Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1896-10-10

80 ~ 49, " PINoh 49, ~ -
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for n little less than $3.50
a square yard, md that price will be In
money worth one-half the American
| 0rice.
other Occupations.
As in mining and IN matchmaking, so 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 profit.
The most striking of the object lessons,
perhaps, nre those which the railroads
furnish. These roads in Mexico are
%roundings are marvelously clean and
neat. The rpadbeds will compare most
favorably with those in the states. The
train service is excellent. Mexican
money does II. East from Laredo to
Corpus Christi. on the Gulf. wholly on
American soil, the Mexican National has
9 division 100 miles long; .SouthwaTd
same road, within Mexican territory, ex-
tends 70 Monterey. t6S miles, about the
same distance. On one side of the Rio
GTande 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
| E'l Flpp q il'iitH III Ettt' Sttttttt NHo
between Laredo and Monterey get $3.50
4 month in Mexican silver, which is
worth $6760, for the same kind Of serv.
ice.
Engineers on the Texas side are paid
$3.50 in gold for 100 miles. Engineers
on the Mexican side receive $3.50 In
Mexican silver, worth S2.SG, for 100
miles,
Brakemrn running to Corpus get $50 n
month IN gold; TO Monterey. SEQ n
month in Mexican. silver, worth 5000.
Firemen on the Texas division are paid
at the rate of $50 in gold for 100 miles
Travelled; on the Mexican division, $2.25,
worth Sill.
A general officer of the Mexican Ma
tional, TOO modest to have his name in
print, gave these wages from his books,
When hp had read them off to this point,
an interested looker-on interrupted with;
II should think all of the fellows on
the Monterey division would want to get
on the Texas division"
Probably they would," said the officer,
hut we have combined the runs so that
on all mixed trains the crews go through
from Corpus to Monterey. That gives
them 100 miles on n gold basis in Texas
and 16S miles on a silver basis In Mexi-
ca. 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! Z"
About two years ago"
How about wages of section hands,
The otiicihl turned to the books again.
ION the Texas division" he said, fore
men get $40 II month in American money.
The iaborers get - cents a day. On the
Mexican side foremen get $40 a month in
Mexican silver, and laborers 62h cents,
both in Mexican silver"
At the prevailing rate Of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
$50 n month md section hands about 81
rents a 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 2IO
miles south of the frontier AS you go
toward the interior wages decrease.
hrom, Saltillo southwark TO San Luis
paid S1,5O a day and laborers soc a day,
all IN Mexican silver. Still further
south below San Luis Potosi, the pay is
S1.20 a day for foremen and for laborer
5112c a day, Mexican silver
Have railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill
verf"
mo. These are the rates today. and
they We're the same in 1888. when silver
dollars were worth a half more than they
are now"
Conoo-nIhs Lead.
The silver mine owners Of Monterey
would be greatly gratified to see Mr..
Bryan restore silver to $1.29 an ounces
was suggested to Mr.. Joaquin Maiz.
On the contrary" replied the owner
OF San Pedro quickly and with decided
emphasis, the less silver is worth, the
better for u.s.
'Hhis caabninr pornJny NT. At. -
cecded TO explain. In SO doing he threw
much light upon the operation of the sill
yer basis in n silver country. What he
said Of wages and living will be par
ticnlarly interesting in the United States.
IF we got $1.29 an ounce" he be-
gan, ut would be S1.29 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 65 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 S1.29. 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. that will be 500 pounds of lead
TO the ton of ore. AT 3 cents that lead
is worth S15 in the United States. That
is S15 in gold, which is $50 in Mexican
money.
"Silyer, you must remember" Mr..
Maiz continued. doesn't govern the
price of lead, If silver should 60 up to
S1:20 an ounce. or, which is the same
thing, TO par with gold, my lead would
keep about even, regardless OK the auc-
tuation of silver. 1t would still be
worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth $15 in gold,
but 1t wouldn't be worth any more in
silver. II would be S15 in gold in Amer,
lean silver and in Mexican silver"
Having shown that he would get very
little If n more in Mexican money
for his silver If it commanded $1.29
or par with gold, and having demon.
strated that the advance of silver to
$1.29 would knock him out of half OF
his return fe- the lead. measured by the
Mexican money, Mr.. Maiz proceeded to
is most interesting to Americans.
snow, there is another thing" he said
"and it il this: When gold was about
even with Mexican money, or when there
was very little difference, we paid our
labor ut the mines rs cents q day. The
amount was equivalent to about 20 cents
n div I'm American money. Today W
pay those same miners 10 cents Il day
in Mexican money, which is now equiv.
alent to about 371h cents a day in gold
This 37h cents a day in gold yields the
~mine-owner the same amount Of labor
which was produced for him when the