The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-06-13
TWO DOLLARS FOR ONE.
Neaos and Courier.

Senior Romero, the Mexican miuiste,
to the United States, has contributed
an article on silver money in hi:
country to the June number of the
North American Review. 1t contains
one statement which should interest
those advocates Of free silver in this
country who do not own silver mine
or stock in one. lie says:
s'It is rather puzzliag and bewilder-
ing to some travel ers who go from
this country to Mexico 10 see that a
United states silver dollar containing
less silver bullioa than Mexican silver
dollar is exchanged there for two
Mexican silver dollars, when pure
silver sold at abou: 50 cents all ounce
he adds, ''in such an exchange the
Mexican silver dollar is sold for the
price of the bullion il contains while
the United States silver dollar is the
representative of gold dollar"
It will doubtless occur TO any one
Of our free silver friends on reading
this statement what an excellent and
profitable arrangement for him il
would be if he could take a few Unitec q
States silver dollars into Mexico and
exchange them for twice the number
of Mexican silver dollars, each con-
tanning more silver than his original
investment, and then by means of a
portable mint convert these Mexican
dollars into United States dollars at
once, and then exchange each of them
again for two more Mexican do Lars
repeating the transaction until he had
as many dollars as he wanted to pro-
vide for his comrort during the rest Of
his life.
In the same way of 'il!ustra ion, it is
evident, it would be good thing for
any company that could establish a
mint at some convenient point On the
b:,rder line between Mexico and Texas,
where it could carry on similar
business on large scale using United
States silver dollars to buy TWO Mex!-
can dollar and recoining these into
United States dollars to buy twic. as
many Mexican dollars; and So on as
before, as long as the supply Of Mex: can
silver held ont under the process. 1t
would be most profitable business
for the company unqucstionably, and
ii is safe to say that some company
would engage in in it at once but for
the fact that the two Governments
Interested do not allow private con
Germs to run mints in their territory,
and for the further fact that. if they
did, the people of Mexico would prob
ably refuse to patronize all enterprise
tina; was certain to reduce them to
beggsry as the sure result Of its sue
cc>ssul operation.
The cu,ious part of The matter, how
ever, is that the free silver" people
in the United States propose to do for
them,elves and their neighb3rs pre-
cisely what the Mexicans would not
permit to be done for them under th.,
arrangement described. That is to
say they propose to allow the silver
miners of the United States, not ind, ed
to buy Mexican silver and coin it into
United States dollars worth twice as
much as the siiye:: they contain, bu:
to dig United States silver from the
mine, and have the United States
Government coin it for them, free of
charge, into Uni:ed States dollars
worth twice as much as the silver they
C cntain-a process that would yield
more profit to the miners than if th V
we're required to buy and transport
Mex c.n dollar, to their n.incs and
there recon them at their own ex-
penSc.
1t is fact, however, that the eX-
change described by Senior Romero is