, 1892-09-24
TIL {: AVIS
Chsistiaaeted, Sc. Cceix,
Saturday, Path Septbr. 1892.

VIZ AODOAO V&Cb AL tAO dOIubLLl0Ab "a
payments in St. Thomas, is not the fault of the
Mexican dollar itself, which, though not "as
good as gold" is at any rate as good ak the
best silver can make it. The Mexican dollar
has always had a high character for being
true to weight and pure in quality, and, as far
as we know, has never had word of suspicion
uttered against it. Many years ago, when
this coin was in great demand for expectation
to China and India az q circulating medium,
it became scarce in the West Indies, and stood.
we are told, at a premium in St. Thomas, sell
ingIfor six or seven cents above its face value.
It must be q puzzle to many persons, that,
Notwithstanding all this, the Mexican dollar
has gradually gone down in value, till it can
be bought to-day in St. Thomas for Sc cents,
and in New York for about the same. How
has this been possible, it may be asked. Al
in SO many cases of a similar kind, we have to
look for the cause far away from where the
effects are felt; we have to go to the noun
tains and valleys Of Colorado, and there, in
the vast quantities of silver yielded by the
veins spreading through the rockey masses,
over the division of whose wealth the miners
and the mine-owners are now engaged in a
fierce struggle, there We find the cause of the
fall in the value of silver and consequent
ly in the value Of the Mexican dollar. The in
fuence of the immense influx of silver from
Colorado, has Of course been felt all over the
world, and the troubles of St. Thomas are
small indeed compared, for instance, with
those of India; but at the same time they are
of considerable Importance for the people who
are affected by them, and hence, as affecting
our friends in st. Thomas, they are at the
same time of interest to US in Santa Cruz, al
though we are ourselves outside of them.
1t is much to be regretted that when the
Mexican dollar began to depreciate plain lam
guage was not used about it. Instead of say
ing, however, that the Mexican dollar was at
a discount, it was always said in st. Thomas
that other moneys, gold, notes etc, were at a
premium. 1t may be replied that this is
exactly the same thing and so it is of
course among business men, but among the
working population of St. Thomas it did not
mean the same thing the language used did
not point out to them that the Mexican dollar
was decreasing in value. it rather led them to
suppose that while the Mexican dollar remain
ed at the same value the other moneys, for
soms mysterious reason or other were becom-
ing dearer. Very soon the Inconvenience of
having to make change for q Mexican dollar
in Danish money showed itself. The incon-
venienoe may be made clear by q simple ex-
ample. A man goes into o shop, calls for 2
cents worth of something and puts down a
Mexican quarter dollar piece let us suppose
the Mexican dollar is worth at the time 80
cents, then the quarter-dollar is of course
worth 221 cents yet the shop keeper must
give % cents change, hence he parts with his
2 cents worth of stuff for nothing and gives
away a half cent in money resides. OF course,
nobody would do business in this way and
the shopkeepers tried to get over the Difficult
ty by declining to give more than a certain por-
ton of change. Still there was evidently a
loss every time change was made. At a mees-
ing of merchants it was agreed to take the
Mexican dollar only at its actual value, and if
this simple rule had been adhered to all the
recent troubles would have been avoided. One
merchant, however, broke through the rule and
offered to take the Mexican dollar at it's face
value. Of course he made it up or intended
10 make it up in the price of his goods; but it
was impossible to make the working popuIa-
ton understand this and they aocked to his
shop, deserving the others, who then found
themselves compelled to 60 back to the old
system. Then it was that the system Of
tokens was introduced, a cheap coinage with
out intrinsic value but representingo on the good
faith Of the merchants who issued them. GER
tain parts of a Mexican dollar. This was s
or 6 years ago. Some people saw the dangers
of this system at once, and they are well ex-
posed in a letter in Danish in the Tidende in
September 1887. For the time, however this
brass as it soon came to be called was found