THE OMATTA SUNDAY BEE: APRIL 27, 1913.
5-13
Great Labor Problems for Mexico to Solve
(Copyrighted 1913. by Krank G. Carpenter
kxico riTY. -Mexico will
never huve permanent peace
until the peons nro paid life
Blvlntr wopes. As It Is nor
It Is more profitable to be In
the armv than tn wnrle nti iho
farms, and unless President Hureta
adopts the drastic policy of Porflrlo Diaz
the brigands and rebels will have no
trouble In getting recruits.
The question of wages and labor was
agitated during the administration of Ma
aero, and his efforts to better labor condi
tions were one cause of his Uownfall.
The present administration In trying to
carry out some of the po'.lcles Innugu
rnted by him ond the Indications arc that
that the labor troubles are only at their
beginning.
IVorcs in llexlco,
I have some figures before me which
come from the secretary of agriculture.
Ho puts the dally wages now being paid
on the farms at from 20 to 26 cents a day,
but adds there are places out In the
country where they arc not more than
hnlt that amount This is In American
money, as arc all the figures of this let
ter. There are millions In Mexico who are
- working on the haciendas for less than
2G cents a day and there are thousands In
the factories who are bclng pald less than
Jl. In some of the mills the minimum
wage Is as low ns 10 cents, nnd It runs
from that to 43 cents, whereas In others,
for the same kind of work, the wages run
from SO cents to $1. There are something
like 40,000 laborers employed In the largo
factories, and their average wages per
day arc Bo cents gold.
The government Is trying to remedy
these conditions. It has established a de
partment of labor, which has already
dealt with seventy-flvo strikes, and It !s
now taxing the product of each factory
on the basis of Its hours of work and
wages. The Institutions are favored ac
cording to whether they conform to th
Kovernmcnt regulations or not. Tho ad
ministration Is trying also to Improve
the condition of the laborers on the farms
by glvlnK back lands to the towns and
gradually bringing about a division of
the large estates. As to this, however,
but little has yet been accomplished.
KlfChtlnn: for n. Trn-Mnr Day.
The fight of the men In the factories
Is for a ten-hour day. and they wanto
fix also a mlnmum wage for all parts
of the republic. As it Is now some of the
factories are working from 5:30 o'clock
In tho morning until 9 o'clock In the
evening. There is only one exception.
This Is on Saturday, when the hands are
let off at t p. m. In the mills In
which that rule prevails the cloth made
Is white cotton sheeting, and the regular
output Is about 1,800 pieces per day. The
biggest cotton mills here are those of
Orizaba. They employ 10,000 hands, the
most of whom are native men and boys,
tesa than 300 being women. The work Is
dono with modern machinery and tho
company makes a large profit. It pays
higher wages than those I hove men
tioned, and it has built 1,200 houses for
Its factory hands. Thero Is another cotton
factory In the state of Toluca, where
most of the workmen are boys from 8
to 15 years of nge. Hero the averago
wage Is about 20 cents a day, and until
lately the hours have been Jong. Nearly
everywhere the women are paid less than
tho men and the boys less than, the'
women. This Is so In the tobacco fac
tories as well.
Whnt Mechanics Get.
I had a talk last night with an Ameri
can contractor who has been putting up
buildings all over Mexico. He tells mo
that the ordinary mechanlp's wage In
the cities Is from 50 cents to $1 a day.
Carpenters get SI for good work, and
bricklayers and masons the same. In the
coast towns, where there is plenty to do
around the wharves, the wages are higher,
but as a rule the higher the wages the
less number of days of work furnlshd.
The man who gets 1 a day will work
only two or three days a week, and If
he gets $2 he may work a while and then
lay off a month. A few weeks ago a
contractor found that tslx of hts men
wero doing so well that he could ra'se
their wages 50 per cent. They were re
ceiving Jl per day, and he gave them J1.60.
The result was that ho got only three
days of work the next week, and he
finally had to discharge the whole gang
and bring In new men at the old rate of
wages. . Ho says the labor Is not so effi
cient Is ours, and that one American
will lay more bricks than four Mexicans.
