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 Copy 1 
 
 THE 
 
 REFORMATION IN MEXICO. 
 
 BY 
 
 RT. REV. ALFRED LEE, D.D., 
 
 BISHOP OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN DEL A WARE, 
 
 TJnSTITEID STATES OIF .AJMIEIRIO-A.- 
 
til- 
 
 i d-'i 
 
 v 
 
THE REFORMATION IN MEXICO. 
 
 •»-» Few histories are clothed with more fascinating interest than that 
 "Y of Mexico. Before America was unveiled to the old world by the 
 ^-n" voyage of Columbus many of the arts of civilization were known 
 ^ there, and a powerful kingdom was flourishing in a splendor that 
 could vie with the realms of the Orient. While the aborigines of our 
 own land were savage Nomads, whose skill only sufficed to construct 
 the wigwam, the canoe, and the weapons of war and chase, there 
 were magnificent cities in this Southern region, and great hosts were 
 mustered under the conduct of plumed and armed chieftains. The 
 descriptions given by the Spanish invaders of the extent, riches, and 
 power of the Mexican empire, the well-organized system of adminis- 
 tration, the beauty and grandeur of the capital, a Western Venice 
 reposing in the bosom of its inland waters, and of the royal state of 
 Montezuma's court, sound like the dreams of romance. Whether 
 the gorgeous semi-civilization of Mexico was self-developed, the 
 growth of the country, the fruit of gradual progress and advance, or 
 whether imported from the Eastern Continent at a period anterior to 
 historic record, is a question upon which learned and intelligent 
 students are unable to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Strong 
 arguments are urged on each side of the question. But whichever 
 view be taken, there can be no doubt respecting the intellectual 
 ability and energy of a people who could either achieve such a condi- 
 tion, or maintain it cut off from all external sources of improvement 
 and refinement. The Aztecs, the race dominant at the era of the 
 Conquest, were a remarkable people. If, as is supposed, the Aztecs 
 derived their knowledge mainly from the Toltecs, whom they sub- 
 dued, the latter must have been a still more wonderful race, superior 
 to the Aztecs in science and art, as well as in gentleness. For, with 
 all their pomp and luxury, the Aztecs were a ferocious and sanguinary 
 people, in a state of almost constant warfare with their neighbors. 
 Of their religion, to which they were fanatically devoted, human sac- 
 rifice was the prominent feature. In all their principal cities were 
 Teocalis, lofty pyramidaNidol mounds, crowned with altars, upon 
 which living victims were continually immolated. These were mostly 
 captives taken in war, and this was one great motive for hostile expe- 
 ditions. When the supply from this source failed, in order to satiate 
 
the demands of the idol priests, a fearful blood-tribute was levied and 
 exacted as systematically as a pecuniary tax. The combination of 
 luxury and cruelty, refinement and superstition, the unrestrained en- 
 joyment ami profligacy of the privileged classes, the terror of the 
 abject, is an awful comment upon the condition of man without the 
 Gospel. 
 
 If we turn from the state of the Mexican empire to the narrative 
 of the Spanish invasion and conquest, we open another most interest- 
 ing page. The subversion of a powerful and warlike kingdom by 
 a handful of foreign adventurers, the tale of marches, stratagems, 
 and desperate battles, of imminent dangers and marvelous victories, 
 sounds more like romance than veritable history. No imaginary 
 description of the feats of heroes of chivalry surpasses the authentic 
 record of the conquest of Mexico. With the gloomy close of Mon- 
 tezuma's brilliant reign, the dark shadows that came over his fortunes 
 after the landing of the mysterious strangers upon his coast, it is im- 
 possible not to sympathize. His destruction was greatly due to his 
 own superstitious fears. 
 
 Strangely enough, oracles were current that the kingdom of Mexico 
 would be overthrown by strangers from beyond the sea. The alarmed 
 monarch dreaded from the first the men of destiny. His policy was 
 vacillating and undecided, now deprecatory and submissive, now 
 treacherous and hostile, and his heart sank within him at the steady 
 and irresistible advance of the invaders. They were already estab- 
 lished in the heart of the capital, and the sovereign a prisoner in their 
 hands, ere the nation was fully aroused. Hut when it was awakened 
 and exasperated by indignities to their king and insults to their 
 religion, their fury was like the outburst of a tropical tornado. The 
 canals of the city ran with blood and were choked with corpses, the 
 onrushing multitudes cared nothing for their own lives so they might 
 grapple with their enemies, drag them into their canoes, and carry 
 them away in triumph to be sacrificed upon the altar of the war-god. 
 By dint of desperate struggle Cortez and a remnant of exhausted fol- 
 lowers escaped from the infuriated city. An aged and massive cypress 
 still marks the spot where the fugitives halted for rest, a monument of 
 the "Noche triste," the sorrowful night. 
 
 But such resistance could only defer, for a short space, the triumph 
 of the European, and his ultimate victory was signalized of course by 
 religious as well as political revolution. The Spanish conqueror of 
 the sixteenth century was a most sincere propagandist of his creed. 
 The cross was emblazoned on his banner. The saint was his war-cry. 
 
5 
 
 The Virgin was his tutelary Deity. The priest and friar accompanied 
 the host. When a city was won, the idol was hurled from its shrine, 
 and mass was celebrated in the temple. The future of the rich and 
 beautiful regions subdued by Cortez was largely shaped by the strong 
 religious bias of the nation from which he came. Spain was trans- 
 planted to America — the Spain of Charles V. and Philip II. The 
 subtle Jesuit and the Dominican Inquisitor came over with the mail- 
 clad warrior. The natives who escaped the edge of the sword were 
 compelled to submit to the new faith. Neither does their conversion, 
 such as it was, seem to have been attended with much difficulty. It 
 is no want bf charity to regard the change as merely superficial. 
 Adoration was transferred from the Mexican idol to the Virgin, and 
 images, certainly more attractive to the eye, supplanted the grim 
 Aztec deities. Of the power of true Christianity they remained as 
 unconscious as before. The shrewd ecclesiastic was not disposed to 
 give too violent a shock to inveterate usages and habits. In many 
 places old heathen rites still linger. In the favorite resort of Indian 
 devotion, the Cathedral of our Lady of Guadalupe, may be now wit- 
 nessed dances of native women, the remains of orgies celebrated for 
 centuries on that very spot. In one respect, indeed, a happy ch?.nge 
 was wrought. Human sacrifices were abolished. Victims were no 
 longer extended upon the block, nor warm hearts reeking upon the 
 altar. Christianity, in a corrupt form, showed its superiority in mercy. 
 And yet, even in this point, Rome can not be held guiltless. She 
 also claimed living sacrifices in the new world as in the old. The 
 frowning walls of the Inquisition were reared, the fires of the Auto de 
 Fe* were kindled, unhappy prisoners were consigned to those dark and 
 fearful dungeons, never to revisit the light of day, and when the build- 
 ing was partly demolished, bodies dried to mummies were found in the 
 walls, where they had been shut up and left to perish. 
 
 For more than three hundred years the power of Rome was supreme. 
 Both politically and religiously Mexico was bound hand and foot. 
 State and Church were closely united, and the foot of viceroy and 
 priest was upon the neck of the people. The multitudes were kept 
 in ignorance and the land impoverished, while immense convents 
 were founded, grand churches erected, swarms of priests, monks, and 
 nuns supported, and vast sums sent to prop up the languishing 
 monarchy of Spain. But the principles of liberty, successfully as- 
 serted by the American Revolution, could not, by the most jealous 
 vigilance, be shut out from the Spanish colonies. They penetrated 
 into Mexico as well as South America. Mexico became an inde- 
 
pendent nation. But the previous condition of the people had poorly- 
 prepared them for self-government, and their annals for half a century 
 are stormy and troublous. The Romish Church was too keen-sighted 
 not to perceive that free institutions would be fatal in the end to her 
 exclusive domination, and that religious toleration would of necessity 
 follow civil liberty. Hence her intrigues have not been wanting to 
 foment these internal dissensions. The party of constitutional free- 
 dom and progress has had to contend against powerful Church in- 
 fluence. But it succeeded in the enactment of the Constitution of 
 1857, which establishes the principles of toleration and the equality 
 of religions before the law. This was followed by the sequestration 
 of conventual property and the suppression of religious orders. The 
 first measure was defended on the ground that the wealth of these 
 institutions had been drawn from the nation, and the nation might 
 rightfully reclaim it, and the second was regarded as a measure of self- 
 defense, and essential to the maintenance of a liberal government. 
 To a citizen of the United States some of the restraints imposed upon 
 the Roman Catholic Church may excite surprise, accustomed, as we 
 are, to the spectacle of unrestricted management of their internal 
 affairs by the various religious bodies. But there are dangers there 
 of which we are unconscious. Rome bears not the loss of power, 
 looks upon the whole land as her rightful possession, and has not 
 abandoned the hope of regaining her former ascendency. Until a 
 very recent period no other form of worship was openly celebrated, 
 and while Rome could no longer control the State, and had greatly 
 lost her hold upon intelligent and educated men, she still remained 
 unchallenged in the domain of faith. Many who had lost belief in 
 her dogmas still gave her an outward reverence. 
 
 But spiritual light is now breaking upon the land, and within the last 
 ten years a movement has been in progress full of promise and hope. 
 Viewed in its origin, nature, and growth, and in connection with the 
 country in which it appeared, it may be considered one of the remark- 
 able movements of the age. It certainly has strong claims upon the 
 attention and sympathy of the lovers of Scriptural truth and pure, 
 primitive Christianity. And to none does it appeal more forcibly than 
 to members of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. 
 Romanism, however deeply rooted in the sacred associations, early 
 prejudices, and social habits of the people, has no longer an undis- 
 puted field. A new communion has arisen, presenting the faith of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ in a widely different aspect, and from small begin- 
 nings has been rapidly spreading. Of the origin and history of this 
 infant Church, a brief outline will be now presented. 
 
I 
 
 7 
 
 Of this plant, now growing so vigorously, it may be emphatically 
 said, "The Seed was the Word of God." It differs from the Christian 
 Missions of the day in that the apparent impulse came not from the 
 living Missionary, but from the Bible. It sprang up from the bosom 
 of the Papal Communion through the silent influence of the Holy 
 Scriptures. When the attempt was made to seat the unfortunate 
 Maximilian upon the throne of Mexico, advantage was taken of the 
 new condition of things to introduce a considerable supply of copies 
 of the Bible in the Spanish tongue. This was especially done by the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. The book found readers. Some 
 of the precious seed fell upon ground prepared by Divine grace for its 
 reception. Among those thus enlightened was a priest named Fran- 
 cisco Aguilar. Upon him the reading of the volume produced like 
 effects as upon Luther in the convent of Erfurth. He not only re- 
 joiced in the discovery which was so precious to his own soul, but he 
 longed to extend to others the blessings he had found. By him the 
 first Protestant congregation, for the worship of God in the Spanish 
 tongue and the preaching of the Gospel, was gathered in the City of 
 Mexico. Protestant worship had been held by chaplains, both Ameri- 
 can and French, but these services were not in the native tongue nor 
 for the native population. The thought of Aguilar was to establish a 
 Reformed Catholic Church, evangelical in doctrine and assimilated in 
 model and polity to the primitive Apostolic pattern. He began with 
 a little congregation of about fifty persons, which increased steadily 
 under his assiduous labors. But his course was a brief one. His own 
 exertions were exhausting, and persecution, none the less malignant 
 if restrained from actual violence, was exceedingly harassing. Within 
 two years he succumbed, pressing in his last moments the Bible to his 
 heart. Among his papers was found the translation of a little volume, 
 in which the right and duty of every man to search the Scriptures was 
 powerfully argued. This was published by the Rev. H. C. Riley, and 
 proved an effective ally to his work. 
 
