The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1901-05-03
EXPENSES IN MEXICO.
WHAT LIVING COSTS IN OUR
NEIGHBoR COUNTRY.

various Household Articles Lookt0
Upon by Americans assAecessities
Cost About Three Times as Much as
They DO at Home. a
Living expenses in the City Of MexS
leo, or in fact any Of the larger cities
of Mexico, cannot be said to be Cheap
with regard 10 the standard Of living
to which most Americans who come
here are accustomed, and which they
look upon as a necessity wherever they
may be located, says a writer In Mod
ern Mexico. Mexico Is silver coun-
try, but that very fact makes many
things that the foreigner demands as
necessities SO much higher. Mexican
money Is on a silver basis, but living
expenses for the average American in
Mexico, at least, are on a gold basis.
In fact, for the family that keeps
house here, expenses as a rule, VIII
average about three Mexican dollars
TO one American dollar for the same
relative standard Of living This ratio
may be too high in comparison with
the larger cities of the Atlantic coast,
but 1t certainly is not for smaller
places, or Western cities. House rent
in the capital is an important item. 1t
is practically impossible to secure a
house with any degree OF privacy or
modern conyeniences for less than $75
per month. Servants are paid less
than in the United States, housemaids
receiving from So to 50 a month, but
on the other hand, many households
that managed comfortably with one
maid for general housework in the
North here find 1t necessary to employ
two or three. Boarding is cheaper,
particularly for those without families.
Single rooms rent for from $40 to $40
per month. Day board can be secured
at city restaurants and private board
ing houses for from $50 to $40 per
month. 1t is in the matter of clothing
and general household supplies that
the American family in Mexico finds
the greatest expense. Fine French
goods, gloves and broadcloth cost about
the same number of silver dollars here
that they do in gold in the United
States, but the things that are classed
as daily necessities by the average
American cost much more. In the plain
er lines Of dry goods 1t is but natural,
considering the double value of the
gold dollars in the countries from
which most Of them are imported, the
duties and freights added, that moth
ing is to be found for less than three
times as many silver dollars as they
cost in gold dollars in the countries
where they are manufactured. Gentle
mems ready made clothing is practical
ly unknown among the better classes.
A business suit of good English woolen
costs from $40 to $50. Few American
families are content to live upon the
products of this country entirely. A
few fresh vegetables and fruits are
nearly always cheap Potatoes are
never lower than 315 cents pound and
eggs are cheap at 25 cents dozen. No
imported groceries are less than four
times as much In silver as they are in
the United States in gold. Fifteen
cent quality of American canned fruit
costs S1.50 a can here. The cheapest
canned vegetables cost from 60 to so
cents can The package cereals, that
retail at s l-3 cents in the States, cost
40e to 30 cents here. Imported Amerl-
can, and the best native, butter is from
80 to 90 cents pound. Milk costs
from 13 to 16 cents ltre, a trtle more
han a quart. In meats, beef costs
30 cents a pound, pork 80 cents, NUT
ton 30 cents, bacon and lard 40 cents
a pound. Mexican flour is { cents a
pound and native sugar II cents. These
figures are all given in Mexican money,
as nearly all who come to Mexico re-
celye salaries in the currency of the
country. This paper has frequently
spoken of the class Of opportunities
offered here to young men who are
well equipped in some special line, but
the man with family who has en-
ployment certainly cannot expect to
better himself by removing here for
less, than three times as much in sill
yer as he can earn at home in gold.
Aside also from the greater cost of
many things must be considered the
lack of English school advantages.
These are limited In the capital and in
most points in the interior they are
entirely lacking. Wherever found, they
must, of course, be reckoned as an adj
dtional expense, as there are, natural
ly, no public schools here conducted in
the English language.