Labor on tUr Plantations.
The laboring people on the haciendas
'or farms afe far worse off than those
of the cities. The average wages there
run from 15 cents and upwards per day,
but millions of farm hands and their
families are in a state of debt slavery
getting little more than their clothing
nd food. The laws are such that they
dare not leave their masters without pay
ing their debts, and as a result they work
along from hand to mouth, receiving a
little spending money now and then, and
Increasing their debts whenever they
(have a wedding or a funeral. The only
Jway they can escape Is by getting some
one to assume their debts, and this Is
sometimes done by the neighboring Laden
dadoes or others who want workmen
and can find none In the market. It is
difficult to get a peon away from his old
iffaster, and this Is especially so If he has
been fairly well treated.
How Money Talk In Mexico.
And still I find (hat money talks quite
as loudly . here as on the other side of the
boundary. At least It did so not long ago
fjjr some Americans who were opening a
rubber plantation In the tropical low
land, and were hard' up for labor. They
offered big wages, but In vain. All the
peons of the neighborhood wore In debt
slavery to the owners of the estates
DuBenu F Baiuew
Sanatorium
Tills institution is the only one
in tho central west with separate
buildings situated in their own
ample grounds, yet entirely dis
tinct, and rendering it possible to
rllsslfy cases. Tbe one building
ibelng fitted for and devoted to the
Itreatment of non-contagious and
tnon-merital diseases, no others be
Mng admitted; the other Rest Cot
Itage being designed for and do
Ivoted to the exclusive treatment
Eof select mental cases requiring
for a time watchful care and spe
iftial nursing.
0r
about, and promises of the foreigners
fell flat.
At last the Americans brought In sev
eral hushels of new Mexican dollars, nnd
luld them In great piles on tho table In
the rude building which formed their
plantation offlco. They then called In the
peons and showed them the money, say
ing that they had brought It there to
pay off their debts for them und also
that they had bushels of other dollars
to pay them wages as well. They offered
to pay the debts of the peons provided
they would drop their present employers
and work for them, and the wases they
proposed were higher than the peons had
over had In the past.
The sight of tho money worked won
ders. The peons came over In a body
and were Instructed by tho Americans to
got papers showing thtlr exact indebted
ness. They did so and the Americans
then went with them to their old em
ployers and saw that they Wero legally
freed. The men were then able to con
tract, and their contracts were registered
with the officials of the district so that
they became legally bouVid to their
American employers.
I'eoiiimo Still In Force.
Nominally there Is now no slavpry In
Mexico, but really this form of debt
slavery Is still in existence. The rich
estate owners have practically controlled
tho Jefe-polltlcos or local officials, who
can force the men to go Into tho army,
and It Is through them that they have
kept tho Indians at work. During the
administration of Dlas It was tho same
with the factories, the Jofe-polltlcos aid
ing In keeping tho men on the Job. The
wiping out of this great labor-forcing
machlno la ono of the questions agitated
by tho reformers of Mexico today, and
It is the hope of the most advanced
that It may be accomplished. The sys
tem has been complete and wide-reaching
and all sorts, of methods have been em
ployed to keep tho peons In debt. Nearly
every big estate has Its store where the
Indian laborers can run bills of credit,
and the same has been true of the fac
tories and In the mines. The peon Is
naturally thriftless. He Is like a child,
and ho will borrow all that'he can. This
Is especially so at tho times of weddings
and funerals. A man will mortgage
his future In order to have a big wedding;
outfit, and when deaths occur there Is
more debt on account of the funerals. It
Is now over forty years since peonage
or debt slavery was abolished by law,
but that law Is a dead letter In many
parts of tho republic. There are back
districts, such as mahogany camps, front
which now and then come stories of flog
ging, and there Is undoubtedly forced
labor on certain of the big haciendas.
Worse Than Onr Loan Sharks.
