Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1896-10-15

same paving commands in American
money in the States. American cities
pay about $3.50 n square yard for brick
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for little less than $3.50
| a square yard, and that price will be in
money worth one-half the American
| price.
Other Occupations.
AS in mining and in brickmaking, so it
is in all industries. Monterey is boom
ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates,
and can be paid in the deprecated sill
YER That gives the margin of profit.
The most striking of the object lessons,
perhaps, are those which the railroads
furnish. These roads in Mexico are
roundings are marvelously clean and
neat. The roadbeds will compare most
favorably with those in the states. The
train service is excellent. Mexican
money does it. East from Laredo to
Corpus Christi, on the Gulf. wholly on
American soil. the Mexican National has
division 100 miles long. Southwark
from Laredo the first division of the
same road. within Mexican territory, ex-
tends to Monterey, 16S miles, about the
same distance. On one side of the Rio
Grande the Mexican National pays
wages in Mexican silver. On the other
side the pay roll is met with American
money.
Conductors between Laredo and Corpus
get 500 month in gold. Conductors
between Laredo and Monterey get $3.50
month in Mexican silver, which is
worth $61.6O, for the same kind of serv-
ice.
Engineers on the Texas side are paid
$3.50 in gold for 100 miles. Engineers
on the Mexican side receive $3.50 in
Mexican silver, worth 1886, for 100
miles.
nro1,ox,o,, .,.,.z: 1. r,,,,,, ,.o. exc
month in gold; to Monterey. $50
month in Mexican silver, worth $1,000.
Firemen on the Texas division are paid
at the rate of $50 in gold for 100 miles
Travelled; on the Mexican division, $50,
worth Silt.
tiOnal, too modest to have his name in
print, gave these wages from his books.
When he had read them off to this point,
an interested looker-On interrupted with:
Il should think all of the fellows on
the Monterey division would want to get
on the Texas division"
Probably they would" said the officer
but we have combined the runs so that
on all mixed trains the crews go through
from Corpus ito Monterey. That gives
them 100 miles on gold basis in Texas
and 1GS miles on silver basis in Mexi-
CO.. They have the gold and the silver di-
visions alternately. We do that to give
them all the same chance"
when did the company adopt this plan
of evening things?"
About two years ago"
How about wages of section hands"
The official turned to the books again.
"On the Texas DIVISION" he said, fore
men get $40 month in American money.
Ihe laborers get 10 cents day. On the
Mexican side fOremen get $40 month in
Mexican silver, and laborers 621@ cents,
both in Mexican silver"
AT the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
so month and section hands about 81
cents day in American money.
But you must remember" said the
railroad official. "these figures for fore
men and labor hold good only as far be-
low the border as Saltillo. That is 24O
miles south of the frontier. As you go
toward the interior wages decrease.
prom Saltlllo southwark Il Ss. s-Ir''i.rr
: seHrit, 1rTow San Luis Potosi, the pay is
81 % day for foremen and for laborer
3I12c Il day, Mexican silver"
Have railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill
| yer?'
mo. These are the rates today, and
! they were the same in 1883. when silver
dollars were worth half more than they
are now"
| Concerning Lead.
"The silver mine owners of Monterey
would be greatly gratifed to see Mr..
Bryan restore silver to $1.29 an ounce?"
was suggested to Mr.. Joaquin Maiz.
ION the contrary" replied the owner
of San Pedro quickly and with decided
emphasis, 'the less silver is worth, the
better for us"
This seeming paradox Mr.. Maiz pro-
ceeded to explain. In so doing he threw
much light upon the operation of the sill
yer basis in a silver country. What he
said of wages and living will be par
| ticularly interesting in the United States.
IF we got S1.29 an ounce" he be-
gan, sit would be $1.29 in Mexican
money. Mexican money would be the
same as American money, and both the
same as gold. Under present conditions,
suppose we got only 50 cents an ounce in
American money for our silver. That
American money is worth 100 per cent
more than Mexican money In other
words, the 65 cents an ounce in Amer
lean money or gold for our silver is
worth double that in Mexican money.
SO you see we would get no more per
ounce in Mexican money if silver was
worth S1.29. Now the main value of
our Monterey ores does not come from
the silver, but from the lead. If have
lead in my silver ore running % per
cent. that will be 500 pounds of lead
to the ton of ore. At 8 cents that lead
is worth Slo IN the United States. That
is $15 in gold, which is $50 in Mexican
money.
"Silver, you must remember" Mr.
Maiz continued, doesn't govern the
price of lead. If silver should go up tc
S1.29 an ounce. or, which is the same
: thing, to par with gold, my lead would
| keep about even, regardless of the fuc
tuation of silver. 1t would still bC
p, worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds OF
lead per ton would be worth SO in gold
> but it wouldn't be worth any more il
: silver 1t would be SIS in gold in Amer
: lean silver and in Mexican silver
! Having shown that he would get yer,
=. little if any more in Mexican money
! for his silver if it commanded $1.29
q or par with gold, and having demon
strated that the advance of silver t,
/ $129 would knock him out of half o
his return for the lead, measured by tn
= Mexican money. Mr.. Maiz proceeded t.
q that phase of the silver question whicl
f is most interesting to Americans.
@ "Now, there is another thing" he said
r "and it is this: When gold was abOu
@ even with Mexican money, or when Their
r was very little difference. we paid on
labor at the mines IS cents a day. TIL
v amount was equivalent to about 20 cent
Il q day in American money. Today w
k pay those same miners rs cents a da
s in Mexican money, which is now equiv
y" |