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VOLUME XXVII.-NUMBER 30.
COLUMBUS, NEBRASKA. WEDNESDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 1896.
WHOLE NUMBER 1,382.
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I
SILVER IN MEXICO.
A TRIP OF OBSERVATION
.THROUGH .THAT COUNTRY.
" Vjsi Low and Coat of Living High
.Miserable Condition of the Farmer
. .
r fctu-k Conditions Would Bring on a
. Speedy Itctolntion Here.
: El Paso, Texas, Oct 26. I have just
..concluded a tour of Mexico, -which I
made for the purpose of determining
.whether business and wages and prices
;.o farm produce were really as satis-
.; factory as has been claimed and partic
ularly whether the conditions are such
as to encourage the people of this coun
; try in adopting the financial system of
Mexico.
I met and talked with two passenger
.conductors between Torreon and El
Paso, Texas, about the wages of that
"class of railroad employes. Unlike the"
officials of the Mexican Central and
other roads in Mexico, the men in the
operating department do not receive
gold for their services. They are paid
. in paper money or silver worth a little
more than 30 cents on the dollar. Theso
' gentlemen would not permit me to
quote them, but talked freely with the
. understanding that their names were
not to be used. They said it was the
policy of all railroad corporations in
that country to "stand in" with the
. powers that be, and refuse to discuss
the financial system of the republic.
This, they explained, was because the
government granted big concessions to
the railroads which were developing
!
I 1
7
FARM HOUSES IN MEXICO.
the 'resources of the country. One of
these conductors said: "My salary is
$160 per month. 1 pay $20 a month
room rent, or a total of $240 a year. I
pay for board that I would not eat in
the States, $1 per day, or $365 a year.
It costs uie $20 per month for room rent
for my wife. There's $240 more. Then
1 have to pav $25 per month for her
board-$300 a year more to add to the i
total. The rules compel me to buy two
suits of clothes per year, for which I
have to pay $70 per suit. Out of the 50
cent dollars which wc have left after
iwying out these sums wc must buy
all of our clothing. Figure it out your-
self and you will find that it takes con-
c B rflt 1 n wl am r hSVX am w 4 - or 1 a A m
ends meet. The American who is down
here railroading ought to be pretty well
up in arithmetic, because he has got to
do some calculating each month to -find
out just how much his dollar is worth."
The other conductor corroborated all
this and more. "My expenses in Mexi
co arc greater," he said, "than in the
United States. For a while 1 -s uu
tho upper end 01 a mn on the fc.a,ie
Pass route and boarded at San Antonio
Texas. There I paid $18 per month
board. Now I am boarding in Torreon
and pay $40 per month in Mexican
money. Hut the greatest expense to a
railroad man in this country :s the nt,n
price he has to pay for clothing. Hi
could do as the Mexicans do, go ball
naked, wear sandals for shoes 01 -go
barefooted, I could get along prettj well
on $30 per month, for that is wliat iw
In Mexican money is worth. especian
when the cost of living here is more
than double. I have to buy American
shirts, American shoes and Hats, anu,
indeed, practically "" ""
conies from the United Mates. 1 uey
don't manufacture articles of a charac
ter here in Mexico suitable for our use,
so when 1 buy a pair of shoes I have to
pav double value and the duly added.
This pair of shoes 1 am weai ins cost me
."COMMON C
$7.50 in Mexican money, and I could
buy the same shoes in Texas for $2.50
. or $3. The same is true of every other
article that I wear. I wish every Amer
ican railroad man who believes that
tbe Mexican 50-cent dollar system is a
good thing for wage earners would
come to Mexico and take a few object
lessons. I have had all I want of it,
and will get back to the States as soon
as a position opens for me."
House Kent.
If the railroadman in Mexico should
" rent a house as good as the home of the
average couluctor, engineer, fireman,
brakcmsD or telegraph operator in this
1 -"
country, he would find himself bank--rupt
at the end of the first month.
Rents are doable what they are in
any of the towns or cities of the United
States. For instance, in the City of
i Mexico a six-room house' crowded up
into a row of one or two story build
ings rents for $60 per month $10 per
room. A railroad man who cares for
the comforts of his wife and children
would not pen them up in a sun-dried
mud house of two or three rooms for
which he would have to pay $25 to $30
per month all he could afford to pay
so he leaves them in this country ,and if
he has anything left after his living
expenses are paid at the end of each
month he converts his 50-cent dollars
into dollars worth 100 cents the world
over and sends them to his family.