I heard' the other night a story of how
the Innocent Indian Is sometimes kept on
the Job. It shows a condition more cor
rupt than tue worst practices of the
American loan shark. In this Instance
one of tho peons thought he would keep
track of his Indebtedness and had it
marked down item by item In a book. Ho
took this book to his master, and asked
him how It came that the foreman had
charged him $15, when he had only re
ceived $6. Tho master called In the fore
man, whereupon the foreman swore at
the peon, saying:
"You Ignorant fellow, can't you Bee you
owe S15, First there was the $5 you
asked me for; second, the S5 I gave you
and third, the $5 which was charged to
your account. Now three time five Is
fifteen. You owe $15. and you must get
out of here and go back to your work.'
This Is probably an overdrawn state
ment, but fraud could be easily ierpe
trated upon the peon by an unscrupulous
master.
Millions Who Cannot Ilrad.
Indeed, It Is hard' to describe the condi
tions of the Mexican masses. There are
here about 16,000.000 men, women and
children, and of these more than three
fourths are Indians, of as pure blood as
that which flowed through the veins of
the Aztecs. There are several millions of
a mixed breed, and some hundreds of
thousands who have come down direct
from tho Spaniards. Of the Indians
there are something .like 12,000,000 who
can neither read nor write. There have
been a number of laws making education
free and compulsory, but they have been
honored In the breach rather than In the
observance, and today thero are some
thing like 12,000 schools for a population
about one-sixth that of the United States,
and the school population Is not one-twenty-fifth
that of ours. Hlght here at
the Mexican capital you can find the
public letter-writer on the streets, as In
India, and there la one such scribe near
the cathedral who lias a typewriter and
takes down dictation from the Indians
by tapping the keys.
Astro Schools.
Thts condition seems all the worse when
wc remember the advanced civilization of
the Aztecs at the time Cortex rame. They
had their own records and picture writ
ing and they lived far better than they
do now. ICoxk-o City then had 120.000
stone houses and Montezuma had" other
rich cities and villages In his possesrion.
He had the country better garrisoned
than It Is today and he kept better
order He had a system of postal stations
and his courier service was such that re
A TtJJid Letter TVrikr bzik
lays of letter carriers brought dispatches
from Cortex at Vera Cruz over tho moun
tains to the capital and back, a distance
of about 400 miles, in a little more than
a week. Fresh fish from the Gulf of Mex
ico were brought to Montezuma's tablu
within twenty-four hours from the, time
they were caught. The Indians of that
day wore clothes 6f woven cotton, and
they were far better clad thun they arc
now. The women had skirts and petti
coats of different lengths, and these wero
of fine texturo and prettily embroidered.
The people made beautiful toys and were
skillful In metals, making hatchets of
copper alloyed with tin and great plates
of gold and silver wonderfully carved.
We do not know Just how much gold Cor
tez carried away, but among the first
presents he received from Montezuma
was a golden plate as big as a cartwheel,
and It Is said the Indian chiefs who met
him wore armor of gold and that they
had collars, bracelets and earrings of the
same precious metal.
Hovr the Peons litre.
Such were the Indians who lived here
about 400 years ago, Thoy were enslaved
by the Spaniards and a large proportion
of them have been slaves ever since. I
wish I could show you how they are
living In these days of our advanced
clvllzatlon and In this year of our Lord
1913. On most of the haciendas on the
plateau they hayo huts of sun-dried
brick, many of which are so low that
a man cannot stand upright In tbem.
The rooms are small and dark. Some
of the houses havo no windows nnd
their doors arc of the rudest descrip
tion. The roofs are flat and the houses
are, In fact, little more than brick boxes.
They are very like the homes of the
fellahln on the banks of the Nile.
In the mountains about Toluca art
shanties not more than four feet In
height, and near the railroad on the way
to Mexico City you may see families
living In shacks made of old ties or of
boards stuck up against the side of a
hill, the home being half cave and halt
house. Sometimes tho ties are set on
end. forming tho walls of the hut, while
a thatch of cactus or straw makes the
roof. If you will remember how long
a railroad tie Is you will know the height
of such huts. In other places thero are
huts built with ridge roofs, and these
roofs are sometimes of boards or ties.
