Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1896-10-08

corpus CnFlStl, on the Gulr, wholly on
a division 16o miles long. Southwark
from Laredo the first division of the
same road. within Mexican territory, ex-
tends to Monterey, 1853 miles, about the
same distance. On one side of the Rio
Grande the Mexican National pays
wages in Mexican silver. On the other
money.
Conductors between Laredo and Corpus
get sos a month in gold. Conductors
between Laredo and Monterey get $13O
a month in Mexican silver. which is
worth $67.6O, for the same kind of sery
ice.
Engineers on the Texas side are paid
on the Mexican side receive $3.50 in
Mexican silver, worth 1886, for 100
miles!
Bra kemen running to Corpus get $50 a
month in gold; to Monterey. $50 a
month in Mexican silver, worth $1,000.
at the rate of $3.50 in gold for 100 miles
Travelled; on the Mexican division, 1926,
worth SLIT.
A general officer of the Mexican Ma
tiona1 too modest to have his name in,
print, gave these wages from his books.
When he had read them off to this point,
an interested looker-on interrupted with:
the Monterey division would want to get
on the Texas DIVISION
Pr obably they would" said the officer,
but we have combined the runs so that
on al mixed trains the crews go through
from Corpus to Monterey. That gives
them l6O miles on a gold basis in Texas
and 68 miles on silver basis in Mexi-
co. They have the gold and the silver di-
visions alternately. We do that to give
them Ill the S0 mo ohanooS
When. did the company adopt this plan
of evening things?''
About two years ago"
Abw about wages of section hands 2"
The official turned to the books again.
On the Texas division" he said, fore
The llaborers get Is cents q day. On the.
Mexican silver, and laborers 621Aa cents,
both IN Mexican silver"
AT the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
$50 q month and section hands about 81
cents day in American money.
.Bft you must remember . said the
railroad official. "these figures for fore
men ind labor hold good only as far be-
low 1he border as Saltillo That is go
imilesE south of the frontier. AS Won o.
Ttowa3d !. the Inferior wages . uecrease.
From S ad southwark to San Luis
paid Sl:50 a day and laborers SOC day,
all in Mexican silver. Still further
south, below San Luis Potosi, the pay is
Sl:25 day for foremen and for laborer
3773c day. Mexican silver
Have railroad wages undergone any
change with the decline of Mexican sill.
ver?'' - %
mo. These are the rates TO-DAY and
they were the same in 1883. when silver
dollars were worth a half more than they
are now -
@ Concerning Lead.
The silver mine owners of Monterey
would be greatly gratifed to see MI.
Bryan restore silver to $1.29 an ounce p
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.
ceeded to explain. In so doing he threw
much light upon the operation of the sill
yer basis in q silver country. What he
said of wages and living will be par
ticularly interesting in the United States
If we got $1.29 an ounce" he be-
gan, ''it would be $1.29 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. Is 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 TO 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 $l.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 ,25 per
cent. that will be 800 pounds of lead
to the ton of ore. At cents that lead
is worth Sis in the United States. That
is $15 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
$l:29 an ounce, or, which is the same
thing, to par with gold, my lead would
keep about even, regardless of the huc-
worth 3 cents in gold. Ny 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth Sis in gold,
but 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 it it commanded $1.29.
OF par WIN gOld, and having demon
strated that the advance of silver to
$1.29 would knock him out Of half Of
his return for 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.
land it is this: When gold was about
even with Mexican money, or when there
was very little difference, we paid our
labor at the mines Is cents a day. The
amount was equivalent to about 20 cents
day in American money Today we
pay those same miners Is cents day
in Mexican money, which is now equiv
alent to about 37112 cents day in gold.
This Btu cents day in gold yields the
mine-owner the same amount of labor
which was produced for him when the
Is cents in Mexican money was worth
70 cents in gold. The Mexican miner
does not consume for his nourishment
and his clothing any but Mexican prod
ucts, such as corn, beans, coffee, sugar,
cotton goods. etc. Nearly all Of these ar
sticles are today sold at the same prices
as when silver was at par with gold in
this country. Consequently the living
expenses of the miners haven't increased
at all. They can perfectly well work
now at the same wages as they received
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