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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 9, 1896)
ft A SILVER COUNTRY Condition of the Laborer and Business in a Land Where Tree Coinage Exists. WHAT" THE MEXICANS SAY. A' Representative, of the St Louis ; 'Globe-Democrat Tells What He Saw- Since the free-silver people began to .'point to Mexico as an ideal country where the free coinage of silver had made everyone happy, contented and pros perous, thero has been much written by men who hud lived there and others. Tire reports, which were not flattering to the eonntry, were denied by the sil ver advocates and branded as lies. The silverites stoutly maintained that if la bor was as well employed here as in Mexico- the great question of what to do with the poor would be solved as there would be no poor. They claimed that in that country there was no Wall street; that food, clothing and the necessities of life were cheaper; that the nation was prospering as it never had before, and all on account of the free coinage of silver. The St. Louis Globe Democrat, wish ing to be just in the matter, decided to send a representative there who would report what he saw and learned, with out regard as to how the reports would affect the political situation. The man was one on whom the paper could de pend to tell the truth. Extracts from some of the letters which throw some light on the subject of free silver and its effects are printed below: Prices Depend on Foreign Exchange. Pirates on the high seas could hard ly be a more dangerous menace to com merce between nations than this fluctua tion of exchange between countries on different standards. Outside of a few money-changers at coast ports, business men of the states hardly notice from week to week the variations in exchange between their country and Europe. But in tho business relations between the United States and Mexico the changing difference between the standards is a matter of hourly concern. "What's exchange today?" goes with every morning's salutation between mer chants in Monterey. "Silver's up" or "silver's down" is the commercial news of first importance. The shrewd representative of a San Antonio (Tex.) jobbing house on his way back to the states from his midsummer round of the cities of Mexico said: "Here's a variation of 9c between the gold standard of the states and the silver standard of Mexico within two weeks. How is a man going to sell goods or do any business between the countries when he has got to make allowances for such fluctuations. When I sell a bill of goods to a Mexican merchant on six months' time I've got to figure the prices high enough to save my house in the event that silver drops by one of those violent fluctuations before the day of settlement comes. The merchant has got to mark the retail prices on a margin suffieient to protect him against possible change. And so American goods must be sold in Mexico at two margins above legitimate profits in order to protect the American jobber and the Mexican storekeeper against these rapid up and down move ments of the standards. The condition is simply ruinous to trade. People will not bny when prices are raised on them. My house may make a tremendous profit or barely save itself in a sale of goods on six months.' lime. That isn't the way to do business. You might as well have n Chinese wall between two countries as these fluctuations. And this is what we will have on a vastly greater scale if the United States goes to a silver stand ard and Great Britain and the European nations continue the gold standard. I know what this thing of two standards means between Mexico and the States, and I don't want to see it in our trade with Great Britain and Europe." A Dollar's Worth of Labor. A dollar worth 50 cents commands the same labor in Mexico now that a dollar worth a dollar did ten or twenty years ago. Right there is the cornerstone on which prosperity in this silver country is building. That is what makes it now profitable to work mines with ores worth k i and" S, Mexican money, a ton. That condition of labor brings the cost of min ing and carrying out the ore down to $1 a ton. That kind of labor built and ojierates the cables, which take the place of thousands of burro trains, at a frac tion of the cost for like construction and operation in the States. Cables have re duced the cost of conveying ore from the mine to the railroad, two miles down the mountain, to 20 cents and 30 cents a ton. This labor enables railroads to haul ores at from 50 cents to 1 a ton. It figures in the cost of the transoortation of the coke from the gulf and the coal from the border. And, finally, it enables the smelters to make an unprecedentedly low rate of 4 a ton for treatment of ore. At every step, from the first blow of the pick in the mine to the landing of the base bullion into molds at the furnace, this fixity of wages on the basis of n dollar depreciated to one-half its value is tho chief factor which insures the profit. What matters it if silver goes down if it commands just as much labor as ever, and if the lead in the bullion can still be sold for gold? The