In traveling through tho mountainous
regions the board roofs are sometimes
held down by stones placed upon them
and tho ties are laid In .mortar. In but
few of such huts are nails used, ropes
and wythes taking their places.
In' the Tropical Lowland.
Further down tho lowlands the huts
are made of cane and poles. The poles
are driven Into the ground, and the cane
Is fastened to them, the house being flu
shed with a thatch roof made of com
stalks or cane. Sometimes these pole
walls are plastered, but often you can seo
through between tho cunes. The weather
Is bo warm that no fires are needed and
the cooking Is often done In the open
air. i
Here In Mexico City the most of the
Indians live in tenement houses, whole
families often beln crowded Into one
room. Many of the larger buildings have
the poor on the first floor and the better
classes above. On tho outskirts are the
homes of squatters made of refuse ma
terial from tin cans to store boxes, anil
there are some huts of sun-dried bricks,
so low that tho people have to stcjp to
enter them.
In a Mexican lint.
I wish I could take you Into some of
the poorer huts, such as you can find In
almost any part of the republic. I entered
one last week whose ground floor was
not bigger than that of a kitchen of a
two-family flat. It had walls of railroad
ties stood upon end and ties laid across
the top formed the roof. A cradle hung
from the roof and out of it a baby with
a skin as red as a freshly boiled lobster
Mluked at me as I entered. , A. frowsy
peon woman was rocking tlte cradle, and
two copper-faced children hung round
her knee.
I looked for furniture There were only
two stools and a mat which was spread
upon tho ground The father, mother and
baby slept on tho mat. In another corner
wero the two stones upon which tho
woman grinds tho corn of which she
makes tho tortillas or bread of tho
family. Nearby was a pot of lime water
In which corn was soaking, and just
above hung from tho rafters was a bunch
of tho red poppers used to flavor tho
food.
As I said "bucnos dtos," or good-day,
the woman rose, and when In. my broken
Spanish I told her that her baby waB
pretty she smiled and said "graclas,"
Sho was beautiful, though frowsy. She
wore a white waist loose at the neck and
a red flannel skirt which fell to within
an inch of her shapely brown ankles. Her
feet were bare, and I doubt uot that all
the clothes sho possessed were thoso she
had on and the blue cotton rebona or
shawl which I could seo hanging from
ono of the projecting railroad ties at the
edge of tho roof,
Ab I chucked the baby under the chin
tho father entored. Ho was better clad
than his wife, and his clothing was
cleaner, it consisted of a white cotton
shirt, a pair of wide cotton trousors' and
a red blanket which was thrown over tho
shoulders, He had on astraw hat with
a brim as largo around as a parasol, and
a crown which rose up like a sugar loaf.
He wore no shoes, but had 'sandals con
sisting of pieces of leather bound on with
straps.
Upon Inquiry I found that this man's
wages wero 30 cents a day and that he
owed a dobt of over $400. His whole suit
could not have cost more than SG, and the
Eamo sum would probable, outfit his wife.
In western Mexico some of the peasants
have suits of tanned goatskin which c"ot
IS. but such a suit will last several years,
especially as they have a way ot half
soling their trousers where the wear Is
the hardest. Tho sandals oost about 25
cents a pair. They are merely sole leather
strips tied to the bare feet with strings.
Down In the lowlands the women wear
less clothing than on the plateau, a com
mon costume being a long mother hub
bard nightgown with short sleeves. This
Is cut low at tho neck and tied In wllh a
string at tho waist As to the children,
the less said about their clothes the bet
ter. A little back of Tamplco and near
Vera Cruz you may seo good-sized hovs
and glrlrt wearing nothing more than did
Adam nnd Bvo before I2vc ato that apple,
The babies, likewise, go naked.
FRANK O. CAItPENTTSn.
MILK IS THE BEST FOOD
No Other Perm nf Diet la So
flood for the Unman
System.
