The Mexico Of To-day

San Francisco Chronlple, March 22, 1884. Hubert H. Bancroft, the historian, has just returned from Mexico, which country he has been stiulying for several months past. Knowing that he had rathered a íund of useful Information regnrding the social condition, business prospects and political situation of that republlc. a reporter of the Chronicle called opon hita, when Ihe followingconveratlon took place : " Wliat is the present condition of Mexico society ? " "Slowly hut gradually improving, I thiuk," carne the reply. "Tlie long period of peaee has tended to fogtcr gen eral development Ihroughout the republic, llinugh thisdevelupuient ha9 not beeD so rapid of course as it would have been if the common people had been further advanced iu civilizatiou wheu Ihe peace bejfan." "How would you classify SpanishAmeiican society?" "For general observations it may be divided into two classes, the high and tbe luw- the former embraclng the doininaling element, the educated, the wealthy, the polilicians and non-producers generally ; the latter the serving element, the poor and ignorant toilers. For purposee of closer analysis 3'ou maj' very pioperly make of the people three or more divisions." " is there no iniddie elass, such is is found in the United States and Europe? " "No, although thcre is something ot the kind in the course of formation. It mental and material improveinent into a body social of thU Standard that the ntejrnty of the nation is to be preserved, and this the leading statesmen clearly undeistand.'1 "How does the common class in Spanish America differ so materially from similar castes in other countries ? " " Both in origin and development - or condition?, rather, for there has been little development. You must take the conquered American aboriginals as a base, give them innumerable European and African Intcrmiztures, steep them in ignorance and superstition and grind them under the heel of political, commercial and social deapotlsm for threeorfour centimes and you haye here a concoction, as I may say, difflcult to find elsewhcre." ¦VOES OF TUE WORKIKQ PEOrLE. " What is the present condition of the lower classes? " ¦ "Pitiable in the extreme. In the cities they are the servants of servants ; in the country they are bound by habit, by fainily ties and debt to haciendas and mines in a state of peonagc or practical serfdom. Of course there are grades. The lowest are a reproach tohumanity; they are far worse off as participants of this quality of Europcan civilization than were their ancestors under sboriginal regime. Among them are some of the poorest and most abject creatures on ear"h. They are thinly or but partially ciad, the men, besides cotton jacket and pniitaloons, weariug hasand sandals, and the nomen and childreu goii'fT barefoot. A jírade or two higher we llnd the scrape and rebozo. The poorest live on whatever they can piek lip in the waj' of lood, and at night huddle in huts or adobe apartments, or sleep on the ground or pavt-ment. Among them are all sorts of di-Iormities umi disease and th'-y are foreed to labor of the most degrading kind. In the cities they are made to take the place of trucks and in the mines of machinery. They are made to carry through the streets and along the highways boxes and packages of merchandise weighlni; trom 150 to JOO pounds, to say nothing abuut stones, heavy timbers and adobes for buikling, water, earthen and wooden ware, furnituie, coffins, offal, etc. It tilled me with humiüty and shnme to see the iinae - not of ïny Maker, but of myself- thus debased, and saddest of all was to consider the livesof little childreu. Not that the mothers were unkind to them. On the contiary, their aB'ection and devotion were remaikable, but they have no conception of what we would cali the comforts of life." 'And yet they say these people are rood wolkers." " None better. There are ajnong them, of course, idlers, lazy vagabonds, who stand like tatúes all their lives long by the way-side and rot there or petrify there before they will raise a hand to provide themselves with food. But as a rule there are no people on carth who will do more work for less inoney. It is a significant fact that there are no (Jhinamen to speak of in Mexico; that in scattering them! selves over the earth thu Mongolian avoid this place as they would a place of pestilence. They cannot compete with the Mexican peons either in the amount or quality of labor, or economy in living. And the negroes of the United States are ! beside them a lazy lot, with dull. stolid Í brain and uo small feeding powers.1' BUILDING UP A MIUDLE CLASS. "Are the laboring classes difficult to get along with?" Í " By no meaos. Keep faith with them, pay thein promptly as you piomise, amí thev will servo you fuíly and acknowledge iÚBttersblp as by Divine rlglit. Tuey have been go tauglit; they have been drllled for centuries In the scliool of temlily; the fust lessons ot' manhood they llave yet to learn." " What is