 The attention of the bereaved flock was directed to a Presbyter of 
 the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, of American 
 parentage, but of Chilian birth and education, who was ministering in 
 the Spanish tongue to an Episcopal congregation in the city of New 
 York. In view of the admirable fitness of the Rev. Henry C. Riley 
 for the work in Mexico, it is no presumption to recognize the hand 
 of God in this call. It was a startling summons to Mr. Riley, urging 
 him to leave his kindred and congregation for a post of certain danger 
 and uncertain results. When the expediency of establishing a mission 
 
8 
 
 in Mexico was under consideration by the Foreign Committee of our 
 Board, Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, was consulted, and he strongly 
 dissuaded from the enterprise as involving too great risk for the mis- 
 sionaries who should be sent there. After examining all the difficul- 
 ties and perils involved, Mr. Riley decided to give himself to the work. 
 Constrained by the love of Christ and zeal for the extension of His 
 Kingdom, he "counted not his life dear unto himself, and none of 
 these things moved him." The Foreign Committee declining the mis- 
 sion, he went on his own responsibility and mainly at his own charges. 
 Arriving in Mexico in 1869, he re-collected, as far as practicable, the 
 scattered flock of Aguilar, teaching both publicly and from house 
 to house. He labored not less effectively with his pen, circulating 
 numbers of tracts of his own composition, explanatory of the great 
 doctrines of the Gospel. He soon attracted public attention, and the 
 jealous eyes of the dominant Church watched him with inquisitorial 
 vigilance. A Catholic Society, with a layman for President, was 
 formed with the express object of counteracting his growing influence. 
 It is a mortifying fact for us to learn that the Minister of the United 
 States then resident in Mexico, General Rosecranz, was in active 
 sympathy with this Society. But in spite of opposition, Mr. Riley's 
 hearers multiplied. He obtained from the Government one of the 
 sequestrated conventual churches, San Jose de Gracia, and prepared 
 to transfer thither his services. The rage of his enemies waxed hot, 
 and only to the protecting hand of his Almighty Guardian can we 
 ascribe it that his life was not cut short by the dagger of the assassin. 
 The Romish party, unable to crush him by violence, determined to 
 employ argument. For this purpose they selected one of the most 
 eminent and learned ecclesiastics of the capital, Manuel Aguas, a 
 Dominican friar, and very popular as a preacher. He examined Mr. 
 Riley's publications with the intention of preparing a refutation. But 
 the Lord led him by a way that he knew not. He was himself van- 
 quished by the power of the truth. "There fell from his eyes as it 
 had been scales." He discovered that he had been all his life in 
 darkness, and that the work he had undertaken to oppose Avas of the 
 Lord. He sought personal conference with Mr. Riley, and after pain- 
 ful conflict and deep searchings of heart, he joined himself to that 
 which he had been wont to look upon as an odious and heretical sect. 
 This open adhesion to the new doctrine was a shock to his former 
 associates not unlike that occasioned by the conversion of Saul of 
 Tarsus. The church of San Jose de Gracia was about to be occupied 
 by the congregation under Dr. Riley's care. Loud and deep were the 
 
 
threats that the blood of the worshipers should stain the pavement. 
 What added fuel to the flame was the announcement that the preacher 
 on that occasion would be none other than Mar_ 
 Apostolic boldness the converted friar ascended the pulpit from which 
 it was not unlikely he would be dragged to martyrdom, and before an 
 immense audience proclaimed the Gospel. The favoring hand of God 
 averted the danger of this first experiment of reformed worship in an 
 old Romish church, and the deliver}- of the opening sermon : - . :.£- 
 tinguished a convert. Manuel Aguas concluded his sermon without 
 interruption, and went forward .vith zeal and intrepidity in his new 
 vocation. From that time he was united with Mr. Ri'.ey in the : - 
 sight of the Church. He was elected its first Bishop, and had e 
 qualification for a leader. Trained in all the learning of the R: 
 school, and conversant with the system of internal administration, he 
 could speak intelligently upon all the points that came unde 
 sion. Of unblemished character as well as great intellectual pc 
 he commanded the respect of his bitterest enemies. Eml 
 grand verities of the Gospel . si ople, childlike faith, and proc 
 ing them with fervor and eloquence, he attracted large numbers tc 
 hear the Word, and had the entire confidence and affection of the 
 dock to whom he ministered. He seemed, indeed, pre; iseli the 
 for the arduous and important charge for which he had been sele : te 
 ;hosen vessel of the Lc i 
 The anger and astonishment created among his old ass 
 be imagined. He was of course speedily excommur icate 
 enemies could not, as a former generation would have done. ; 
 him to the tender mercies of the Inquisition. He was chalk \ 
 a public disputation. This he gladly accepted, and - the 
 
 question for discussion, "Is the Church of 
 Public expectation was intensely aroused, and on 
 thousands wended their way - Jose Sreat precanl as 
 
 i by the friends of Aguas for hi 
 that way was made for him through the d- 
 
 But when he arrived his antagonist did not make his appearance. 
 Roman authorities had thought better of it. and concluded not to 
 alio- an. Their selected theologian, who 
 
 had been preparing himself, : to a distant place, 
 
 alone. He had the field to himself, and he did no: 
 tage of the great opportunity. He boldly accused Rome of the sin of 
 idolatry, and sustained the charge by convin _ - - 
 
 things were brought to the ears of many of his auditors, and 
 given on that day to the Roma - - - v one. 
 
IO 
 
 Aguas was busy with his pen as well as in his public ministry. In 
 particular he replied to the sentence of excommunication in a tract, 
 which for forcible style and keen sarcasm is worthy to be compared 
 with "The Provincial Letters" of Pascal. No more lifelike portrait 
 of the man can be presented than that which he himself has drawn 
 upon the pages of this tract, and so well does it bring before the reader 
 the nature of the controversy in which he was engaged, that I need 
 not apologize for extracts of some length. Referring to his excom- 
 munication, he says that the Romish Church deals no worse with him 
 than with her own people, except by seeking to hold him up for public 
 abhorrence and detestation. By withholding the cup, Rome substi- 
 tuted a ceremony of her own invention for the ordinance of Christ, 
 and virtually nullified the Lord's Supper. And to show the injustice 
 of the anathema launched against him, he imagines the Apostle Paul 
 returning to earth and visiting the Cathedral of the City of Mexico. 
 He is received by the Archbishop and clergy with obsequious rever- 
 ence, and entering the Cathedral, inquires the design and use of the 
 various objects which meet his eye. The answers to his questions 
 bring out one after another the falsehoods and abuses of Rome, and 
 it is made apparent in the issue that Paul is as deserving of excommu- 
 nication as Aguas. 
 
 The tract is addressed to the Archbishop : 
 
 " For my part I forgive. You curse me and I bless you ! You 
 hate me and I love you in Jesus Christ. You would, if you had the 
 power, conduct me to the flames, as your predecessors, the Inquisi- 
 tors, have done many sincere Christians, and I desire that the Saviour 
 conduct you to glory. I follow the religion which blesses, compas- 
 sionates the sufferings of sinners, and all the more if they be enemies, 
 and you follow the religion which curses, detests, excommunicates, 
 and tortures, and whose vengeance is unsatisfied until it burns alive 
 those who have the courage to open the Bible and declare to the peo- 
 ple the truths which God has revealed, thus exposing the falsehoods 
 inculcated by Rome. This only is my fault. You can not allege, 
 brother Bishop, any other crime as cause for my excommunication. 
 
 " But this is not to be wondered at, inasmuch as you adhere to a 
 Christianity so corrupted by the Bishops of Rome, that if the primitive 
 leaders of the faith were to rise from the dead, they could in no way 
 recognize it. Let us suppose the Apostle St. Paul to reappear on 
 earth and take a corporal form. Let us suppose, also, that the first 
 city which he visits is Mexico, and that, as is natural, he directs his 
 steps to the most conspicuous edifice of that capital, the Cathedral. 
 
II 
 
 What cause of joy to yourself and to your subjects so illustrious a 
 visitor ! You would doubtless make great preparations to receive 
 him, placing a magnificent chair of state in the Tabernacle to be 
 occupied by the Saint, while you honored him with a solemn chanted 
 Mass. You would make a display of all your splendor and pomp, deck- 
 ing yourselves with your richest and most costly ornaments. You would 
 be attended by all the friars, clergy, and even the nuns, dispensed for 
 the occasion from their usual confinement, all wearing their respective 
 costumes, and the canons displaying their immense and glittering 
 trains. You yourself would walk under a canopy, wearing your em- 
 broidered mitre, showing upon your breast your rich pectoral, valued 
 by competent judges at the sum of more than one hundred thousand 
 dollars — pity that such wealth should not be devoted to the relief of 
 the thousands of unfortunate and distressed families in Mexico. 
 
 " With what surprise would the Holy Apostle see these fanciful and 
 gorgeous vestments, bringing at once to his memory bacchanalian 
 scenes among the heathen. In amazement he would ask, ' Who are 
 ye ? ' With graceful politeness, and with an air of majesty, you would 
 advance to pay your homage to the Apostle, you and all your retinue 
 prostrating yourselves before him. St. Paul would recall the incident 
 of his life when a priest of Jupiter, believing him to be the god Mer- 
 cury, would have offered sacrifice to him at Lystra. Rending his gar- 
 ments as at that time, he would cry out, ' Why do ye this ? I am 
 myself a man like you. I supposed you to be Christians — but I see 
 that I was in error. 1 am in the midst of idolatry.' You, rising up 
 with precipitation, would endeavor to detain the Apostle from escap- 
 ing, and would say, ' Fear not, holy Apostle, I am a Bishop of the 
 Church of Christ, and these are my sheep.' Paul, recovered a little 
 from his alarm, would follow you, although hesitatingly. On arriving 
 at the Cathedral he would exclaim with admiration, ' What a beautiful 
 temple ! Certainly you are fortunate in wresting this edifice from the 
 ancient Aztecs, for I understand that here they formerly adored their 
 god Huitzilopotchli. All these idols which adorn the walls of this 
 temple reveal to me that they have belonged to the heathen. Bring 
 me hammers and axes and let us proceed to destroy these images, so 
 insulting to the true God.' 
 