Milk is our most valuable food, and
thero Ih no form of diet which exerts so
marked a protective influence upon our
orgnns as that of milk, because It con
tains so little material of an Irritating
nature. Milk can, howeer, only bo ac
copted as really good when It is taken
as it comes from the cow; that Is, raw,
The Real Secret of
Rejuvenating the Face
(From tho Clubwoman.)
Slid holds the true secret of facial re
juvenation who lias learned how to re
move the dead skin particles as fast as
they appear. It's a secret anyone muy
possess. The aged, faded or discolored
surface skin may be gradually absorbed,
In an entirely safe and rational manner,
by the nlshtly application ot ordinary
mercollzed wax. Within a week or two
the underlying skin, youthful and beauti
ful to behold, has taken the place of the
discarded cuticle. Bo little of the old skin
Is absorbed each day there's no Inconven
ience at all, and no one suspectes you are
puttlne anything on your face. The mer
rolized wax, procurable at any drug store
(an ounce is sufficient), la applied like
cold cream. In the mornlngl It Is erased
with soap and water. It's the best thing
known for freckles, blackheads, pimples,
irnoth patches, liver spots and fine wjr
race wrinkles.
Kor tho deeper wrinkles an excellent
recipe Ir Fowdered saxollte. 1 ox., dis
solved In H pt wltrll hazel. Hathlng the
fucr In this solution produces quick and
wonderful results. -Advertisement
nnd when thero Is certainty that It has
come from a healthy animal,
1 wish to add here that certain bacilli
are always present In raw milk, and that
they prevent tho formation ot large num
bers ot other bacteria, such as those of
typhoid fovcr- The latter cannot develop
lit raw milk. When the milk has been
boiled or sterilized, however, typhoid
bacilli which havo gotten Into It will re
main In It for months, as well ns other
forms of poisonous bacteria which are In
jurious to children. When raw milk free
of nil objections cannot be obtained It Is
best to use buttermilk.
Home person possess an antipathy to
milk, whlcli. In Its ordinary form, Is not
well tolerated by their stomachs, This
Is especially noticeable In women nnd
loung Rlrls. In such cases tho milk may
be diluted one-third with some alkaline
m'nentl water, such as Vichy celestlns.
The addition ot some flno flour may also
render tho milk more digestible, nnd,
ne Remedy for
A Backward Child
Continue it for Only a Brief
Period and the Good Re
sults will Surprise Yon.
A low state of the general health Is now
tho accepted cause of backwardness In
children. Bo In the case of a backward
child It Is best to look towards building
up Its health. It will Usually be found
that tho main trouble la In the food, In
lnck of assimilation und digestion. Hence
care should be taken In tho kind of food
given to tho child. This, with plenty of
nlr and exercise, should bring about a
chnngo for tho better.
Watch the conditions of tho bowels, to
noto whether tho waste Is being passed
off or not, or whether It Is being passed
too freely. If either condition prevails
give a small dose of that gentlest of all
laxative-tonics, Dr. Caldwell's Syrup
Pepsin Thousands of mothers will tes
tify to tho wonders It has wrought In the
lives of their own children, and for that
reason legions of families like thoso of
Mrs. J. 10. Urunty, 1903 9th Ave., Nash
ville, Tenn,, nro never without It In the
house. Mrs. Urunty writes: "Harry hod
always been constipated until 1 gave him
Dr. Caldwell's Syrup Popsln. I nm cer
tainly going to keep this medicine In the
house In tho future for I know It to be
good." It Is pleasant to tho taste and so
perfectly safo tlint It Is given to Infants,
and yet Is equally effective for grown
people. All druggists sell It nnd the price
Is only fifty cents nnd one dollar a bot-
rf-
Hot weather
A few rooms are to be had in
THE BEE BUILDING
The Coolest Building in the City
We will be pleased to show the rooms
Apply to N. P. FEIL. Secretary.
Bee Business Office
Unmn riirniliirn On South
RUNIC rUIINiUIC UU. Omaha
Get Our Rug Prices
6x9 SEAMLESS BRUSSELS-fcr Eft
at aD.DU
0x12 SEAMLESS BRUSSELS-
AT .
