Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/460

* MEXICO. 420 MEXICO. Iztacalco, interesting pleasure resorts frequented by the lower classes. Also to the south is Tlal- pam, a resort second only to Tacubaya in im- portance. To the west, Popolta contains the "Xoche Triste' tree, under whidi tradition says that Cortes wept on the ni^'ht of his exjivilsion from Mexico. By rail it is possible to extend one's e.xeursions beyond the mountain valley to the most interesting points of ancient and mod- ern Mexican history, all of which are within easy distance of the cajjital. IXDISTRIES AND COMMERCE. The industries of the city are constantly increasing. Around the outskirts, completely encircling the city, is a belt of factories and other industrial establish- ments, nuuuifacturing cotton. pa])cr, linen, silk, gold aiul silver wares, pottery, feather articles, leather, carriages, bricks, corks, and soap; there are also several packing houses; in sijjte of the high price of fuel, all these establisliments do a thriving business and will welcome the day when coal can be brought in cheaply to give them a new element of prosperity. A large part of the trade interests is in the hands of French, Oerman, and Knglish niereliants. (For eomnuuiications with the United States and other countries, sec Mex- ico.) The city is the wholesale centre for tlu' na- tion. :inil its l)anks, of which the most im|)ortant are the Hanco Xacional de ilexico. capitalized at lii20,(M)l).(K)0, and Hank of Mexico, London, and South .meriea,eaiiitalizcd at .^lO.OOO.dOO. control its llnancial conditions. Its lifteen markets are large and w'ell ordered and a perpetual source of convenience to its inhabitants as well as of in- terest to the increasing number of visitors. Dhainage and Water Sitpi-y. The city de- rives its water su|)|)ly from the western moun- tains, the greater portion coming from the vicin- ity of Tacubaya. Fur the transportation of the water there have been constructed a series of n(|ueduets, the first of which was completed in 1,57G and the last in 1000, When the city ob- tains full advantage of these it will receive from them 0.1,000 liters per minute, an average of li)8 liters per day for each inhiibitant. Tliis is a larger average than London, Herlin, or Xew Orleans enjoys, and with the supply from the (>!M) artesian wells added this will x- raised to 250 liters. At present, however, the water is very unevenly distributed, the jioorer sections especially sull'ering in this particular; but when the new plans of the dejiartment are put in opera- tion, some 12,000 of the 1.5.000 houses can be supplied with water at a cost of $30 to .$48 a year, which rate will yield the city an annual "revenue of .$500,000, In this way one of the present wretched conditions of the wor.st slums will be greatly ameliorated. The drainage works, which have vastly im- proved the sanitary conditions, were completed in ISIKS after three centuries of more or less spas- nioilie effort, and at the cost of the lives of many thousands of men and many millions of doll.nrs. The great evils from which the City of Mexico suffered for many generations were inundations from Lake Texcoco, and disease pro- moted by the fact that the city stood in the bot- tom of an unilrained natural sink. The lake, suddenly filled by downpours from the mountains, sometimes burled the streets in wat<>r for weeks. Thirty thousand persons were drowned by the sudden submergence of the city in 1020. and similar catastrophes were caused by other (looils. It was to rescue the city from iium<l;itions that the drainage works were begun tliree centuries ago; but it was not till 178S) that the city ceased to be menaced by deluges. Lp to 18.50 the total exi)enditure on the drainage works had been $8,000,000, but the menace of malaria and epi- demics had not yet been removed. The canal was not dee]) enough, the lake was still very little below tile mean level of the city, and the fall was not sullicient to carry off the sewage. The gigan- tic works now completed were not seriously un- dertaken till 1885. They rank among the great engineering achievements of modern times, and with the completion of the ,sewage svstem in the city the total cost will be about $20,000,000, The works consist of sewers carrying the waste of the city to a canal starting from the .Saji Lftzaro gates and extending for 43 miles, its course being deflected so as to cut Lakes San Cristfthal, Xaltocan, and Zunipango, Xear the town of Zuni- pango the ranal empties into the tunnel, com- pletely lined with brick, which has been dug through the mountains a distance of 32,8G0 feet to a river which carries the sewage to the (Julf of Mexico. These works thus carry all the sur- plus waters and sewage of the City of Mexico outside of the valley, and also control the entire waters of the valley, afl'onling an outlet to those that might otherwise overflow fields and towns. Government. With the exception of the tem- porary organization of a municipal government at Vera Cruz to further the ambitious jilans of Cortes, the municipal corporation of Mexico City was the first to be established upon the American continent. The probable date of its establish- ment by the Great Conqueror is 1522, but the earliest preserved record of its meetings is that of March 8, 1524. In that year the ofiicers con- sisted of two alcaldcn (municipal judges), six rci/idures (members of council), a secretary, and a major domo. Later the number of these otlicera was increased and other ollicial places created. At first there was a nominal form of election for these men, though the infiuence of Cortes practi- cally dominated the choice of the corporate mem- bers; but later the governing body of the city became more of a close corporation, tilling a por- tion of its own vacancies. The remaining posi- tions were at the disposal of the King or Vice- roy: both classes were often bestowed by sale or bequest. Although created at first as the creature of Cortfe. the cabildo (municipal corporation) of Mexico soon became a powerful body, strong enough in some cases to make or mar the reputa- tion of succeeding viceroys. It greatly inter- fered with the salutary reforms of the Count of Rcvilla-tiigcdo (1780-93), and on the abdication of Ferdinand VII, in 1808. it took a prominent part in the assembling of a general junta of New Spain to resist the pretensions of ,To,seph Uonn- parte. Following the declaration of Mexican inde- pendence and the division of Xew Spain into the States of the Republic of .Mexico, there arose a conflict between the State authorities of Mexico and the X'^ational Government which resulted in the creation, Xovember 18, 1824. of a Federal Dis- trict, comprising the territory within a radius of two leagues of the main plaza. The Federal District was subsequently enlarged, until it com- prises four prefectures besides the iiimiicipalit.T