Page:Mexico of the Mexicans.djvu/140

122 and it has even been stated that the governor of a certain Mexican State put the money voted for education within the bounds of that State to his own purposes. It is impossible at the present time to verify or deny such a statement, but it is possible to deny other assertions that Mexican education as a whole is being starved at the present time. As has been said before, the educational instinct is strong within the Mexican breast, and to attempt to brand this people as retrograde in letters or erudition is merely absurd. Indeed, the average Mexican of the better class has a much higher appreciation of all the things that really matter and that tend to make life beautiful than the commercial-minded American can ever attain to. Idealism was the cause of the present Revolution, and idealism will bring it to a happy issue. Aguas Calientes is one of the smallest States in Mexico, but it is well endowed by Nature, and closely cultivated by a thrifty and hard-working population. Foreigners abound here, and so do silver mines. True to its name ("Hot Waters"), this State possesses many natural springs, the principal of which are situated in the capital. One can see the women washing their clothes in these, and many public baths throughout the city draw their supplies therefrom. The town is a finely-built place, with a large industrial population; and as the State is practically in the centre of Mexico, it naturally figures as an important commercial centre. It is well served by the Central Railway, and its trade may be estimated at about £1,500,000 per annum. The policy of this State has been progressive, education is good, and liberal grants are made by the local government in aid of it. The city of Aguas Calientes, it may be remarked, is one of the most interesting in Mexico, and possesses several fine old churches.

Jalisco, with a population of nearly a million and a half, is one of the most important States in Mexico; indeed, it is not too much to say that in this respect it comes next to the State of Mexico itself. In some ways it may be said to be the