The Coconino weekly sun., 1896-10-08

"ame piNlnC commands Tn American money in the States. American cities pay about S2.50 a square yard for brick paved streets. Monterey will get her streets paved for q little less than S2.50 . square yard, and that price will be in money worth ope-half the American price.
 Other Occupations.
 As in mining and in brickmakins. so 1t ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates, and can be paid in the depreciated sil- ycr That gives the margin of profit. The most striking of the object lessons, perhaps, are those which the railroads tpcnish. These roads in Mexico are well managed. The depots and sur, roundings are marveloisly clean and 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 160 miles long. Southward 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 Sl0o a month in gold. Conductors between Laredo and Monterey get S130 | q month in Mexican silver. which is worth S61.6O, for the same kind of serv- | ice.
 Engineers on the Texas side are paid S3.5O in gold for 100 miles. Engineers | on the Mexican side receive SJ.50 in | Mexican silver, worth $2S6, for 100 | miles.
 Brakemen running to Corpus get $50 a | month in gold: to Monterey, S6O q month in Mexican silver, worth $30.50. | Bremen on the Texas division are paid at the rate of S1.S0 in gold for 100 miles travelled: on the Mexican division, S2.2o, worth SLY.
 | A general officer of the Mexican Ma 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: | "l should think all of the fellows on the Monterey division would want to get on the Texas division"
 | Probably they wouid," said the officer. | but We have combined the runs so that on all mixed trains the crews go through | from Corpus 10 Monterey. That gives | them l6O miles on q gold basis in Texas | and 1GS miles on a silver basis in McXi- co. They have the gold and the silver di- visions alternately. We do that to give l them all the same chance"
 l When did the company adopt this plan of evening things?"
 l 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 Si0 a month in American money. The lahorers get I5 cents day. On the l Mexican side forcmrn get Si0 month in | Mexican silver, and lahorcrs G21, cents, both in Mexican silver"
 At the prevailing rate of exchange this gives section foremcn on the Mexican side S2O month and section hands about 31 cents day in American money.
 But you must remember" said the
 railroad official. 'thcsc figures for fore
 men and labor hold good only as far be-
 low the border as Saltilo. That is 2iO
 miles south of the frontier. As you go
 toward the interior wages decrease.
 From Sai:illo southward to San Luis
 Potosi. 26S miles. section forcmen are
 paid Sl.5D q day and laborcrs J0c n day,
 all in Mexican silver. Still further
 south, below san Luis POtosi. the pay is Sl;2o day for foremcn and for laborer
 3I1sc q day, Mexican silver"
 Have railroad wages undergone any
 change with the decline of Mexican sil,
 verT'
 No. These are the rates today. and
 they were the same in lSSS. when silver
 dollars were worth half more than they
 are Eow.'
 Concerning Lead.
 "The silver mine owners of Monterey
 would be greatly gratiied to see Mir
 Bryan restore silver to Sl.29 an ounce!'
 was suggested to Mir. Joaquin Maiz.
 "On the contrary replied the owner
 of San Pedro quickly and with decided
 emphasis. ':he less silver is worth, the | better for Us.
 This seeming paradox Mir. Maiz pro
 cccded to explain. In so doing he threw
 much light upon the operation of the sil
 yer basis in n 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, 'it would be S1.29 in Mexican
 money. Mexican money would be tho same as American money, and both tho same as gold. Under present conditions ! suppose we got only 6J cents an ounce ir
 American money for our silver. That ! American money is worth 100 per cent
 more than Mexican money. In other
 words, the G5 cents an ounce in Amer
 ican money or gold for our silver i. worth double that in Mexican money
 So you see we would get no more pel l ounce in Mexican money if silver wa, , worth S1.29. Now the main value O. our Monterey ores does not come iron the silver, but from the lead. If hay, lead in my silver ore running 9 pc cent. that will be 300 pounds of leat to the ton of ore. At 3 cents that leat . is worth $15 in the United States. Tha is $15 in gold. which is $50 in Mexica, | money.
 "Silver, you must remember" Mir Maiz continued, doesn't govern thu price of lead. If silver should gosup t, S1.29 an ounce. or, which is the sam thing, to par with gold. my lead woul'
 keep about even, regardless of the fluc tuation of silver. It would still b worth cents in gold. My 800 pounds O lead per ton would be worth S15 in gold but it wouldn't be worth any more il , silver. It would be S15 in gold in Amer ican silver and in Mexican silver" Having shown that he would get yer, little if any more in Mexican none, , for his silver if it commanded $1.2G , or par with gold, and having demon ] strated that the advance of silver t ! lS1.29 would knock him out of half o
 his return for the lead. measured by tn Mexican money. MT. Maiz proceeded t , | that phase of the silver question whc f | is most interesting to Americans. D "Now, there is another thing" he said