 " What would you answer him, brother Bishop ? I believe that in 
 your heart you would justify the Saint, for you would then remember 
 the commandment of the Lord (Ex. xx). Nevertheless, with some 
 confusion, you would entreat the Apostle to pass around, and defer 
 for a time his purpose. 
 
12 
 
 " The blessed Apostle, affectionate and gracious, would permit the 
 delay, and advance into the interior of the Cathedral. But now com- 
 mences the chant of the choir, accompanied by the organ. He in- 
 quires, ' In what language are those brethren singing ? ' 'In Latin,' 
 you answer. ' Is then the Latin spoken and understood in Mexico ? ' 
 1 No, sir ; here the Castilian alone is spoken.' ' How unfortunate,' 
 the Apostle would reply, ' that you have not been acquainted with my 
 Epistle to the faithful at Corinth, in the fourteenth chapter of which 
 the Holy Spirit, by my mouth, recommends that nothing should be 
 said or sung in the Church except in a language understood by the 
 people. I said myself to these primitive Christians, I thank my God 
 1 speak with tongues more than ye all. Yet in the Church I had 
 rather speak five words with my understanding, that I might teach 
 others, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.' 
 
 " Before you could answer that just observation, the Holy Apostle 
 would again ask, ' Why have ye not destroyed this altar of the Indians, 
 upon which so many human victims must have been sacrificed ? Nay, I 
 grieve to see that instead of destroying it, ye have preserved it most 
 carefully and adorned it richly.' ' Sir,' you would answer, ' there is no 
 human victim here offered. We use it for saying the Mass, in which 
 we sacrifice Jesus, the victim whom we offer daily to the Father.' The 
 Apostle might answer, ' What you mean by the word Mass I under- 
 stand not, neither do I comprehend how it is that ye daily sacrifice 
 Jesus Christ, who is in heaven at the right hand of the Father, in His 
 glorified body and soul — who only on two occasions comes into this 
 world ; first to suffer, which has already been accomplished, and the 
 second time to judge, at the last day. 
 
 " ' I see too plainly that though ye call yourselves Christians, ye are 
 not so in reality, since ye do not know the New Testament. If you 
 had read at least my Epistles you would have found repeated testi- 
 monies that Jesus Christ was once sacrificed for the sins of many, and 
 that He is never to be sacrificed again.' (He then quoted Rom. vi. 
 9 ; Heb. vii. 26, 27 ; ix. 24-28 ; x. 10-18). 
 
 " ' Neither suppose, brother Bishop, that I alone have so thought. 
 All the Apostles agree with me in this. What says St. Peter in his 
 first Epistle, hi. 18 ? How can you presume to tell me that you sacri- 
 fice Christ daily when you celebrate that Mass, a thing to me wholly 
 unknown ? How can you pretend to shed at every step that most 
 precious blood of the Lord ! ' 
 
 " You would answer, ' We do not in the Mass shed the blood of 
 Jesus. Although the sacrifice upon Calvary was with shedding of 
 
13 
 
 blood, it is our doctrine that the sacrifice of the Mass is unbloody.' 
 Think you, brother Bishop, that this answer would satisfy the Holy 
 Apostle ? ' Then,' he would reply, ' this, your alleged sacrifice, is 
 wholly useless and unavailing, for in my Epistle to the Hebrews, i.x. 
 22, I have taught without shedding of blood is no remission.' " 
 
 Omitting the questions and answers concerning the vow of chastity 
 and the forbidding the use of certain meats, and the Apostle's notice 
 and queries touching the confessional boxes, and his castigation of the 
 claim of priestly absolution, and reference to the dangers and abuses 
 of the Confessional (and the previous acquaintance of the writer with 
 the whole interior of the system, gives great weight to these expo- 
 sures), I come to another question. 
 
 " ' Pray tell me, brother Bishop, whence comes to my ears this 
 metallic sound, as if it were the ring of silver money ? ' ' Sir, the 
 faithful are paying for masses to be celebrated on the altar of pardon, 
 in order to effect the release of souls from Purgatory.' ' What mean 
 ye by this word Purgatory ? I already understand that the payment 
 for masses signifies that these unworthy Bishops and Presbyters by 
 taking this money imitate, so far as is in their power, the treacherous 
 Judas, who sold his divine Master for thirty pieces of silver, with the 
 difference, however, that Judas committed his frightful crime once, 
 and here it is committed every day and many times a day. But the 
 word Purgatory I do not understand ; explain it.' ' Sir, Purgatory is 
 a dark and gloomy place, much like hell, where souls that have not 
 made full satisfaction to God for their sins suffer in flames the most 
 exquisite torments, until their relatives pay a dollar for the reciting of 
 a mass on the altar of pardon ; for example, when, on the celebration 
 of the said Mass, not only one, but five souls go forth from this place 
 of torment.' 
 
 " 'I know not with what conscience,' the Apostle would rejoin, 'ye 
 can rob the public in so scandalous a manner, and wonder that the 
 authorities do not suppress the altar and the abuse. But tell me, who 
 taught you this fable of Purgatory, an old wives' fable, of which you 
 find nothing in the Scriptures ? Nay, you are in the grossest error in 
 supposing that men can satisfy God for their sins, which is an utter 
 falsehood, however virtuous and imposing their works may be. Many 
 passages of Scripture condemn this erroneous and dangerous doctrine. 
 Read my Epistle to the Ephesians, ii. 8, 9 : " By grace are ye saved 
 through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God ; not of 
 works, lest any man should boast." Moreover, the blood of Jesus Christ 
 cleanseth from all sin the souls that trust in Him. Wherefore invent 
 
14 
 
 a place where souls are purified from sins by fire. But it is manifest 
 that you have invented Purgatory in order to rob the people and en- 
 rich yourselves.' 
 
 " ' Tell me, what signifies this picture representing wretches in the 
 midst of flames ? ' ' Sir,' you would have to answer, ' this is a repre- 
 sentation of Purgatory, and it has been placed near the altar of par- 
 don, in ordvir that the faithful may see plainly what their defunct 
 relatives are suffering in the other world, whence it comes to pass 
 that this poor little altar, so much abused, receives most profuse 
 offerings.' 
 
 " The holy Apostle, full of indignation, would say, ' Now I perceive 
 that the images which adorn this temple have been placed here by 
 yourselves, and not, as I thought at first, by the old Aztecs, and hence 
 your refusal that they should be destroyed. But know, brethren, that 
 all who adore graven images are idolaters.' .... But you would 
 answer, ' Holy Apostle, although we adore these images, we do not 
 direct our adorations to them absolutely, but to the saints in heaven 
 whom they represent, whom we regard as our mediators, advocates, 
 and intercessors with the Father, and therefore to them we direct our 
 prayers, open our hearts, and disclose our wants. And great are the 
 benefits we thus derive under our burdens and afflictions.' .... 
 ' Moreover, we possess many relics of the Saints, before which we 
 kneel reverently, adore and kiss them, that by actions so meritorious 
 we may gain many indulgences and the remission of all our sins.' 
 
 " ' What are these relics that you have ? ' exclaims the wondering 
 Apostle. You hasten to display the precious gifts of which you are 
 so proud. ' Look,' you say, ' this thread is the remainder of the gar- 
 ment of St. Anna ; this old shoe was worn by the Apostle Thomas ; 
 the beads of this rosary were made from the stones with which 
 Stephen was killed ; this hood belonged to the greatest of the in- 
 quisitors, Domingo de Guzman, by whom so many heretics were 
 burned ; these teeth' — 'Silence !' the Apostle would answer, 'I want 
 no more teeth, no more lies, no more of these pitiful superstitions. I 
 desire earnestly that ye may know the true religion, that ye become 
 Christians, for at present ye are real idolaters, attributing great efficacy 
 to despicable amulets. Bring me a Bible immediately and I will show 
 you.' 'We have no Bible in the Cathedral.' 'How? Not a single 
 copy of the sacred volume in this which you tell me is a Christian 
 Church?' 'Not one, holy Apostle.' 'Then let one of these. boys in 
 red vestments run tx> a street which is called street of San Francisco, 
 
i5 
 
 where, in passing by, I noticed a Bible depository, and buy one.' 
 ' On no account, blessed Saint. Those are the Bibles with which the 
 Protestants, on Sunday, the second of July, gave us such a shock that 
 we are scarcely yet recovered. Better let one of our annotated 
 Bibles be brought. Let the father Sacristan, who lives here, bring his 
 Bible.' 
 
 "Then the said father would advance, making to you, Brother 
 Bishop, a thousand genuflexions and reverences, and in a tremulous 
 voice would say, ' Most illustrious, reverend, excellent, and pious sir, 
 the Bible that I have is that 'of Vence, but it is imperfect — there re- 
 mains but the first volume, and even that has been gnawed by the 
 rats. If it please your very illustrious and pious Lordship, I will 
 bring it immediately.' ' Leave me,' you reply. 
 
 " The holy Apostle, with indignant manner, would reprove you 
 thus : ' Why do you despise, in this manner, the word of God? If ye 
 have fallen into so great errors, it is because ye are ignorant of the 
 holy Scriptures. Well do the words of Jesus to the Sadducees suit 
 you. "Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures." You have formed 
 with your own hands these images, and bow down to them and wor- 
 ship them, and thus commit the dreadful sin of idolatry, which God 
 solemnly forbade in the second commandment of the Decalogue.' 
 ' Sir,' you would say, ' in order to rid ourselves of the great blemish 
 of idolatry, our King (the Pope) has ordered the suppression of that 
 second commandment in the Catechism which we put in the hands 
 of the children. By this ingenious artifice we have been able to 
 deceive the people and to get from them the money which we so 
 much need.' " 
 
 One more extract. " « I can now understand,' " the Apostle is 
 represented as saying, "'why you teach such things, since your object 
 is, as you confess, to obtain money from the people, and for that end 
 you have established a religion which is not the religion of God, but 
 the religion of money. But what astonishes me is that the poor 
 people, having, as they must have, the Bible in their hands, can suffer 
 themselves to be so misled. Even we who wrought miracles did not 
 ask our hearers to believe upon our word, but daily to ' search the 
 Scriptures, and see whether these things were so.' Acts xvii : n. 
 How is it that your subjects have believed you ? ' 
 
 " Brother Bishop, as a man of veracity, you would be obliged to 
 answer : ' The people may not read the Bible without notes ; so doing 
 they would incur the greater excommunication. Only persons in 
 whom we repose perfect confidence, and who are interested in pre- 
 
io 
 
 serving our dogmas, are licensed to read the book, with the notes and 
 explanations of Roman Saints.' The Apostle would answer, ' How ? 
 A license to read the Bible, which, as I wrote in my second Epistle to 
 Timothy, " is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doc- 
 trine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." If 
 a license be required to read this sacred book which God has vouch- 
 safed to mortals, why not a license needed to breathe the free air or 
 enjoy the light of the sun ? But tell me wherefore has the reading of 
 the Bible been prohibited?' 
 
 " You would answer, ' Because the Holy Council of Trent declared 
 that book to be mischievous, dangerous, and likely to lead souls to 
 error and perdi tion.' 
 
