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

same paving commands in American
money in the States, American cities
pay about $3.50 a square yard for brick
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for a little less than $3.50
a square yard, and that price will be in
money worth one-half the American
price.
other Occupations.
As in mining and IN brickmaking, so 1t
is in all industries. Monterey IL BOOM
ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates,
and can he paid in the deprecated sill
yySr That gives the margin Of prott'
perhaps, are. those which the railroads
furnish. These roads in Mexico are
well managed. The depots md sur.
%roundings are marvelously clean and
neat. The roadbeds will compare most
favorably with those in the states. The
train service is excellent. Mexican
Corpus Christi, ON the Gulf. wholly on
American soil, the Mexican National has
a division 100 miles long. Southwark
from Laredo the first division of the
same road. within Mexican territory, ex-
tends 20 Monterey. 16S miles, about the
Grande 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
get S1O5 a month In gold. Conductors
between Laredo and Monterey get $3.50
a month. in Mexican silver, which Is
worth S67.60, 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 $3.50, for 100
miles.
Brakemrn running to. Corpus get $50 n
month In. gold; to Monterey. 500 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, 1928,
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 he had read them off to this point,
nm interested looker-on interrupted with
Il should think all of the fellows on
the Monterey division would want to get
on the Texas. DIVISION"
Probably they would" said the officer,
"but we have combined the runs so that
on all mixed trains the crews 20 through
from Corpus to Monterey. That gives
them 100 miles on n gold basis in Texas
and 1853 miles on n silver basis In Mexi-
CO. They have the gold and the silver d.
visions alternately. We do that TO give
them all the same chance"
when did the company adopt this plan
of evening things!"
About two years ago"
How about wages of section hands"
The official turned to the books again.
ION the Texas division" he said. fore
men get $40 a month in American money.
The laborers get IS cents a day. On the
Mexican side foremen get $40 a month in
Mexican silver, and laborers 62la cents,
both in Mexican silver"
At the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
so a month and section hands about 81
rents a day in American money.
"But you must remember" said the
railroad official. 'these figures for fore
men aud labor hold good only as far be-
low the border Ms Saltillo. That is 30
toward the interior wages decrease.
From Saltillo southwark to San Luis
Potosi. 26S miles. section foremen are
paid S1.5O n day and laborers SOC n day.
all IN Mexican silver. Still further
south, below San Luis potosi, the pay is
Sl;2o a day for foremen and for laborer
3ILaC a day. Mexican silver
Have railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill
verf'
NO. These are the rates today, and
they were the same in 1888, when silver
dollars were worth a half more than they
are now"
CONCERNING Lead.
The silver mine owners of Monterey
would be greatly gratified to see Mr..
Bryan restore silver to S1.20 an ouncef'
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."
This seeming paradox Mr.. Maiz pro.
cecded to explain. In so doing he threw
much light upon the operation of the sill
yer basis in n silver country. What ne
mid OF wages and living will be par
teularly interesting in the United States.
IF we got S1.29 an ounce" he be-
gan, lit 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 10 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 $15 in the United States. That
is SO in gold, which is $50 in Mexican
money.
"Silver, you must remember" Mr..
Maiz continued, doesn't govern the
price of lead. If silver should go up to
S1.20 an ounce. or, which is the same
thing, to par with gold, my lead would
Keep about even, regardless of the fiuc-
tuation of silver. 1t would still be
worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth SO in gold.
hut it wouldn't be worth any more in
silver. 1t would be SIS in gold in Amer
lean silver and in Mexican silver"
Having shown that he would get very
little If any more in Mexican money
for his silver if it commanded S1.29,
or par with gold, and having demon
| strated that the advance of silver to
S1.29 would knock him out Of half of
his return fo- the lead. measured by the
| Mexican money. Mr.. Maiz proceeded to
that phase of the silver question which
Is most interesting to Americans.
"Now, there is another thing" he said.
"and il is this: When gold was about
even with Mexican money, or when there
was very little difference, we paid our
labor ut the mines 20 cents a day. The
amount was equivalent to about 20 cents
n DIV in American money. Today we
| pay those same miners "a cents n day