Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1898-08-25


i62, III by the larger amount that will be re-
quired for the service of the external debt, TAX
ing the Mexican dollar at 20 pence as against
"a pence, the figure for the current year. The
difficulties with which the government has TO
cope when every fall Of penny per ounce in
silver adds sl,l62,l17 TO the nations fixed
charges are too apparent 10 need explanation.
and, although there was "A cheerful tone in the
last message or Preside mt Daz To congress with
regard 10 silver, II would be- rash TO predict
that its price may not further recede un:.l the
Mexican dollars are not even worth 20 pence.
The above information suggests why
it was matter OF grave concern, which
was given careful consideration before
the conclusion was reached that Mexico
should continue to stand by silver The
fact that the free coinage Of silver re.
duces by half the price Of labor and
thereby invites capital desiring to take
advantage Of such conditions was prob
ably the determining factor in the prob
lem as to whether or not Mexico should
stand by silver.
Labor Conditions.
In order, however, that there shall be
no question rs to whether Mr. Bryan s
statement that the conditions perpetual
ed by the free coinage Of silver are zen
tirely satisfactory to the people of Mex
leo" is at all justified we give the fol-
lowing quotation from an editorial pub
lished in The Mexican Herald the lead
ing daily paper Of Mexico, II paper ex-
tremely friendly to Mr.. Bryan and, as
will be noted, an advocate of the con-
tinuance of his peculiar financial policy
in Mexico for time at least. In an is
sue Of the last week in February, some
time after the visit of Mr.. Bryan to
Mexico and after the publication of his
views as to affairs here, The Herald
said:
Meantime Mexico will push forward. aided
by her cheap money and the consequent pro
lection Of the gold premium, which acts as a
bounty. But the time will come when it will
be desirable that our money shall be made
good money abroad. Labor conditions here
will slowly change, and the children OF the
peon educated in the public schools viii de.
velop those wants which are at the basis of
what we know as civilization. When these chill
dren become men, they viii not work, as their
fathers have, for a small wage and be content
There is no possibility of installing
the meaning Of this declaration or of
denying its justification. The free coin
age of silver in Mexico with its attend
ant results can exist only until those
wants are developed which are at the
basis Of civilization. The children ed
ucated in the public schools will not
endure the effects Of free silver as their
fathers have endured them.
Mr.. Bryan says the Mexican dollar
will buy almost ms much as it would i'll
1873, and he refers to n yard of cloth
which could have been bought with a
Mexican dollar In 1878, now increased
in price TO 81. 10, with transportation
and tariff added, Us an illustration of
the bad effects OF the monetary standard
of the outside world rather than that
of Mexico But with the silver IN which
this cloth price is to be paid now being
profitably produced for from 30 to 40
cents per ounce, measured by the same
gold standard of value as is the cloth,
whereas in 1873 silver was held 10y its
producers at $l.03, his illustration be-
comes mere childish play upon words
with evident desire to deceive.
He says that wages are higher on an
average III Mexico than ever before and
still rising have Mexican publica-
ton before me which quotes from an
official report addressed to the Belgian
department Of foreign affairs to the
effect that labor in the most profitable
investing and producing districts of
Mexico rarely exceeds % centavos per
workingmpn per day, and Mr.. Bryan
knows that the rate of wages which is
rarely exceeded is usually above the av-
erage. Twenty-Five ccutayos per day is
worth between ii and ~ cents in
American currency. | was told at the
Zacatecas mines and at the Aguas Cali
entes smelter and at La Aurora wool
en- factory in the same city, and the
same information has been many times
repeated III the City of Mexico, that
wages for the same line of employment
had not increased in Mexico during the
past ten years
Americans In Mexico.