smelters of Mexi co "buy ore from the mine owners, and pay a Mexican dollar an ounce for the silver they get out of it. They paid this several years ago, when silver was worth more . than it is now. They still pay it Recently, under the importation of competition,- while silver was dropping so rapidly in the United States, some of the smelters of Mexico advanced the price they allowed the mine owners for silver. They are now paying under some contracts ?1.06 in Mexican money for every ounce of silver found in the ore Today the brick-makinir nln nt 1 fare miles out of Monterey, on the Mineral railroad, is shipping 160.000 paving brick i aioift-fe?xas. It does this Tidvnlorem dutv of r cent-lwhich the Wilson tariff Ipv?q nn brick importations. The contract for this brick shipment was obtained at Sari Jehtonio because this company put in the lowest and best of twenty-eight bids. The Monterey company "enjoys the possession of excellent clay, but that isn't what enables it to send brick to the United States at a profit. It outbid the -twenty-even American brick-making -companies because it sells brick for American money, worth 100 cents in gold, and hires good labor for Mexican money, worth 50 cents in gold. This company is paving three miles of Monte rey, streets with brick, displacing the cobblestones of time immemorial. It put. down a block of. the brick paving as an object lesson, and the governor, Gen. Bernardo Reyes, with a keen perception for a. good thing, ordered three miles of the same to begin with. The brick man ufactured on the basis of unchanging wages and laid by the same will cost in Mexican money a little less than the same paving commands in American money in the States. American cities pay about $2.50 a square yard for brick paved streets. Monterey will get her streets paved for a little less than S2.H0 a square yard, and that price will be in money worth one-half the American price. Other Occupations. As in mining and in brickmaking. so it is in all industries. Monterey is uoonv inz. Wares rpmnin fixed at the old rates and can be paid in the depreciated sil- ver. znar. gives tne margin oi inum. The most striking of the obiect lessons, perhaps, are those which the railroads furnish. These roads in Mexico are well managed. The depots and sur roundings are marvelously clean and neat. The roadbeds will compare most favorably with those in the states. J.ne train service is excellent;. ' Mexican money does it. East from Laredo to Corpus Christi, on the Gulf, wholly on American soil. the'Mexieaif National has a division 100 miles lonir. Southward from Lnredo the first division of the same road, within Mexican territory, ex tends to Monterey. 16S miles, about the same distance. On one side of the Rio Grande the Mexican National pays wages in Mexican silver. On the other side the pay. roll is met with American money. . " Conductors between Laredo and Corpus set S105 a month in sold. Conductors between Laredo- and Monterey get $130 m;i month in Mexican silver, wnicn is worth .0.uO, for the same kind or serv ice. Engineers on the Texas side are paid $3.50 in gold for 100 miles. Engineers on the Mexican side receive $5.50 in Mexican silver, worth S2.SG. for 100 miles. T?tn lrnrr nnin rr 4- Pnnniie Ti t" 5Srft fl month in gold; to Monterey, $60 a month in Mexican silver, worth oU.oU. Firemen on the Texas division are paid at the rate of $1.80 in gold for 100 miles traveled: on the Mexican division, J.Jo, worth $1.17. A general officer of the Mexican Na tional, too modest to have his name in print, gave these wages from his books. When he had read them off to this point, an interested looker-on interrupted with: "I should think all of the fellows on the Monterey division would want to get on the lexas division. "Probably they would," said the officer, "but we have combined the runs so that on all mixed trains the crews go through from Corpus to Monterey. That gives them 160 miles on a gold basis in Texas and 16S miles on a silver basis in Mexi co. They have the gold and the silver di visions alternately. We do that to give them all the same chance." "When did the company adopt this plan of evening things?" "About two years ago." "How about wages of section hands?" The official turned to"" the books again. "On the Texas division." he said, "fore men get $40 a month in American money. The laborers get 75 cvnts a day. On the Mexican side foremen get $40 a month in Mexican silver, and laborers 62y cents, both in Mexican silver." At the prevailing rate of exchange this ?jyes section foremen on the Mexican side $20 a month and section hands about 31 cents a day in American money. 