The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-25
IN FREE SILVER MEXICO.
BEGGING PANS BETTER THAN HON
EST INDUSTRY DOES.


From the Chicago Times-Herald.
city o. Mexico. May 3o-From the mo-
ment the American travelling into Mex
leo gets an exchange for one American
7 dollar two Mexican dollars until. when
/ on returning, he gives two Mexican dol
/ lars 10 get one American dollar back. his
I life Is fun OF surprises. The order Of
morse racing here is fair sample OF
{ now entirely and completely the civiliza-
T uon OF the United States Is reversed In
/ Mexico. There are no better races than
those given by the great Jockey Club
mere, yet II Is hard TO get accustomed 10
seeing thorOughbreds race from left to
right instead OF from right TO left.
IL is equally difficult TO become accus-
toned 10 the great opulence and excess
I I've poverty which seem to dwell together.
llNing closer than the two extremes are
ever seen existing side by side IT, the
United states. The entire social system
IN MeNico Is intcrestin. so interesting in
tact, that IL becomes impossible to give
any general outline which would ade-
quately portray the habits and customs
virtues and vices Of the people. II must be
handled from time TO time in detail. FOL-
lowing from their source the laws which
have more than zone or altitude affected
the life and character OF the Mexicans
There Is one element which enters large
ly into the life at present In this country
which is Of peculiar interest TO the Amer
lean people. II is the currency system
under which they live. and which, IL not
the basis Of many OF the troubles Of Mex
leans, failed at least to be Of benefit to
her people.
Mexico Is absolutely upon the basis Of
the free and unlimited coinage Of silver
Tho advocates Of the same system in the
United States claim 10 have pitched the
present campaign, which,is being wagel
with such Vigor, upon fact rather than
upon theory. The free silver orator claims
experience as the basis of his argument
and attributes to the gold basis all the
Ills which have fallen upon the world
since 1873.
came from the United States to Mex
| leo believing largely in many OF the falia-
c!es Of the free silver men. If | was
not an out ana out free coinage advocate
| was to put IL mildly, of the McCreary
school of bimctallism My stay and study
here have convinced me Of one thing
only; that whenever the United States
/ goes upon a silver basis its laboring eIe-
ment will be the one TO suffer. and more
| than any class or set viii have the hot
/ end of the stick to hold"
From the moment the tourist leaves
I the borders of the Rio Grande TO the time
| he reaches the capital OF the country a
/ distance of some leo miles. he sees pow
erty and palms lourishing alike. At ev-
/ cry station he finds himself besieged with
beggars, not the halt, the lame and tho
! blind. but by healthy specimens OF hui
! manity, who ply their begging as the
| artisan does his trade. This class Is found
/ in Italy. Spain, and, In fact. all of the
/ romance countries, but here il forms such
/ an integral part Of the population as to
/ force one TO look for reasons for II. and
/ not TO attribute II solely TO the incidence
]
The rabid gold monometallist would,
/ without special study, attribute the condi-
ton of the laborer here TO the financial
| system Of the country. and, while he
would be partly right, yet the earlier con-
1 dition and laws Of this people are proper
! tionately responsible for II. There was a
\ time when the poems, or laboring class,
was in practical slavery; when 1t was the
/ law that as long as a pcon was In debt
/ to his employer the labOrer could not leave
! his service until the debt had been wiped
| out This in most cases meant lifetime
/ bondage, ana the peon must necessarily
| submit to any hardship and accept any
/ savory which he might be allowed. The
/ same law is practically in force now up
/ TO so Of indebtedness. AS long as a peon
| or peasant owes his employer $40 he can be
/ forced TO work acertain portion OF II
| out every week. When the amount is
/ over that sum the only resort the creditor
/ mas IS through the CIVIL courts. the system
/ being similar TO that in the United States.
| Therefore, the hard conditions of the
/ poor until practically q late date In the
history of this country was largely at
tributabe to the laws under which they
/ lived. But those conditions no longer ex-
list. and the law for the laborer here is
as advanced and progressive as In any
country in the world. Yet, while the obi
/ GUS peon laws have been abolished years
ago, the condition of the peon and the
peasant the artisan and the clerk, have
practically remained the same.
The fact of the matter is begging pays
/ here 1t pays because of wages II pays
/ because on the meager salary the peon
| draws he is practically excluded from all
forms luxuries-uxuries here, bue no
cessities to the laborers in the states
| It pays, moreover, because the peon can
get as good a living from begging as ne
can from working for wages ranging from
! 1912 cents to 80 cents a day.
II is a pretty poor beggar who can't
earn in his profession as much as the
average laborer gets for his work See
ing so much penury as well as so much
prosperity, naturally forces one to turn
to the financial status of the country, and
to discover, If possible. the cause which
have led to the great development of the
natural resources Of the country, yet
from which the laborer seems to get no
prOnt nor 10 increase MS creature COM
forts in the same proportion as the hills
give up their ores and the earth yields
il products.
The fight on the financial question now
on in the United States is being watched
with the same eageriess and interest
by mine owners here as characterizes the
vigilance Of Senators Stewart, Teller and
Dubois, and other western silver men,
Whenever the United States throws open
her mints to the free and unlimited coin
age of silver the mining property Of Mex
leo viii be enhanced in value in proper
ton as that in Colorado. While the value
of property will be enhanced, experience
has shown that the salary Of the laborer
will be the same, at least far as Mex
leo is concerned. The dividend Of the
stakeholder will alone be increased.
The average wages in Mexico range
frorn 12Ia cents TO 25 cents a day in the