The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1896-10-23
THE LESSON OF MEXICO.
How a Railway Man Who Is Down
There Looks at II.

| hallway Age.
Passenger Conductor A. E. Anderson.
whose run is between this city and
Glendlye. says the Billings. Mont, Ca
zette. handed this office letter Monday
nat is one Of the best Republican cam
paign documents that the Gazette has
/ yet run across. II Is from Conductor
]. Il. Condit. who ran a train on the
Yellowstone division OF the Northern
Pacific for a number Of years. He
ming train in and out Of Rascon. The
letter, coming as 1t does from a man
who is familia- With the condition OF
the laboring man in free silver Mexico.
should commend itself TO the thought
full consideration Of every voter who
reads it. Being a purely personal epis-
tie from one friend to another, and not
having been penned as a campaign doc
ument. IL carries with II great weight.
II IS worth more than all the Republl-
can editorials that have been written
during this campaign, 1t deals in un-
denla5le facts and should be published
IN eve.y Republican paper in the Unit
ed States.
Mr.. Condit was one Of the most rabid
Democrats in the country. but during
his residence in free silver Mexico he
has learned in that school. whose terri
Bile lessons have not TO be taught twice
in the same generation. that free sill
yer is not the panacea for poverty.
The letter in full. just as it was writ
ten. is as follows:
Rascon Mexico, August %.
"A. E. Anderson. Esq, Glendive. Mont
Dear Sir and Bro; received your
letter of the 18th inst. today. and as
have a few moments to spare l hasten
to answer.
In the first place, this money ques-
ton is too deep for me. and l cannot
for an instant imagine what the out
come will be If the United States comes
out for free and unlimited coinage OF
silver. No country has ever prospered
under it. but possibly America is pow
erful enough TO stand alone upon this
question and experience no bad results,
but doubt IT,
''As you may have heard around
about the clubs, have always been a
Democrat, but, my boy. If I was in the
United States in November, Mckinley
would get my vote.
Mexico. with its free silver, is lesson !
enough for me, and 1 sincerely hope
hat 1 will never live to see the Amer 4
can workingman vote himself down .
% the level Of a laborer in Mexico.
Il sent to Joe Widmyer editor and 1
proprietor of the Glendive independently /
asst week table of wages of this coun-
ry, and it alone would convince any
man that free silver is bad for
hem. 1t will reduce your wages as
iure as the sun shines
My run is between Rascon and Tam
,ico, 200 kilometers or 125 miles, the
anne distance as from Glendive to For +,
yth, Mont. For the round thip l re- {
eive SO. and if make ten trips 1 re-
eive 800. If am then called to the {
'tates, or any other country on earth,
kept South America, l exchange my
money and get $5S. While a freight I
onductor, running from Glendive to I
forsyth, same number Of trips, gets '
$3.50, and they consider in Mexico I
hat freight conductors on this division ]
re paid too much-best paid men on r
he system. Passenger conductors get a
l6O a month. or sS2 in your country; :
ngineers Sc day, amounting to 50 in
he states.
A porterhouse steak. baked potatoes
nd wheat bread will cost you 50. Ca
adian Club whisky costs 40 cents q ;,
rink.
Il have a pair of 81 American tan-col-
red shoes that paid s115O for. stet-
IN. Dunlap. Knox, or, in fact, any II
lake of hats. are SO. :,
80. Gus. take my advice and vote for
-cKinley, and you owe it to yourself to :, =
} all in your power to influence your
lends to do likewise.
II know their cry, We must have a
lange, and if we vote for Bryan 1t
mt make it worse than it is now,' B
1t they don't know what they are di
liking about. The man who works HI
r a living and casts his vote for free pr
liver, thinking to better his condition, P
III live to bitterly repent it. Yours
p. F., ]. r. CONDIT."
There is no danger that anyone will eN
Il the two democratic tickets twins. tn