'But you must remember," said the railroad official, "these figures for fore men and labor hold good onlv as far be low the border as Saltillo. That is 240 miles south of the frontier. As you go toward the interior wages decrease. From Saltillo southward to San Luis 0.toU', 2G miles, section foremen are paid $l.o0 a day and laborers 50c a dav, all in Mexican silver. Still further south, below San Luis Potosi, the pay is S1.2o a day for foremen and for laborer Trf ay' iUex'can silver." "Have railroad wages undergone anv change with the decline of Mexican sil ver?" "No. These are the rates todav. and they were the same in 1SS8. when silver dollars were worth a half more than they are now." Concerning Lead. "The silver mine owners of Monterev would be greatly gratified to see Mr. Bryan restore silver to $1.29 an ounce " was suggested to Mr. .Toaouin Maiz. On the contrary," replied the owner of ban .Pedro quickly and with decided emphasis, "the less silver is worth, the better for us." This seeming paradox Mr. Maiz pro ceeded to explain. In so doing he threw much light upon the operation of the sil ver basis in a silver countrv. What he said of wages .and living will be par ticularly interesting in the United States. If we got $1.29 an ounce," he be gan, "it would be $1.29 in Mexican money. Mexican money would be the same as American money, and both the same as gold. Under present conditions, suppose we got only 65 cents an ounce in American money for our silver. That American money is worth 100 per cent, more than Mexican money. In other words, the 65 cents an ounce in Amer ican money or gold for our silver is worth double that in Mexican money. So you see we would get no more per ounce in Mexican money if silver was worth $1.29. Now the main value of our Monterey ores does not come from the silver, but from the lead. If I have lead in my silver ore running 25 per cent, that will be 500 pounds of lead to the ton of ore. At 3 cents that lead is worth $15 in the United States. That is $15 in gold, which is $30 in Mexican money. "Silver, you must remember," Mr. Maiz continued, "doesn't govern the price of lead. If silver should go up to $1.29 an ounce, or, which is the same thing, to par with gold, my lead would keep about even, regardless of the fluc tuation of silver. It would still be worth 3 cents in gold. My 500 pounds of lead per ton would be- worth $15 in gold, but it wouldn't be worth any more in silver. It would be $15 in gold in Amer ican silver and in Mexican silver." Having shown that he would get very little if any more in Mexican money for his silver if it commanded $1.29, or par with gold, and having demon strated that the advance of silver to $1.29 would knock him out of half of his return, for the lead, measured by the Mexican money. Mr. Maiz proceeded to that phase of the silver question which is most interesting to Americans. "Now, there is another thing," he said, "and it is this: When gold was about even with Mexican money, or when there was very little difference, we paid our labor at the mines 75 cents a day. The amount was equivalent to about 70 cents a day in American money. Today we pay those same miners 75 cents a" day in Mexican money, which is now equiv alent to about 374 cents a day in gold. Tr.is 37 cents a day in gold yields the mine-owner the same amount of labor which was produced for him when the 75 cents in Mexican money was worth 70 cents in gold. The Mexican miner does not consume for his nourishment and his clothing any but Mexican -prod- nnta Knfh nn enrn. lipnns. raiffiu c,.r,. " " ' . . , " V- tU4,ill , cotton goods, etc. Nearly all of these ar ticles are today sold at the same prices as when silver was at par with gold in this country. Consequently the livinc expenses of the miners haven't increased nt all. They can perfectly well work row at the same wages as they received when silver was the same as gold." The Silver Basis. In wages on a silver basis, the mine owner of Monterey finds his margin. In wages on a silver basis, the smelters of Mexico figure out a great advantage over those of the United States. The Omaha smelter is one which offers a fair com parison with this Gupgpjihelm plant of Monterey. They are, probably, tho larg est Rilvor smelters in the two countries, Each gives employment to about 400 men. No one will traverse the great plant at Monterey and doubt that the Mexican workman in the industry ren ders equal labor, man for man. with the American employed in the Omaha smelt er. At Omaha there is little iafcor given at $1.50 a day. The wages in the various grades of the smelter range as high as $3 a day. It will not place the average too high to make it $2 per day. That is American money gold. Here the com mon labor unloads the cars and heaps the ore by the thousands of tons m the -yards This same labor loads the ore Into the little iron tramcars and wheels jt under the sheds, where the more skilled work men do the mixing of the ores in great beds. This common labor shovels anu lifts and pushes as hard as the $1.50 gold labor at Omaha and does it for 62A cents a day Mexican silver, or 31 cents gold. This labor works ten hours a day for that price. Then there is the twelve hours labor, so divided to keep the smelter running, night and day. Here something besides muscle en ters in. The iron barrows must De wheeled upon the scales, and one kind qf ore follows another in. as beam after beam tips, until the barrow is full of just the right proportions of lead and iron and lime and various ore to "take out all of the silver in the smelting. The Mexicans who do this are paid 75 cents a day, worth 37 cents American nioney. Then