The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-10-10

- sllFef Smclters in the two countries
l-hch gives employment to about 400
men. No one will traverse the great
P,aht at Monterey and doubt that the
Mexican workman in the industry rem.
GERS equal labor. man for man. with the
Ahierican employed in the Omaha smelt-
er' ~ Omaha there is little labor given
al Si.oO day. The wages in the various
GRADES OF the smelter range as high as
% a day. Ii will not place the average |
roo high to make il 81 per day. That is |
american money-gold. Here the COM |
mon lanor unloads the ears and heaps the |
1 1, ny the thousands of tons in the yards. |
,iihis same labor loads the ore into the |
niue iron tramcars aud wheels il under
thv sheds. where the more skilled work |
men IL" the mixing of the ores in great
neds. This common labor shovels and
mrs ana pushes as hard as the Sl.50
solu iabor az Omaha and does it for 621s
cents day Mexican silver, or 3ll2
cents gold. This labor works ten hours
day for that price. Then there
Is the twelve hours labor, so divided
10 Keep the smelter running night and
day. Here something besides muscle en-
tets IN: The iron barrows must be
wheeled upon the scales. and one kind
OF ore follows another in, as beam after
Dean tips, until the barrow is full of
Just the right proportions of lead and
iron anu lime and various ores 70 take
| out an of the silver in the smelling.
Inc MeXicans who do this are paid ~
cents day, worth 3I1a cents American
money. Then come the feeders and the
furnace men, who know just when to
Jump III the barrow loads at the top
| ana JUST when To tap AT the bottom to
| draw OH the bullion. This is labor that
receives 81 n day in Mexican silver. or
10 cents day in gold. The Stag pulers
get 80 cents day in silver. The fore-
men of the yards. who moves about over
seeing and directing. are paid from So
to 81 day. They are few in number.
that ripe experience which is responsible
for the results. These get 500 month
the equivalent of S1O0 in gold.
The pay at the Omaha smelter aver
ages 81 day. or $500 for the 100 Ia
borers, the equivalcnt of $1,000 in Mcxi
can money. The pay at the Monterey
smelter averages 81 day in Mexican
money, ar S400 for he 400 employees.
Here is a difference Of $1,000 Mexican
money or $500 gold in the daily pa!
rolls. The Mexican silver smelters ar,
said To be making $40 in Mexican none,
where the American smeltcrs are profit
ing 81 in American money. Whcthe
free silver in the United States wOul,
raise the Mexican money To- the Amer
can money or lower the American to iii
Mexican il would require the America
smelters to pay only twice rs much fo
labor where now they pay four times a
much rs the Mexican shelters do. Til
wages paid ~ the smeltcrs here con
mand ;he best of Mexican labor. I'll
lowest rate, 62i,c. - nearly double thi
paid for ordinary common labor.
brings 20 the works brown men wit
muscles like steel. who trOt along Wit
In pounds of ore in a barrow. The
MeNicans she'd Ill clothing but sandal
strawhat and cotton drawers as IN,
push and pull the ore down the inc'il
of the long roasting ovens. They ha'
only one bad habit. They will come
work before breakfast. You can tea,
Mexican labor TO smelt ores In perfect,
but you can not teach the Mexican wor
an 10 get up and prepare breakfast, sill
pie rs il is, before the whistle blows 4
the change of shifts from night TO da
And So. an hour or two after the brow
men have begun work. the little brow
women come stringiDg in with the bca
and the corn cakes and the bit of meat.
Laborers' Wages.
At Cerralvo. in the state of Nue,
Leon. is located the Bena vidcs smeltel
From this sInelter there has be-
shipped since the LIST of January, by
carts. 100000 pounds of bullion. III
, Ccrralvo district was "a great mining &c
, ter 800 years ago. IL had a govcrnmc
mint. and turned out quantities of ca
during two centuries under Spanish d
minion. When the revolutionary peri
set in mining ceased. Titles lapse
= With the establishment Of stable &c
/. erument and she coming of ralroa
mining in Mexico took on new actvii
The Ccrralvo district was one of the Ia
r 10 feel the spirit of revival The ra
4 roads passed 10y and left this ancie
g town in the interior. Three years n
American enterprise found this 10
). neglected distric. A smcter was hui
V The highly successful operation Of Il
J. plant for the past three years. nine
e miles from railroad. affords one of {
: best possible illustrations of the cheape
). ing of silver production In Mexico. Il
;, manager of the smeltcr Is Mr.. III. G. III;
II rison. who hes had Il good deal Of {
q pcricncc in mining aud smelling.
q furnishes the actual cost of operati
:. from his books and makes n comparis
n with the cost Of like smcltcr in I
Il States. These are his figures:
/. smcltcr operation in Mexico