seventy hundredths to one and eighty hundredths metres. Thirteen movable weirs provided with locks are being erected, six on the Moldau and seven on the Elbe. The various weirs overcome a lift of about three metres each and permit of the employment of needle weirs. The drops of the locks are about four metres each. The open stretches are from four to thirteen kilometres long. The locks are two hundred and fifty metres in length and eleven metres wide at the gates, and are divided lengthwise into two compartments separated by gates. The lower compartment is one hundred and forty-seven metres long and twenty metres wide and will accommodate entire tows, whereas the upper compartment is seventy-eight metres long and eleven metres wide and is intended only for single ships. The depth in the locks is two and fifty hundredths metres and not less than two and ten hundredths metres in the waterway proper. A sum of twelve million, nine hundred and fifty thousand gulden has been provided for the carrying out of this enterprise. THE WATERWAYS OF HUNGARY. The year 1889 marks the beginning of a period of great activity in the construction, improvement, and development of public works in Hungary, a fact that is well illustrated by the growth of the railroads, which in 1889 measured only seven thousand, nine hundred and fifty-six kilometres as against sixteen thousand, nine hundred and eighty-three kilometres in 1899. At the same time much has been done for the regulation of rivers, which play an extremely important rôle in the low and fruitful plains of Hungary. Especially the Danube and the Theiss with their tributaries were regulated and protected against floods. About one hundred and seventy-two million crowns were expended for river improvements between 1867 and 1898. Three million, two hundred thousand hectares of land have been protected by embankments. The length of the waterways navigable by raft or ship is four thousand, nine hundred and seventy-one kilometres, of which three thousand and ninety-five kilometres can be used by steamships. The total is distributed as follows:: Rivers, Lake of Balaton (Plattensee), Franzens Canal, between the Theiss and the Danube, 4,584 kilometres 34 kilometres 238 kilometres 115 kilometres One of the most important undertakings is the passing of the Danube cataracts at the so-called "Iron Gate," an engineering feat of the first rank. The work, which was carried out at a cost of thirty-nine million crowns, consisted of a scheme of concentration and of the blasting out of canals in the rocky riverbed of the Danube, which latter operation led to many improvements in drilling machines and rock blasting machines. The results accomplished are quite remarkable, for while formerly Danube vessels with a draught of one and eighty hundredths metres could pass through the "Iron Gate" only when the water guage at Orsova registered three and eighty hundredths metres above zero, which is the case on ninety-one days of the year, now the same ships can pass through at eighty hundredths metres above zero, which is possible on two hundred and seventy-one days of the year. By this means the navigation of the river from Bulgaria and Roumania to the upper Danube was for the first time placed on a sound basis. Another important undertaking was the regulation of the Danube between Pressburg and Gönyö, where the river is very wild and divided into many branches, thus offering great obstacles to navigation. These were completely and successfully removed between 1886 and 1895 at a cost of thirty-four million crowns. The only artificial waterways in Hungary are the Béga Canal and the Franzens Canal. The former was built by a joint stock company, but has since passed over into the hands of the government. Its commerce is rather limited : one hundred and seventy-seven thousand tons in 1896. The latter was built by a private company between 1791 and 1801, in order to furnish a shorter connection between the Danube and the Theiss, and was enlarged in 1870. It is one hundred and seventeen and six tenths kilometres long and has six locks. Its trade has been constantly on the increase, rising from one million, eight hundred and sixty-six thousand tons in 1881 to three million, eight hundred and forty thousand tons in 1896. THE WATERWAYS OF RUSSIA. In early times rivers furnished the sole means of transportation for bulky articles in Russia. On account of the lack of highways, efforts were made from the time of Peter the Great on to unite the leading rivers by artificial canals. These navigation systems, as they are called in Russia, have been greatly improved since 1890. The so-called Mariinski system, one thousand, one hundred and fifty kilometres in length, which unites the Volga with the Neva or St. Peters burg with Astrakhan, has been made deeper and wider, so that it will accommodate vessels of six hundred tons cargo capacity throughout its course. The natural waterways, particularly the Volga, were likewise regulated. The commerce of the latter is exceeded only by that of the Rhine between Cologne and the Dutch boundary. Great improvements were made on the Vistula and the Dnieper, chiefly by dredging. In line with these advances is the modern development of the seaports of St. Petersburg, Kronstadt, Odessa, Batum, etc. Russia in Europe, with a total area of five million, five hundred and seventy-six thousand square kilometres, contains the hydrographic basins of the North Polar Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Sea of Azof, and the Caspian Sea. The rivers and canals of Russia are navigable by boat or raft over a distance of seventy-three thousand, six hundred kilometres, of which thirty-six thousand, eight hundred and sixty kilometres are navigable by raft only and thirty-six thousand, seven hundred and forty kilometres by any kind of vessel. Steamships ply over twenty-two thousand kilometres of the distance. The length of the artificial waterways amounts to six thousand kilometres, of which one thousand, eight hundred and fifty kilometres are canals and canalized rivers, and three thousand, one hundred and fifty kilometres regulated