likely to be tlieir flnul destiny ? " "That depends upon thecircumstances attending developmeni durlng tlie next tvvo or three generations. lf a largo and superior toi-tign population flocks in, the nalive Mi'Xicans will be overwhelmed, thr'ust aside, to sonie extent absorbed, and fur the rest, extirpated. If those who euter from abroad come as teachers in the several arts nul industries ratlier tlian usurpéis of the spil, uiany of the present inhaultauts will be educated and iniproved luto au intelligent and subHantial iniddle class. Indeed, every day this class is rrowing, rapidly becoming larger and stronger and stronger, and, indeed, this is the most hopeful feature of tl.e republic." " You regard the prosperity of this class as essential to the prosperity of the nat ion ? " " Most de:-idedly. The primary necessity of the Mexicau nation to-day is not foreign population orfoieign Capital, but an edúcate i anü thrifty middle clasf, made up trom its own peoplo. The intelligent rulers throughout the republic unden-tand this peifectly. They know that a peaceable and permanent government cannot vest in irresponsible politieians and transient office-holders, or even iu au art.-tocraey or domiiiatingclass alone, but in a substautial middle class, and they are doing all in their power to develop such a population. As a matter of course, if advancement is to be wholly from without, the tuture Mexico will be a different nation from the iesent. If the Mexicans would retaiu tiieir individuality they muüt cultívate thcinselves rather than import all improvernetits." '¦ How bout the Opper class?'' '"Wel!, in the upper class, as kveli as in the lower, is l'ound every degree of race ínterin. xture, besides pure-blooded Kuropeaus and pure aborigiual Americans. The upper ctitas, in points of ability, education, wealtti, luxurious liviny and relinenient, are superior ti the estimation in which they are held ttbroad ; in fact, in these respects I regard them as uot at all bchiud the other civillzed nations of the woild. The leaders of society and politics are exclusive, reticent, niakiug very titile parade of their resources and abilities, but the foreirner who thinks to take them in by superior shrewdness or ouuiiins cenerally iiuds himself woisted." " What is the business outlook? " " Very fair. There is scarcely any occupation iu which a man of ordinary business sense and energy, havingreasonable capital, may not eusage with profit. Real estáte in the cities has doubled. and in some instances trebled in value. The advance has been particularly marked in the capital, which is now gridironed with horse or ratlier mule railroads, under efficiënt nativo manageinent, and which lead out into the country for miles in every direction. Ajfricnltural lands have not advauced in like proportions, though large sums havo been speut in improvenieuts, particularly in water supplies and Irrlgatinj;. 1 was assnred the owner of one lmc'enda, and that by no means of the largest, being only of some 20 Ie igues, that he hiid spent for water f300,000 during the past two years " "Are the Mexicans ;ood business men?1' " Not as a rule ; the lower orders are enabled to minister to their own necessities, but they cannot provide tor their superiors. Tlie hinher classes holding their haciendas and city property siill reyard work as disgraceful, and shopkeppinjr is too closely akin to work to mil even tiieir poverty-stricken brothers. Nowhere are the several classes more strictly divided than iu theirdaily traffics. Thepoorman's pulque shop, bakeiy and provisión store are very different afl'.tiis from :he establiiiliinents that supply the wealthy, and the one does not pretend to mingle his affairg with those of the other. The lower clnss live and hbor within themselves. They build their own food and clothes, and doctor themselves when UI. Few first-class physicians wonld soil their fingers with the sick poor." FOKEIGNERS IN MEXICO. " Who th;n dues the business?'' "Trade. as we cali it - that is the principal trafile of the country - is divided, heing chii'flv in the hands of foreigners. Thus the Spaniards are conspicuous in produce and groceries, the Germ.ins in general merchaiidise, the French and English ii' foreign dry goods, the French and Italiansin hotels and restaurants, and the Engllsti and Amcrieans in banking and in anufactu ring. Pawnsbops, lotteries and the staple vices of civilization, which here assume comniprciid and almost respectable proportions, re utiüzed by and are ander the strict control of the government. Many of the Mexicans ire good miner?. particularly where the managed in the old-fashioDcd way " " Wliat business fields peetned to strike you as the most invlting? " "A man with success born in him and havinji the uecessary means could hardly go astray. The business ideas and ways of the Èuropeans in Mexico are as in the mother country - antiquated, centunes old. An American hotel ora San Francisco restaurant would make the people