Page:Travels in Mexico and life among the Mexicans.djvu/451

 two before they could fully understand the perils of a road from floods.

The Mexican manner of railroad building, I may remark in passing, is diametrically opposed to the American. First, you must get a "concession,"—permission to build. Then you seek out some point far distant from any existing railroad, and

transport your material to that place. To begin at the coast would be contrary to Mexican tradition, and establish a damaging precedent. By beginning at the farther end of the line, you give employment to a great many carters and teamsters, which is but simple justice, as the road when built will certainly take away their freights. Realizing this, these aggrieved people make