come the feeders and the furnace men, who know just when to dump in the barrow loads at the top and just when to tap at the bottom to draw off the bullion. This is labor that receives $1 a day in Mexican silver, or 50 cents a day in gold. The slag pullers get 75 cents a day in silver. The fore men of the yards, who moves about over seeing and directing, are paid from $3 to $5 a day. They are few in number. Still fewer are the furnace foremen of that ripe experience which is responsible for the results. These get $200 a month, the equivalent of $100 in gold. The pay at the Omaha smelter aver ages $2 a day, or $S00 for the 400 la borers, the equivalent of $1600 in Mexi can nioney. The pay at the Monterey smelter averages $1 a day in Mexican money, or $400 for the 400 employes. Here is a difference of $1200 Mexican money or $600 gold in the daily pay rolls. The Mexican silver smelters are said to be making $10 in Mexican money where the American smelters are profit ing $1 in American money. Whether free silver in the United States would raise the Mexican money to the Ameri can money or lower the American to the Mexican it would require the American smelters to pay only twice as much for labor where now they pay four times as much as tho Mexican smelters do. The wages paid at the smelters here com mand the "best of Mexican labor. The lowest rate, 62c, is nearly double that paid for ordinary common labor. It brings to the works brown men with muscles like steel, who trot along with 500 pounds of ore in a barrow. These Mexicans shed all clothing but sandals, strawhat and cotton drawers as they push and pull the ore down the incline of the long roasting ovens. They have only one bad habit. They will come to work before breakfast. You can teach Mexican labor to smelt ores to perfection but you can not teach the Mexican wom an to get up and prepare breakfast, sim ple as it is, before the whistle blows for the change of shifts from night to day. And so, an hour or two after the brown men have begun work, the little brown women come stringing in with the beans and the corn cakes and the bit of meat. Laborers Wages. At Cerralvo, in the state of Nueva Leon, is located the Benavides smelters. From this smelter there has been shipped since the 1st of January, bv ox carts, 1.SO0.OO0 pounds of bullion. This Cerralvo district was a great mining cen ter 300 years ago. It had a government mint, and turned out quantities of coin during two centuries under Spanish do minion. When the revolutionary period set in mining ceased. Titles lapsed. With the establishment of stable gov ernment and the coming of railroads mining in Mexico took on new activity. The. Cerralvo district was one of the last to feel the spirit of revival. The rail roads passed by and left this ancient town in the interior. Three vears ago American enterprise found this long neglected district. A smelter was built. The highly successful operation of this plant for the past three years, ninety miles from a railroad, affords one of the best possible illustrations of the cheapen ing -of silver production in Mexico. The manager of the smelter is Mr. H. C. Har rison, who has had a good deal of ex perience in mining and smelting. He furnishes the actual cost of operation from his books and makes a comparison with the cost of a like smelter in the States. These are his figures: Smelter operation in Mexico. Per day In Mexican money. Snnerlntpiiflenh tin no Two foremen, at $4 8.00 Two ore weighers, at $1 '2.00 Assayer. .' 4.00 Two eiicfciecrs, at $1 2.00 Two furnacemen. at SI 900 Two feeders, at 75c l.no Four slag, men, at irzw: 2.50 Two ore men. at G2Vic 1.23 two cnarcoai men, at wtc. j.v-, two nn r in men. nr 1.2T Ten outside men, at r0c 5.00 Two bunion men, at bVjc. ... Two cords of wood, at 52.25. . . Oil for engine and lights Total In Mexican money. .. Smelter operation In United United Runprln tendon t 1.25 4.50 1.50 S53.00 States. Per day In States monev. 510.00 8.00 5.00 S.OO Two foremen, at $4 Two ore weighers, at .;u. .. Assayer Two enoineers. at S3 0.00 Two furnncemen. at $3 0.00 coo 5.01 5.1)0 4.00 10.00 4.00 0.00 1.50 Two reeders, at Two slau men. at S2.50 Ttt-o nlinri whpolfr5. at if? rji Two charcoal men. at S2 Five yard men. at S2 Two bullion men. at 2 Tn-n onrrls nf wnnil. nt S.1 Oil for engines and llgfft Total In United States money $81.50 Exchange, 90 73.3.-; Total In Mpxican money $154 Sr The cost of running the same smelter would be in Mexican money $154.85 for labor on the American side of the Rio Grande. It is $53 in Mexico ninety miles from a railroad. "The present cost of smeltinsr in Mexi co, said Mr. Harrison, "is only about one-third of what it is in the United States. This shows that a very low grade of silver ore which would mbe smelt ed at a loss in the United States can be treated here at a profit. Our furnace smelts twenty tons of ore a day at a cost of $2.54 a ton for labor. The nrice and reliability of labor is an hn nortant factor in smelting. Here in Mexico we have cheap and steady work ers, xno average income or an adult in the state of Nucvo Leon is 10 cents a day. There is scarcely a day I do not