rivers. The abundance of water and the short distances from one river to another have made it possible to establish connections between them by means of comparatively short canals. Indeed, the entire character of the country is highly favorable to navigation. The commerce of the Russian waterways amounts to thirty-two million, seven hundred and sixty-two thousand tons, or thirtyfour million, nine hundred and sixty-six thousand ton-kilometres. From forty-five to fifty-five per cent of the total is carried by the Volga and its tributaries, fifteen to twenty per cent by the Neva and its branches, fifteen per cent by the Dnieper system, and the rest by the remaining systems. In 1876 the traffic by water amounted to fifteen million tons, that by rail to twenty-seven million tons. Between 1876 and 1894 the former increased sixty per cent, the latter two hundred and thirty per cent. [TO BE CONTINued. D.] THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF MEXICO' T H. L. VEGUS CITY OF MEXICO I. HE Mexican system of public economy is today almost in the same condition as that which Alexander von Humboldt and Baron Richthofen so graphically pictured in their exhaustive books. Despite the remarkable progress which the republic has made in every technical department, in agriculture the country has remained at its old stage of development. To be sure, in the tropical regions several tracts of land which formerly lay idle, have been brought under cultivation. As an instance of this, I have seen in the states of Tamaulipas and Vera Cruz plantations on a certain kind of soil, which in Brazil, for example, lay entirely fallow. The heavy advertising in North America of tropical products does not correspond to the existing conditions, for in reality the experimental stage has not yet been passed, and regular economic revenues are not to be mentioned. For a long time to come the profit from tropical districts is not likely to figure largely in Mexico's international balance of trade. Likewise in the colder portions, chiefly through a limited water supply, only a very little progress may be claimed. I have reached the conclusion that as yet not two per cent of the claims to productive management hold good, while in Argentina, for example, about sixty per cent are quite up-to-date. Only a few estates are well watered, and have adequate management. In order to portray briefly the condition of land ownership, I cannot do better than to quote the words of Richthofen: "The estates of the broad Mexican territory may be reduced to two classes: some of enormous extent, whose value ranges from two to four hundred thousand pesos and upward; and others less extensive. The former are in general entirely without cultivation, and their owners, who live in opulence at the capital, are concerned only with getting as much rental as possible out of them during the remainder of their lives, without troubling themselves at all with their management." (1) I must preface this general impression of Mexico, by saying that I have learned by experience here, as well as in South America and the Orient, that the only way to become at all acquainted with semi-civilized countries, is not by remaining at the capitals of those countries, but by taking extended and regular trips into the interior. I first visited the states whose chief interest lies in agriculture, and afterwards journeyed into the mining and industrial regions. Copyright, 1904, Frederick A. Richardson, all rights reserved. In addition to the unequal apportionment of the land, the great lack of laborers tends to palsy the development of Mexican husbandry. Of this I was able to convince myself by personal observation, for after I had set out upon my journey, the voluntary interference of the friendly President Porfirio Diaz made it possible for me to extend my trips into regions which, owing to their insecurity, have very seldom been traversed, but which it is important to visit in order to investigate the conditions of labor there prevailing. The governors of the respective states, at the order of the president, placed at my disposal not only relays of carriages and saddle horses, as well as shelter in every place, but also had me continually escorted by a detachment of cavalry, the so-called "Rurales." I therefore felt no hesitation in traveling, accompanied by my wife, through districts occupied exclusively by uncivilized Indians. They dwell in huts built out of reed, straw, clay, and sticks of bamboo. Their food and clothing come from the soil; the only thing which they buy is salt. But just on this account it is very difficult to induce them to work, and upon this consideration also is based the main reason for the problematic condition of Mexican agriculture. Despite the most excellent soil and a native population which she counts by millions, Mexico produces scarcely enough of the necessities of life to support her own people. Therefore she will not be able to take her place in the world's market, at least within calculable time, in exporting sugar, grain, or stock, although she rejoices in several conspicuous and quite modern agricultural enterprises. II. Mexico's remarkable economic advance is certainly not attributable to the development of her agriculture, but especially to the rapid building of railroads, which has been wonderfully promoted by President Diaz. The mileage of these roads now amounts to seventeen thousand, seven hundred and fifty-six kilometres. I have neglected no opportunity to become acquainted with the most important lines, and have repeatedly traveled with the directors in their visits of inspection. The board of directors at the present time are either Americans or Englishmen. They are extraordinarily shrewd men and excellently informed in regard to the economic conditions of the country; from them I have learned much. The government has control of but three railroad systems: the Tehuantepec, the National, and the Inter-Oceanic Railroad Companies. All other roads are entirely in the hands of private persons, especially of North Americans. There are at present fifty-eight different companies, |