New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-04
"DOLLARS MEX.
-1,t COMMON CURRENCY OF A GREAT
PART OF THE FAR EAsT-RhA0oNS
FOR ITS POPULARITY

-.u 81, -ooart military operations in the
,,1-;,:-,,,,,,s ;,cl,6e statements that the Amer
t. +roons have captured from the insurgents
- ,,, rhoueand Mexican dollars Such state
-. ,,,s+ not he interpreted as mere NerpaI
.-.i..s ., onify the Importance OF the eAPioit
- . s,,,aI, unit Of value in reckoning the
- Tho r,,bIio are thoroughly famlllar py
-. ;,h the distinction so common among
a. ,,,ericans at Manila between uOliaiS heA
I'd ~dolIars gold" and the fact that one Vi the
,,,a- 10 worth less than half one OF lhe latter
,ut tho treasury of Aguinaldo was IN all prop
.h;rtv stocked neither with paper money nor
-, co,, ~ the United States minis. but with
actual Mexican silver dollars
Tt. ,saxfcan silver dollar is. in fact. the popu-
,or currency not only of the Philippine Islands,
hut also TO a large extent Of the Chinese coasts
ef the Malay Archipelago and, OUTSIDE OF such
great mercantile centres as Singapore, OF the
straits Settlements well as OF Japan hong
Kong and Canton have in general fallen In with
the pecuniary habits Of the British colonlsts ana
traders and Japan has very convenient cur
rency Of her own. in harmony with advanced
Western ideas But the yellow races OF the EAST
as races. have taken a strong fancy to the "hite
metal % Mexico.
The persistence in the preference is more cas-
understood
Interference first gained its hold A New-York
hnancier explained the original fact partly on
aesthetic grounds The design Of the Mexican
dollar" he said lis q bold and striking one. and
Il impressed those orientaIs from the time the
coin first began to circulate among them. That,
I suppose was more than fifty years ago. At
that period there was very little trade between
this country and the Philippines or any of those
FAR Eastern regions. OF course, among the pop
uIation Of the islands the natives not being in
an advanced stage Of commercial civilization,
the convenience e English small change was
not apparent Not being informed Of the finan-
eial stability of the British Empire, they could
not be expected to appreciate the stamp that
gives the shilling most Of its value; what they
Gid appreciate the bigness and the weight
and purity OF the Mexican dollar, as well as the
imposing appearance Of it.
"As to how the demand came to be so we'll
supplied. that is easy to understand when you
remember that most Of the silver in the world
was then produced in Mexico. and that the coin
age Of it was free and unlimited. AS the traders
in the Far East wanted Mexican dollars, it was
TO the interest Of the Mexican mines to export
their output in that form. and it cost them moth
ing 10 have the stamp put 1t was only neces-
sary for them 10 keep the coming of their dollars
down below the point of Cutting the market; in
other words. ii would have been possible to ship
20 much coined silver to the East either direct
through London or through London by way Of
New-York, that the premium on it would fall
There is a premium on the Mexican silver
dollar in that part of the world even now. Here,
for instance, is a cable from Manila, dated jan
nary j, which quotes the Mexican dollar at
lTt cents, gold According to the current price
Of silver the Mexican dollar was worth at par
about "A cents on that date. The difference is
lccounted for by the local preference for Mex
can dollars. The insurgents in the Philippines
were well advised in using that coinage, because
II Is the coinage which the people Of the country
understand and like. If they were educated
bankers they would know that American money
takes Up less in proportion to its real value
and they might admire the design of our dol
larr and dollar bills as much as the Mexican
design; as it is, they don't thoroughly under
stand the theory Of token money and national
credit. And so Mexico goes on exporting her
forty million silver dollars annually to be the
popular currency Of the Far East"