Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1898-08-26

expenditure at $50, lO0, 800. The growth Of the
expenditure which is some Sl,6OO,OOO larger
| than the estimates OF the budget commission
for the current year, is accounted for as To ST.
/ l62, Ia Ny the larger amount that Will be- ic.
quiTed for the service of the external debt talk
! ing the Mexican dollar at % pence against
/ 81 pence, ,he figure for the current year. The
! difficulties with which the government has 20
! cope when every fail Of l penny per ounce in
| silver adds Sl,l69,lN TO the nations fixed
! charges are too apparent 10 need explanation,
! and, although there was a cheerful tone in the
! last message of President Diaz 10 congress with
/ regard 10 silver, ii would be rash 10 predict
| that its price may not further recede until the
! Mexican dollars are not even worth % 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 90 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 as 60 whether Mr.. Bryan
statement that the conditions perpetual
ed by the free coinage of silver are zen
tircly 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 paper ex-
Temely friendly to Mr.. Bryan and, as
Will be noted, an advocate of the con-
tinuancc of his peculiar financial policy
| in Mexico for a time at least. In sn 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 viii push forward, aided
10y her cheap money and tho consequent pro-
lection of the gold premium, which acts a.
bounty. But the Time viii como when ii will
be desirable that our money shall be made
good money abroad. Labor conditions here
viii slowly change, and the children of the
peon, educated m the public schools, Will de
velop those wants which are at the basis Of
what we know as civilization. When these chill
drcn become mon, they viii not work, as their
| fathers have, for 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
ucatod in the public schools will not
endure the effects of free silver as their
fptbprs hovp plllurel them
Mr. Bryan says the Mexican dollar
Will buy almost as much as it would in
1873, and he refers TO yard Of cloth
which could hayc been bought with "a
Mexican dollar in 1873, now increased
in price To - 10, with transportation
and tariff added, rs an illustration of
the bad effects of the monetary standard
of the outside world rather than that
of Mexico. Bat with the silver in which
this cloth price is to be paid now being
proiitably produced for from 30 60 40
cents per ounce, measured by the same
gold standard Of value as is the cloth.
whereas in 1878 silver was held by its
producers at SL03, his illustration be-
comes mere childish play upon words
with evident desire 10 deceive
He says that wages are higher on an
average in Mexico than ever before and
still rising. have a 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 % ccntavos per
workingmn per day and Mr.. Bryan
knows that the rate of wages which is
rarely exceeded is usually above the av-
erage. Twenty-Five ccntavos per day is
worth between II and II cents in
American currency. l was told at the
Zacatocas mines and ut the Aguas Cali
entcs smeltor 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.
Mr.. Bryan says he found the produc-