Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1896-08-13

States Consul German, of Matumoros, |
for instance. tells us that "a great deal of
American capital is being invested in cof-
fee culture, in vanilla. sisal hemp and rub
her trees" Agriculture Ia Mexico, ii may
be assumed. is being developed OH purely
commercial principles and with u clear
appreciation yof the demands not of the
home. but the foreign market.
Mexico has marked advantage over US
in the fact that she has greater variety
of agricultural products, and exports GER
tain great staples, such as coffee, fibres,
dye-woods, &C., for which there is pro-
ftable market and which we cannot raise
at all. She is not affected, as we are, by
the over-production of cereals and live |
stock and the consequent Cutting of the |
foreign markets. In view Of these facts |
it is not at all strange that agriculture in |
Mexico is booming" in certain lines, or |
that food supplies are comparatively |
scarce and high. The agricultural inves- 4
| tor in Mexico pays for his labor, transpor-
tation, &C., in silver and raises only such
products as he can sell with the prospect
of the largest possible returns in gold.
The same thing would be true of the farm
er in this country but for this important
difference-unlike the Mexican, he pro-
| duces nothing that promises him similar
margin of profit in the markets of the
world. In other words, he is the victim,
as the Mexican is the beneficiary, of the
memorable law of supply and demand. He
might receive greater number of dol
lars for his crops, but unless prices rose
abroad they would represent no greater
actual profit to him.
Under these circumstances it is NOT sur
prising to learn that the cultivation of the
/ land in Mayinn In t,ti
conducted mainly by persons with con-
siderable capital. The small farmer"
the bone and sinew of a great agriculture
class, is practically unknown. "Agricul-
ture in Mexico" says the British Consul
ut Vera Cruz, under date Of March 3,
1895. sis principally in the hands of large
landowners, who cultivate only limited
percentage of their lands and hold produce
for rise in price, with little regard for
the first principles of economy"
Manufactures in Mexico are affected by
similar conditions, and protection steps in
to help free silver in imparting an artificial
stimulus to certain industries, and to them
alone. But it is not at all clear that even
these manufactures are permanently beue-
fitted. On the one hand the British Consul
at Mexico. in his report on the budget Of
1896 says: ut may be maintained
that the increased price of foreign mer-
chandise tdue to the depreciation of silver
has given n great impulse to the develop
ment of local manufacturing industries,
with the result that homemade articles
have. in many cases, succeeded in per-
manently superseding articles of foreign
make" On the other hand the British
Consul at Vera Cruz, under date of Feb
ruary ~, 1896, says: British textiles
have more than held their own, in the
face of heavy protection, and the exports
OF British cOttOns to the republic in 1895
: nave nearly doubled, ms compared with tile
: preceding year. This in itself is evidence
of the artificial existence of the Mexican
factories, which cannot compete. even
! when favored by low value of silver
, lin reducing the cost of raw materials and
labor) and are bound to collapse when
protection is removed" But whether
: manufacturers are prospecting in Mexico
or not, it is clear that their profits are made
e at the expense of both the native producer
e and the native consumer. Free silver and
r protection combined secure the manufact
urer purely artificial bounty, in which
s the farmer, the farm laborer and the fac
: tory operative have only such share as |.
r represented by increased demand for raw
= products and increased opportunities fol
j. work.
4, That this is not an unfair deduction il
4 shown by the rates of wages paid in Mex
II ico- according to the latest official reports
L Labor is very cheap and abundant il
7, Mexico" says Consul German, of Malta
It moros, under date of January |, 1895
II the average farm luborer receiving So
month, sometimes with ratiOns of corr
" only. 1 MS is equivalent, at present rat
lie of exchange, to about 10 cents in Ameri
10 can money per day" The British Consll
n at Mexico in his report of December !
1t 1893, gives the rates of wages at II numbe
If of principal points. In the State of So
g, nora, Northern Mexico, they are. in Mex
r can currency, per day: Common laborers
n ~ to 10 cents; miners. 80 cents to $3 fac
l. tory hands. (men,) 10 cents to 50: art
n sans. S1.50 to So. Substantially the sam
re rates prevail in the southern part of Low
sc or California. At Mazatlan, an impOrtau
I'd port on the Pacific Coast, with three cot
TO ton factories, a soup factory and n numbe
Us of small sugar mills and distlleries, til
N wages are: Common lahorers, % to q
u cents; miners, 81 to Sc: factory hands, q
~ cents to 81; artisans, 81 to 3d. At Tor
" ala, in Southern Mexico, common lnhorel
IL receive Is to 81 cents: artisans, % TO 4
he cents.
IL The above rates must be cut down nea
u ~ one-hnlf TO reduce them to Unite
or States equivalents but even making tn
d. reduction the wages Of skilled labor woul
er srem to be comparatively high. This
r. to be attributed to its scarcity, n fa,
ut which explains the wages paid to c0ndu
oh tors, engineers, ETC., on the Mexican raj
n roads. There are but few Mexican
on qualified for this work, and trainmen ba,
al to be imported from the United STATE
ne The great bulk of Mexican labor is sti
&C. very poorly paid from our standpoin
We The labor question:" says the Britt.
de Consul at Vera Cruz, in his report
I'm March 8, 1875, sis still unsolved Natl,
r. labor is scarce, unstable and OF low qua
Ill lty. 1t may be classcd us follows: Lab
70 established and employed on large estate
MS bound to the land by an ever-incrcasiI
Int debt to the owner, incurred by advance
on in the necessities of life, with Il n0min
on wage that does not vary. Though illeg,
IL these debts ure in some cases carri,
at from father TO son, and such labor hi
I'D been known to be transferred by sale wi
ge III" property.
Labor contracted and obtained tlrou,
W the local authorities. Such labor is su
Ill ject to losses through advances and @
ire pcnscs of transport. Wages actual
an, earned are low and assertions freuuent.
be- Free labor is of better quality al
commands higher wages: the supply, no,
if ever, is very limited. These wages W
eventually b. governed in proportion
rn | ha