by natives, which are propelled by means of long poles when the wind fails.

the opening of this section of the canal has worked wonders in the development of this part of the coast land, because it places the products of the plantations and ranches within easy reach of the markets. it has also served to drain thousands of acres of land, which were formerly considered to be of no use whatever. on this route the canal passes through lake tamiahua, which is seventy-nine miles long and from five to twenty miles wide. lake tampamachoco, a much smaller lake, will also be traversed by this canal. the water in these lakes is comparatively shallow, and it has been necessary to deepen them considerably in order to[474] make the canal of uniform depth with the other portion. the distance between tampico and the mouth of the rio grande is about three hundred miles, but a number of salt water lagoons, which lie near the coast, can be utilized as a portion of the canal. if this project, and the similar one planned by the united states, are completed, it will furnish a very long inland waterway for the coast region. it will serve the double purpose of draining and making more healthful that portion of the country, and likewise giving an outlet for the development that will surely follow. the land when once drained has been proved to be of unusual fertility.

the influence of the anglo-saxon in mexico has been very marked. what the english have done in argentina and many parts of the world, the americans have done in our neighbouring republic. it is a significant fact that the spanish influences have been perceptibly disappearing, while that of the anglo-saxon has been in the ascendency. this change can be noted in a great many ways, both in thought, customs and foreign relations. this transition has not been promptly recognized, and in some quarters it has been strongly objected to by the extreme conservative elements; but, nevertheless,[475] it has been steadily marching on. many of the mexicans prominent in the political and business life recognize this trend and encourage it, for they feel that mexico needs anglo-saxon methods and ideas in order to develop the country, and give it the prestige that its importance deserves. there are perhaps twenty or twenty-five thousand americans who permanently reside in mexico, and, in addition, there is the effect of the many millions of american money invested in the country, and the thousands of tourists and business men who annually cross the borders.

there is, doubtless, a strong prejudice against the american and his methods in many parts of mexico, and this feeling seems to have been somewhat intensified in the recent revolution. it is not to be wondered at that such a feeling exists. from first to last mexico has ceded to the united states almost one million square miles of territory, which is almost one-third more than the present size of the republic. first came the separation of texas, which was undoubtedly due to the intriguing of americans who had crossed over into that section of mexico. these pioneers and adventurers brought about the declaration of independence by the lone star state. a few years later that territory[476] was admitted into the united states as one of its integral parts. then came the mexican war, which most of us admit was an unjust war, and which resulted in the cession of more than half a million of square miles of territory. a few years later, by the gadsden purchase, which was due to disputes over the boundary line, another block of territory, as large as the state of ohio, was added to the domain of the united states.

in the revolution of 1910 many americans crossed the border, joined the forces of the revolutionists, and aided in the troubles of the then existing government. furthermore, very many american tourists who visit mexico make themselves disagreeable by their actions and their criticisms, which also add to the anti-american feeling. so many include all mexicans under the general title of “greasers,” and can see no good in anything that is not american. it is a fortunate thing that the good people of mexico understand very little english; otherwise they would frequently be excited to anger, if they could hear the remarks that are made by americans in visiting their churches, battle fields and other places surrounded by sacred associations. they are not fools, however, and even if they do not understand the words they[477] can catch the trend of remarks by the gesture and laugh that accompanies them. as the spanish race are exceedingly sensitive this lack of sympathy and almost open contempt cannot result otherwise than do injury to a general good feeling. some americans grumble at everything, get mad because all the waiters and porters do not understand english, complain about the hotels because they cannot obtain everything just like they would in a fifth avenue hotel, and, in fact, find fault with everything that they see. as a contrast to this one might consider the attitude of mexicans. it is difficult to do justice to the innate courtesy of officials and people when americans show them so little. you can murder his beloved spanish in attempting to address a mexican, and he will listen with infinite patience and never a smile of amusement or expression of vexation on his face. the mexican is polite not only to his superiors and equals, but to his servants as well.

the republic of mexico has passed through dark days. it has suffered from the evil government of foreigners and from the reckless ambitions of its own rulers. the burdens of former mistakes still remain, and there is a lingering distrust of the powerful republic to[478] the north in many places. this distrust has been fanned into greater intensity by recent political agitators. the good sense of the leaders will quickly reassert itself, however, and a more perfect understanding will surely result. american intelligence and capital have done too much in bringing about the material prosperity of the country for such conditions to exist permanently. mexico needs capital for the development of her resources, and american capital is most available for that purpose. americans will even be interested in the moral and material advancement of their neighbours across the rio grande.

to the reader who has followed this narrative to the end, i give my valediction, a la mexicana:

adios! vaya usted con dios.