 "The holy Apostle would reply, 'But when God declares just the 
 contrary, whom are we to believe? Moreover, Jesus expressly 
 charges men, " Search the Scriptures, for they testify of me." Why 
 have the people obeyed man rather than God ? ' 
 
 " Brother Bishop, I suppose you to be a man of truth and sincerity. 
 1 suppose, therefore, that you would answer the holy Apostle, ' those 
 who dared to read the Bible without license and have credited its 
 teachings, have been straightway led to a horrible tribunal, known by 
 the name of the Holy Inquisition, have been thrown into dark and 
 damp dungeons, their bones have been broken, they have been cruelly 
 tortured, and if they possessed the courage to persevere in their 
 opinions, they have been conducted to the flames, where they have 
 been cruelly tortured, and roasted alive, and consumed to ashes. 
 Many thousands has the Holy Inquisition destroyed in the fire.' " 
 
 These extracts are sufficient to show the intellectual vigor of the 
 author, his mastery of the whole subject, his uncompromising bold- 
 ness, and the keen edge of his controversial weapon. As an op- 
 ponent of Romish corruptions and priestly frauds, as well as a 
 preacher of the Gospel of salvation, his trumpet gave no uncertain 
 sound. 
 
 Through the labors of Aguas, Riley, and some faithful helpers, the 
 work prospered greatly, and extended from the capital to neighboring 
 towns and villages. A simple liturgy was prepared, and proved a very 
 efficient aid in diffusing the principles of the Gospel and building up 
 congregations. Bible readers, men unversed in scholastic lore, but 
 full of faith and zeal, carried the glad tidings from village to village, 
 experiencing often the same treatment as the first heralds of the cross, 
 but persevering and undismayed. In the City of Mexico an important 
 acquisition was made in the purchase Of another of the old conventual 
 
17 
 
 churches, San Francisco. This is a magnificent edifice, in which an 
 audience of two thousand might be assembled, with a chapel adjacent 
 capable of accommodating three hundred persons, situated on the 
 principal street of the city. The church is only inferior to the cathe- 
 dral in dimensions, and of a better style of architecture. It is every 
 way suited to be a center of mission work. Hitherto the chapel only 
 has been used, but efforts are now made to put the church in repair, 
 and great advantages are anticipated from its use in public worship. 
 
 The course of Aguas, like that of Aguilar, was soon terminated. In 
 labors he was most abundant, preaching from twelve to fifteen ser- 
 mons a week in addition to manifold cares of oversight and pastoral 
 duty. Under these exertions, as well as the harassing effects of per- 
 secution and calumny upon a sensitive spirit, his health gave way. In 
 187 1 he rested from his labors. There was no place for his remains 
 in what was called consecrated ground, and they were interred in the 
 American cemetery. At this time Mr. Riley was absent, having been 
 detained in New York by the death of his father. The infant Church 
 suffered greatly from this sore bereavement and the want of a recog- 
 nized head, and advantage was taken of its affliction to divide congre- 
 gations and draw off members. Under these circumstances a petition 
 was forwarded by the Synod of the Church to the House of Bishops 
 of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, praying them 
 to take measures for conveying to the Church in Mexico the Episcopal 
 Office, offering to give guarantees respecting faith and order. This 
 petition was presented to the Bishops in October, 1874, and led to 
 the appointment of a Mexican Commission, consisting of seven Bish- 
 ops, at whose request the writer visited Mexico for personal examina- 
 tion and conference during the last winter, accompanied by the Rev. 
 H. Dyer, D.D., of New York. There has yet been no opportunity 
 for action upon his report. 
 
 In a work of such recent origin, and exposed to such severe trials 
 and interruptions, many things must of course be yet in an inchoate 
 shape and condition. The Liturgy in use is understood to be provis- 
 ional. Surprise has been sometimes expressed that it differs from 
 the services of our Prayer-Book. But it should be borne in mind 
 that this is a Reformed Mexican Church, not a branch of the Protest- 
 ant Episcopal Church transplanted to Mexico. It is no exotic, but an 
 indigenous growth. It did not originate in a mission from this coun- 
 try. We have no right to exact precise and rigid conformity to our 
 model. Our kindly counsel and advice will be most respectfully and 
 gratefully received, but dictation would be sure to awaken the spirit 
 
i8 
 
 of national jealousy among a very sensitive people. The present 
 Liturgy is simple, scriptural, and responsive. It embodies the Apos- 
 tles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Decalogue, portions of the Te 
 Deum, and the Gloria in Excelsis. The doctrine of the Trinity is 
 made very prominent, distinct petitions being offered to each person 
 of the Godhead, and the sole intercession of the Lord Jesus as the 
 one Mediator is everywhere recognized. Lessons from both the Old 
 and New Testaments are read, but there is no prescribed Lectionary. 
 
 A full and permanent Liturgy must be formed by the deliberate and 
 mature action of the Church that is to use it, a Church, be it remem- 
 bered, whose members are of Spanish, not Anglo-Saxon race and edu- 
 cation. Precious materials may be drawn from the ancient Mozarabic 
 Liturgies ; lime, learning, study, and experience must all contribute to 
 perfect so important a work as the permanent cultics of this Church. 
 
 From the beginning the ideal in the minds of the leaders of this 
 movement was a Church purified from Romish errors and corrup- 
 tions, but retaining the primitive constitution of the Spanish Ante- 
 Nicene Church, and closely allied to the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the United States. The hope was cherished at the outset of ob- 
 taining the adhesion of one of the Mexican Bishops, and thus perpet- 
 uating the ministry in the order which they desired, but the way was 
 not then opened. Afterward, having elected Aguas as their future 
 Bishop, they looked forward to the day when he could be consecrated 
 to his office. Disappointed in this earnest desire, they still waited 
 patiently without resorting to any other mode of ordination. Men 
 who felt themselves called by the Holy Spirit testified to their coun- 
 trymen the doctrines of Salvation. So far as possible the sacraments 
 were ministered by Dr. Riley and converted priests. It was a mem- 
 orable day, February 24, 1875, when the first ordination in Mexico 
 was held by a Protestant Bishop. The full service of our Church in 
 the Spanish tongue was used, the sermon being preached by the Rev. 
 Dr. Riley. When the Epistle was read, Acts vi., "Wherefore, breth- 
 ren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the 
 Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business," 
 the unintentional 'coincidence of seven persons being presented for 
 ordination, made quite an impression. After the service the emotion 
 shown was very touching, the newly ordained Deacons throwing them- 
 selves into each other's arms and weeping for joy. As it was so un- 
 certain when another opportunity would be presented, ordination to 
 the Presbyterate followed a few days after. 
 
 The doctrines of the " Church of Jesus" are in accord with the 
 
*9 
 
 Creeds and Articles of the Protestant Episcopal Church. As in the 
 era of the Reformation, the revulsion from Rome is strong and de- 
 cided. Papal corruption and oppression are to them fearful realities. 
 Those who have given up friends and prospects of earthly advantage, 
 and are hazarding their lives in the struggle for a pure faith, are not 
 inclined to compromise with such an enemy. Two doctrines espe- 
 cially hold in their minds the same high position with which they were 
 regarded by the champions of the Reformation — the Holy Scriptures, 
 the standard of faith and practice, and the right of every man to read 
 them under his responsibility to God ; and justification by the merits 
 of Jesus Christ, through faith alone. 
 
 The rapid increase of the " Church of Jesus" in Mexico is fitted to 
 awaken strong hopes for the future. It counts now over fifty congre- 
 gations, of which thirteen were organized within two months after the 
 writer's visit. Many of these are small, but others number from three 
 to four hundred, and in some villages the larger part of the population 
 is embraced. The reformation in morals is in such places very ob- 
 servable. It is safe to reckon that over six thousand souls are at this 
 time under the influence of the Church. In the capital are six con- 
 gregations, two of them quite large, from which came the greater part 
 of one hundred and thirty candidates who received the rite of con- 
 firmation. Had time permitted, other classes would have been pre- 
 pared and the number greatly increased. An evidence of the extent 
 to which the work has spread was furnished by the visit of delegations 
 from remote congregations, some of whom had traveled many miles. 
 
 As in Apostolic days, the converts are largely '■ the poor of this 
 world rich in faith." The proportion of Indians is veiy considerable. 
 The obloquy encountered and the worldly sacrifices to be made are 
 great obstacles in the way of persons of high social position. It is 
 " hard for the rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." The spirit 
 of persecution is none the less bitter because its outward demonstra- 
 tions are checked by law. Some of those who were ordained, young 
 men of good families, had been cast off by their own parents for hav- 
 ing joined this Church. There is no reason to doubt that the present 
 Government is sincere in its desire to enforce the laws of toleration, 
 and it succeeds in the capital as well as could be expected. But in 
 remote districts its arm is comparatively weak, while an ignorant and 
 fanatical populace is easily excited to violence by artful priests. Such 
 an outbreak took place last winter at Acapulco, on the occasion of a 
 visit from a Presbyterian missionary, when some six or seven persons 
 lost their lives. The " Church of Jesus" in Mexico has had its mar- 
 
20 
 
 tyrs and confessors. One of its Bible readers was slain while I was 
 in the country, another since my departure, and I met more than one 
 who bore in the " body the marks of the Lord Jesus." But the spirit 
 of genuine Christianity is shown not only in willingness to suffer and 
 die for Christ, but also in the return of evil for good and blessings for 
 curses. There has been little complaint heard from the suffering 
 Church. Indignities, revilings, and outrages have been patiently borne, 
 and " with well doing they seek to put to silence the ignorance of 
 foolish men." Like the early Christians, they are assailed by false and 
 odious accusations. One of the senseless slanders put in circulation 
 was, that in their meetings an image of Christ was beaten, and every 
 one present compelled to inflict a blow ; another, that a picture of the 
 Virgin Mary was placed upon the floor, just inside of the door, so that 
 whoever entered would be compelled to trample on it. And as the 
 early apologists complain that pestilence, famine, flood, and other 
 public disasters were imputed to the wrath of the old Pagan gods pro- 
 voked by the Christians, so in Mexico the so-called heretics are charged 
 with being the cause of destructive earthquakes. Sacred history re- 
 peats itself as well as secular. 
 
 While the evangelist is exposed to obvious dangers from fanatical 
 bigotry, there is not the same risk for the native worker as for the for- 
 eigner. The missionary from abroad, especially from the United 
 States, arouses national and political as well as religious prejudices. 
 And herein is largely the hope and promise of the movement under 
 consideration. It is of Mexican origin, and carried forward by native 
 laborers. Peradventure God in His Providence is thus preparing the 
 way for the extension of the pure Gospel among the millions on this 
 continent speaking the Spanish tongue. We know how inaccessible 
 they have seemed to missionary enterprise. But let a Mexican Church 
 be established, presenting the truth as it is in Jesus, and the light thus 
 enkindled would extend its beams to the Antilles and the Continental 
 Spanish-American States. A great company of preachers would go 
 forth, sister churches would spring up, and light-towers be kindled 
 along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Nay, it is no extreme supposi- 
 tion that the radiance will extend across the ocean, and that from the 
 countries to which Spain sent her fierce, armed propagandists in the 
 sixteenth century, may be returned to her the much-needed influences 
 of pure and Apostolic Christianity. Such hopes are not to be put 
 aside as idle dreams, when we see what has already been done. A 
 Reformed Church, numbering more than fifty congregations, and cele- 
 brating its worship in grand temples in the very heart of the City of 
 
21 
 
 Mexico, has been gathered within the space of ten years, in the face 
 of virulent prejudice and fanatical opposition. 
 
