Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1898-02-17

the gold standard countries At present
they are handicapped by having to i'm
port SO large proportion of their raw
material. In reply to the argument that
is sometimes made-namely, that we
can protect our manufacturers by still
higher duties-I contend that we can
only do so by increasing the disadvan-
tage under which American farmers
now labor. The lot of our farmer is
hard enough when the price of what he
buys falls in the same proportion as the
price of his own product, because even
then his taxes, debts and other fixed
charges do not fall. If, however, we
maintain the price of manufactured
goods by high tariff, the burdens Of
the farmer will be SO increased as to
make his ultimate bankruptcy certain.
might mention in this connection
that ! found many Of our protected
manufacturers selling their wares in
Mexico in competition with their Euro
pean rivals. At one store found lamps
and lamp chimneys made in Missouri,
hammers and shovels made in Philadel-
phia. cutlery made in Massachusetts,
also Yale locks; Disston saws, and hinges
made in the United States. California
wines and canned fruits and Chicago
canned meats find market in Mexico.
At Guanaiuato is a theater, recently
completed, the structural iron of which
came from the United States. At sever
al places / saw electrical apparatus of
American construction. In many in
stances an additional discount is given
by American manufacturers upon ex-
ported goods.
Eleventh. THAT wages are not only
higher on an average than ever before,
but still rising. Progress or retrogres-
sion can be determined only by compar-
ing the present with the past. The con-
dition of the laboring classes in Mexico
can be improved, but it is fact that
they are in better condition than they
were in 1878, when the Mexican dollar
was worth more than our gold dollar,
and / believe that their condition is
much better today than it would have
been if Mexico had adopted the gold
standard when tho United States did.
1t is not fair tc compare the wages in
one country with the wages in another
country without first making allowance
for differences in efficiency, differences
in climatic conditions, differences in
habits, ETC.
Differences That Cannot &c Ignored.
Even within the boundaries of our
own country there are differences too
great to be ignored. During President
Harrison's administration Secretary
Rusk issued document entitled
Wages of Farm Labor In the United
States" (Report No. 4, year 1899. Page
16 of this report contains table show
ing that in 1892 the average wages for
farm labor (without board) was $12. so
per month in South Carolina, $13. 80 in
North Carolina, $3.50 in Georgia and
$13. rs in Alabama, while in California
the wages paid were 5000 and in the
state of Washington $s7 30, the average
for all the states for that year being
$500. For farm labor with board the
wages varied from S. 40 to $25 and
averaged $I2.54.
The report says that white farm labor
in the United States received $3.50 per
annum; that the same labor received
about $3.50 in Great Britain and $50 in
Germany. I refer to this report because
it was issued by Republican authority
and shows that under the operation of
the same financial system and the same
tariff system farm labor received three
times as much in one part Of the Union
as it did i'll another part. When it is
remembered that the wages paid in
each state were ascertained by averages,
it will be seen that the difference be-
tween the best paid labor and the poor
est paid labor is still greater. The re-
port also shows that in the United
States Caucasian farm labor receives
more than three times as much as the
same labor receives in Germany. al
though both countries have gold stand
ard and protective tariff. Between
1916 and 1884 England had a gold
standard and the United States bad a
double standard, with silver as the
money in common use, and yet laboring
men were better off here than in Eng,
land. Turkey is one of the gold stand
ard nations, and Japan, until recently,
coined silver at ratio almost Identical
with ours, and yet the progress of Japan
was SO great that Mr.. Cleveland com
mented upoE it in message during his
second term. The gold standard advo-
cate who would consider it unfair ito
compare Japan and Turkey does not
hesitate to blame silver for the low
wages of the poems of Mexico
In all the leading cities of Mexico
can be found people from the United
States, England, Germany and France
all drawn from gold standard coun-
tries by the advantages offered in Mexi-
co. Few have gone from the United
States to Canada, where they have the
gold standard and speak the English
language, but in Mexico, where an
American citizen is compelled to learn
an entirely new language, there are al
ready several American colonies, and
the number is constantly increasing.
Some are in business for themselves,
some working for wages, and they stay
there, although they are at liberty to
return whenever they see an opportuni-
ty to better their condition in the United
States
Twelfth. Real estate is rising in
Mexico. Public and private improve
ments are in progress. Guadalajara, one
of the largest cities of the republic and
surpassed by none in beauty, has re-
Gently decided to put in a complete sys-
tenn Of sewerage and waterworks. The
work of constructing the sewers was
let to New Jersey contractor last
month. Monterey has recently laid con-
siderable brick pavement, and the capi-
tai has nearly completed sewerage
tunnel through a mountain range.
Electricity is taking the place of the
old time street lantern, the shoe is
gradually supplanting the sandal, and
the coat is winning against the serape.
It would be unfair to give to Mexico s
financial policy credit for all the prog
ress which the country has made in the
last 20 years. Her government and her
government officials have contributed
much to her development by giving se-
curity to life, protection to property
and stimulus TO education. If the advo-
Gates Of the gold standard insist that
her financial system has been him
drance and that she has gone forward
not because OF it, but in spite of it, re-
ply that my observation as we'll as my