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FROM STEREOGRAPH, COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD

MEXICAN GIRLS MAKING JUTE COFFEE-BAGS

the country, to clear the land and the city from bands of brigands, remains of the civil wars, who spread terror through the whole country. The organization of the rural guard, that of the city police in the federal district, and the energy of the President made this scourge disappear, and now, aside from a few regions where the last rebel Indians, Yaquis and Mayas, are placed, one can go everywhere through Mexico without any danger.

So established on a solid basis, with a strong financial credit, the Government tried to protect the country, to make the national flag respected, and therefore to create a good military organization. In peace, excepting the choice corps, the army is maintained by voluntary enlistments of men without work. Many individuals who as vagabonds would be dangerous for society are also enlisted, more or less voluntarily, and the influence of a strong discipline, with the certainty of the daily subsistence, improves naturally the morale of these soldiers.

One of the most important factors of this rapid and wonderful development of Mexico was, as for all young countries, the creation of a perfect network

of railways. The railways are especially important in Mexico, where nature has erected tremendous obstacles to commercial traffic and to political unity. For that reason, since General Diaz has been in power, the construction of railways has been urged in all directions with an unwearied activity. Foreign capital, especially that of the United States, has answered eagerly the President's call. In 1876 Mexico had 578 kilometers of railways being worked; the 31st of December, 1901, it had 18,432 (about 11,000 miles). Three lines enter the United States and two connect Mexico with Vera Cruz. Others connect the capital with the Pacific, with the south, with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, from which prolongations towards Guatemala and the State of Yucatan are planned. On all sides, in the different States, new local lines are building, developing the resources of every region. As a help to the railways, the Government has spent immense sums for the improvement of the harbors and the lighting of the coasts. Great works are in progress at Coatzacoalcos on the Atlantic and Salina Cruz on the Pacific. These are the two terminal points of the

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railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, which will be one great commercial way between the Orient and the Occident.

Other harbors on the Pacific are also improved-Acapulco, Manzanillo, Mazatlan. These harbors, unfortunately, are not connected with the capital. On each of the principal lines the engineers stopped at the. Sierra Mountains, rebuffed by the difficulties of the passage; but the connection of these harbors with the interior is of too vital an interest for the country not to have the Government make every effort possible to complete the proposed railways. Thanks to these numerous railways and also an excellent system of posts and telegraphs, the relations between the different parts of the Republic have become more intimate and

The line between Manzanillo and Guadalajara, on the main line, will be finished by the end of 1907.

more cordial. The particularist spirit of the provinces, a source of perpetual anarchy, has weakened little by little and has given place to a fine feeling of solidarity. There are no more Spaniards and Indians, there are only Mexicans. The action of the central power is sure and rapid, making easier the education of the peasantry and of the peons. And so, little by little, but slowly, alas! the Indians are giving up their dialects to speak Spanish, and are learning how to read and to write; and, thanks to the vivi-. fying flood of primary instruction, progress is penetrating the smallest villages.

But what is needed in Mexico is hand labor. The land as a whole is thinly settled, and this is a serious obstacle to the rapid development of the country. To remedy this, the Government has encouraged the increase of foreign immigration,

though it has not yet obtained great success, the immigrants being naturally attracted towards the United States by the prospect of easy work and large pay. Ignoring the true situation of Mexico, they fear the hardships of the climate, the difficulties of living, the dangers of a new country. What is needed most are workmen, tillers of the soil; most of the foreigners are tradespeople or engineers. The Spanish and American colonists are naturally the most important: the first, taking advantage of the sameness of language, of customs, and of religion, have prospered considerably and control the retail business, especially groceries. The Americans have brought in large capital, and hold enormous interests in mines, banks, and railways. The English prefer the management of mines, while the Germans go in for hardware. As for the French colony, very much liked and respected, it has the monopoly of the sale of stuffs and fashions. The Chinese, quite a large number of them, furnish the hand labor; they work in the

mines, in railways, do the menial work, while the Japanese, the Mormons, and especially the Italians, are interested in agriculture. And yet, where could one find a wider field for laborious and intelligent energies than this country where there is every climate, a luxuriant growth, a rich and fertile earth, a propitious temperature, where there are millions of acres which give two harvests a year? The country is divided into large plantations which belong either to the State, to private individuals, or to corporations. The management of these "haciendas " demands a very large number of workers, overseers, and directors. The servants of all sorts have quarters of their own in small houses or cabins; the master lives in a special building, generally very large, and often beautiful. All around are grouped shops, stables, schools, a church, and the "tienda," which is a store where are sold the foodstuffs and the clothing necessary to the working population. In certain plantations the household may consist of three thou

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sand persons. These workers almost all belong to the soil, and receive, besides their salary, the privilege of cultivating a few acres for themselves. The foreigners are beginning to interest themselves in agriculture; formerly they paid more attention to mining, which constitutes the greater part of the wealth of Mexico. And the Government has taken all necessary measures to facilitate these enterprises and to give to capital two advantages essential for success--freedom and security.

Many pessimists believe that General Diaz is the indispensable pivot of the Mexican Republic, and that if he should die the Government would go to pieces.

Everything seems, on the contrary, to show that Mexico has a great future before it. The excellence of the present institutions has been proved, the country has become more wise, perfectly quiet; every guarantee is given to investors. Revolutions are no longer to be feared; they would be too dangerous for the country, and would necessitate American intervention. But the Americans have no interest in wishing for this revolution.

Too great an empire always tends towards decadence, and it is preferable to have as a neighbor a peaceful and happy country than to dominate over a discontened and turbulent one.

MY PICTURES

BY MERIBAH ABBOTT

Some one gave me a picture—
A little glimpse of the sea,
Cliff and surf and a gull a-wing,--
I smell the salt and I feel the swing:
How it comes back to me!

Rhythm of wave, and gleam of sand,
And a white sail rounding the point of land.

Some one gave me a picture—

A bit of a country lane,

Tangle of flower and fern and vines

Under the shade of the purple pines:

Oh, to be there again!

There, where the ground-thrush hides her nest,
And the wild red strawberries ripen best.

So, pain-bound and helpless,

I lie and dream all day;

God is good, and the world is wide,
Sun and sea and the dancing tide,
And a fair ship in the bay!

These are mine, and the skies of June
Sing, my heart, to the thrush's tune!

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