Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-08-04
FREE COINAGE In MEXICO
Mayor Campbell, Of FL Paso, Tex,
on the Currency Question.
Living Close NeIghbor to- Free sill.
yer He Can Judge Accurately
How It Affects Merchants.
and Lnborers.
lspeelaI washLns.oa corrs.p9aaenea /

While the people of the United
States have never been so unfortunate
as TO witness the free and unlimited
coinage of silver II; the present ratio in
their own country, some Of those who
live on the Mexican borders have CON
slant opportunity 10 observe the re-
suits and operations of the system in
our sister republic 10 the south.
One of these is Mayor Camp
bell, of FL Paso, Tex, and his obscrva-
ton has not led TO his belief that the
United States should adopt the system.
The average workingman of Mex
ico," said Mr.. Campbell, gets ten per
cent. less wages to-day than he did a
year ago by reason of the depreciation
in the silver dollar OF that country.
When we were discussing the silver less
than year ago the Mexican dollar was
worth 30 or 50 cents. To-day it is
worth As cents, and is still going down.
The Mexican dollar has thus fallen off
five cents in value in less than a year.
and as II was worth but 81 or 50 cents
year ago and has fallen that much the
reduction in its value is thus ten per
cent. The people who are paid in that
kind OF dollar, of course, buy goods
whose original value is based upon the
gold standard. especially those man
ufactured or produced outside of
Mexico, as nearly everything which
they buy must be. So il is safe to as
sert tina; the earning capacity of the la
borer in Mexico has been reduced per-
haps as much as ten per cent. in the
short space of time since the close OF
the campaign of last year, by reason
of reduction in the value of the cur
rency in which he is paid"
Mr.. Campbell, who has long expe-
rience as a resident and a leading Off
cial OF FL Paso, situated on the south
ern border of the United States. within
stones throw of Mexican soil. has
been close observer of the progress of
the silver cause, and of the practical
experience of business and labor with
silver in what is now pointed out ms the
most prosperous silver country i'm the
world. Mexico.
Il believe that the people of Mexico"
continued Mr.. Campbell especially
the more intelligent class which has an
opportunity to study these questions
and to understand them from a prac-
I
! ing steadily toward the gold standard
in their own country. And believe the
time will come when Mexico will adopt
the gold standard just as Japan, Peru
and other silvercouutries have done even
since the matter was under discussion
in the United States few months ago"
But will Mexico not find great diff
Guilty in going TO gold standard by rea-
son of the fact that she is such a large
producer of silver"
she would but for the fact that she is
becoming a much larger producer of
gold than she was few years ago and
likely to further increase her gold pro-
iuctIon materially. Her gold produc-
ton in the last two or three years has
by far exceeded that of former years
and the prospects are for n very great
| increase in the next two or three years
company of experienced California
miners have recently purchased n mine
not far from the City of Mexico for
which they paid S3,OOO,OOO in Mexican
currency and expect to produce large
quantities of gold from il. Representa-
tiVes of that company were in FL Paso
recently. en- route home from the CITY
the purchase OF the property, and they
assured me that they expected TO begin
the production OF gold in large quanti-
ties from that mine very soon, as the
mine had been pretty thoroughly de-
vcloped before they bought it. \ rail
road line now running from FL Paso into
Mexico, a distance of about $50 miles
which, by the way, is owned by Amer.
cans in New York, is to be extended IN
Iopolobamba on the Pacific coast of
Mexico and will run through a repion
not yet developed in which there X
tvery reason 20 believe that there are
valuable gold deposits. There are other
important Developments of gold mines
and gold property in Mexico, and | be-
iieve that within u short time she will be
producing much more gold than now
and that this fact, coupled with the
steady depreciation OF silver, will hasteu.
The adoption of the gold standard by
that country. Mind, ! do not mean 10
say that il is going to come within any
given length OF time or that the Mex
lean authorities have any definite nlops
at present for anything of that kind
but / am willing TO express my belief
That from my own observation Of coudi-
tions there coupled with what know
Ut the feeling among the intelligent peo-
Pie of Mexico, that the time is coming
Hnd not far away. when Mexico will
Idopt the gold standard as other couu-
tries are constantly doing"
do sou think that The drift Of scpfi-
ment among the people Of Mexico ID, inn
tba; dirccton?"