156 The National Geographic Magazine 



constitution, like yours, decrees that 

 the judicial authorities must be elected 

 by popular vote, and these elections are 

 held in the most tranquil way. My own 

 personal opinion is against this manner 

 of appointing judges and magistrates, 

 as I do not think popularity is always 

 the best qualification for the sacred du- 

 ties of a judge. 



The importance of public education 

 is iuWy appreciated by the Federal and 

 State authorities, and there is a com- 

 plete system derived from the study by 

 competent persons of tlie methods fol- 

 lowed in foreign countries. The Fed- 

 eral government has not only adopted 

 the S3^stems considered the best, but 

 has appointed boards of education to 

 give to public education an impetus in 

 the right direction and to make it luii- 

 form in the Republic. 



In 1898 the number of schools in the 

 Republic was 12,358, and of this num- 

 ber 6,738 were supported by Federal 

 and State authorities, 2,953 by munici- 

 palities, and 2,667 by private parties. 

 The average monthly attendance of 

 pupils was 556,009. The expense of 

 the established schools supported by the 

 authorities amounted to $5,980,180.72, 

 not including the schools kept by pri- 

 vate parties, of which I have no infor- 

 mation. If we take as a point of com- 

 parison the cost of the schools paid b}'- 

 the authorities, we can calculate ver}' 

 approximately that $7,000,000 were ex- 

 pended for public education in Mexico 

 in that year. The number of schools 

 for girls was 3,296; for boj^s, 6,813, 

 and mixed, 2,249. This total has cer- 

 tainly increased since then. 



The attendance of pupils increases 

 very rapidly year after year, and I was 

 agreeabl)^ surprised, when visiting ni}^ 

 country after an absence of many years, 

 to observe the wonderful results attained 

 by our educational system. There is 

 yet much to be done, but what has been 

 already accomplished is trul}^ surpris- 

 ing, and the board of education is con- 



tinually improving and multiplying the 

 means of instruction. 



To make good teachers and to im- 

 press unity of method there are normal 

 schools for men and women. In the 

 normal school for women in the City of 

 Mexico there are actually more than 

 1,600 girls who want to adopt the noble 

 profession of teachers. Another excel- 

 lent normal school exists in the State of 

 Vera Cruz, and there are others in other 

 States, but I have no data at hand con- 

 cerning them. 



For professional instruction there are, 

 principally in the Federal districts, 

 schools of jurisprudence, engineering 

 in all its branches, commerce, agricul- 

 ture, arts and trades, fine arts, one 

 conservatory of music, and for all avo- 

 cations required by the actual state of 

 sciences and arts, and the government 

 is continually giving to each one of 

 them all means conduciv^e to perfect in- 

 struction, beginning with a comfortable 

 and h3^gienic building. The one, for 

 instance, in use by the school of arts 

 and trades for women has been extended 

 because the actual attendance is more 

 than 1,000. 



The number of public libraries in 1898 

 was 1 30. The national library of the cap- 

 ital last year added to its catalogue nearly 

 10,000 volumes b}^ purchase and 9,500 

 volumes by the donation of Mrs. Ysabel 

 Pesado de Mier, widow of our late and 

 lamented minister to the French Repub- 

 lic, Mr. Antonio de Mier y Cells, my 

 dear friend, and one of the best and 

 most patriotic citizens Mexico has ever 

 produced. 



The number of museums in the Repub- 

 lic is about 30. The National Museum 

 of the capital, the richest of all, received 

 last 3^ear valuable additions in the ac- 

 quisition of a collection of archaeological 

 pieces from the State of Michoacau, a 

 collection of antique objects from the 

 Isthmus of Tehuantepec, and fac-similes 

 of the codices existing in the European 

 libraries relative to our history, donated 