 Surely such a work, opening such prospects, may wel cheer the 
 hearts and encourage the hopes of the lovers of truth and holiness. 
 
 To our own Church is the appeal for sympathy and aid urgent y 
 made and much depends on the way in which it is received arid the 
 « ponse with which it is met. The attention of other Christian bodie 
 ha been drawn to this remarkable work of Divine grace, and they 
 have shown their customary readiness to embrace the opening. While 
 doinc justice to their liberality and zeal, it does seem an unhappy 
 thin, that, a. so critical a moment, minds just emerging from Konush 
 error should be distracted by sectarian emulations, and the divisions 
 among Protestants should furnish such a powerful argument to he 
 enen,;. The questions between the "Church of Jesus" and the 
 dominant religion are just the broad, deep, ineffaceable questions 
 be ween the Papal system and real Christianity. It ,s to be regretted 
 tha o her points should be thrust in, and that banners of various hue 
 ho. Id be hrown to the breeze, especially as the field ,s so wide and 
 many points might be selected for operation without Pdcbmg'enfia 
 close" beside the* congregations previously gathered by tahb I and 
 self-denying labors. But, this much we may learn, if we withhold the 
 hand of feuowsnip, the cordial God-speed and substanlial evidences 
 of sympathy, there are organized societies all ready to grasp the op- 
 portunities which W e neglect. To us the hearts and wishes of that 
 wlich is in truth the Church of Christ in Mexico, are now turned. 
 We can impart to them gifts that none others can and gifts upon 
 which they set a high value. We can engage, with peculiar advantage 
 „ a grand and holy work. "A great door and effectual ,s opened 
 „„,o us of the Lord." If it be added, "and there are many adver- 
 saries," this is no new experience in the history of Christ s religion. 
 
 ALFRED LEE. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 Since the publication of the foregoing statement, as an article in 
 the Church Review, October, 1875, a new shape has been given to 
 the Reformation in Mexico by the proceedings of the Mexican coin- 
 mission above mentioned, and the action of the Bishops of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church thereupon. The Commission, after 
 very full and earnest consideration of the report made by the visiting 
 Bishop, and the accompanying documents, accepted and approved his 
 report. Among the resolutions adopted were the following : 
 
 "Whereas, In the opinion of this Commission, there is sufficient 
 evidence of the existence in Mexico of presbyters and brethren who 
 are ?4exican citizens, owing no allegiance to the Government of these 
 United States, but recognizing the Episcopate of this Church, and 
 seeking further organization under its nursing care : 
 • "Resolved, That the record of Synodical action, and other documents 
 laid before us, indicate the provisional organization of a Church in 
 Mexico, which justifies our recognition of such Church under Article 
 X. of our Constitution. 
 
 "Resolved, That we recognize the fact that said Church has certified 
 to us the election of two Presbyters as Missionary Bishops of said 
 Church by due Synodical action; but finding the testimonials furnished 
 in evidence of said election in some respects less than a full equiva- 
 lent of the formulated testimonials under which the Episcopate was 
 imparted to our own Church, we hereby respectfully suggest that such 
 testimonials as shall be equivalent thereto be further supplied by the 
 aforesaid Church in Mexico, according to historical forms to be by us 
 sent for their consideration." 
 
 The Commission also resolved to lay before the Bishops of the 
 Protestant Episcopal Church a formal Covenant or Articles of Agree- 
 
23 
 
 lent bet'veen the Bishops and " The Mexican Branch of the Catholic 
 :hurch of our Lord Jesus Christ Militant upon Earth" (the title 
 ssumed by said Church at its Synodical meeting in August, 1875), 
 1 further and definite settlement of relations with said .Church in 
 
 lexico. 
 After hearing and discussion of this report, the following action 
 as taken, nemine co?itradicente : 
 
 1. " Resolved, That the Bishops in Council learn with deep gratitude 
 
 the facts presented in the Report of their Com mis- 
 desire to render frate^ 1 the full settlement 
 in Branch of the Catholic Church of Our Lord Jesus 
 
 irist Ai upon Earth,' in its possession of Scriptural truth and 
 
 losulic ordej." 
 
 2. "Resolved, That the Bishops in Council, by their Commiesion to 
 appointed with full authority to represent them (the said Bishops) 
 conclusive action, agree to the ratification of Articles of Agreement 
 
 ith the Mexican Church aforesaid, duly represented by its regularly 
 
 -nstituted Synodical authority, and the Commission to be appointed 
 
 that purpose is hereby empowered to correspond with the repre- 
 
 itatives of the said Mexican Church in order to the final ratification 
 
 the aforesaid Articles of Agreement." 
 
 Further resolutions empower the Commission, when said ratification 
 11 have taken place, to examine and report to the Presiding Bishop 
 >n the evidence of election and testimonials of qualification of the 
 son or persons presented for ordination to the Episcopate, and also 
 nest and empower the Presiding Bishop, when he shall have re- 
 ed such report from the Commission, to take order for the conse- 
 ion of persons to him recommended by the Commission. 
 Lfter the adoption of these resolutions the members of the first 
 nmission were reappointed. 
 
 lie action of the Bishops was not only in itself most satisfactory to 
 
 friends of this infant Church, but eminently gratifying in its cordial 
 
 . nimity. This important movement has now the avowed sympathy 
 
 ur Episcopate. While the work is opening wonderfully in Mexico, 
 
 advocates here are placed in a new and highly favorable position. 
 
 it is now needed is such material aid as will insure the carrying 
 
 ard of its operations, and relieve those at its head from harassing 
 
 iniary anxieties. The native laborers have manifested eminent 
 
 denial, and are content with the scantiest support. fc Even this 
 
 been of late uncertain, and fears have been entertained lest it 
 
 it be necessary to disband some of the workers, and narrow the 
 
24 I 
 
 held of operations, when the Providence of God seemed to point so 
 clearly to enlargement. Seldom is such an opportunity given to a 
 Church as that which is now extended to us. Earnest, generous em- 
 brace of this great opening will tell upon the future of pure Christianity 
 upon this Continent in a way that we can scarcely limit. The regen- 
 eration of Spanish America may, in God's marvelous Providence, grow 
 out of this germ of true Evangelic faith. Let our Church respond 
 with one heart to a call so unwonted and so urgent. A. LEE. 
 
 Contributions — whether large or small— are earnestly solicited, 
 and may be sent to George A. Brown, Esq., General Treasurer in 
 England for "The League in aid of the Mexican Branch of 
 the Church," care of Messrs. Brown, Shipley & Co., London, 
 England. 
 
 C 
 
 NEW YORK : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY THE "LEAGUE IN AID OF THE MEXICAN BRANCH OF THE 
 
 CHURCH." 
 
MEXICO REBORN 
 
 The Processes at Work for the 
 Regeneration of the Nation 
 
 By JULIUS MORITZEN 
 
 Author of "The Peace Movement of America," etc. 
 "The War and a Greater Scandinavia," etc. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF LAND IN YUCATAN, MEXICO. 
 
 Published by 
 
 LATIN-AMERICAN NEWS ASSOCIATION 
 1400 Broadway, New York City 
 
 r 
 

 PATIO DE MIRTERIA. 
 Inner Court in Mining School, Mexico City. 
 
 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JN MIXCOAC, MEXICO, 
 
MEXICO REBORN 
 
 By JULIUS MORITZEN 
 
 Viewed dispassionately, the Mexican problem differs little 
 from the problems that have confronted other nations in their 
 progress from dependence to full-fledged liberty. The very 
 nearness of Mexico to the United States, however, has tended, 
 in numerous ways, to obscure the vision as to the causes and 
 effects of the revolutionary movement across the Rio Grande. 
 Further than this', while most national transitions have been 
 concerned with throwing off shackles placed on the people from 
 without, Mexican liberation is the result of an internal purify- 
 ing process whereby those in higl? places, having abused their 
 trust, were compelled to step dow? and permit restorative meas- 
 ures to gain the ascendence. j 
 
 "We shall establish, by means of our laws, the welfare to 
 which the citizen of any and everj| country is entitled; we shall 
 produce a transformation in international legislation which has 
 become a necessity." 
 
 In this terse sentence, from a speech by General Carranza, 
 delivered at San Luis Potosi, December 26th, 1915, there is 
 summed up the complete political program of reconstruction of 
 the Mexican Constitutionalists. This declaration of independ- 
 ence perforce casts off the yoke of the taskmaster. It reveals 
 the Mexican character as something different than merely a 
 soldier of the revolution. Constructive statesmanship is seen 
 as the great promise on the horizon of the neighboring re- 
 public. Partisan rivalry, or struggle for leadership, vanishes into 
 thin air when a nation's future is at stake. Has Carranza kept 
 faith with his conscience when he refused to follow Huerta on 
 the latter's unholy path from traitorous complicity in the murder 
 of President Madero to the dictatorship? Are the Constitu- 
 tionalists nearer their goal today than when jealous reaction- 
 aries attempted to tear into tatters the fabric spun with blood 
 and tears against a common foe? What are the forces at work 
 for the purpose of a regenerated Mexico ? 
 
 The writer traces his main interest in the Mexican people 
 and their aspirations to an address delivered by Luis Cabrera, 
 minister of finance in the Carranza government, before the' 
 Clark University conference on Latin America, at Worcester,. 
 Mass, in November, 1913. No other speaker so stirred the 
 audiences during the several days of the conference as did this 
 man who bore a message that came straight from the heart. 
 Mr. Cabrera's plea for a compassionate examination of the Mexi- 
 can problem was made in the face of other arguments aiming 
 
to uphold the rule of Porfirio Diaz as ideally suited to the needs 
 of Mexico. In many subsequent conversations with the chair- 
 man of the Mexican Joint Commission it has been borne home 
 that however much the travail essential to the regeneration of 
 the republic, the underlying idealism is the only real founda- 
 tion for a government that is to last. That is the reason why 
 Mexicans actuated by the highest sense of loyalty to their land 
 refuse to accept make-shift policies bound to be but for the 
 moment. It is for this reason that President Wilson's "watch- 
 ful waiting" has proved to be in accord with what is best under 
 • the existing circumstances. Mistakes there have been made 
 on both sides of the border in regard, not so much to motives, 
 as to methods. But, high above parleys and discussions floats 
 the standard that means America for the Americans. Mexico 
 has subscribed to this despite all that may be said regarding 
 internal strife. To make known some of the chief agencies mak- 
 ing for the greater Mexico is the purpose of this article. 
 