Railroad Wage.
Locomotive engineers in Mexico re
ceive from $125 to $225 per month in
Mexican money, while on the vestern
roads in the United States they are
paid from $125 to $200 per month in
gold .or its equivalent.
Freight conductors are paid from $12."
to $200 per month in Mexico, while
the wages range the Bame in this coun
try with a dollar worth twice as mucX
Firemen get from $70 to $100 pe.
month in Mexico. Here they get from
$60 to $100, and at the end of the
month they don't have to figure how
vmuch their dollars are worth.
Division superintendents in Mexicc
receive $350 per month in the chear
dollars, but just over the line their sal
aries range from $250 to $325 in gold.
Trainmasters average about $165 in
Mexico, but in this country their aver
age is about $160 nearly double when
figured on a gold basis.
Mexican railroads pay telegraph oper
ators in a depreciated currency front
$10 to $80 per month. On our western
roads tley get from $40 to $100 a month
in dollars worth 100 cents everywhere.
Chief operators, to whose hands arc
entrusted life and property, are paid
from $80 to $150 per month in Mexican
silver, while the same class of men in
this section are paid an average ol
$140, or almost double.
The Mexican railroad companies pay
their station agents from $50 to $175
per month. On western roads the wages
rang3 from $40 to $150 per month in
100-cent dollars that's the difference.
I am certain that there Is not an
American laborer who works on the
section who would want to go to Mexi
co. There the average price paid sec
tion hands is 50 cents per day, and
they work from sunrise to sunset.
Compared with the money paid to
American labcrers, these poor unfor
tunate section hands receive practically
2C cents a day. On ray return home I
talked with several gangs of section
meQ wno receive from $1 to $1.25 per
day in sound money, and 1 did not una
one who intended to vote for a policy
which would reduce the value or Amer-
ican labor to a level with that of Mexi
co.
Another class of poorly paid railroad
laborers iu Mexico is the freight brake-
men. They, too. are the victims or me
50-cent dollar, receiving from $35 to
$75 per month, while on this side of
the Rio Grando American railroads pay
from $60 to $100, in gold if they want
In Mexico a section foreman wno
lives in a mud house and on a mud
floor, with a sheep skin to sleep on,
without a change of clothing or enougn
q wa(J a gun is paid the
, ifl . j-. of frora 73 cents to
, dgy in chcap dollars, of
whQ hag nQt nQtcd tbe well.
1 paintcd homes of tbe scction foreman
, sa oycr Kans&s railroads?
j yQH ony observe comfortable
, ho wRh gfecn ,awns in front.
faceJ cbildren piay-
do()r but f you w11 look
.. yQj wU gee modern furnituP2
jnd q u caTlpetea floors, papered
j walJg ictures fcooks magazines, lace
( curtajns at tbe windows and in many
ns(Jmces a piano or organ Rraces the
par,or M1 these things the section
, ,, ,,., t ,., ,
lorcman has accumulated from his sal
ary, which averages anywhere from
$45 to $75 per month. The reason 's
plain. Every dollar is worth 100 cents
and its purchasing power is three
times that of the Mexican dollar.
&BRIERS.
What Money Bays.
I found in my investigations of
paid mechanics and skilled labor in the
shops of the Mexican railroads that
wages ranged about as they do in the
United States. The shop men at To
peka receive about the same wages that
are paid on the Mexican Central and
other roads in Mexico, with possibly a
few exceptions, but when you consider
the 100-cent dollar of Uncle Sam and
Its purchasing power, and compare it
with the Mexican dollar at 50 cents and
tbe prices of the commodities of life in
that country, en object lesson Is pre
sented that a child can undertUnd.
Railroad men arc consumers and are
interested in buying their goods where
they can get them cheapest. If the
Mexican dollar would buy as much as
the American dollar in such articles as
food and clothing, the railroad man in
Mexico would have little to complain
of. The American dollar will buy
double the amount of the staple com
modities in Mexico, and in this country
It will buy nearly three times as
much in the common articles of food.
