MEXICO AND MEXICANS every place that they could fill, because it would be good for the country, in the development of a middle, thinking class, to have the employees as well as the ownership of the railroads nationalized. He felt that to have Mexican conductors, engineers, telegraphers, etc., would be to assist in the establishment of a middle class, which he recognized as Mexico's crying need. The railway manager knew by experience that the Mexican does not make as good a railroad man as the American, but he was gradually carrying out this policy at the time I was in Mexico, which was just before the fall of Diaz. It was Diaz's idea that the establishment of industries in Mexico and the employment of Mexicans in responsible positions in connection with them must eventuate in a middle class worthy of the name. SOME MEXICAN INDUSTRIES Mexico has many important industries, and some of the plants are the largest of their kind in the world; for instance, the Bueno Tono Cigarette Factory, of Mexico City, has a daily output of 12 million cigarettes a day. It is the largest factory of the kind in the world, and earns a 12-per-cent dividend on an investment of $3,250,000. The Mexican Light & Power Company, with a capitalization of $25,000,000, operates the great hydro-electric plant at Necaxa, which is one of the largest on the Western Hemisphere. A few years ago there were in Mexico 145 cotton mills, with 732,000 live spindles, and employing 35,000 operators. The owners of a single chain of mills at Orizaba employed 5,000 people and turned out products valued at many millions of dollars (see also page 476). One of the largest glycerine and soap factories in the world, with a daily output of 75,000 boxes of soap, was in operation in the very country where the Federals and the Constitutionalists have been fighting during the past few months. All of these growing industries were demanding something in the way of intelligence from their employees and were making progress in the direction of establishing a middle class in Mexico. THE MINES OF MEXICO 481 It Humboldt once pronounced Mexico "the treasure - house of the world." produces one-third of the world's silver, a considerable percentage of its gold, oneninth of its lead, and one-twentieth of its copper. The country's mineral production, exclusive of iron, coal, and petroleum, amounted to $158,000,000 in 1910. With the exception of Campeche, Tabasco, and Yucatan, every State in the Mexican republic possesses mines, of which there are 21,000, covering 633,000 acres of mineral lands, and giving employment to half a million men. Yet probably less than one-fourth of the mineral possibilities of the republic have been exploited. Prior to the outbreak of the Madero revolution, upward of 5,000 mining claims were registered each year. The famous iron mountain at Durango is estimated to contain 600 million tons of iron ore, which is worth seven times the value of all the gold and silver mined in Mexico in two centuries. It is believed that this deposit was formed by the same process that made the Hudson River palisades, near New York city. A big opening was made in the earth's crust, through which this enormous mass of iron was thrust up, and piled high above the surrounding territory. No one knows how deep this iron mass penetrates. It is nearly a mile long, more than a third of a mile wide at the base, and some 700 feet high. An American smelter company has erected works to utilize this iron. The Santa Maria graphite mines are the largest and most important in the Western World. There are seven beds of graphite deposits, varying in thickness from 9 to 10 feet. They were formed from coal beds by the metamorphic action of intrusive granite. The graphite is transported to Saginaw, Mich., where it is ground up and sold to the pencil and lubricant factories of the world. The region around the Gulf of Mexico is very rich in petroleum. Some years ago an oil company was engaged in sinking a well near Tampico. At a depth of 1.824 feet a gas explosion blew out the entire installation of machinery, and the well This picture was taken at the request of the photographed, and the request was in no uncertain terms took fire. It burned unchecked for three months, during which time 10 million barrels of oil were consumed (page 490). Hot salt water gradually replaced the oil. The Mexican Eagle Oil Company, at Potero del Llano, struck a gusher which flowed 100,000 barrels of oil a day. A huge storage reservoir, with a capacity of 3,000,000 barrels, was established to take care of the oil pending its going to market. It is believed that the oil fields of Yucatan, Vera Cruz, and Tampico, when once peace is established, will go a long way toward meeting the unprecedented demand for gasoline that the automobile has created. HOME INDUSTRIES The delicate drawn-work of the Mexican Indian is justly famed throughout the world and deserves to rank with the finest of Spanish and Italian laces. Thousands of Indian women work at a wage of 10 cents a day, from early morning to nightfall, around the drawn-work frames THE MEXICAN FEDERAL ARMY GOES NOWHERE WITHOUT ITS WOMEN Soldiers are supposed to be paid daily and to look out for themselves as regards food and supplies of all sorts. The women forage and cook and take the place of a regular organized commissary department. At times they take active part in battle, and they are said to leave nothing of value on the field after the fight. which are used in Mexico. These frames are made somewhat like curtain-stretchers, and from 5 to 15 girls gather around one of them and work for days and even months on the beautiful drawn work table-cloths which come from Mexico. The best drawn-work is made from imported Irish linen, and the prices at which these pieces are sold. considering the work put on them, is ridiculously low. Pieces may be bought in Mexico City for $40 which could not be duplicated in the United States for $200. The designs are in endless variety, and each piece is so finely fashioned that it takes a woman's eye to tell which is the right and which is the wrong side. The Indians make all sorts of small objects to attract the centavos of the tourist. The little dolls of Cuernavaca, a half-inch tall and dressed in finely embroidered raiment, are the admiration of every one who sees them. The small clay animals, perfectly fashioned and ranging from the peaceful dog to the charging bull and the bucking mule, would do credit to the genius of many a sculptor whose name figures in the art publications of the world. DRESSED FLEAS But perhaps most wonderful of all are the tiny dressed fleas which may be bought in Mexico City. They are mounted in little boxes which are a little more than a quarter of an inch each in dimension. Here are a bride and groom, the former with her bridal veil and orange blossoms and the latter with his Prince Albert coat and silk hat; here are two ballet dancers dressed in true Spanish dancing costumes; here a bull fighter in full regalia; here a water-carrier with his water-jug. Another wonderful work of the Indians is the making of feather pictures from the plumage of humming-birds, now almost a lost art. Several persons are employed on each picture, blending the various colors of the feathers together in a way requiring extraordinary patience. and care. OLD BELLS WHICH WERE MELTED AND CAST INTO CANNON BY THE FORCES OF GENERAL MANUEL CHAO AT PARRAL, CHIHUAHUA, IN 1913 The sketch of the figure to be reproduced is first made, and each artist takes charge of one particular part of the figure or drapery. When each has finished his share all of the different parts are reunited and the picture formed. Then the whole feather picture is placed on a plate of copper and gently pressed together with a sort of paste until the surface became even. Because of the splendor and liveliness of the colors, they appear even more beautiful than the paintings which they imitate. MEXICAN DYES The fine and fast colors made by the Indians of Mexico and their mastery of art of hand-weaving has excited the wonder of travelers for many generations. Their multi-colored serapes, in which all of the tints of the rainbow are blended with a rare harmony and a keen appreciation of color values, are perfect specimens of the weaver's art. Many of the Indian colors are made from Mexican insects, the best known of which is the cochineal. At a time beyond recorded history the Zapotec Indians dis covered that the dry bodies of the female TORCHES AND LANTERNS MADE OF A remarkable insect found in Mexico is the Elater firefly. Seen by day, it is a large beetle, of a greenish-black color and about an inch long. Behind the eyes are two round transparent nodules about as large as a pin-head and filled with a |