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Newspaper
Atlanta Constitution
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Date
Apr 28, 1914
Page
12
Mexico is officially called Estados Unidos Mexicanos and Republica Mexicana. It covers 787 290 square miles with northwest to southeast length about 1 900 miles and maximum width 759 miles. The coastline runs 4 574 miles on the Pacific side and Gulf of Mexico coastlines total about 1 400 miles with 327 mules noted on the Caribbean sea.
The surface chapter describes a vast elevated plateau with eastern and western mountain chains. It notes the hot lands along the coasts and a broad volcanic highland around Mexico City. Major peaks include Popocatepetl and Ixtacihuatl, with frequent earthquakes and daily temblores on the western coast.
The text describes Mexico's rivers as small streams on a high plateau with limited basins. It notes the Rio Grande del Norte as largely American and that Gulf ports are sandbar blocked. Tampico lias been improved with jetties, Vera Cruz sits unprotected among reefs, and the northers menace ships while Fletcher reports a marine landing under approaching weather.
Coastwise trade under American flag dominates but ships are foreign owned. 1910 imports valued at 96,006,880 dollars and exports at 147,451,985 dollars. Imports include railway material machinery cotton woolen textiles hardware furniture mining supplies drugs and chemicals wines and spirits wheat corn paper and military goods. Exports feature gold silver copper coffee textiles forest products hides tobacco sugar and cane products. Comparisons list items by country and rank with tonnages and weights for several staples.
The study notes Mexico's population about 15 16,003,207 with 196 per square mile. Whites are 19 percent, Indians 38 percent, and mestizos 4 percent. Since 1834 race distinctions vanished, Indians gained influence from 1866 onward, while deaths among Indian children run high. The coast limits density, Vera Cruz area remains populated, and fifty one languages plus fifty nine dialects are spoken among Indians.
The entry notes a 264 mile Vera Cruz to Mexico City line known as Ferrocarril Memoano with ascendant routes through the Sierra Madre. It details 1873 completion, 7974 feet peak at Boca del Monte, capitalisation of $46 million, and later 1908 merger of the Mexican Central and Mexican National lines into a $460 million network under government control.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica notes mining as a leading industry across 26 of 31 states and territories with substantial coal copper and iron output. It highlights petroleum asphalt platinum graphite sodium sand and marble among resources and cites Cerro del Mercado near Durango as a famed iron deposit described as a mountain 640 feet high and nearly solid iron.
The article notes Mexico City at 7,415 feet above sea level located 264 miles northwest of Vera Cruz with a crowded, subsoil drenched by wet conditions. It cites a historically high death rate near 66 per thousand, constant street-name changes, and the Paseo de la Reforma as a premier three mile boulevard. It lists 363 government schools in 1908 plus private schools and professional societies, a national library housing over 225,000 volumes, and over 150 manufacturing establishments including iron works.
The piece explains that prior to Porfirio Diaz’s second election in 1884 Mexico endured almost continuous warfare. Conflicts were social and political, pitting church and army against a broad civil population and dueling centralist and federalist factions. Rival generals exploited strife, poverty and wealth concentration fed instability, while a weak middle class and peasant misery sustained militarized politics. After 1884 Diaz’s rule appeared centralized and rational, masking autocratic governance as a stable, popular modern state.
The article argues the origin of American peoples may reflect ancient land connections and long distance ocean crossings from Asia. It notes Japanese ships drifting to California, Aleutian passageways, and Chukehi contact near Harngy Strait, plus hints of Asian influence on Mexican calendars and civilization, suggesting later intercultural exchange rather than deep Asiatic roots.
The agricultural resources of Mexico are large and varied, spanning temperate zone cereals and tropical crops. Despite early mining focus, industrial growth in the late 19th century spurred renewed interest in agriculture, especially capital intensive ventures like coffee, sugar, and rubber plantations.
The article explains that Spanish conquest left few women and resulted in extensive racial mixing. It outlines two main groups the Gachupines Spaniards born in Europe and creoles native-born whites, plus five castas including mestizos mulattoes and zambos. It notes intermediate categories like galtoatras and tente en l aire and mentions Chinese and Malays settling on the Pacific coast via the Vera Cruz to Manila trade route.