9x12 SEAMLESS VELVET
AT
0x12 Axminster RUG
AT ,
See Our Large Line of Body Brussels and
Wilton Rugs Much Below
hence, better borne Small children, too,
sometimes prefer milk jjlven to them In
this form. For those who cannot toler
ate ordinary milk the more easily dlgestod
buttermilk may be used
Milk should bo taken raw, hut circum
stances may present themselves, how
ovor, when a glass of hot milk will exert
a beneficial Influence upon the system.
This Is the case, for tntitnnce. where one
has been out on a damp, cold day and
comes In feeling chilled, ns by drinking
hot milk wc greatly stimulate tho activ
ity of the skin. In colds. If early In the
morning or 'on rising hot whey or hot
milk In taken, It will exert a favorable
influence upon the Inflamed mucuous
membranes.
To worm tho body up on a cold, frosty
day tea Is often used, but from the stand
point of health milk Is better. Tho yolks
of ono or two egrs make of milk a very
strengthening drink. Health and Longevity.
tie, the latter for families who need It
regularly.
Syrup Pepsin has no equnl as a euro
for constipation, Indigestion, biliousness,
headaches, sour stomach, gas on the
stomach, liver trouble and kindred com
plaints. It has so many advantages that
those who once use It forover after dis
card cathartics, salts, pills and other
coarse remedies, for they are seldom ad
visable and should never be given to
children,
If no member of your family has ever
used Syrup Popsln and you would like to
mk6 a personal trial of It beforo buylnt
It In the regular way of a druggist, send
your address a postal will do to Dr. W
B. Caldwell, 417 Washington St., Monti
cello, III., and a free sample bottle will
bo mailed you.
is approaching
This is the season
when a man, spend
ing a large part of the
day in his office, is
looking for an office
in a cool building.
20 BELOW
HOT ONE DAY
Solid Oak
Six Foot
$9.75
SI5.00
$17.00
DINING
CHAIRS,
Set of Six,
Leather Seat,
$12.50
Omaha Prices.
Mary T. Goldman's
Gray Hair Restorer
will bring back the or
Igtnal color to gray and
raileil linlr and will
leave tho hair clsan,
fluffy and natural.
On hand at all deal-
irsl or direct from
laboratory, exnress
Tra,!, M.r ltl.lTr.d VtOVaM, on receipt
Kjttlo sent for flvo 3c stamps to cover
postage und packing. Ho sure and tell
me original color of your hair, Mary
T. Uoldman. Goldman Uldg., St. Paul,
Minn. Sherman & McConnoll Drug
Co.. 16th und Dodge, 307-9 No. ICtli.
Owl Drug Co., 16th and Harney. Tho
Hnrvnrd, 21th and Farnam.
TUB Z.XBKARY QCKOOZ.
of the
MEW TORK PUBLIC LIBRARY.
Kutrunco examinations Juno 9, 1913,
One-year cotirso for certificates, Two
yoar course for diploma. 8nd to M. W,
Plummer. Principal, 476 Fifth Avenue,
New York, for descriptive circular.
IIOTKLS.
Hotel Kupper
Eleventh and McGce 8U.
Kansas City. Mo.
LOCATED IN THE RETAIL AND
SHOPPING MSTIUOr.
A botol ot quality and rotlnomont
t reasonable- prices. European plan
$1 to $4 por day. Take elevated
car at depot marked 27th St., di
rect to hotel.
KUPPElt-BENSON HOTEL CO.,
Props.
OMAHA PRICE
BUT EVERY DAY
Table
$8.75
GREAT SALE OF
LINOLEUM
FULL CARLOAD JUST
RECEIVED.
Good Grndo Linoleum,
'J yards wide, per
square ynrd
Extra Grada Linoleum,
" yards wide, per
square yard.
Extra Grade Linoleum,
4 yards wide, per
square yard , , .
38c
48c
58c
Pirch Furniture Silt
May 1st
dm,