of the capital open their eyes very wide. Then, besides the general business of the country in its thousand varieties, there are bouudless possibilitiea in the direction of old and new uses of the unlimited raw material of the country. The native Mexicans are traditionally imitative. Under pioper tuition they may be taught anything, so that a nianufacturer who studies how to handle them will soon find himself at the head of the best kind of artisans and operative, who will work hard and patieutly at from 30 to GO cents a day." " How are the Èuropeans in Mexico beha ving themselvt-s?" " Not altogether in a rnanner most admirable, I am sorry to say. As a rule, they want large and quick returns from small and safe transaetions. They care nothing for the devclopment of the country and have no pympathy with the Mexicans or their institutions, but rather regard them with contempt. Socially they j are clannish, having their own clubs and j places of resort, and mixing but little with Mexioan people. The Mexicans are jealous of United States encroachmeHts; they do not ardently love the French, but they bate the Spaniards most of all. The Germanshave so long held commercial sway t'iat they seem to imagine themselves possessed of some priority of right and have been known to hire newspapers to vilify Americans, while di-playing a narrow and seltish policy with regard to everythinjr Mexican." " ín whatesteem are Americans held?" "Fully as high 89 they deserve. Few of our best men and winnen havo roiie tliere yt, a:id tuaiiy Mexicana who are prejudiced against our people know little uli. mi them. Low and coarse border men, minino; speculators, political and relifiious adventurers have drifted in. These, with discharged railroad men and b"-oken down lawyers and doctors, constitute the worst foreign element in the countrv. They loaf about the hotels and drinkine saloon?, talk loudly and boastfully concernirlo; revonmon, invasión, manifest destiny, all of which signifles, right or wrong, another slice of the country and then another until there is none left. At the eame time they smoke and drink, swear, play billiards. and bet, to the nünite disgust as well of respeetablc Americana as of the Mexieans, who look apon bar-room drinking and discussions as low and disgraceful. I have more thun once board Americana tamerit that they selilom hear spoken in Mexico theirown languajre unattended by vulgar braggadocio and blasphemy. ïtis no wonder that through 8uch as these the Mexicana have been led to rent and suspect us, for th'-se roughs and bnmmei's trom the United States make no pretensión to principies or even common honesty and would help to steal a strip of territory as quickly is they would rob a stage; that is, the few of them not laboiing ander the infirmity of cowardice. SIEX-ICAX CURUENCY. "Didyou find the currency ineoiivenient? " "Notvery. National b:mk-notes aud Monte (le Piedad paper are coming nto general use about Ihe capital, tliough in the country paper money is strange tothe people, who liandle nothinx but silver. If y ou have exchange m New York or Loudon to sell j'ou receive in the city of Mexico 1G or 18 per cent. premium; if you have to buy Mexican money on the border you may have to take lesspremium on your American money. What Mexican money I had left I sold at Austin for 20 per cent. discount. Between island cities you can buy local bilis of exchange and so avoid the risk and trouble of carrying silver over the country, for good paper money is not yet to be purchased in the border States. In fact, a person makinjjan extensive tour throuh distaut parts must still have a mulealongto curry the purse.'1 " Are the roads safe for travelers? " " As afe as in the United States, thanks to Porfirio Diaz, who, by organizing a system oí setting thieves to catch thieves and est;iblishinj; rural guarda, turned hordes of highvvaymen nto useful instru mentsof the law. There is still on some üf.tii jy-ix3wand at the stations a smull soldiers occupation than from any real necessity. Juatice is swift in this direction. A robber is quickly caught and summarily dealt with, benig often shotby his captors on pretense of atlenipted escape before reachinjr jail. And if uot, the court would like to know why not The Mexicans like to ornament Uipuiselves with large, well-polished revolvers and a formidable row of eartridges stuck In the belt, but they seldoindraw or use a weapon. Following the advice of a friend I ctrried a pistol going down, but ira ve it away before I had mingled long with these most polite and well-mannered people." EÜLOOÏ OF DIAZ. "You spoke of General Diaz; what do jrou think of him?" "That lie is a remarkable man, ill understood abroad and whose abiüties and services are not fully appreciated by his own countrymen, even though altnost general ly regarded as theoneeole personage upou whom the tulliré of the nation depend. Híh genius is of that firmly kuit and practical texture which, though not as subtle as