The Irish standard., 1896-10-10
Do CO 1
How That Country Thrives5 n l1nder
sss Silver iii Coinage. SIS FssS'

Outlook for Octoberss: !84ss s5s!
| To the Editor OF The Outlook:
In the present widespread discussio sof
1.-the ubiquitous money question thesstap-
porters Of either side are wont to have re re-
course to the practical illustrst Ions AFFORD
| ed by those countries already recognizing
silver, in part or in wnols, as the .stanaaI S.
of their currency systems. il Is unQusst
| tionably true that the average voter rs IS
| bound to be Impressed to much greater
1 degree by the concrete example oHerea5Dv
the relative prosperity Of such country
than by any number Of theories Whicn tack
an experimental basis. In this consneetlo b
| our sister Republic of Mexico has recently
assumed an unusual importance IN the
eyes Of many Of the politicians OF TINS
country, and a large amount or lnIoElna,-
| ton (?) regarding the condition OF that
Republic, both internal and external mas
in consequence diffused itself among the
readers Of newspapers in various paftssat
the United States. The quality Of this In
formation, as well as the authenticity Or
its source, may be not inaccurately estl-
mated by the Numerically opposite con-
illusions arrived at by many OF those VINO
claim to be guided to any material extent
by the results of the free coinage OF silly er
as exemplified in the existing condit ton Of
the Republic of Mexico. For instance, one
Of Your correspondents writes that con
temptation of the present prosperity en-
joyed by Mexico under substantially sltVer
monometallism has been, largely 1nslru-
mental in converting him from a peAeIln
the gold standard to bimetallism. On the
other hand, I. have seen repeated .refer-.
ences in our Boston newspapers to the sui
fcring inha bitants of that country JUST 70
the south Of us, whose prospects LOT ths
present at least have been all but pllgnleu
by the insurmountable handicap OF Iree
silver
am of the opinion that we may CLEAN
considerable of value by a consideration
of the present and past conditions OF some
of those countries which have based theH
currency in part or in whole, upon sllVer,
and the case Of Mexico Is probably OF
greater utility to us N TINS IsspeIl u unar
that of any other country in the western
Hemisphere Nevertheless, In view. or
some vital, inherent differences in the So
cial and economic systems Of the Two Re-
publics, the evidence which may pe aHoIGT
ed by comparison of Mexico with Inns
country is necessarily OF somewhat hfnlt mug
application, and, on the whole Wouid
hardly be called strictly conclusive. 35 si.
Ihad occasion to visit Mexico some two
or three years ago, and during quite pro-
longed sojourn there was able to observe
the Industrial conditions of the country IN
somewhat more than a merely supernclal
manner. That country was then feeling
acutely the effects Of the panic OF 1888.
Her currncy, which the year before had
readily brought 80 cents on the dollar IN
exchange for United States money, had
rapidly deprecated in marketable value
to 81 and So cents. lmportatlons had de.
clined at rate almost surprising the fall
in currency, and those interested In that
trade were quite discouraged. The gov
eminent. too, with it's fnterest-bearln
gold bonds, was quite embarrassed in eff
forts to. promptly meet its obiiga lions.
Owing to the sudden artificial deprecia-
ton in the market value of it's money, the
government was forced to pay interest at
rates equivalent to Is to Is per cent. The
internal conditions of the country, though
not seriously disturbed, felt the reflection
of the prevailing depression. In a. word,
the general feeling was that Of discour-
agement But this was only temporary.
The prevailing sentiment today, SO far as
I have ascertained from reliable sources
is that free silver, instead of being an
'tunmitigated evil has been blessing IN
disguise At any rate, whatever the
cause, all classes seem to bear evidence OF
an unexampled prosperity throughout. the
Republic; and I believe that the consensus
of opinion there decidedly favors a continue
ance of the present silver standard -.
| One Of your correspondents recently
quoted from writer in the Independent
certain statements rejecting on the condi-
ton of the working classes, SO called, in
Mexico. Every one will admit that the
observations of a man journeying through
country Gas was the case of the writer
uuoted) must necessarily be more. or less
superficial in their nature, and the inter-
probation of apparent facts often inaccu-
rate.
AS a. matter of fact, too, it is hardly
possible to nationally institute a general
Comparison between the working classes
of Mexico and the United States.
The population of Mexico is about
twelve millions, and may be roughly di-
vided for all practical purposes into three
groups:
1st. The whites, consisting. of the de-
scendants of the early Spanish settlers,
and others Of foreign extraction. -
3D.; The "Mexicans proper, as they are
sometimes caled-a mixed race of white
and Indian blood. -
Indians. These last named constitute
about three-fifths or two-thirds of the
total population of the country, and are
practically pure Indain. They represent
substantially the laboring class in Mex
| leo.
developed race. Illiteracy is, of course,
the rule and not the exception. The stand
| ard of living that obtains among such a
people has no comparison with that Of the
| United States. The diet is very simple and
exceedingly inexpensive, and the channels
! for spending money are pfdctlcally con-
fined to strictly physical necessities Fiji
teen or twenty cents day may yet some
| times serve well enough to support a man
| and in some parts Of the country family:
although happily, there is every reason
| to believe that the standard of living is
yearly growing higher. 1t can easily be
shown that the average wage in Mexico
| bears a rather more satisfactory relation
| to the cost of living than in most other
| countries. A very recent correspondents, a
resident of Mexico, and an acknowledged
authority, states that in many places rail-
road contraction are paying as high as a
| dollar a day. Miners are receiving from
! 81. so to 81 for a days work; and down in
| the hot country, where coffee and other