have to turn applicants away. The entire population is offering service in a fearfully overstocked labor market. The eost of mining in the Orralvo district. s compared with the western part of the United States, is about one-sixth what it is in Colorado and one-eighth what it is in Arizona." Ore Mine and Its Output. If you ask who is ithe richest man in Durango, the reply will be: "Maximiliano Damm." The case of Maximiliano Damm is one of the answers to the question how cheap ly can silver be jiroduced at a profit in Mexieo. Mr. Damm is a merchant. .A few years ago he owed $400,000 to Euro pean creditors. The story offMaximiliano Damm's rapid rise to the distinction o'f the Croesus of Durango is the story of the Promontorio mine. That is a proper ty of which the mining market never heard. It is known to Durango people because they see the ox carts and mule wagons come creaking in with 600 tons of ore monthly. The mine is 100 miles north of the city, and the ore must be hauled that distance in carts and wagons. The ore is quartz, and all that is thus transported is of a grade which yields 150 ounces to the ton. The monthly ship ment from the Promontorio is 90,000 ounces of silver. In a year this amounts to 1.000,000 ounces. It is worth in Mexican money $1,290,000. and in Amer ican money $650,000. But this shipment of ore at the rate of 600 tons is not all of Mr. Damm's product From his own works nt the mine he makes every day a bar of silver weighing 1000 ounces. A bar of silver worth $1290 in Mexican money and half of that in American mon ey is not very formidable "in appearance. It is only 16 inches long by 4 inches in breadth and thickness. Every day one of these bars is turned out nt the mine, brought down to Durango and added to the- stack of treasure in Maximiliano Damm's warehouse. The mint officials of the United States will have an opportuni ty to handle a collection of these bars if free coinage ..becomes the-law. The present product of the Promontorio is 1,300.000 ounces a year, worth $1,749. 400 in Mexican money, and to be worth that in American money if 16 to 1 pre vails. This is one man's mine. That is, perhaps, the reason so little has been heard of it. About ten years ago, when silver be gan to go down, the Promontorio began to uncover its richness. With his rep utation established as the richest man in Durango. Mr. Damm does not admit that he has done any mining. He has ..: 1 1 , , . . , 1 - - Miupiy ocen ueveiopmg wnar mere is 111 the Promontorio, blocking out the masses of ore to be removed when he gets down to the real business of mining. But while doing development work Mr. Damm is takins: out incidentally ore which yields him 1,360,000 ounces of silver yearly. A fissure vein which gives him this ore carrying 150 ounces of silver the ton is from 18 inches to u feet wide. While developing his property, Mr. Damm has taken out a third-class of ore which has not been shipped to the smelter or treated at the mine. He now has a dump containing 50.000 tons of such ore which, he says, will average 60 ounces to the ton. That means 3,000, 000 ounces more, to be worth $3,S20,- UUU when the United States declares for unlimited silver. Maximiliano Damm can furnish all of the silver the mints of the United States will be able to coin into dollars during five weeks of opera tion at their present full capacity. Open Mints Cheapen Silver. "Why is it that m a silver country, with unlimited coinage, bullion does not go to the Mexican mints to be coined into dollars, but is shipped out to be sold in another country where it has a fluctuating value and where so much of it as would make a dollar in your mints is worth now only half a dollar?" This was submitted, during the rest in the saddle of Las Mitras, to the owner . e 11 ? tt ..... , or me mines neiow, irom which the Mex icans were trotting forth in never-ending hie with their sacks of ore. The mine owner chucked a pebble over the preci pice, and shook his head, as if the ques tion was too much for him. Well, why do you send your own bullion to the United States to be sold at bullion value under the irold standard instead of having it minted into dollars which are worth 100 cents on the silver oasis The mine owner got out his pencil and figured. He took the exchange, the cost of transportation, the 377 grains of fine silver in the Mexican dollar, the 371 grains in the American dollar, the ounce vaiue, anu maue elaborate calculations At length his face brisrhtenpii "Silver," he said, "yields today 4 cents an ounce more when sold in the states as bullion, after paying freight charges and brokerage commissions, than it wouiu 11 taKcn to the .Mexican mints and coined into dollars. THE FARMER AND THE SIIVERITE. He was settln' on a shoe box at th' corner uv tir street, Chawin plug terbacker an waitln fer a treat. While he squirted his terbacker juice at an luenensive ny, He saw an honest fanner come a-walkin slowly oy. So he hlsted up his britches, au he took an other chew. An' boldly waded inter him. an' this is what ue mew: "Can yon tell me. my friend, why the chinch butr is eatln' un your crain? Have yer ciphered on tho