The native population, mainly Aztecs and Mayas, remains largely unmixed with Europeans. They stand about 6 ft 3 in, have a sturdy build, and mesocephalic skulls. Faces are oval with high cheekbones, sloping eyes, coarsely molded features, and varying complexions from yellow brown to chocolate. Eyes are black, hair straight and coarse. beards are scanty.
A historical note describes a Mexican leader's term bringing rapid reform, debt settlement, unification of 150 Indian tribes, and rapid infrastructure like railroads and telegraphs after a century of revolutions and bloodshed, noting fifty-two rulers in fifty-nine years.
A bold sales pitch for a new Britannica style encyclopedia claiming 29 volumes with 40,000 articles and 44 million words by 1,500 specialists. It touts 60,000 sets already sold and urges readers to order with a $5 down payment before prices rise on May 23.
A compact overview states Mexico as a federation with 27 states plus territories and a federal district. It details three branches executive legislative judicial with an indirect six year presidential term and a vice president who ascends on death or incapacity. It notes eligibility rules for the president per Britannica.
Britannica notes Mexico's hot coastal zones from Tehuantepec to Veracruz and Yucatan with mean temperatures 77 to 82 F, rising to over 110 in Vera Cruz and Acapulco districts. Heavy southern rainfall diminishes northward, lowlands saturated, forests dense, and disease, pests hinder settlement and growth despite vast wealth and industry appeal.
The article describes Mexico's climate across 17 latitude parallels with the Tropic of Cancer crossing mid territory. It notes tropical and subtropical zones, the central plateau's temperate and subtropical bands, tierra caliente heat up to 105 to 110 degrees in Vera Cruz, Guaymas, and Acapulco, highland snow peaks, distinct seasons north of 28 degrees but a May to October wet season and dry season elsewhere, and long droughts in arid areas.
The article details crops and fruits in Mexico’s tierras calientes, noting nopal as a staple plant with spiny fruit and listing sugar, indigo, cacao, rice, sweet potatoes, beans, cassava, maize, and abundant tropical fruits. It highlights drainage and weed control as key agricultural challenges, with diverse crops and multiple harvests.
Describes Jeaf cutting ants living in large underground colonies that feed on a fungus from leaf cuttings and destroy fruit trees quickly. Notes native tree defenses, widespread termites crumbling wood, and large tree ant nests. Mentions Mexico bees climate, honey exports, and dangers from tarantula and mygale species.
Insects from Britannica describe Mexico's wide insect life with migratory species. Travelers notice butterflies beetles ants and many mosquitoes midges seas and chinches. Mosquitoes spread malaria and yellow fever while midges outnumber them. Butterflies vary greatly as do beetles and ants with diverse forms and habits.
The article lists prominent tropical forest species including mahogany sewood Spanish cedar cas iglas celbas rubber and numerous palms and hardwoods. It notes a rich subtropical flora with 114 tree and cabinet-wood species 17 oil plants and 69 medicinal and dyewoods indigenous to Mertico. It also highlights forest products such as arnotto jalap ipecac or saparanga satsaparna rubber orchids and many plant types in the subtropical zone.
The article catalogs economic plants and products in Mexico and Europe noting cereals fruits and vegetables. It lists staples such as Indian corn beans peppers and tomatoes along with diverse fruits like tunas zapotes guavas and bananas and mentions many regional crops including cacao olives and coconuts. It highlights that Indian corn forms a large part of common people's diet and notes numerous bean and pepper species used in cooking and preservation.
A vivid description extols the extraordinary flora of the Flerran Calientes forests. It notes a diverse, interwoven plant community where many species compete for light, transforming some trees into climbers and even turning certain species into epiphytes.
Mexico, though often seen as non manufacturing, satisfies much home demand for foods and textiles. Muscovado sugar called Panela is still produced by primitive methods nationwide. Zarapes or ponchos, a head slit blanket, serve as a coat substitute in rural areas, reflecting regional textile craft.
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