Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1896-10-17
what Free silver Has Done I'm
Mexico.

Every day the false and fraudu-
lent character of the claims based
upon assumed Mexican conditions,
becomes more apparent.
The pretense has been made that
Mexico is Impoverished" and "de-
graded" because she uses silver,
aud by implication it is claimed
that if Mexico only had gold
standard, the poems would at once
take rank with the best paid and
most intelligent workingmen in the
Union. Ii that is not the idea, then
there is nothing in the point. AS
the National BimetetLlSst has fire.
quently said, every schoolboy ought
to know that the inferiority Of Mex
ico is owing to differences in race
and natural conditions wholly dis
connected from the question Of
money. But even from the gold
standard side comes evidence al
most daily, not only that the cry
about the suffering condition of
Mexico being the result of using
silver is false, but that in fact sui.
fering does not exist there at all. A
few days ago a most excellent arti'
Gle appeared in the Chicago Record
upon the gold standard side from
the pen OF J. E. Dennison, auditor
OF the Mexican International Rail-
way. In that article he said: "Mex
ico's present prosperity is in no wise
due to her monetary SYSTEM Then
he proceeded to ascribe it to the
greater stability of her Government.
Coming from the gold side this
ought to he accepted as fairly good
evidence that Mexico, being more
prosperous than formerly, has GER
tainly not been ruined" by free
silver. Again Mr.. Dennison says:
at would be equally illogical to
claim that the low wages paid for
native lobor were the result of adj
herence to the free coinage of silver,
as these rates have changed but
slightly in the last century, and are
determined by the excess of supply
and limited capacity of the work
men," Here he completely brushes
away the other bugaboo about low
wages being caused by free silver,
placing the cause where every intel
ligent man knows that it belongs.
Mr.. Dennison's only objections to
free coinage in Mexico are either
purely technical or relate to the for
eign trade of the country. The first
is Of no consequence, and the latter
falls fat because the public records
show that Mexico's foreign trade is
in magnificent condition-exports
increasing enormously, imports de-
creasing. and the credit of the Gov
eminent constantly rising.
Vim. e. Curtis, one of the Records
commissioners to investigate the
mstter, has also discovered that
Mexico is prosperous" but he says
that her prosperity is owing to her
corn" not to her silver. That is
all right. We will not dispute the
assertion that Mexico's corn is an
essential element in making up her
prosperity. But we have "corn" also.
A great deal more of it than Mexico
has. If that country il prosperous
because she has corn, why are we
not prosperous with our corn? But
more. We have corn and gold, too
that is some gold. Why is it that
with both corn and gold we are in
distress, and almost every body COM
planning of "hard times" while
'poor Mexico" with her corn and
"debased silver" is prospecting more
than she ever did? In another let
ter Mr.. Curtis writes that the high
est wages in Mexico are paid by the
railways and that the responsible
positions are filled by Americans.
Then he gives some tables of prices.
We have not the means of vertical
ton at hand, and for the time must
take them as he gives them, al
though the Merican Herald very
sharply disputes some of them.
Among other rates he gives the pay
of a general foreman, at $185
month, roundhouse foreman, $6.75
a day; machine shop foreman, 1915
day; foreign machinists; $685., and
native machinists, $3.50 to 81 per
day; native boiler makers, $3.50 to
&2 and fnraiUn AZ 20. native black