Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-10-08


pay about $3.50 q square yard for brick
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for a 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, 80 1t
Is in all industries. Monterey Is boom
ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates,
and can be paid in the deprecated sill
yer. That gives the margin OF proht.
The most striking of the object lessons,
perhaps, are those which the railroads
furnish. These roads in Mexico are
well managed. The depots and sur
roundings are marvelously clean and
neat. The roadbeds will compare most
iay,orably with those in the states. , Inc
money does IL. East from Laredo to
Corpus Christi, on the Gulf wholly on
American soil. the Mexican National has
division 100 miles long. Southwark
from Laredo the first division of the
same road. within Mexican territory, ex-
same distance. On one side of the Rio
Lrande 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
between Laredo and Monterey get $50
month in Mexican silver. which is
worth $780, for the same kind of sery-
ice.
Engineers on the Texas side are paid
$3.50 in gold for 100 miles. Engineers
Mexican silver, worth $3.50, for 100
miles.
Brakemen running to Corpus get $50
month In gold: TO Monterey, $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, $2.25.
worth $1.17.
A general officer of the Mexican Ma
tional, too modest 10 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 combined the runs so that
on all mixed trains the crews go through
from Corpus TO Monterey. That gives
them 16O miles on gold basis in Texas
and 16S miles on silver basis in Next
co. They have the gold and the silver di-
visions alternately. We do that to give
them all the same chance"
when did the company adopt this plan
of evening things?'
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 a day. On the
Mexican side foremen get $40 month in
Mexican silver, and laborers 621h cents,
both in Mexican silver
AT the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
~ month and section hands about 81
cents day in American money.
But you must remember" said the
railroad official. these figures for fore
men and labor hold good only as far be-
low the border rs Saltillo. That is $40
miles south of the frontier. As you 60
toward the interior wages decrease.
From Saltllo southwark to San Luis
Potosi, 26S miles. section foremen are
PAID Sl.5O day and laborers soc a day,
all IN Mexican silver. Still further
south, below San Luis Potosi, the pay is
Sl.2o day for foremen and for laborer
3I12c a day. Mexican silver"
lave railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill
verT
mo. These are the rates TODAY. and
they were the same in 1888. when silver
dollars were worth half more than they
are now"
Concerning Lead.
"The silver mine owners of Monterey
would be greatly gratifed to see Mr.
Bryan restore silver TO S1.29 an ounce %
was suggested to Mr.. Joaquin Maiz.
On the contrary replied the owner
OF San Pedro quickly and with decided
better for u.s."
This seeming paradox Mr.. Maiz pro-
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 will be par
ticnlarly interesting in the United States.
gan, sit would be S129 in Mexican
money Mexican money would be the
same as American money. and both the
same as gold. Under present conditions.
suppose we got only 60 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 90 cents an ounce in Amer
lean money or gold for our silver Is
worth double that in Mexican money
So you see we would get no more per
ounce in Mexican money if silver was
worth Sl.29. 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 % per
cent. tnat VIII be 900 pounds of lead
to the ton of ore. At 3 cents that lead
is worth S15 in the United States. That
is SO 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 20 up TO
S1.29 an ounce. or, which is the same
thing, to par with gold. my lead would
keep about even, regardless of the fluc-
tuation of silver. Ii would still be
worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth $15 in gold.
but IL wouldn't be worth any more in
silver. 1t would be S15 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 ST %.
or par with gold, and having demon
strated that the advance of silver to
S1.29 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.
Nov. there is another thing" he said.
"and il is this: When gold was about
even with Mexican money. or when there
was very little difference. we paid our
labor nj the mines ~ cents day. The
amount was equivalent TO about 40 cents
a day in American money. Today we
pay those same miners 30 cents day