The best place to ascertain the cost of
articles in general use is at El Paso and
Juarez, border towns separated by the
Rio Grande river, which is the bound-
ary line. There the man who desires
to ascertain the relative values of the
two moneys will gain some valuable
information. While I was there Mayor ;
R. F. Campbell of El Paso went to the
stores in El Paso and secured prices on
the staple groceries and articles that a
laboring man would have to use. Tnen 1
he went over to Juarez and got the
prices of the Mexican merchants on the
same articles, for whlcn tney wouiu
pay in Mexican silver. After compiling
his figures he made affidavit to the
statement which follows:
In In
TS. Mx. I
Matches, per gross 5 -f
Mckles, in live Ballon koRs 2. .oJ
Vincpar. In live sallon kesh - '-
riaklng soda, per .loaen i.w -J
!alt. in two-pound Nick -J -
Koyal baking powder ' '
Molasses, per gallon $
Reans. per pound ? '11
Catsup, per dozen - - '.--
Dried plums per pound 11 -.
Macaroni, per round f
Dried apples anil pvacbes. per n.
pound ' .
Dried prunes, per pound '" $
Arbuckle's coffee, per pound.... -0 .11
Test pe-r pound. :5."i cents to $1 in ..
V.l Paso: In Mexico '0 to !...
Siear. ner 10" pounds... 10.
Kice. per pound
.03
.IS
Canned tomatoes. ier case ---o .Ji
r"nnnoil neas. iter fise - rr
o:
Crackeis, per pound 07
'21
Fought for Corn
At the town of Siloa, 150 miles from
the City of Mexico, I saw an object les
son of Mexican energy and activity.
Travelers who have explored Mexico
will tell you that the masses are lazy,
listless and indifferent, but there are
exceptions to the rule. When the Mex
ican Central passenger train hailed at
the station the usual great crowd of
natives were there to meet it. The
venders and beggars and the curious
specimens of humanity of the neighbor
hood were all there. On the opposite
side of the depot stood a train of hogs
which were being shipped by Armour
of Kansas City to the City of Mexico.
It had been sidetracked for the passen
ger. Instantly there was a mad nish
of men, women and children for the
hog train. The brakemen had takon
from the caboose several sacks o'
shelled corn and were feeding the hogs.
A few gallons of the corn fell to the
ground, and one hundred men, women
and children fought each other like
demons to get hold of a few kernels to
eat The race was to the swift, and
decrepit old women and half-clothed
children were trampled upon by the
muscular Mexicans whose hunger for
food made demons of them.
Farming.
The traveler who goes to Mexico to
study the conditions of the people
ought to stop a day or two at the bor
der, as I did. I crossed the line at El
Paso, Texas, where I had a good op
portunity for comparing the methodsW
farming in both countries. On the Mex
ican side of the Rio Grande is a valley
that stretches away for many miles,
which has been under a crude system
of cultivation for over three hundred
years. The -lack of enterprise, thrift
and prosperity is noticeable every
where, while over on the Texas border
with fewer natural advantages, art
large and commodious homes, well im
proved farms, big stock ranches, anc
every evidence of a contented and pros
perous people.
Tbe Clanes of Mexico.
There are only two clseeee In Mexico
to verx rich and the very poor.
There are about 13,000,000 people in
the republic, and one million of these
own the lands, the mines, the manufac
tures and other enterprises. The rail
roads arc owned by foreign capitalists.
This class is prosperous because it is
the policy of the government to aid by
large concessions any enterprise that
will tend to the development of Mexi
co's inexhaustible resources. Back of
this is President Diaz' standing army
which would shoot to death any body
of laboring men who would even con
sider the matter of striking for better
wages. Why should not these big en
terprises prosper when they can employ
' '" V,VS S ' V ' S ' sCo
, ;
y (
Va. McKinley, Jr., Republican Candidate for President.
labor for almost nothing? But the
magic touch of this prosperity has not
left its impress on the other 12,000,000
who constitute the toiling mases of
Mexico. The men who work on tho
great haciendas, or plantations of the
rich, arc today in as deplorable condi
tion as they were before a mile of rail
road track was laid in the republic.
During the past seventeen years that
country has experienced its greatest
growth in railroad building and min
ing. Within this period the Mexican
dollar has fallen from S per cent above
par, as compared with American gold,
but labor has remained stationary. The
common farm labor has ranged from
2.1 to 37 cents per day. while the Mexi
can dollar has fluctuated from $1.08 to
48 cents. Therefore, It is not true that
there is a tendency to increase the
wages of the millions whose toil pro
duces the wheat, the corn, the cotton,
the coffee, the tobacco and the fruits
of Mexico.
