Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1896-10-09

same paving commands in American
money in the States. American cities
pay about $3.50 square yard for brick
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for little less than $3.50
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
10 III All industries. Monterey Is BOOM
ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates,
aud can be paid in the deprecated sill
Yer. That gives the margin Of profit.
Ehe most striking of the object lessons,
perhaps, are ,, those which the railroads ds
well managed. The he depots and sur;
roundings are marvelously clean and
neat. The roadbeds will compare most
tavorably with those in the states. The
train service is excellent. Mexican
money does it. East from Laredo to
oh so tho TEX NATIONAL HooY hs
q division 160 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 i the Mexiean National al Pays
u6So IL AhCAlSuH slINSIs VII thC HoIASA
side the pay roll is met with American
money.
Conductors between Laredo and Corpus
get sos month in gold Conductors
between Laredo and Monterey get $l3O
month in Mexican silver, which is
ice.
Engineers on the Texas side are paid
$3.50 in gold for loo miles. Engineers
on the Mexican side receive $3.50 in
Mexican silver, worth S2.S6, for 100
miles.
gE1hemen . rqnins to CORPUS get $50
month in Mexican silver, worth $1,000. !
Firemen on the Texas division are. paid
at the rate of $3.50 in gold for 100 miles
Travelled; on the Mexican division, 1925,
worth SLY.
A general officer of the Mexican Ma
tional FOO 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 com bined the runs 50 that
on all mixed trains the crews go through
from Corpus to Monterey. That gives
them l6O miles on gold basis in Texas
and 16S 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"
w hen did the company adopt this plan
of evening things 70
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 a month in American money.
The laborers get 70 cents day. On the
Mexican side foremen get $40 9 month in
both liz Mexican silver
AT the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
w month and section hands about 81
cents a day in American money.
but yon must remember" said the
railroad official. 1these figures for fore
low the border as Saltillo. That is $40
miles south of the frontier. As you 90
toward the interior wages decrease,
From Saltillo southwark to San Luis
Potosi, 26S miles. section foremen are
paid 81. 90 a day and laborers SOC day,
al IN Mexican silver; Still further
south, below San Luis Potosi, the pay is
Sl.25 n day for foremen and for laborer
oI32c a day. Mexican silver
Haye railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill
verI :,
NO. IneSe are the rates today, and
they were the same in 1888. when silver
are now"
Concerning Lead.
The silver mine owners Of Monterey
would be greatly gratified to see MI.
Bryan restore silver to $1.29 an ounce e
was suggested to Mr.. Joaquin Maiz.
ON the contrary" replied the owner
Of San Pedro quickly and with decided
emphasis. "the less silver is worth, the
better for U.S.
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 win be par-
ticularly interesting in the United States.
If we got $1.29 an ounce" he be-
gan, 1T would be $1.29 in Mexican
money. Mexican money would be the
same as gold. Under present conditions,
suppose we got only 65 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.
50 you. see we would get no more per
ounce in Mexican money if silver was
worth $129. 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 25 per
cent. that will be 500 pounds of lead
to the ton of ore. At 3 cents that lead
is worth SIS in the United States. That
is SIS 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 90 IN to
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. It would still be
worth 8 cents in gold. Ny 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth S15 in gold,
but it wouldn't be worth any more in
silver. 1t would be SIG in gold in Amer
lean silver and in Mexican silver
Having shown that he. would get very
little If any more in Mexican money
for his silver if it commanded $1.29.
or par with gold, and having demon
strated that the advance of silver to
81 % would knock him out of half of
his return for the lead. measured by the
Mexican money. Mr.. Maiz proceeded to
that phase of the silver question which
is most interesting to Americans.
s'Now, there is another thing he said,
"and it is this: When gold was about
even with Mexican money. or when there
was very little difference. we paid our
10 ho,. al the mines II cents a dar Tbo