Leido's or so plausible as Juarez's, reachesout instinetively to ligUt conclusions. No graat leader, military or political, of modern times has made fewer mistakes. He is not blinded by ambition, ordazed with power, or corrupted by success. He has stood firmly by the principies enunciated on entering political life, though he niight easily and not improperly have later ignored what he then pronounced and have remained in highest ofUce to the present time, having been repeatedly sulicited bv the natinn todo so. To-day he stands in the prime of manbood, full of bealth and experience, a pillar of stiength. with the prospect before him of a future no less bi illiant than the past, the whole constiiuting a life worthy of a place upon his uation'a records as one of its purest patriota." "As a man, aside from public position, what 8 he like? " " I should say, fust of all, that he is less Mi'xic.an than "most Mexicans. I do not mean by that that he is less loyal and patriotic; less jealous for the weHare of his country - none surpassbmi in these quallties - but that he is more bigh-iuiiidcd, more advanced and liberal in nis views; less feaiful of foreign intluence; less bound by traditional prrjudices; inore true to him.-elf; strictly houorable and more caref ui to keep lus promises aud fulfill hisoblitrations than many of his countrymen. He is a strictly moral man; warm-hearted and generous in his faraily aud social relations; a good husband and father and températe in all tlnngs, driuking but little wine and smoking not at all. He is as free from the common vices of the flay as he is from fanaticism, and he bas never ensafjed in that lierce strugprle for wealth socominon everywhere, though he has had abundant opportunities to cnricb liimself at the cost of his people. It is owinL to Gen Tal Diaz more than to any one else that the isolation and dangers of the countrv have been removed, the remoteness of this near neirhl)or of ours lessened and the new development set in motion " " How are railroad matters progressing?'1 " Not very well. The railroad men in Mexico, though they receive large salaries and are not worked to death, do not si'piii to be particularly prosperous or happy. The directors are not foitunate in their selection of managers, moreespecially the Central, whose last - Robinson - is to say the least no improvement on his predecessors. Notwitbstanding tlie faot that all railway oom pan iet receiving concessions from and organized under charters gran ted by the Mexican government, have afreed strictly to abide by Mexican laws and decisions, to renounce all claims which they might otherwise set tip as foreigners, and all right to cali in any foreign intervention in the settlement of disputes or for any other cause, there are still many who believe, or affect to believe, that the American railroad inen in Mexico are under the protection of the United States government, whose duty it is nst.intly to avenjte every insult and right every fancied wrong. Of course it is not the most fair-minded and honest clas8, but rather those who would seize iiion any excuse for tisrliting Mexico who would see the temier solicitude of our government extended over the poor and downtrodden railroad builders when evil comes upoD them. The idea is beconiiiisj somewhat obsolete tliat it is the duty of a government to follow round the World and flght out the quarrels of any of its citizens wlio chance to leave it and voluntarily place thcmselvcs under the lawsand protection of anotker government. TnE TOLITICAL PROSl'KCT. " How is the govrrnment on I1OHT?'' " " Xot i every 'respect as wen as one could wish. Tho governinent of Mexico ut present is republictm only iu name. 'l'lie fundamental element of ft tn republic is a middle class, possessed of more inherent strength than any class beluw or abnve it, mbo are the real ritiera of the coininonwealth :ind rcsponsiblc for all that transpires within it. The governrnent af Mexico is autocratie, or at least aristocratie, rather than republican. The President is more absolute than any prince or potentaté in Europe. Tlie Congress at Washington is supposed to represent thn people and to be responsible to the people. The Federal Congress of Mexico representa the goveriiment - thiit is to siiy, the governing class, which is the arUtocracy - and is responsiblu alone to the president and liis ministers. The rover nors of the several state?, wliile suffidently suproine wifhln certain limite, are still under the sivay of the central power, which exercises a preponderating infiuence in all eleetions.1' " Is ranch attention being paid to education ?" " Yes, a great deal. It is a quesüon upon which all persons and parties agree. The president, state ministers and governors are r.ot only interested but active in creating and promoting the grówtli of common schools and higher intótutions of learniHfF. President González considers the matter of nufBcIent importance to attend public school exhibitions and