 CARRANZA AS A SYMBOL 
 
 The least understood personality in all Mexico is General 
 Venustiano Carranza, the de facto head of the Mexican govern- 
 ment^ Why is this so? Has not General Carranza been plenti- 
 fully in the public eye? Have not friends and foes admired 
 and hated him according to their conceptions of the man ? Have 
 not his public acts marked him for what he is, viewed as he 
 has been from this or that angle? All this is true. But the 
 leadership vested in the First Chief of the Constitutionalists is 
 more like an authoritative interpretation of all that the nation 
 has suffered and hoped for long before even Porfirio Diaz let 
 go his iron rule. It is not in Carranza to be a' master of men 
 in the ordinary sense of that term. If he is today a disci- 
 plinarian it is because that is the necessary means to a certain 
 end. If there are those who consider the de facto head unap- 
 proachable, it is not because Carranza is not most kindly dis- 
 posed towards all. As a matter of fact, Venustiano Carranza's 
 personality and characteristics have nothing whatever to do 
 with the principle for which he stands before the world. He 
 merely symbolizes a great ideal. Restoration of the land to the 
 natives; improved school facilities; elevating the position of 
 the_ women of Mexico ; utilizing the national wealth as bound 
 up in the soil ; establishing harmonious relations with her neigh- 
 bors, these are some of the chief aims of the country, and Car- 
 ranza unquestionably understands better than anyone else that 
 the charge imposed on him is a privilege to be guarded most 
 .zealously without personal reward. 
 
 Those misled by superficial judgment or impatient because of 
 what they considered a too slow progress, have been prone to 
 say that the establishment of complete peace in Mexico depends 
 only on the energy with which the country is governed. Let us 
 hear how Mr. Cabrera met these assertions at the Worcester 
 
gathering on that memorable day in November three years 
 
 "All foreigners in Mexico," Mr. Cabrera said, "look for a 
 strong government, an iron hand or iron fist, and the only thing 
 they discuss is whether a certain man is sufficiently strong or 
 energetic to govern the country. And when they find a man 
 with such qualities, foreigners always have believed that it was 
 their duty to help that man to come into power and support him. 
 It is necessary to rectify foreign opinion about strong govern- 
 ments in Mexico. A strong government is not the one able to 
 maintain peace by the mere force of arms, but the one which 
 can obtain the support of the majority of the country. Any 
 peace obtained by the system of the iron fist is only a temporary 
 peace. Permanent peace in Mexico must be based on certain 
 economic, political and social conditions which would produce 
 a stable equilibrium between the higher and the lower classes 
 of the nation." 
 
 The idea of impersonal leadership among Latin Americans 
 is a thought so new that few realize that it is scarcely less 
 revolutionary than the effort of the people themselves to be- 
 come free in all that the word imports. The Man on Horse- 
 back has always been the dominant figure in any uplift move- 
 ment among the republics of South and Central America. Presi- 
 dent Diaz was the personification of such a type. Democratic 
 as he was to a fault, Francisco Madero held brief power through 
 an emotionalism that, well meaning as it was, failed utterly 
 to weigh the "pros" and "cons" where suddenly a nation, held in 
 virtual bondage, felt the first exhiliration of new found free- 
 dom. 
 
 Carranza, on the other hand, came upon the scene when re- 
 action threatened to undo everything that Madero had aspired 
 to achieve. There was no thought of leadership when the 
 former governor of Coahuila left his pleasant farmstead to 
 stay the hand of the usurper, Huerta. How can it be for- 
 gotten with what scorn Carranza spurned the offer of Huerta 
 to join issues with him! No, whoever avers that the First 
 Chief has personal ambitions beyond what is necessary to ad- 
 vance the good of Mexico, fails utterly to comprehend his motive. 
 His very sincerity of purpose, in fact, his enemies have falsely 
 interpreted as meaning disrespect to the neighbor with whom 
 above all others he desires to remain at peace. No character 
 study of this man will aid in deciphering his psychological 
 makeup. For Carranza is Mexico incarnate; Mexico, not as 
 it has been for years and years, but the Mexico of the future. 
 
 Yes, may come the answer to this ; but if Carranza is so little 
 a prey to personal ambition, why does he not obliterate him- 
 self, instead of running the risk of being charged with ambitious 
 designs? Let it be understood once for all that Venustiano Car- 
 ranza is no coward. To let go the leadership in the face of 
 intrigue within and without the land would have stamped him 
 as unworthy of the great task resting upon his shoulders. The 
 
I 
 Washington administration realises this. It is not for nothing 
 that President Wilson looks compassionately across the Rio 
 Grande and views with all the 'anxiety of a parent the newer 
 republic of Mexico trying to find itself. Is it not a fact that the 
 re-election of Woodrow Wilson emphasizes that after all the 
 American people wants Mexico to shape her own destiny? 
 What better evidence that the ties are being strengthened be- 
 tween the two countries than that the commonwealths nearest 
 the Mexican border gave consent to the President's Mexican 
 policies through a vote of confidence? Let be that Carranza 
 is not well versed in the usages of diplomacy as practised fre- 
 quently to the detriment of the nations represented by suave 
 statesmen. But he is honest with himself, and no other man 
 could have done half as well as he under circumstances similar 
 to those that have confronted him. 
 
 SOLVING THE LAND QUESTION 
 
 While interest in the Mexican situation, from the American 
 point of view, has centered on the Joint High Commission and 
 its work at Atlantic City, it may not be without value to take 
 a look across the border and see what is being done apart from 
 the military exigencies. A monumental work is under way 
 in the state of Yucatan, where Governor Salvador Alvarado has 
 been superintending the distribution of land to the Indians. 
 It is, of course, true that by reason of its location Yucatan 
 escaped largely the depredations of the bands that sprung into 
 existence at the instance of Villa's defection. But this merely 
 clinches the argument that when it is possible for Yucatan to 
 do justice to the peons, the same can be done elsewhere through- 
 out the republic when normal conditions are once fully re- 
 stored. . 
 
 The New York Times, in a recent interview with Modesto 
 C. Rolland, who is doing a constructive work in the United 
 States through familiarizing Americans with the Educational 
 movement now under way in his native Mexico, said pointedly : 
 "Many preconceived, commonly held, matter of course notions 
 about Mexico melt away under the spell of Modesto C. Rolland's 
 faith and optimism. You go to him with that superior feel- 
 ing of the citizen of a great, prosperous, peaceful, well-governed 
 country toward the savage, but nevertheless determined to be 
 kind and considerate, almost apologetic, while asking him why, 
 if he knows, his country is such a Dark Age disgrace to the 
 American hemisphere and if it will ever be any different." 
 
 Then follows Mr. Rolland-s answer. He tells in simple words 
 that the world at large judges his country solely by those 
 accidents incident to the revolution itself. But to Mr. Rolland 
 the revolution has been a great promise. Here and there through 
 the republic, he affirms, there has already been fulfillment. A 
 new national life has been created under the social, political 
 and economic conditions which the Mexican people have been 
 
 6 
 
hoping for in the course of a century. To quote from the in- 
 terview in Mr. Rolland's owiji words regarding the land ques- 
 tion : "Of course, the great piece of reconstruction work has 
 been the redistribution of the land, and this too, has been 
 done without confiscation. In the first place, we took away 
 from the former holders all the land that they held by fraud. 
 That amounted to many thousands of acres. Then we bought 
 from them as much more as was needed to give to the head 
 of every family a tract of about forty acres. For this we paid 
 in fifty-year gold bonds at 4 per cent. Although we have only 
 just now given title to the small holdings to the farmers we 
 know that the plan is going to work because of the results of 
 two years of experimenting. These small farms were first lent 
 to the people for the two-year period to see what they would 
 do with them and to give all the people the opportunity to 
 find out how they wanted things adjusted before making any- 
 thing final. The forty-acre experiment was a success. No land 
 was awarded except to a man who agreed to work it to the best of 
 his ability for the benefit of his family. No holding was thrust 
 upon anybody whether or no. But of the 50,000 family heads 
 in the state, 40,000 came forward and applied for the farms, 
 and in the two years of probation practically all of them showed 
 themselves fit for ownership." 
 
 General Salvador Alvarado, already referred to as the Governor 
 of Yucatan, is a' military leader who perceives with all the 
 force of conviction that the army is an expedient, at present 
 necessary, but only in so far as it aids in restoring that order 
 which must precede the fullest development of the republic. 
 Governor Alvarado has but one hobby : education The culti- 
 vation of the soil from a scientific standpoint, adequate school 
 instruction, better homes and family environments, in the at- 
 taining of all this the Governor of Yucatan is a natural leader 
 whose constructive example is spreading to other sections of 
 Mexico. The Maya Indians certainly have come to call the 
 name of Governor Alvarado blessed. The regenerative effects 
 of his land policy are seen everywhere in Yucatan. The situa- 
 tion there is now such that where prior to the revolution the 
 2,000 landowners paid toward the support of the state in taxes 
 for their exclusive use and ownership of something over 70,000 
 square miles of land $50,000 a year, taxes from the same land 
 paid on an equitable basis both by the 2,000 old landc ^vners 
 and the many thousand new owners of the forty-acre tracts 
 now amount to $3,000,000 annually. Carrying into effect the 
 new agrarian laws has been responsible for this momentous 
 change. 
 
 Franklin K. Lane, Secretary of the Interior, on a recent oc- 
 casion expressed himself regarding the Mexican land question 
 to the effect that the things that Mexico needs are few, but 
 fundamental. He summarized as follows : "Mexico needs a land- 
 tax system which will make it impossible to hold great bodies 
 of idle land for selfish reasons and which will make it unneces- 
 
- 
 
 _y 
 
 sary for the Government to sell concessions in order to support 
 itself. It also needs a school system by which popular educa- 
 tion may be given to all the people as it is given in the United 
 States. Along with the primary schools, should go agricultural 
 schools in which modern methods of agriculture should be 
 taught. The army might well be used as a sanitation corps so 
 as to insure against the recurrence of those plagues which so 
 affect trade relations with Mexico and the health of her people. 
 Every one in Mexico is united upon the proposition that the 
 present land system is based upon privilege and is unjust." 
 
 Secretary Lane would be convinced that today Yucatan is 
 making a practical effort to adjust the land problem, were 
 he to visit that Mexican state and see Governor Alvarado at 
 work. The Henry George theory is being applied with remark- 
 able effect. "Tierras y libros" — land and books — is the cry 
 that sounds far and wide through that eastern peninsula of the 
 Mexican republic. 
 
 The land problem and its solution are uppermost in the 
 minds of all Mexicans with patriotic outlook regarding the future 
 of the country. On this subject Mr. Cabrera said to the writer: 
 "The 'porfirista' regime can be defined by saying that it con- 
 sisted in putting the power in the hands of the large land- 
 owners, thus creating a feudal system. The local governments 
 of the different states in Mexico and nearly all the important 
 public offices were in the hands of, or controlled by, wealthy 
 families owning large tracts of land, which of course were in- 
 clined to extend protection to all properties such as theirs. The 
 political, social and economic influence exerted during General 
 Diaz's administration was so advantageous to them that it 
 hampered the development of the small agricultural property, 
 which could otherwise have been formed from the division of 
 ecclesiastical and communal lands." And Mr. Rolland drives 
 home the complete truth of the situation when he says that "if 
 small landed interest is not created, if the land is not given back 
 to the people, if an equitable tax on the present landholders 
 is not established, in order to make them relinquish their prey; 
 if, in a word, the fortress of the Mexican family is not built by 
 means of the communion of the peon with the land, it will be 
 senseless to speak of 'government' in Mexico. But the present 
 revolution, having been all this, appreciates its importance and 
 is trying to help the people." 
 
