The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1897-07-28
FREE SILVER COINAGE
AGAINST MECHANICS.
f7nyor Campbell Of I'll paso Has Became
n So Convinced.
TELLS OF MEXICAN LABOR,
They Get 10 per cent. Less Wages Now
Than They Did This Time Last Year
rlexican Dollar Thus Fallen
Oil S Cents IN Value
In Less Than Year.

WASHINGTON, July 81, 1897. A practical
experience with FREQ and unlimited coin.
are OF silver conylnces Mayor Campbell Of
III Paso that it IS ut least not n system
which would be healthful for tho working
men of the United States.
'The average workman of Mexico, said
Mr.. Campbell, who is just now visiting
Washington, gets ten per cent less wages
to-day than he did ycnraso by reason OF
the depreciation IN the silver dollar Of that
country.
When we were discussing silver loss
than year ago tho Mexican dollar was
worth 81 or s. csnts To-day 1t is worth
48 cents and Is still going down. The
Mexican dollar has thus fallen oIf cent,
In value in less than yenr and Us it was
worth but 80 or % cents a 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 Ola dollar OF course buy
goods whose original value Is based upon
bhe gold standard, especially those manu-
factured or produced outside u Mexico, AS
nearly everything which they buy must
be, So 1t Is safe to assert that the earning
capacity of the laborer IN Mexico has been
reduced perhaps as much as ten per cont in
She short space of time since the close of
lhe campaign of last year, by reason of
the reduction in the value OF tho currency
inwhich he is,paid /"
Mr.. Campbell, who has had long expar-
Ience as a resident and leading official of
ri PasO, situated on the southern border
of the United States, within II stones
throw Of Mexican soil, has been close OBJ
server of tho silver craze and Of the practi.
cal experience of business and labor and
silver In what is now pointed out as the
most prosperous silver country OF the
. world Mvxico. Like other citizsns Of
his own State who had personal opporlu
nifty to observe and study the workings of
q silver currency In Mexico he was in the
last campaign and continues to be strong
y opposed to "Mcxicanizing" the
United Statos by adopting tho currency
system now in uso IN that country us
would be tho case II tho United States were
u 70 undertake indcp snlently tho FREQ md
\ unlimited coinage Of silver at tho ratio Of
: S16to1.
II believe that the people Of Mexico"
continued Mr.. Campbell. Especially tho
more intelligent class which has an oppor-
tunity to study these questions and to
understand them froma practical stand
point arc themselves trending steadily
toward the gold standard in their own
county. And beltevo the time Will come
when Mexico will adopt the gold standard
: iust rs Japan, Peru and other silver
countries have done ever siIce the matter
WAS under discussion in the United States
y few months ago"
q, .nBut will Mexico not find great d H.
= Guilty IN going 10 gold standard by roa-
son Of the fact chat she is such large pro-
. duccr of silver?'
: ,She would but for tho fact that sho is
. becoming nmuch larger producer of gold
than she was few years ago and is likely
to further increase her gold production
. materially. Hor gold production in the
last two or three years has by far exceeded
that of former years and tho prospects arc
for very great increase in tbs next two
or three years. A company of experienced
: California miners have recently purchased
mine not far from the city Of Mexico for
which thcy paid S3 VOC, 900, in Mexican cur
rency and expect 10 produce largo quunli-
ties Of gold from 1t.
Representatives of that company were
in Ell Paso recently, enroute home from
tho city of Mexico. where they had com.
4pieted the purchase OF the property, and
= they assured me that they expected to be-
gin the production Of gold in large quanti-
ties from that mine as soon as the mine
was pretty thoroughly developed be-.
fore they bought 1t. A railroad line now
running from Ell Pasoi into Mexico a dis.
tance OF about $50 miles, which, by the
way Is owned by Ameroanssin Now York,
is 10 be extended to ropolobamba on the
Pacific coast of Mexico, and will run
through arcgion not yet developed, In
which there is every reason to believe that
there are valuable gold deposits.
.'There are other important developments
of gold mines and gold property in Mexico
and believe that within u short time sho
will be producing much moro gold than
now and that this fact, coupled with tho
steady depreciation of silver, will hnston
the adoption OF the gold standard by that
country. Mind do not mean TO say that
1t Is going to come within any given length
Of tiire or that tho Mexican authorities
have any definite plans at present for any.
thing of that kind, but | am willing to
express my belief that from my own
observation cf conditions there, coupled
with what know OF tho feeling among
the intelligent people Of Mexico, that tho
time is coming and not far away, when
Moxico will adopt the gold standard, as
other countries are constantly doing"
"Do you think that the drift OF senti.
ment among the people OF Mexico is In
thnt direction?
"Undoubtedly so, among the moro In
telligcnt, and especially those who have
an opportunity to observe the working of
the gold standard in other countries Take
for instance, the people Of Sunokc, who
have by reason of their nearness to our
border, special opportunities to compare
conditions and currency, and you Will find
standard thoro among tho Intelligent and
experienced people, and especially the
business man is very strong This, l pre-
sunle is the case to IL greater or less extent
In every part Of Mexico, but nt least know
1t to be 50 in that part which I,havc had an
opportunity to study personally and whose
peopio came in conlact with our people
and our currency"
"Ths Leople Of our State MIR. Campbell
have apparently also developed dcnni!o
opinions by reasoning of their personal OBJ
ssrvations Of tho currency system OF Mcxi.
co.'
"Ycs. This Il shown by tho very great In.
crease in the Republican vote which we
polltd in Texas last year. Our vote there
was very much greater than ever before in
the history OF the State and wLilo Il good
phft oil his was duo to the growth OF tie
protectl7o sentiment, tho opportunity
which our people have had to observe the
prnctil al workings Of the silver system in
Mexico has brought many Of them to tho
support Of the Republican doctrines of Il.
nance and currency NJ against those repre-
sentod by tho Chicago platform and the
candidate of last year.
Tho Wonder OF the World,