PROGRESS IN MEXICO.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13311, 13 June 1907, Page 2

PROGRESS IN MEXICO.

UNDER PRESIDENT DIAZ. ff there is any country in this ancient and tired world which regains an elunent of n mance, it is. Mexico. Its vastness, its unconventionally, its freedom and many of. the restraints of the old world, have" cast over it a glammer which b full of attraction to alt. peotic spirits. Its quite recent history lecalls L'arlyle's vitriolic phase about the turbulence" of the Latin American Republics. But Mexico has for some thirty years past been a progressive ;country uniler the wise and able administration, of President Diaz. Porfirio Diaz is admittedly a strong man,-otherwise he could hardly, have pulleu Mexico out of the mire a-s lie has done. It was at one time a commonplace of finance that. Mexico had a deliglhtful habit—from its own point of view—of repudiating its national cltbt. Rut under President Diaz all this has bean changed. Fiction has played fast and loose with the politics of the Republics! of South America, but so far as Mexico is concerned fact is stranger than fiction. -So strange, indeed, is it that Mexico, the land of the lotus-eaters—if one exists to-day—has taken its place amongst the pushing, commercial countries of the world. President Diaz found Mexico without railroads, telephones, factories, andi most important of all, without financial* cinredit in the world. Of the things which are essen-tial-to the full development of that country, one-is admittedly railways, and another is the development of Its grazing interests. The-e are vast and- profitable, and they are capable of immense'expansion. The vast plateaus: of Mexico are covered with a certain specie of cactus called' in Mexico "Nopal:" The cactus- serves both as food and water for the stock' in times of drought. It is very nutritious and a good fattener of cattle. Ihe cactui/ bears a fruit which the cattle are very fond of, and the fruit and the leaves serve 'as nutrition for the live stock in-all seasons of the year. ''■'■:.• -'""■'-• Notwithstanding the slight encouragement which Iras be.Mi given to '• the Jive stock industry in Mexico, by reason of the want of modern packing houses, Mexico is a country of vast cattle ranches, the late Lord Beresford haying been the owner of one of Mexico's great ranches, on which many thousand head of cattle giazed constantly. From these ranches iarge numbers of cattle are shipped out of Mexico annually. - Many scores of thous-, ands of these cattle are driven-across the Rio Grande to the L'nited States, and there fattened and then sent on to Chicago and St. Louis packing houses for tire purpose of being prepared for local and export trade. And other scores of thousands iof Mexican cattle fattened on the nutritious grasses of the east coast of Mexico are exported out of the ports of Vera Cruz '-and--'.Tampico for consumption in .Porta Ilicii and, Cuba; these countries, as well as the United States, having the opportunity to profit by the favourable climate and the exceptional grazing facilities of Mexico, which, because-, of a lack of rigorous winters, enables tha production of cattle to go forward without the loss from the blizzards, which play havoc with the grazing interests of Western Canada, and the Western part- of .the United States, or which require in those countries a large outlay of food and protection through the winter months. Mexico is as large as Great Britain, 1 Fiance, Italy, and t-wor Japans, and it has a population of only 14,000,000 people. Practically most of its area is suitable for cattle grazing. But the heatlh regulations make it impossible to ship live stock from Mexico to Kngland, and Mexico has had no modern packing houses from which to ship chilled J meat. Arrangements have... been made with'the London Markets, the Central/! Cold Storage Company, the Imperial, Food Supplies of Snow -hill, and the General Produce Company of Smithfield, for the distribution of products in London and the, principal cities of Great Britain. -.. The purp"ose of the present Mexican railroad developments;''in which' Sir Wheetman' Pearson arid, the .Mexican Government are concerned, is to bring the commerce of Europe, which now goes across our Transatlantic lines, to Vera Cruz, on the.'Gulf of Mexico, and take, it by rail 160 \ miles to the Pacific, and there place it on-board the Oriental steamers to be sent throughout the world. These shijjs .coming back, furnish very adequate, prompt, ana economic facilities, for the. transportation .of Mexican products, because they jwill' want return cargoes; President Diaz has extended the railway system of the country from 200 miles- to Iii.OOO miles. That, however, is not sufti-, cient, and further developments are-going on constantly. The railroads in America rto not dominate legislation, but are controlled by the Government. Then* aie no -rebates or rate discriminations. Everywhere in Government / affairs is seen a master hand, and'this is particularly tiue in the Department of. Finance, whose head is Minister .Lima.ntoiir. V Under hi.s initiative Mexico has been brought- out of the ranks of the silver countries and its . credit firmly established upon a' gold basis, which has proved to be of great value to the mercantile and' wage-earning' classes. The Mexican dollar, which 'formerly varied in value from 35 cents to 50 cents, has been stabilised at 50 cents gold. While all industrial development is still in its infancy in Mexico, the country year by . <?ear sells more than .it buys. The balance of trade in'its favour will increase con-, stantly witH the development of its resources. : ./ - ■ '. v ~■ The Mexico of twf-nty-fi've years ago is no more the Mexico of to-day than is the United States the same now as in 1861. when civil, war raged .and slavery was an .institution of the South, „The people are changing with the'-.f imesj/ The! passing of each year adds 1 - to the; education - of the massed' and marks- the-.rapid advancement of thi people in .the rarts and crafts "and the growth of a larger middle : class. . Each year mor'e railroads aie built, more indu?-" tries established, more mountains of ore' discovered, additional manufacturing plants erected, and more -produce exported. More money is put into circulation' and. more harbours are deepened and made ready for shipping. And so Mexico is working out its own :destiny in a way which commands the respect of miiiiViiyd.