The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-10-16
WHAT THEY F0tND.

The Trade and Labor Assembly recently
sent a committee OF two OF its mem bers
10 Mexico TO look into the labor situa-
tion In that silver country and report al
speedily as possible, with view TO the
election OF Novem Der 3D., and the position
wage esrners should take on the money
question for their own interests.
Mr.. MAAs OF the committee is general
organizer OF .he American Federation OF
Labor, and also orgsnizer of the Sesent b
district OF the international Typographi.
cal Union. Mr.. ENRIoHT, his associate,
is a veteran in the history of local organ
ized Ia Dor and a membe of the executive
board Of the Iron Mouiders' Union OF
Chicago. One OF the committee is a Re
publican aud the other Democrat. They
have returned and reported to the body
that sent them ON the mission. Neither
OF them cares to throw up JOB in the
United States for q similar job in our
neighboring free silver Republic.
The committee found that the price of
labor in Mexico has been decreasing,
while the cost of commodities has been
increasing. There is nothing like in
dustrial independence In that country,
and there cannot he anything of the
sort as long as present conditions con-
tinue. The economic condition of the
Mexican workmen 10 pitiable. Few Mexi-
cans own their own farms. Most OF
them work for the lords of the earth
who own thousands Of acres, and the
poor peop, slavlpg from early morning
until late at night, is never out OF debt.
Even where man gets good wages he
can't save anything, and can't live with
any degree of comfort. American me-
chanics get good wages In Mexico, in
some Instances more than they can get
here, bat when they come to pay for
what Is necessary they find they don't
get as much as they could in the United
States. Everything to eat and wear and
thar goes to make life worth living at all
is dearer there than here. To the aver
age Mexican what he wears is not mat
ter of much concern, as ii amounts to SO
little. He does not eat much, either,
and bis house is more like stable than
anything else. Where a carpenter gets rs
cents a day In Mexico, and a brick layer
and mason half that amount, they don't
have much left II they buy much after
the family is fed, in spite Of the fact
that II costs little or nothing to support
a Mexican family. A printer only gets
on an average go cents day, and paint
ers but little more When they come to
buy those things which the American
workipgman feels he must have In the
way OF nourisbing food, they have prao-
tically pothing left for food. AZ to
lux aries, the Mexican lsborer has none.
He cannot AFFORD to pay 81 per pound for
butter. or s cents per pound for -four, q
loaf OF bread being seven cents; sugar 10
double what II is here in the United
ststes; milk, tea, coffee, syrup, canned
fruits and vegetables, ham, potatoes,
and other thugs which are necsssaries
to us here, he cannot touch ct ell.
This is the substance,of the report of
their es,igation as offered by the COM
mittee o. the Chicago workingmen. One
OF the committee states, in summing up;
"Isbor is dsbssed, and 70 are those
who labor. workingmen cannot hold up
their heads thers at all, and the prospect
is they will not be able to for many
scores OF years to come. ! prefer the
United States in every way
or course he does---but the choice would
not pe 30 sure II this country once under
took free coinage" BILLY BRYAN says
we can support free coinage, though Mex
ico snd China cannot. We have his word
for II, bat we should think the average
wage Garner would hesitate to accept 1t
snd:vots to try an experiment which has
yet to furnish the drst example OF
success.
PAwrucKET Republicans appea! to be
haxinn THAR usual TINA Of IL THAR