problem why w.e Kit so nine ruin 1 Can ycr tell me, plodding farmer, why the Jinny worm's around? "Why th' tarnal yeller sunlight is burnln' up th' ground? Can yer tell me why th' weavll, th' rust an Hessian fly Are eatln up yer substance? Do yer know 111 reason wuyr Why tli' price uv eggs an butter, oats an corn, an' wheat an' rye. Are a-faliin in the market as th' years arc "The reason why these dismal clouds cast their siinauers crost th sun? Why yer debts are gettiu bigger, as th seasons tro and kmu? Th' reason fer this trouble is plain enough ter see, 'TIs that orfnl, fearful, nasty thing; th' crime uv '73.' Tew be sure, yer didn't know It fer thirty years er so, But It worked tnis orful havue, It dealt this oeauiy mow. Th' Gold Buks down In WaU street under cover uv th' law. Hav' gobbled up yer earnings in their thirsty, hungry maw. Sixteen to one will cure you 'tis th' alio pathic plan." The farmer stopped and listened, tho' It almost made him lai. At the stupid, senseless logic uv this whit tlin' talkln' calf. An' his dander 'gau arisin' at this ever- lastin bore. An be kracked h's heels together an' he slink his fists an swore: "You must think us fanners hav nuthin' else to do But stan' aroun an arglfy with such tarnal fools as you. You'll legislate the weavll. chinch bug an Hessian fly. You'll resolute the raindrop er know th' reason- why. You'll upset th' lays uv natur, you'll change th' seasons "round. You'll stop th' golden sunlight from shlnln' one th' ground. Th' law that fixes prices, you'll change it jest fer fun. With coinin' uv- th silver 'sixteen tew one.' Half a dollar's worth uv metal will be worth lest twlct as much. When melted by th government an' giv'n its magic touch. You'll bust up nil th' railroads, shops, an' savings banks. With th' drlviin silly nonsense uv you crazy silver cranks. "It seems ter me that I remember when things were al! askew. Some time about November In th year nv 'SC. That the same gang uv fellers promised another treat. That ver told th grubbln farmer that you'd gin him 'dollar wheat. That he'd surely then be happy, an' his fortun won:d be made. Kf he'd Jest upset th tariff, vote fer Cleve land an free trade. Xow, we don't pertend tu know much, fer we never had mnch show. But there is onlte a gr.st o' things that even farmers know. They know when they've been Hed to. nu t:!:en fer a dnnee An' thev're go!n' tew b" d d kcprfn' that they don't git foo'd but nnro St. Paul Tlonecr Press. ILL THEY VOTE? TWrnrir ThnnsanflB nt Ynnncr Mpti J rt Have .Reached the Threshold of Their Career. TWO POLITICAL PATHS OPEN. Sound Money Stands for National .J Honor Debased Coinage Stands for Dishonor. mi. .1 i .7- r xuere arc u Svjuu uiuj muuoiiuus ui j-oung men who will this year cast their first vote for President. They stand on a. ; n uiwub uiu w .-.- uu par Wltb eacn other in thejr circulation, life in some chosen vocation. With but But how would it work in the silver few exceptions they all expect to be standard countries? This government i : a i".. rr fiat of ours would at one fell swoon sub- uu.n mCU aim u wm a competence if not av fortune. This ambition to obtain wealth is laudable and should he eherish'Hl bv every honest ana snoum ne ciierisneu oj every nonesc and industrious youth. To these vonncr men the money nues- tion, which is now the political question of the moment, is of surpassing impor- But Mr. Bryan's proposition is more far tance. not only for the risht casting of reaching than that. He asserts" that he their votes but for the right understand- ing of business principles, for if they do noi uiiuur&utiiu uiu mramug ul iuuulv, wuat it snoum ue. wnat it is lor, ami what it e.in do. there is hut little bono that tllf win be able to accurate much of it. or, accumulating it, know well how to use it. The common phrase in business is . . ..I. i "making money." but money is only a means for obtaining other things. When a voting man has saved his first hundred dollars he doesn't put it away or hide it, ' , Din invests it in otuer property or loans, it at interest until he can find an oppor- tunity for other investments. As he in- , . , . :. . r creases his money he sets it at v.ork for him. and in this way grows rich. Money is not the ultimate object ev business. but it is the means whereby men obtain. wnat tney want. It is of the first importance, therefore, and each man's common sense confirms it. that the money we earn, mat tne money we borrow and lend and that we use tor the purpose ot exenange- suoum be uniform and stable in value, that it should mean the same thing next year that it does today, and the world of busi- ness has agreed that gold and silver makes the nearest approach to that kind of money gold for large transac- tions, silver for small. Ihat these metals can be equally used history suows 10 ue imiiossiuie. so uiu wiaesi nntinn l.nvo nrovi.lod tli.it "old -hniild have the principal place and silver be treated as subsidiary. itj. i:4.