Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1896-10-10

est silver shelters in the two countries;
Hhch gives employment to about soo
men, No one will traverse the great
plant at Monterey and doubt that the
Mexican workman in the industry rem
ders equal labor, man for man, with the
American employed in the Omaha smelt-
er. At Omaha there is little labor given
at S1-5O day. The wages in the various
grades of the smelter range as high as
too high to MAKE il n 81 p per da r That is
American money-gold- Here the com
mon Dor unloads the cars and heaps the
This same labor loads the ore into the
little iron tramcars and wheels 1T under
the sheds, where the more skilled WORK
men do the mixing of the ores in great
beds This common labor shove1s anu
lifts and pushes as hard as the S13o
gold labor at Omaha and does it for 6232
cents a day Mexican silver, or 3l15
cents gold. This labor works ten hours a
day for that price. Then there
is the twelve hours labor, SO divided
to keep the smelter running night ana
day. Here something besides muscle en-
tiers in. The iron barrows must be
wheeled upon the scales, and one kind
of ore follows another in. as beam after
beam tips, until the barrow is full of
iron and lime and various ores ia take
out all of the silver in the smelling
The MeXicans who do this are paid 10
cents n day, worth 3T12 cents American
money. Then come the feeders and the
furnace men, who know just when to
dump in the barrow loads at the top
and just when to tap at the bottom TO
draw off the bullion. This is labor that
receives 81 n day in Mexican silver. or
90 cents day in gold. The Stag pullers
get 10 cents a day in silver. The lore
seeing and directing, are paid from Sd
to 50 day. They are few in number.
Still fewer are the furnace foremen of
that ripe experience which is responsible
the equivalent of 500 in gold.
The pay at the Omaha smelter aver
ages - day, or $500 for the 100 la
can money. The pay at the Monterey
smelter averages 81 a day in Mexican
money, or $400 for the 400 employees.
Here is a difference of $1,000 Mexican
money or 5000 gold in the daily pay
rolls The Mexican silver smelters are
said to be making SO in Mexican money
where the American smelters are profit
free silver in the United States would
raise the Mexican money to the Ameri-
can money or lower the American to the
Mexican it would require the American
sInelters to pay only twice as much for
labor where now they pay four times as
much as the Mexican shelters do. The
wages paid at the smelters here COM
mand the best of Mexican labor. The
lowest rate, 621Hc, is nearly double that
paid for ordinary common labor. 1t
brings to the works brown men with
300 pounds of ore in a barrow These
Mexicans shed all clothing but sandals.
strawhat and cotton drawers they
push and pull the ore down the incline
OF the long roasting ovens. They have
only one bad habit. They will come to
worl! before breakfast. You can teach
Mexican labor TO Smelt ores to perfection
but you can not teach the Mexican wom-
an to get up and prepare breakfast. sim
pie as IT is, before the whistle blows for
the change of shifts from night to day.
men have begun work. the little brown
women come stringing in with the beans
and the corn cakes and the bit Of meat.
Laborers' Wages.
At Cerralvo, in the state of Nueva
Leon. is located the Benavides smelters
From this smelter there has been
shipped since the LIST of January, by OK
carts, 100000 pounds of bullion This
Cerralvo district was a great mining CEN
ter 800 years ago 1t had government
mint, and turned out quantities of coin
during two centuries under Spanish do
minion- When the revolutionary period
set IN mining ceased Titles laDsed
With the esta blishment of stable gov
eminent and the coming of railroads
mining in Mexico took on new activity.
The Cerralvo district was one of the la st
to feel the spirit of revival. The rail
roads passed by and left this ancient
town in the interior Three years ago
American enterprise found this long
neglected district a smelter was built
The highly successful operation of this
| plant for the past three years, ninety
| miles from n railroad. affords one of the
| best possible illustrations of the cheapen-
| ing of silver production in Mexico. The
| manager of the smelter is Mr.. H. c. Har-
| rison, who has had good deal of ex-
| perience in mining and smelling. He
| furnishes the actual cost of operation
from his books and makes comparison
| with the cost of a like smelter in the
| States. These are his figures:
! Smelter operation in Mexico.
Per day In
Mexican money.
Superintendent Observation-Disclosures 5. 90
Two foremen. at 81 500
| Two ore weiShers, at 81. ..--.-....... 200
Assayer. Observation-Disclosures 400
Two engineers. at 81. 200
Two furnacemen- at 81 200
Two feeders. at I5c- Observation-Disclosures. 150
Four Stag men, al 62l2c- 2.50
Two ore men. at 6212c- 1.2i
Two charcoal men. at 6215c- lbs
Two patio men. at 62nsc- 1. %
Ten outside men, at SOC. 600
Two bullion men. at GIG. 1.2i
Two cords of wood. at S2-25- 4-50
Oil for engine and lights. 1.5O
Total in Mexican money $50. 90
/ i'm in, Init