The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-09-12

island are subjects with which our
statesmen will have to deal. The Span
ish government in 1895 took up all the
Mexican and Spanish coins in circula-
ton and substituted special silver
coins struck in the mint of Spain for
this purpose. They bear on one side
the Spanish coat of arms and the
words 1sla de Puerto Rico.' and on
the other the face Of the boy king and
an elaborate inscription in Spanish.
The largest of these is the peso of one
hundred centavos, corresponding in
appearance with our silver dollars,
weighing 3S5.5 grains, and generally
spoken of as dollar There are also
smaller silver coins of five, ten, twenty
and forty centavos, the twenty CEN
tavo piece being known as the 'peseta,'
also copper coins of one and two CEN
tavos. The Spanish government makes
no attempt to maintain the standing
Of these silver coins and they represent
little more than their bullion value,
the banks and merchants gladly ex-
changing $l.T5 in this coin for one dol
lar in our silver or paper, and eX-
changes being some times made at two
for one and even higher. The native
drivers, boatmen and vendors have al
ready learned the superior value of
our coins, and twenty-five cent piece
in United States coin is readily ac-
cepted at from forty-five to fifty cents
in payment for their services. That it
Will be necessary to take up this fluc-
tuating coin when our permanent
measure of value permeates this is
land is generally conceded but lust
what plan should be adopted in fixing
the rate at which obligations made in
Porto Rican coin shall be paid in that
of the United States is a matter for
statesmen to determine
Another interesting question in this
connection is whether or not the plan
tation labor which has in the past
been satisfied with fifty to sixty cents
per day in Porto Rican money will be
content to accept twenty-five to thirty
cents per day in our coins in its stead
The silver money coined and sent to
the island by Spain amounted to So
100000 in pesos and there has beer
added about one million in paper by
certain of the five banks of the is
land, some of which stands at par with
the silver and some at a discount, but
it is seldom seen in ordinary business
transactions. The fact that our own
government has Just sent in a ship
ment to the island sum equal in value
to one-tenth of the entire currency,
and that it will be Immediately put into
circulation through its payment to the
troops scattered over the island furn-
ishes a suggestion as to the probable
increase of the currency and increased
disparity in value.
PRODUCTIONS AND COMMERCE.
"Statistically the productions and
commerce of Porto Rico have been
already discussed. The exports amount
to about $l5,000000 a year good value,
and the imports about S16,000000. Cof-
fee forms about 60 per cent. of the
value of the exports, sugar, 20 per
cent; tobacco, 5 per cent, and the re-
mainder made up of cocoa, rum, hides,
sponges, cabinet woods, etc. Practic-
ally all the coffee goes to Europe, the
grocers and dealers asserting that
they can obtain higher prices, especial
ly for the fine grades which rank with
Java and Mocha, in France and Spain
than in the United States, while the
fact that the export duty on coffee,
tobacco and cattle was only one tenth
as much on articles sent to Spain as
on those sent to other countries en-
couraged exporters to send their goods
to Spanish ports. OF the importations
about so per cent, are manufactured
articles, largely cotton cloths, shoes
fancy goods and articles of household
use, 10 per cent. rice, 10 per cent. fish,
10 per cent. meats and lard, and Z per
cent, flour Naturally most of this
came from Spain, because the duty COL
lected on articles from that country
from other countries.
while considerable sums are collect
ed from the tariff, the Spanish govern
ment also collected a large amount by
other methods, dealers and property
| owners being required to pay to the
Spanish government one-half as much
tax as was collected from the local
| government, whose expenses were high,