-i i: i. e 4t. rnm.B mnn wh nnn- vntrx fnr tlm first- IJUUllWill UIIUOLIUU, UICU, iUi lliU j ....... ,...vr , time to decide is, whether it is wiser to follow the teachings of history and the example of the most successful business TintJnnc nf thn ivnrlrl nr tn r,,rt nnt .. n plan that has already been tried and found disastrous. Shall we as a people take pattern after England or after Mexico? Shall we learn from China or from Germany? How does a young man act for himself when looking around among his elders and suneriors in business life? Does he choose "the example and advice of sue- cessful men-of the Armours and Fields and Gages of commercial and financial life or does he start out regardless of their methods and attempt some short cut to success? How mnnv vn,,n? ,., I, i- cti o o ,.. innt.-; -;Cff.iiiT. !nt ftirt rr "... feu- hnvo tnk-on tlin nnrrnw n.wl fnri.M. n the narrow and forbid- mrd work, thrift and self- :hat leads to the mountain v mnnr tt.o fWor ,i dmg path of hard sacrifice, but that tnno on1 ci nv tltst - 4 I that is so entiein- in its e.-ise ami nipns. ure. but which ends only in morasses and despair As it is with individuals so it is with nations, and no people can defy the principles of honesty and integrity in their national life any more than j nnrennni iif Sound and honest money, which means money as good as gold in this campaign. stands for national honor. A debased coinage stands for national dishonor. Which banner will our vounir men fol- low? Chicago Times-Herald. THE MODERN ALADDIN. How Bryan Ignores the Experience of This and Other Nations with Free Coinage. Mr. Bryan states that he believes the free coinage of silver, by our govern ment alone, at the ratio of 1G to 1, would raise the price of silver to $1.29 per ounce; and he never tires of alleg ing that our government is strong, and rich, and powerful enough to accomplish this result without waiting or asking for the co-operation of any other country. In making this prediction Mr. Bryan ignores the experience of this and other nations of the world in regard to the coinage of silver during the past 100 action by the employers involved corn years; but waiving that, let us see what pulsion: for this is a free country, and his proposition involves. the right of every citizen to freely ex- I presume it will be conceded by Mr. pw 1,13 own v,iews bF vn .rote Ttrron ,itw1 fwlhornnts thnt tho should and must be sacredly maintained. of silver bullion in this country cannot be affected without at the same time affecting it everywhere, and that the 1S92, are all taken from a report sub- mitted by Mr. Voorhees, a free silver rise in the price will apply to all silver, attempts at compulsion man is me cir- whether in bars or wares as well as in dilation of any other clas3 of campaign coin, throughout the world. literatnre to be considered as an attempt The figures I shall give, except those at compulsion They are a legitimate thn nrndllctinn nf silrnr nnn. I Part of the CailllKUgn Of pdllCUtlon! advocate, on behalf of the finance com- ay tieoue to ne ue.si ior meir own in mittee of the Senate, March 5, 1894. teres ts. Milwaukee Evening V isconsiifi. which report is entitled "Coinage Laws of the United States from 1792 to 1894. n-Stlt nn Annfndi?r Tlelntinir tn HniiiR nn1 Currency: Fourth Edition. Revised and Corrected to August 1, laJH. 1'repared Under the Direction of the Committee." According to that report, page -T7T. the nroduction of silver in the world from 1493 to 1S92 amounted to 7,522.- 07.71C ounces, and there has been pro- fluppd since 1S92 about WX.X)0.000 ounces m rounu nunmera. -auu -m io . , t ...I . t - i tne- otner hiuu "''"- i . . 1 nri lTft I O 4-V M tATMl nt I si 507.710 ounces. I have no data showing the production oi snyer prior io i 1493. and hence l cannot give Tim n- Tir!' imt I think it may be safely as- timed mat il '" " the whole amount oimitit ui.u u.i k- ost or destroyed, in urun iu m- . , ,,ir..i ... S llflfl - f vrrio-'s forms n ne trortii at wij. 000 001) ounces. 1"L nr n),AA Vi v l non ftfiA (inn m tlio .. I per nnnce. or $..mv.vivw' t gregate. Tn iniS. a.i.T"ui. I j.t, T4. ,.fl . ., a r-. til I f 1 II r I nn tne ICSlSia II i. uui i . tint we are on tne ntni sun-. nu..-i-. TUe u, let us deduct 122,.0 t tlU onnces. . anf ' 4.. f n Tim IireM'Hl ot4i.it..' . cents per ounce, or $5040,000,000. Ana strange to say, the larger part of this added wealth would be outside of our own country. In gold standard coun tries the commercial value of the silver coins in circulation woulrt be brought nearly to the gold stan ird This fiat of ours would s substantially double the value of ?112,000.Q00 in sil ver coins in Great Britain; $500,000,000 in France; $215,000,000 in Germany; $54,000,000 in Belgium: $16,000,000 in Italy; $15,000,000 in Switzerland: $3, 000,000 in Greece: S155.000.000 in Sain; $10,000,OOC jn Portugal: $&00,: the Netherlands; $4,900,000 inV Sweden; $5,400,000 in Denmark: $44,000,000 in "r. ?000,000 in Australia: $15,- OOO.OnO in TCsnmt nnil S110 0(10 000 in thu. Straits, besides $625,000,000 in this country, and raise all this money near ly to par with, gold; and yet we are told that all these countries not only refuse to join Mr. Bryan and his supporters,. lint tirM f r nnf crmnoflii'ra .5f1i ' nrrv "j"-!'"""" m tins stUDendousenterorise which would add