The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-03-12
MEXICO AND IRIS PROSPERITY.

loeal freight. earnings of that road had
increased 81 e24. S58 in the last two
wears being, as the report stated an
increase 43.54 per cent, while through
business had fallen off $685. a11a the
said report attributed both these causes
ia the rise in exchange (caused by the
enhancement of our dollarl which, IN
the language of the president and the
directors, chad the effect Of etrtailing
importatiens and thereby stimulating
mountaineering and other industrial en-
terprises in the Republic, and SO IN
ereasing local transportation. Our
Oxford correspondent attempts 90 con-
trove1.t the effect of this by saying
that he lpAlds some OF the Mexican Cen
TRAD securities, and they are wolHhsoniy
one-fenthe of their face value. II he is
correct ial this, it has not the reanotest
bearing a3pon the point Mt issue. The
value of sthe mortgage bonds Of that
company Nill depend entirely upon
whether IL is overloaded, as mosSarail-
roads IN this country are, while the In
crease in local business OF S1,500,000
and the decrease of through business Of
$500 900 shows that the official board of
that road hid ground for atfributing
these facts to the bar on through bust
ness caused ~ the enhancement of our
dollarand theresult in stimulating home
enterprises III Mexico. 1t is equally
wide of the mark whether the govern,
ment AIDS the Mexican Central or not
We are not concerned, like our cores.
pondenf, in the securities of that road,
and it is unimportant whether that.
road is prosperous or well managed. or
otherwise. The point is the great in
crease of local BUSINESS and decrease Of
through business as tending to
show that we are losing one
of our best customers by
our financial policy discriminating
against all countries uAing silver. Nor
does his quotation from the report of
1898 bear upon facts stated in the re-
port for 1895. AS the annual net earn
ings of the railroad are over 100000
ii must be largely overloaded, if the
bonds are as cheap as our scorrespon-
dant states.
As to those facts about the read, how
ever, which are readily accessible, we
will say our correspondent errs in stat
ing the mileage at 1.064 miles, and say
ing the branch to the Pacific is aban-
doned. The Central has nearly double
the mileage he assigns it, hay
ing, in fact, in the neigh
borhood of 1000 miles Of track,
while the Pacific branch has been run
ming for some time to Guadalajara, f61
miles, and also several miles from the
Pacific end, and we see from late City
Of Mexico papers that it has just been
opened GO miles further TO Ameca, and
the construction of the small interval
Is i'm progress, while another rail-
road is also being constructed to Aca-
pulco. on the Pacific, by another com
pany. Indeed, from Mexican papers
not only all their railroads are pros
porous, but several new ones are i'll
process of construction.
1t is possible, as our correspondent
has done. TO select certain great trunk
lines in the United States in the popu-
lous centres (which having been
reconstructed by freezing out
the early bondholders, and BIZ
reason Of the immense bulk
of traffic, and indeed forced to it By
sharp compctition) can show the low
rates he mentions. But taking the ar
eiage railroad freight rates and passen-
ger fares in the United States, they are
nominaily the same as the average
rates and fares in Mexico. AS our dol
lsir has been forced up to double its
former value it follows necessarily that
the Mexican rates are, in fact half Of
ours. This our Consuls in Mexico re-
port, as they also do that cotton, and
wheat and corn maintain their old pri-
ces, i. e., IA TO Is cents for cotton and
81 to s1.4o per bushel for corn and
wheat, the variation being due to lo-
cality When, unlike us, they
can pay their debts and taxes
and railroad freights in cur
r1ency Of the same value as thatin which
their private and public debts we're
created, it needs no argument or wit
ness to prove that the people there arc
as prosperous and happy as the bond
holders are in this country.
Those who own national and other
bonds and have their capital and their
interest doubled without even the exer-
else of cutting off additional coupons
generally approve the legislation and
the means that has brought this about,
but it viii be hard to satisfy those who
have ia take two mounds of cotton two