The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1896-09-23
this class is set apart upon government

this class is set apart upon government
reservations, and maintained ou. Of
sight in idleness, being fed and clothed
at the peoples expense. In Mexico
the Indian is very much in evidence,
since there is plenty Of work for him to
do aud be does it for % or 50 cents q
day, all it is worth, as rule The Ia
quis aud some other CT the more i;.dos-
trlous and iotelligeot races ge: much
better pay Tourists who travel in
Pullman coaches along the railways,
invariably remark the uumber of mud
huts to be seen in the Indian villages
along the lines and the dirty appear
anoe of the na:vss, aud if it happens
to be beggars day, they express sur
prise at the number Of beggars they
see at the stations. 1t seems thai the
Mexican Indian has discovered the lib.
erality of the American public toward
poor Lc, and that the railway stations
offer the best opportunity for its exer-
else. The custom. however, is COM
mou all over Mexico and Mexican
shopkeepers are almost equally liberal
toward the helpless native There is
nothing 10 it that really indicates e1-
cessive poverty it only results from
the absence Of Indian reservations,
aims houses. ETC., 10 Mexico. The
mud huts occupied by the Mexican To-
dian are far 10 advance of the misera-
bic huts and tepees 10 which our In
diaus live. and the difference in favor
of the Mexican is immeasurable when
the relative climatic conditions are con.
sidered. The mistake which nearly all
tourists make is in comparing the con-
ditiou Of an Indian race just emerging
from barbarism with that of the iutelli
gent aud educated American workman.
Another miscopception prevails as to
the m ouey Of Mexico. It has been re-
ported by tourists that owing to the
fluctuations in the price Of silver iu
Loudou aud New York the Mexican
merchant or shopkeeper has to wait for
his telegraphic quotations every morn
ing before he CAP tell what price be
shall place upon his goods for the day.
This statement is ridiculously absurd ,
when the fact is that prices do not auct.
uate at all in Mexico. except through
temporary scarcity Gas for example,
corn and wheat in seasons of extreme
drouth J. that it hardly needs refutatlon
There has been no general fall in
values 10 Mexico, aud business failures
are extremely rare, almost unknowa.
The man who does inquire daily for the
silver is generally the tourist who has
credit in some Mexican back, for which
be desires gold exchange against his
return to the states. A Mexican silver
dollar buys as much now of almost any
thing iu Mexico as it ever did. No
one there (unless it might be foreign
er) ever thinks of questioning its hon.
esty or integrity or purchasing power 1t
buys as much Of every necessary of life,
or to put it broadly, it buys as much of
all things combined. food, clothing.
land, luxuries. labor and cojoymeuts.
in Mexico, as gold dollar or paper
dollar does in the United States. And
in addition there is far more content
meat and real happiness thrown into
the bargain. The silver dollar of Mex
leo is par excellence the money of the
people. The metal itself is widely dis
tributed being found in almost every
state, and it is mined in small quantl-
ties by nearly everybody. I was re,
Gently consulted by one of the very
largest reduction and smelling works
in Mexico, near Parrul. and the most
interesting sight saw in the ueigh5or-
hood was the endless procession OF
burro trains bearing small lots Of silver
ore from many small mines worked oV
owners or lessees, all of them persons
in moderate circumstances. The "Sil-
yer Baron" is not known in Mexico,
even as a uewsps Der myth. Nor is any
sectional feeling between east and
west, ever heard + For the matter of
rich silver mine owners, I know of but
very few in the United States who are
clamoring for free coinage, aud | am
we'll acquainted in nearly every mining
region in the west. Those who we're
so fortunate as to make much money
out Of silver mining during the good
times, 80 far as my observation goes,
bave found richer mice 10 the nation
al banking business. and are naturally
opposed to free coinage, as rule
Silver mining is Dot profitable here now,
because it costs as much on the average
to nice and re6ue an ounce of silver
as the metal is worth, while the average
cost Of mining an ounce of of gold, as
has been we'll shown 10 recent pam