so much to their wealth, and in a large degree relieve them from the burden now resting upon them of keeping their gold and silver coins at stautial,y doubje yalw of .OOO.OOO jn silver coins in Russia: S50.000.000 in -Mexico fc,uuu.lHJU in the Central Amen- 'z1" states; $0,000,000 in the South Ameriean states. $950,000,000 in India. and $725,000,000 in China, and would at the same time double all the nnvate and nubAic, dcbts ?f those countries, which believes that this legislative fiat on our nntJirZ a. ratio of lli to 1. but would keep it and ine iuiure production mere, auiiougn doubling the price would hereafter gtSgSffiZ, , propriety in inquiring how it is that we. iO.UUO.IKKJ strong, can affect the nioney of. 1,350.000,000 people by a simple stat- while the 1,3;0,000.000 cannot by ioRIsIatxon affect us? And are the people of Great Britain and continental Europe and many millions of Americans to be ?"lW5, iTPTfl' i-VW0" crats if they hesitate to believe that Mr. Bryan has found and carries Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp, and can produce these snipcnaous results ; Anil are the millions of people in this country who have made ''. :nrfWtrm. nn t,,A rM. ent monet.-irv fstambinl. whloh U am WU,Y, j,as fceen the standard at least siuce iS79? ana i think since 1So4, to be charged with being unreasonable when thev ask Mr. Urvnn to stnt t-nliitlv what he believes would occur not only to their interests, but to the business of the whole country, if his prediction a. to the rise in the price of silver should not be fulfilled and the standard of ex- change should suddenly be chanced from- a gold to a silver basis with no. or at best a slight advance m the commercial value of silver bullion? J. L. T. Has the American Farmer Forgotten That nnder President Harrison's ad- ... .. , ., .... - .nmisirai.qn me prOHHlllIOU ukuhlm our mrat Products by CTrcat Britain. Uer- ,u,l"l: eulri" 1 and 2nain were removed i I -r-r r u -1.. ' I I,,, I. - Ue IOrgOlltMl I II l- lilu im.TS uo i r i .i :., i, i.u,.ii-,pifv "", !'" j anl l'roteetaon were in force? i ins at? mrgoi wi mat u.u nu., . . agricultural products WOS extended dlir- ins this time? Has he fonrotten that our exports of bacon, hams and lard was inereiised $10,000,000 in one year by this same policy? Has he forgotten that we exported $12,000,000 more of American beef ""nets in a single year ; e.,WjLSiAnftforsotton-th,?t WC ",or'ed $10,000,000 more of live cattle a.inu- a,,.yr- , r A . "rUAlnn ifiullcu , 1 , iJV-'ffinS o CC &VPn . $11.000.000, flour 28,000,000 and corn Si.C '0.000? Has he forgotten that we increased the foreign sales of all our agncul- ,le foreign sales oi an oiir asricui- tural ?r"d!,4Ct? ?2io,000.000 annually 0VT(;r wjiat it had been previously Has he forgotten that four years ago Bryan and his free trade rands promised him that if the McKinley bill was repealed better prices would be ob tained for all of his products? Has he forgotten that all these prom ises failed of fruition, and that instead of receiving better prices ail agricultural uroducts bave depreciated in value.?-- Hats he forgotten the good times That aH classes, the farmer, the wage worker and rl!e business f man enjoyed under Irof"na auu rectyiucujr . Does he propose to accept the promises of this same Bryan crowd, who make no references to their pledge of four years ago that the repeal of the McKi'iley bill wonld bring relief to all classes in tnis country, and who shamelessly ig nore all reference to those promises, and now seek his votes under pledge that a debased and depreciated money will remedy the hard times? The American farmer should not for get that protection and reciprocity brought bim prosperity. TheWorkiiifr Man's Vote is His Own. Bryan and his shouters make much of the charge that efforts are being made tn nnnfml lit Inhnr vnfiv Tho 1-ihm- nnnnt be controlled. It Is free. J secret vote must of necessity be free, I It was to make it free that legislators iuade it secret, inere wouiu he ample few to working peopie by their employ: prs on the subject of election, if such Wmlcr existing circumstances letter of advice written by employers to their em- ployes are no more to oe rcgarucu as to be judged by the arguments they coni tain, and acted upon as the recipients l'AKMKK JJBOTVN'S 1IXEJIMA. We bad a puWIc rueetln In the schoolhoiise tt ntfv tv tnv.t. . " AU" V ' 7 Tr, ... Uf,u-A nn the Riihfeet of finanni. In. every llcut 4nd claimed that he was competent to show ns wnat was rini. u!s uo"- luuu"J Htr:iiriir 10 hiiiumi free coinage and Increase our w - ' - - ottwtz o? cami. ,t-o . oni out a dnlsv scheme and clnlms 'twlti wars immense-- nc wants iu uinuc ui umij tun u? tifty -iitK. ran it through the mint Aml stanm t pajn ..om dollar" with the Sovernmrnt'i imprint: inex woiuu uunip ineir stiver ami ine tion. alien rts grease. srlad out brand-new dollars at Jimt nitT ithih aiiit'i-i'. Thaf. S0n)f3 a!, r,s2lt. ,)Ut rlnee tlwt ulstlC somehow I've wondered . .... ... -. . .i ...i.n i:en i imy uo -nrs ior miy cvm wuu . , ...... I......l-n.l . in i-i rjn . .1 uuuuicu. . c 1 t.. l-Ut.. 'Vl.naXT amTi r. er. a., iu iiuira-uti.nu.