The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-05-13
THE REPRESENTATIVE. WEDNESDAY MAY 49, 1895

tive leather (which is very poor, will
| last you about three months. They
cost at the lowest Sc. Ladies' shoes
cost the same. In hose the cheapest
| is three pairs for 81. The same thing
in Chicago costs II cents to Is cents
pair. l paid 81 for three very poor
linen collars. A white shirt at $3.50
| is reasonable. The same shirt here
would have cost no more than Is
cents at the outside.
You cannot touch four-in-hand tie
for less than S1-not very good at
that. In ladies' goods paid $1S for
| silk waist. / can buy it's superior in
Chicago for S.. bought silk under
skirt for my wife for e8-it was bar
gain, but did not last a week. /
bought her very good winter hat for
$lS-could get as good here for 81.
The cheapest pair of corsets / could
buy there were worth 1915, and they
were simply no good at ali. l bought
another pair at S.. Ladies' under
wear is about three to four times as
high there as here.
| Railroad fare in Mexico is cents a
| kilOmeter, which is equal to cents a
mile. It is 1900 miles from FL Paso
to Mexico City. The fare is $50. You
are allowed on local tirSt-class tickets
forty-five pounds of baggage. All over
that you pay for.
What have written here I know
from personal experience. On account
OF the high duty on tobacco ia the
United States you can buy cigars cheap
In Mexico, and you can get the native
whisky Cheap cents a glass, and
two glasses will kill you if you are not
an iron man. I was silver crank
once. That was before went to Mex
| lco And when any crank talks to
you about free coinage just remember
| that gold standard countries regu-
lated the price Of everything that is
| produced in a silver country except
| labor. Supply and demand regulate
that. Free coinage in the United
| States is not going to make prices Of
labor go up until there is more de-
mand or until it becomes an impoSsi-
bility for the laboring man to exist
on the pay he receives, and then it
will go up to the existing point and
no further. Every reading man who
| labOrs for living should throw down
| the silver spade he will dig his own
grave with ii he goes to the polls next
November and votes for free coinage.
M. J. MORLEY
The singular thing about this let
ter is that the writer expresses no
| opinion upon the question of whether
or not the people Of Mexico are pros
porous and contented with their lot.
That is the all important issue now.
1t is of no moment what the prices
of goods are if the consumer is able
to buy them and have a surplus left
at the end of the year. And there is
nothing in it for him however low
prices may be if he has nothing to
purchase them with.
Neither is there any indication as
to what class the writer belongs to.
He certainly is not carpenter or he
would not kick at So or 4 day; nor
locomotive engineer who gets S.
day: nor boiler-maker, receiving $3.50
to 5000 month. Or course the ma
tive MeXicanS receive much less.
Wages have been low with them for
centuries before the present genera
tion. But two per cent of them could
read or write. But these things are
due to ancient causes and have moth
ing to do with the question of silver
or no silver. Mexico is rising rapidly
under its present great ruler, but mil
lions until recently were poems or
slaves.
Neither can this letter-writer be
farmer, or he would not object to
flour at 80 hundred pounds, or Lut-
ter at IS. cents pound, 'the year
around" or potatoes at $500 bushel;
1--WE have lot we will sell for five
cents busheD; or lard at "a cents
pound; or steak at 20 or 80 cents a
pound; or eggs at IS to 81 cents a
dozen; or chickens at 40 to Is cents
each; or milk at 16 cents quart!
How long would it take our farmers
to pay off their mortgages if they
could get such prices for their pro-
duce? And what would they care if
they had to pay little more for the
articles produced by those engaged in
other fields of industry? They would
be abundantly able to do SO.
Nowif this Mr.. Morley is neither a
farmer, nor mechanic, nor a clerk
what is he?
Probably some scamp sent down by
a banking firm to make as black
record as possible for the country; and
who has not the courage to say the
people OF Mexico are not prosperous
and happy. That is proved by the
rush of emigrants from the United
States across the Rio Grande; and the
demand for Mexico's silver bonds in
the markets of Europe; and the uni
versal testimony OF all who go there.
The prices now ruling in Mexico are
very much like those prevailing in
the United States at the close Of the
civil war; and that was the most pros
porous period in our whole history as
a pc ople. l. D.