 Herein lies the hope of Mexico's future. The hour has struck 
 for the return of the soil to its rightful owners. From Car- 
 ranza down to the least of those identified with the Constitu- 
 tionalist cause, the land problem is considered the most im- 
 portant matter before the nation at this time. Aside from what 
 is being done toward proper division of land among the peons 
 in districts where complete order has already been restored, 
 plans are under way to allot a certain number of acres of cultiv- 
 able soil to returning Constitutionalist soldiers after the country 
 is fully at peace. General Carranza and his advisers have not 
 
 8 
 
adopted a cut and dried program regarding the division of land 
 held wrongfully or belonging to the government, but as con- 
 ditions arise the problem is to be solved for the very best ad- 
 vantage of those whom it is meant to benefit primarily, the 
 peons so recently released from what amounted to little less 
 than slavery while attached to the great landed properties. 
 
 It requires no genius to realize that many serious questions 
 ask for their answer in the neighboring republic. Progress 
 will of necessity be slow. No people can pass through the 
 purifying fire of internal adjustment without serious obstacles 
 standing in the way. The Mexican revolution sprang from a 
 great need, the cry of the masses for land that might supply 
 their necessities in order to make existence livable. Land and 
 general education, in these is summed up the salvation of 
 Mexico. 
 
 MORE TEACHERS AND BETTER SCHOOLS 
 
 The writer has knowledge of one striking fact that emphasizes 
 with compelling force how much General Carranza has at heart 
 proper school instruction. It was during the months immedi- 
 ately following the Huerta military coup and Carranza's stern 
 opposition to the usurper. Everything spoke of militarism, force 
 to rebuke force. The First Chief had gathered around him men 
 who felt as he did, namely that Madero's murder was not to be 
 condoned through inactivity on the part of those loyal to their 
 country. 
 
 And in the midst of all this military activity, Carranza 
 brought together two score or. more of men and women already 
 in some measure identified with education in the republic. While 
 money was not plenty in the Constitutionalist group, never- 
 theless means were provided for sending these persons to the 
 United States to study the public school systems. In Boston 
 and other eastern centers these men and women at once be- 
 gan their task, investigating and studying American popular 
 teaching in all its branches. The earnestness with which they 
 went to work, the disinterestedness displayed, the painstaking 
 efforts to omit no single item that might find practical application 
 in Mexico in due time, convinced the present writer that Car- 
 ranza's genius for discounting the future embraced much more 
 than mere military accomplishment. Today the work of these 
 teachers in search of American ideas is bearing fruit in various 
 ways. There is no better evidence that the Constitutionalist 
 government means to foster friendly relations with the big 
 brother this side the Rio Grande than making the American 
 school system the model after which to pattern Mexican popu- 
 lar education. In many private schools throughout the United 
 States young Mexicans of both sexes are now being educated 
 in a manner to make more permanent the relationship between 
 the two nations. 
 
 Luis Cabrera, who was a schoolmaster in Tlaxcala in 1895, 
 in a speech delivered in the chamber of deputies in Mexico City, 
 
December 3, 1912, told how when he arrived at a certain 
 "hacienda" he was instructed by the manager of the estate to 
 teach only reading, writing and jthe Catholic catechism. He 
 was absolutely forbidden to teatm "arithmetic, and that use- 
 less thing called civics," as the manager expressed himself. And 
 Robert Bruce Brinsmade, the well-known mining engineer who 
 lived for many years in Mexico, has written in explanation of 
 this incident in the career of Mr. Cabrera that "perhaps it 
 was the fear lest some knowledge of the real principles of 
 government might spread throughout the country which moved 
 the future reactionary autocrat to exile in 1878, Gabino Barreda, 
 Director of the National Preparatory School of Mexico City, 
 and one of the most notable educators in the Republic. Free 
 preaching and reading was forbidden completely ; all newspapers 
 and books, even scientific works of foreign democratic reformers, 
 including Henry George, could not be sold in Mexico. A 
 complete Machiavellism was in existence and the Diaz system 
 represented a modern edition of the criminal tyranny of Caesar 
 Borgia." 
 
 How completely the present military leaders in the Consti- 
 tutionalist ranks are imbued with the civic-economic idea is 
 shown in a typical manner by what Governor Alvarado is do- 
 ing toward bringing into fruition his educational land plan 
 campaign. It was at the closing session of the second pedagogic 
 congress, held at Merida, Yucatan, that the governor made an 
 address which established beyond contravention how much 
 superior General Alvarado held the pen to be in comparison with 
 the sword. The gathering was notable principally because it 
 brought the question of co-education squarely before the nation 
 as at no previous tirne in its history. Let us hear what Govern- 
 or Alvarado has to say on this subject. 
 
 "Allow me to say a few words," the Governor remarked, "with 
 reference to the three themes discussed at the congress. The 
 first one is co-education. . . Since this system was implanted 
 last year, I have endeavored to make frequent visits to the 
 schools, and I have asked the teachers the opinions they had 
 formed in reference to the change. I asked, because I wanted 
 to learn even the minutest details. I do not know whether 
 directors and teachers, believing that I was a partisan to the 
 system, wanted to deceive me by stating that all was well. But 
 practically all of them told me that the system was working 
 in perfect order. 'Instead of finding any danger in co-education 
 we have found that it makes children more studious and respect- 
 ful. We have observed nothing to justify the fears of the 
 parents, who are attached to old prejudices and who say 'no' 
 to any innovation. Therefore I can only state what has been 
 told me. I cannot as yet express my own opinion." 
 
 Regarding the frequently criticised attitude of the revolution- 
 aries toward the clergy of the country, Governor Alvarado at 
 the same pedagogic congress furnished an explanation in part 
 as follows : "It is my duty to explain to you, who are the edu- 
 
 10 
 
cators of the men of to-morrow, who will finish 'the task of 
 reconstructing the nation which the Revolutionary Party has 
 scarcely begun, it is my duty to convince you of the absolute 
 justice and 1 necessity of attacking the clergy of our country. 
 You may re-echo my words or not. That does not matter; it 
 does not affect me. But what I want you to bear in mind is 
 that you should judge, from what I am going to tell you, whether 
 or not we have the right on our side to proceed in the manner 
 we are proceeding, because acts which are supported by force 
 only and not by justice and reason are not perdurable, and 
 bring upon thei.. -elves curses of all; they last for a certain 
 period, but in the end, protest raises itself and overthrows 
 them." 
 
 Governor Alvarado then went on to analyze the relationship 
 of the church to the school, the home and the political elements 
 of Mexico. He spoke of Hidalgo, the priest who led his 
 patriotic countrymen. to victory against oppression; about More- 
 los, another priest who forsook the cloth in order to become a 
 militant in an hour of great need. A panorama was unrolled 
 before that gathering of teachers of the young which painted 
 in strong colors the vicissitudes of the republic during periods 
 when educational progress was at a very low level. It was 
 no pleasant aspect that Governor Alvarado presented before his 
 listeners, but he was in deadly earnest, and stated his opinion 
 without fear of what others might think on the subject. 
 
 That the women of Mexico are capable of raising the standard 
 of living and education to a plane as high as that obtaining in coun- 
 tries less torn with internal strife thai has been the case in the 
 neighboring republic, has been demonstrated on various oc- 
 casions during the past few years. Mr. Rolland has stated the 
 case succinctly as follows : "The response of the women to the 
 new conditions has been a wonderful thing. Under the old 
 regime, the woman was a serf or worse, if there is anything 
 worse. Now she is an active, helpful member of the community, 
 fully alive to the things that are essential to the future of her 
 children. The women of Yucatan have had already their first 
 feminist congress, with an attendance of 3,000 delegates, and the 
 list of the things they considered reads very much like the 
 program of any meeting of public-spirited level-headed women 
 in the United States." 
 
 Employment and rules for the proper safeguarding of workers 
 are phases of everyday existence so closely connected with the 
 home life of the individual and the family that it will aid in 
 clarifying the still clouded Mexican horizon to examine what the 
 progressive element in that country has been doing in the direc- 
 tion of such welfare work. Briefly put, after the enactment of 
 the land laws, labor legislation was framed on the best models 
 obtainable in New Zealand and other pa. L_ of the world, and 
 modified to fit the conditions of Yucatan where, naturally, 
 economic experiments .could be made to the greater advantage. 
 
 The new legislation has minimum wage provisions and an 
 
 11 
 
eight-hour law, compensation for injuries of workmen and pro- 
 visions for their old age. Children under thirteen years cannot 
 be employed in factories or any othfer establishment. Boys under 
 fifteen and girls under eighteen cannot work nights. All places 
 of employment must be sanitary and protected against fire risks 
 and all machinery must be protected. Compulsory arbitration 
 of labor disputes is provided by law before workers can strike 
 or employers lock them out. 
 
 How many people in the United States are aware that there 
 is in operation a pact, signed by Mexican and American labor 
 representatives in Washington, not many months since, where- 
 by the labor leaders of the two republics are kept in constant 
 touch on matters vitally affecting labor interests throughout 
 America? The Mexican appeal for such co-operation was issued 
 from Merida, Yucatan, May 29, of this year, and met a quick re- 
 sponse at the hands of the American Federation of Labor. Here is 
 an extract from the Mexican appeal that carries conviction to the 
 effect that the masses in that republic harbor no ill-will toward 
 their fellow workers north of the Rio Grande. 
 
 "We want to say very frankly to the American toilers" it 
 reads, "that the Mexican people do not hate the real American 
 people, the people who still bear in their hearts the principles 
 of Washington and Franklin; we do not have any hostile senti- 
 ment of any kind against you, American laborers. In the United 
 States we hate only the monopolists, the great oil and railroad 
 kings, all those who have utilized the riches of our land for 
 their personal benefit; impudently stealing from us the fruits 
 of our labor; the same as they do with you in your country; 
 those very same compatriots of yours, whose only interests are 
 their bank accounts, and who have no love of country, honor 
 or high ideals of life. 
 
 "Be on your guard, workers of the United States. The Colum- 
 bus raid, all the anti-Mexican agitation, all the meetings, lectures 
 and publications of our foes in the great American cities, are 
 only for the purpose of drowning in blood the desires of a 
 brother people who have had the courage and the strength to 
 rebel against their oppressors, of giving the workers of the 
 world an example of the only Social Revolution that honestly 
 deserves such a name." 
 
