Mexico of Today 



^S7 



by the Bishop of Tehuantepec and the 

 Due de Loubat. 



The newspapers published during that 

 year numbered 533, and of that total 153 

 were published in the City of Mexico, 

 among them being daily, weekly, 

 monthly, and quarterl}^ journals. Very 

 few, fortunately, were exclusively given 

 to politics, the rest to the exposition and 

 discussion of science, industry, com- 

 merce, agriculture, jurisprudence, medi- 

 cine, political economy, mining and 

 civil engineering, military art, etc. 



These few facts, rapidly enumerated, 

 will give some idea of the real state of 

 the public education in Mexico. 



Passing to our Department of Im- 

 provements, Commerce, and Industrj^, 

 etc., oui- mining industry is the most 

 important in every respect and deserves 

 to be mentioned first. The number of 

 mineral properties at the end of last 

 year was 12,304, covering an area of 

 128,380 hectares, the equivalent of 

 nearly 320,000 acres, besides six exten- 

 sive zones in the States of Sonora, 

 Chihuahua, and Michoacan and in the 

 territory of Lower California, which 

 were rented to parties under contracts 

 made by the Executive and approved 

 by the Federal Congress for the work- 

 ing of all mines that may be discovered 

 in these tracts of land. 



The yield of our silver mines in the 

 four years from 1892 to 1896 was ^225,- 

 247,459. or a yearly average of $56,- 

 311,864. During the four years 1896- 

 1900 the production was $274,370,157, 

 a yearly average of $68,592,540. Our 

 production of gold is also increasing. 

 From 1892-1896 it was $14,123,876, 

 and from 1896-1900, $31,108,425 — that 

 is, the output more than doubled dur- 

 ing the last four years. 



In the production of silver from 1899 

 to 1900 there was a decline of more than 

 two millions of dollars, but General 

 Diaz explains the cau.se very satisfacto- 

 rily by recalling the instability of pro- 



duction, which is subject to many acci- 

 dents and unfereseen circumstances that 

 diminish or stop suddenly the output of 

 a silver mine. Our mining enterprises 

 are not now confined to silver and gold, 

 but in the mining of many other metals, 

 such as copper, antimony, lead, and 

 mercury, large capital is employed. 



Our exports of copper in the last 

 financial year amounted to nearly ten 

 millions of dollars. Some of our mineral- 

 melting establishments have disposed 

 of the following quantities : 



Campania Metal urgica Mexicana de 

 San Luis Potosi, from December, 1896, 

 to September 30, 1900, 332,358 tons. 



Gran Fundicion Central de Aguas- 

 calientes, from December, 1896, to Oc- 

 tober, 1900, 625, 855. tons. 



Compafiia del " Boleo " baja Cali- 

 fornia, in the years-from 1896 to the end 

 of 1899, 40,422 tons. 



A department of vital importance to 

 us is that of colonization. Formerly 

 the government made some efforts in 

 this direction, and we now have 29 col- 

 onies in steady progress, 13 established 

 directly by the government and 16 by 

 private companies. Experience has 

 taught us, however, that it is better to 

 leave this matter to private enterprises, 

 and the only positive aid given by the 

 government is the tranquilhty, security, 

 and incessant and rapid progress of the 

 whole Republic. When these advan- 

 tageous conditions become universally 

 known the current of immigration will 

 flow into Mexico, where nobody can 

 starve, where the poorest, with some 

 exertion, can arrive at a comfortable 

 situation — the middle cla.ss become rich 

 and the rich can increase their capital 

 by millions ; and all this with a beauti- 

 ful climate, salubrious everywhere, ex- 

 cept on the coasts, and among a peace- 

 ful, industrious people, who have well 

 earned the reputation of being one of 

 the most courteous and hospitable upon 

 the face of the earth. 



( To be co7itimied in the May number') 