distribute the prizes in person, and wealthv governors have been known to devote not onlj' their salaries, but large suma besídes to educutional purposes. The Licenciado. T. lígula liis, President ot the Board of Directora of the IViiiale College, citv of Mexico, a large and flourishiug institution, holding property to the value of $2,000,000, laid before me the proposition tu send trom liis institution to California Cour y ou ng ladies to be educated and receive trom California the same niimber in return. Resilles common' schools everyv.here and a freo college ia every state, títere are government schools of law, medicine and agriculture, the mechan ie arts, trades and engineering; also public librarles - one having as high as 120,000 volumes - a school of mining, an academy 'lfhBi'í"t7'pr.v"MUa PRWSHfltPi'y nf miisic. uien tuero are cuantaolo lustuuuon:, without number, asylurns of the usual several kinds and hospitals for general and special diseases. Most of the educational and benevolent institutions occupy the old convent buildings, as do also libraries, arts and industries. Tliere are everywheie churches open for all practical purposes. In some cities, as Mexico and Oajaca, church rites are not particularly conspicuous ; in other places, Puebla forexample, religión m still urdent. "Is literatura receiving inuch attention ? " " Yes, decldedly so. Tliere is a literary atmosphere in the city of Mexico '.- marked as any in Lomlun, Dostou urNew York." " Whnt is the chlef trnuble the government bas to contei.d with at present f " "lts finalices. Although the reven ue Is constantly i ncieaing, expenses iucrease still fa-ter. The natiou ia iu Uebt at home and abroad, and there are so many demauds on the revenue tbat the governnient is often in arreáis with "its own servants. The army canuot be depended npon unless it is paid, and the people refuse the nickel becausc it issoldby the government In larg(! amounts at a discount, while it is made a legal tender only for a small amouut. There is liere tlie same evil that we are kboring under - spoliation. Buttheieis this dilterenceiu the northern republic - the people, being tlie power and on the watch. will not permit the higher oflicials to steal to anj great extent, so that the more extensive robberies are committed by the politicul fry, local boards, legislators and other toolsof the millionairesand monopolists. while iu Mexico tlie chief rulers have not been in the habit of leaving much for subordinates and Inferiora. Indeed, it is the customary thing, and wliolly to be expected, not only to take all there is to take, but to anticípate future revenue, to draw wealth, without much conccalment or reproach, both from the inside and the outside. ' 1 wdl give you f5,000 to pass this measure for me and hold the traiis.-iction as strict secret between ourselves,' said a New YorUer, who prided himself on his ííkill in the art of bribery, to a Mexican governor. ' Make it $10,000,' replied the governor, 'and you may teil all Uie worlU."' THREATESED TKOUBLE. "Whatare tlie prospects in regard to furthcr political iiisuirnanceü '."' "Opinión is divided on the subject. Ask 20 in one day of the wisest and best of every nation lity there and half of them will say that revoluÜOO betore tlie end of tha year is certain, while the other half are just as sure there willbe nothing of the kind. The former argue that the present administration is impopular, that revolution is the chronic condition of tilinga and that there are persons and parties springing up in vaiious parts of the republie opposed to the liberal party and who will light betore the June election is over, or at all evenls, before the new President tukes his seat in December. The latter say that all personsof wealili and intluencè are tiredof revolution, that eren though opposed to those in power thev prefer peace and will have it on any terina, and that disturbéis of public tranquility will flnd rjiiickly arrayed against them theftreugth of the nation, military and political, and the government Ia well armed at present." "Are there any important measures now before the güvernmeut?" " Yes - several. Xot to mention a score of railroad scliemes, many of which will never be carried out, there is the great question, eenturies old, of the drainage of tlie yalley of Mexico. Manufactories of all kinds are enoouraged, work is going forward at Chapul tepec and elsewhere and prisons and hospltals and iiouses volence and K-arning are being planued and incourse of erection in almost all of the chief cities of the republic. A new postal law, reditcing the rate within the republic from 25 to 10 cent-, went into effi-ct at the b"ginning nf the vear and postage stamps are now freely sold, which was not the case furoaerly. Thé crude regulations regarding interstate dutles and commercial treaties with foreign nationi are being revised. A commercial code and a mining code are in course of preparaüon, to be adopted by the next cougress."