The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-25
HOTEL LOBBY GLEANINGS
w. ID. OWEN GIVES VIEWS ON CONDI-
TIONS IN MEXICO.
He Has Just Returned from a Bust
ness Trip to the Republic-Other
Visitors at the Hotels.

w. d. Owen, of L~ogansport, former Sec
rotary of state of Indiana, and at one time
representative in Congress from the Tenth
district, is in the city, a guest of the
Denison, en- route home from a three weeks
trip to southern Mexico. He is accompa-
MED by Mrs. Owen.
Mr.. Owen is president of the Ubero Plan
tation Company, a concern controlled large
ly by Indiana capital, which owns and op-
crates a large plantation in the Terre
Caliente. or hot country" three hundred
miles south of Mexico City. Two or three
times a year Mr.. Owe goes down to
Ubero to spend a few weeks looking after
the business of the company.
Mexico is considerably disturbed at this
time over the continued decline in the value
of silver said Mr.. Over last evening
to the Journal. 1.-The Mexican dollar is
now worth but IS cents gold. and it is
feared that the bottom has not yet been
reached. The comparative value of the
American and Mexican dollar is best il
Illustrated by a specific instance. If you
go into a store in Mexico and buy an
article costing one peso, or one dollar Mex
lean money, and tender an American sill
yer dollar or silver certificate, you VIII
receive the article and $1.51 change In
Mexican money.
while the decline in the value of the
silver dollar does not seem to disturb the
internal conditions in Mexico, 1t affects
the business resident who deals abroad
and affects the government in the pay
ment of the interest on the national debt.
The income of Mexico has heretofore been
solely in silver, while the interest on the
government bonds is all payable In gold.
To relieve this situation the government
has just passed a law providing that GUS
toms shall be collected one-half in gold
and one-half in silver, so the government
is not suffering. Under the new law the
importer who has to pay $500 in duties
on a certain article must pay 500 in gold
and 800 IN silver.
1.-THE prices of commodities produced in
Mexico have changed little and wages re-
main practically the same in spite of the
depreciation of silver, but the prices on
imported goods have been raised. For in
stance, our company imports a large num-
Der of American-made shoes of the grade
that sell in this country for Si. We have
been selling them for $40, but now We
have been compelled to raise the price to
s12.
This depreciation of silver has been a
profitable thing for the foreign investors
in Mexico, because as | said before the
prices of Mexican products and wages have
not been raised, while the purchasing
power OF gold has been greatly increased
A year ago we were doing business on a
basis of 81 gold for 81 silver; now the ratio
is s2.57 gold to 81 silver The difference
makes a handsome profit for us, and OF
course all other foreign companies are
profiting in the same way"
In speaking of the conditions in Mexico
to-day Mr.. Owen said that Americans are
largely getting control of all the railroads
of a large proportion of the mines and OF
hundreds of thousands of acres of planta.
ton property. English and German cap.
ital is also finding its way to Mexico, blu
the American push and energy has takcr
the lead in developing the country. Mex.
leo City has been practically transformed
In the last five years and has become
almost an American city. Americans are
getting hold of the grocery and dry goods
stores, the new buildings erected are OF
American architecture, and the American.
are now gradually acquiring the leadine
hotels of the city. There is an enormous
number of eXcursionists to the capita
every year, and heretofore the pane of tn,
life of the traveller has been the Mexican
cooking. American chefs are changing thi:
and new hotels are being constructed thaI
have all the modern conveniences that have
been so conspicuous by their absence in
the old Mexican hostelries.