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

l"S HDoHl T-.bU u SQUARE ydIu lOl piiNh
paved streets. Monterey will get her
streets paved for a little less than $3.50
Il 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 Is BOOM
ing. Wages remain fixed at the old rates,
and can be paid IN the deprecated sii-
yer. That gives the margin of profit.
The iiost striking Of the object lessons,
perhaps, are those which the railroads
furnish. These roads in Mexico are
roundings are marvelously clean and
neat The roadbcds will compare most
favorably with those in the states. The
train service il excellent. Mexican
money does i. East from LAREDO to
Corpus Christi, OH the Gulf, wholly on
American soil, the Mexican National has
from LAREDO the e''i first division Of the
same road, within Mexican territory, eX-
tends to Monterey, 16S miles, about the
same distance. On one side of the Rlo
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 S105 n 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
MGNtcan silver. worth $2.S6, for 100
Brakemeh running to Corpus get $50 n
month in gold: to Monterey. SGD n
u1Anth In AfnNt.nH =, b;lx.Ap .ksnptl U1n m
Firemen on the Texas division are paid
~ the rate of $50 in gold for 100 miles
Travelled; on the Mexican division, $2,25,
worth Sill.
A general officer Of the Mexican Ma
uonal, too modest Ia 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:
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 go through
from Corpus TO Monterey, That gives
them 100 miles OH n gold basis in Texas
and l6S miles on a silver basis in Mexi-
co. They have the gold and the silver di-
visions alternately. We do that TO give
them all the same chance"
hen did the company adopt this plan
of evening things
About two years ago"
How about wages of section handsf"
The official turned TO the books again.
"on the Texas DIVISION he said, fore,
men get $40 II month in American money.
The labofers get 20 cents a day. On the
Mexican side foremen get $40 a month I'm
Mexican silver, and laborers B215 cents,
both in Mexican silver
AZ the prevailing rate of exchange this
gives section foremen on the Mexican side
$50 a month and section hands about 81
cents q day in American money.
but you must rene Ter" said the
railroad official, these h tres for fore
phen and labor hold good only as far be.
low the border MS SaltiIlo. That is 24O
miles south Of the frontier. AS YOU 70
toward the interior wages decrease,
From Saltillo southwark to San Luis
Fotosi. 26S miles, section foremen are
paid. $50 n day and laborers soc a day,
All IN Mexican silver. Still further
south. below San Luis Potosi. the pay is |
SIZo n day for foremen and for laborer |
3l12c a day. Mexican silver
Have railroad wages undergone nny
change with the decline of Mexican siE-
verT'
mo. 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 S1.29 an ounce?''
was suggested to Mr.. Joaquin Maiz.
r~empRasihsr, sfRerH9Esss siYs9effsA ,MsSrf6s NE
better for u.s."
This seeming paradox Mr.. Majz pro-
ceedcd to explain. In so doing he threw
much hight 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 Sl.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 60 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 90 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 Sl.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 Der
cent. that viii be 800 pounds of lead
10 tuc ION OF ore. Al . cents that lead
is worth S15 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
S1.29 an ounce. or, which is the same
thing, to par with gold, my lead would
keep about even, regardless of the fuc-
tuation of silver. 1t would still be
worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds of
lead per ton would be worth S15 in gold.
but it wouldn't be worth any more in
silver. 1t would be $15 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 ST %,
or par with gold, and having demon
strated that the advance of silver 10
S1.29 would knock him out Of half of
his return f9- 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 10 cents a day. The
amoun was equivalent TO about 10 cents
n div in American money. Today we
pay those same miners IS cents a day
in Mexican money, which is now equiv
alent 10 about 37h cents a day in gold. |
This 37h cents a day in gold yields the
mine.owner the. same amount of labor
which was produced for him when the
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