 On the part of the American Federation of Labor there has 
 come through President Samuel Gompers the most gracious 
 acknowledgment that nothing would suit the American workers 
 better than a most complete understanding relative to both 
 political and industrial issues alike important to both peoples. 
 The following clause contained in the pact speaks for itself: 
 "We appeal to the workers and all of the people of the United 
 States and Mexico to do everything within their power to pro- 
 mote correct understanding of purposes and actions, to prevent 
 friction, to encourage good will, and to promote an intelligent 
 national opinion that ultimately shall direct relations between 
 
 12 
 
our countries and shall e a potent humanitarian force in pro- 
 moting world progress." \ \ 
 
 The American-Mexican commission, which subsequently met 
 on the border, was a direct odtcome of the pact between labor 
 organizations in the two countries. There are on record numer- 
 ous instances to prove that the cordial relations that exist gen- 
 erally between the troops of either country patroling the border 
 along New Mexico and Arizona have been fostered through the 
 participation of the labor bodies in the movement for a bet'ter 
 understanding between the governments. 
 
 Perhaps General Carranza was not far from speaking a great 
 truth when he said in a speech at San Luis Potosi : "Up to this 
 date, strife has succeeded strife throughout the world, without 
 anyone being able to comprehend why nations should tear each 
 other to pieces upon any pretext ; it is the big material interests 
 which push nations into war, and so long as those interests are 
 in existence, wars will continue to be a" menace to humanity. 
 For this reason I affirm that laws should be universal and that 
 what we establish here by conquest, as a truth, should betoken 
 welfare through the law of all mankind, be it m Mexico or in 
 Africa The eternal struggle of mankind has been for the im- 
 provement, for the welfare, for the developments of peoples, 
 and those gigantic upheavals have had no other object than the 
 welfare of separate units; humankind has m^gled itself for 
 these principles and in order that war may cease, it is imperative 
 that the reign of justice extend over all the earth." 
 
 FOR UNITED STATES-MEXICO CO-OPERATION 
 
 The re-election of President Wilson affirms the desires of the 
 American people to remain at peace with all the world. Unques- 
 tionably, during the next four years Mexican-American rela- 
 tions will be afforded an opportunity to become strengthened 
 through a better understanding of the intrinsic merits of the 
 nations concerned. But in order to make firm whatever founda- 
 tion has been laid more recently it becomes essential to con- 
 stantly reaffirm the principles without which no solid ground- 
 work can be expected. 
 
 Toward this end a number of agencies have been at work 
 disseminating such information as will tend to correct wrong 
 impressions, however obtained, assist in furnishing knowledge 
 regarding the economic and political evolution in Mexico, and 
 to remove whatever apprehension may exist touching the ability 
 of Mexicans to govern themselves in the newfound conditions 
 ushered in with the revolution. _ 
 
 No less a person than President Wilson has set an auspicious 
 example in guaging Mexico at its true estimate. Whatever 
 critics may adduce to the contrary, the policy of the administra- 
 tion throws into strong relief that new Mexico when the edu- 
 cation of the masses will make up for many mistakes made 
 when lack of full enlightenment was the responsible factor for 
 such mistakes. Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane is 
 
 13 
 
authority for the statement that President Wilson has clearly 
 seen the end to be desired from the first and that "he has worked 
 toward it against an opposition that was cunning and intensive, 
 persistent and powerful. If he succeeds in giving a new birth 
 of freedom to Mexico, he most surely will receive the verdict 
 of mankind." 
 
 The sea of internationalism is seldom entirely calm, and the 
 ships of state require helmsmen with an eye single to the call 
 of public opinion. It is fortunate, indeed, for the future rela- 
 tionship of the United States and Mexico that the occupant of the 
 White House during the next few years has a vision so clear 
 that it will enable him to carry to a successful issue whatever 
 plans he may have conceived so far toward the ultimate solu- 
 tion of the Mexican problem from the American point of view. 
 That it is President Wilson's desire to see Mexico work out 
 her own salvation along lines best suited to her present and 
 future need, there has been ample evidence. This does not mean, 
 however, that the Chief Executive will not primarily conserve 
 the honor and prestige of the United States. 
 
 A vindication of President Wilson's Mexican policies includes 
 the admission that the educational institutions of this country 
 very generally favor a pacific attitude in so far as it will comport 
 with the honor of the nation. The presence in many of these 
 institutions of young men from the Latin American republics 
 has done much toward inculcating in the administrative circles 
 of colleges and universities a spirit of compassion for the sister 
 nations to the south. Mexico has been- foremost in sending 
 her young people to the United States for purposes of educa- 
 tion. In fact, if it had not been for what many of the revolu- 
 tionary chiefs had learned about freedom in thought and action 
 here, very likely the liberating efforts would have been con- 
 siderably retarded. 
 
 It is because some of the leading educators of this country 
 have joined with the Mexican-American League, founded dur- 
 ing the past summer, that the success of this additional force 
 for co-operative work may be considered assured in advance of 
 what the organization hopes to see accomplished. Taking a sane 
 and sensible view of the Mexican problems without bias for 
 preconceived notions one way or another, the committee has 
 set to work with a will. Already there has come a most ready 
 response from many sections of the United States from those 
 anxious to join this movement which holds out such promise. 
 With headquarters at 70 Fifth Avenue, New York City, the 
 Mexican-American League is evidently destined to play a con- 
 spicious role in the work of upbuilding the relations between 
 the two nations. 
 
 When the National Educational Association met in New York 
 during July of the present year, Dr. David Starr Jordan, Chan- 
 cellor of Leland Stanford University, and a member of the Mexi- 
 can-American League committee, delivered a notable address 
 on the Mexican situation in wtiich he touched on the effect of 
 
^classes. This is a subject that 
 ;e»retation. Dr. Jordan, however, 
 b»ishment of many of these peo- 
 jrtjrs denounce it as unjust that a 
 idjand wealthy people should be 
 .is of ignorant peasants. The plea 
 Men of culture cannot rule as a 
 >t get down and help lift up the 
 never done their part toward the 
 s become a terrible menace. Caste 
 . menace to human welfare and the 
 ation is bound up with democracy." 
 .1 organization as the Mexican-Ameri- 
 .sed by virtue of the fact that many 
 i Mexico are carrying on a reactionary 
 try. That such is the case has been 
 venture. Arraying themselves in false 
 gard their love of country these Mexi- 
 can reactionaries • been a danger point with which the 
 constructive forces had to reckon. So long as this nefarious 
 element is permit concoct its scheme for the restoration 
 ler of things, so long there will be handi- 
 ^aining that stage of adjustment where 
 irevail in the southern republic. Fortun- 
 i administration for some time has been 
 this state of affairs, and there is a pos- 
 > will be adopted to stop the reactionary 
 Duntry. The work of the exile group has 
 withholding of credit on any extensive scale 
 sxico. Representing the moneyed interests 
 Diaz administration, such Mexicans as are 
 iet the Carranza government and defeat its 
 st naturally cannot expect too charitable a 
 aids of the Constitutionalists, 
 oney. There is no doubt of this. And if 
 otained, where else may a government look 
 ited States? In this connection it may be 
 well to add that next to the land question, the question of 
 proper financing has long occupied those who understood the 
 real needs of Mexico. On this point, no one is better able to 
 throw light on the subject than Luis Cabrera, the minister of 
 finance in the Carranza government. Mr. Cabrera has care- 
 fully avoided negotiating financial transactions that would place 
 still heavier burdens on the country. His policy is in marked 
 contrast to that which obtained during the Diaz regime when 
 loans were placed which imposed serious strains on the national 
 treasury. 
 
 There has been a disposition in certain financial quarters to 
 discourage loans to Mexico on terms that would be reasonable 
 to both parties concerned. The result of the election has some- 
 what changed this. With the administration favorable to a 
 
 the revolution on the \ 
 has found much wrong 
 explains the reason foi 
 pie as follows : "Their 
 million intelligent, cu : 
 dominated by fifteen 
 is old in human hist 
 separate caste. The} 
 mass. Because they n 
 training of the peon 
 divisions are themse! 
 ultimate future of e^ 
 The existence of s 
 can League has bef 
 of the wealthy exile 
 propoganda in this 
 established beyond 
 robes of patriotisrr 
 
 in Mexico of the c 
 caps in the way 
 permanent peace 
 ately, the Wash 
 taking cognizan 
 sibility that me . 
 propaganda in ' 
 been a factor in .' 
 tpwching loans 
 that surrounde 
 now working 
 economic plar 
 treatment at 
 Mexico ne 
 money is to 
 except to tl 
 
 15 
 
 i 
 
/ 
 
 y 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 009 841 805 2 # 
 
 ican issues the chances 
 the financial negotia- 
 dace a nation tried as 
 :>asis, but there is no 
 ures bound up in the 
 ,r. will be found. 
 
 gain alone are over. 
 mate enterprise will 
 the government will 
 . from one source or 
 land and the mines 
 will justify all the 
 in has passed since 
 against monopoly 
 :o Madero proved 
 dio knew how to 
 most vulnerable. 
 \ Madero. It was 
 to a similar trap 
 hief of the Con- 
 ness. Carranza,' 
 ,iut who, placed 
 at the next day 
 
 peaceful adjustment of the MexVan-. 
 have improved considerably yfativ> 
 tions under way. It is no ea^ task 
 Mexico has been on a sound rponct 
 reason to doubt that with the untold 
 natural resources of the republic a soli 
 The days of exploiting Mexico for s 
 With this national menace removed, 
 be allowed to assert itself. As a re; 
 receive what is its proper due. Reve-< 
 another will increase proportionately a; 
 will be worked. This is the new era 
 suffering and strife through which the 
 Madero first raised the banner of pto 
 and autocracy. But the idealism of hr . 
 but a weak foil against cunning schem 
 attack the successor to Diaz where he 
 Misplaced sympathy proved the undoing 
 because Venustiano Carranza refused to i 
 to that which caught Madero that the bu 
 stitutionlists had to meet craftiness with 
 perhaps, now and then makes his mistal 
 like he has been, could always have guesse 
 might bring forth? 
 
 With the cleansing of the old slate Mexi 
 
 new chapter in its eventful history. Amer; 
 
 the republic well as it enters the family 
 
 and strengthened. Let be that Mexico reb 
 
 term requiring much solicitude and watchii 
 
 cation can be fully justified to the nation acros 
 
 But the United States, unquestionably, will not omit to extena 
 
 that hand of co-operation that is sure to be grasped cordially by 
 
 Sfxico herself. P The manifest destiny of the country of Juarez 
 
 is written in bold letters across the sky of America, ine : in 
 
 erSs of the twenty-one republics of the western hemisphere 
 
 Ire closelv knit in a fabric whose strands are as variegated in 
 
 e r ^r e S an y d clr as the characterise of the co^^ 
 
 rl„ P to racial idiosyncrac es and customs. But m the main, me 
 
 spiri of AmerkT y is singularly a matter of common property 
 
 £e^^a£:d«^a^t =Z 
 
 for the good of America as a whole. 
 
 ' now writing a 
 ought to wish 
 ations purified 
 p but as yet a. 
 [fore its appli- 
 he Rio Grande. 
 
 16