The agricultural lands of Mexico are
owned by a few men. They have
amassed great fortunes off the cheap
labor of the poor people and are grow
ing richer every year. These great ha
ciendas contain from 10,000 to ::50,000
acres. Each landlord employs from 300
to 1,500 men. I visited several of these
haciendas. The owners live in palaces
and are surrounded with every com
fort that heart could wish. Around and
about these palaces are scattered the
adobe or sundried, one-room mud
houses of the laborers. The average
wages paid these men is 26 cents per
day. A few get three bits a day, but
the number is limited. In many of
these so-called homes the luxury of a
dining table, chairs, bedstead and
kniv3s and forks to cat with are un
known. A sheepskin or a mat thrown
upon the dirt floor serves as a bed. Not
one in twenty of these huts have a
floor. There is no paper on the wall,
no pictures, no books, no music, except
the cries for food which come from the
lips of the half-naked, hungry children.
It matters not to this great class of
people who plant, cultivate and harvest
the crops what the price of wheat, bar
ley, potatoes or other staple m?y be,
lor they have no share in the profits
of their labor. In fact, they never taste
many of these articles. Their food is
corn, with an occasional allowance of
bears. These they get through the
hacienda store. The ration for each
man is one ind one-half pints of corn
per day. If he has a wife and six chil
dren, as is generally the case, he would
have to draw from the store account
twelve pints each day. The hacienda
owner charges all the way from S to 12
cents per pint for shelled corn, and at
the end of the year when a settlement
is made the poor farmer finds himself
helplessly iu debt, and his slavery con
tinues. There are those who insist that these
people do not desire and would not en
joy and appreciate a better condition
in life; that they prefer a mud house
to a comfortable home; a choepskin in
preference t a bed, and a blanket to
cover their nakedness and keep them
warm instead of clothing. There is
just as much reason and truth in such
a declaration as in the oft-repeated
claim that the free silver policy of that
country It beneficial to the laboring
classes, for neither assertion is true.
Tnerf It no mora peaceable, patient
ad hard-working class of people on
Ik globe than the peon laborers of
Mexico. They are $ responsible for
the policy that has tended to degrade
rather than lift them up. They know
thing about the benefits and bless
ings of education, but they can look
out them and observe the conditions
ef the rich, and although they may
MTer hope to advance from the life of
slavery that is now upon them, it is
I41e folly to say that these people would
nt appreciate the little home-com-ftrts
that make life worth the living.
Beggm Kverywhcre.
Tke City of Mexico is the flower of
' '
the republic. I was not disappointed
in finding there the concentration of
enormous wealth, because I had heard
much of the magnificent homes, fine
business blocks, the beautiful drive to
Chepultepec, the great parks and the
bull fights. But amid all this gorgeous
display of wealth I found undeniable
evidences of poverty and hunger every
where. The halt, tho lame and the
blind are not the only class who beg
you to give them money on nearly ev
ery street corner. Strong men and wo
men, able to work, vio with the af
flicted in their appeals for "ccntavos."
The only reason I can give for this gen
eral begging is that they can make
more money at it than they can to work
from one to three bits per day. How
many thousand beggars there are in
tho City of Mexico can only be guessefl
at. The newspapers of that city admit
that the beggars are a reproach to the
republic. It is claimed that of the 300,
000 inhabitants, 7,000 are homeless and
HOME OF THE SECTION FOREMAN
sleep in the parks and en the streets,
with the broad canopy of heaven as
( their shelter.
A Comparison of lru-crs.
I The prices of some of tho common
articles of merchandise furnished an
object lesson which I shall not soon for
get. The City of Mexico is the metrop
olis of the republic, and it is fair to
t presume that the merchants are not un-
f dersold by those of the smaller towns.
For example, a pair of blankets that I
I can buy in Topeka for?2.50 would cost
?6 there. A three-piece oak bed room
set that could be purchased atan iur
niture store in Kansas for $2o was of
fered me for $150 in the City of Mexico.
Unbleached muslin costs 13 cents and
the cheapest calico 13 cents per yard,
and with 33 inches for a yard, at that.
Coffee, one of Mexico's staples, costs 00
cents per pound, and butter ranges
from 75 cents to $1 per pound.
Before going to Mexico I was told
that I could buy as much with the Mex
ican dollar in Mexico as I could with
our 100-cent dollar on this cide of the
line. -I am prepared to deny that prop
osition, and in proof need only refer to
another object lesson which impressed
itself on me. A street car line connects
El Paso, Texas, with the city of Juarez,
the Rio Grande river between them
forming the boundary line. I rode over
to the Mexican town, and on the car
was an intelligent young Mexican.
When tbe car approached the Juarez
end of the bridge he crowded up into
the corner to hide a handle behind
him. Just then the representative of the
Mexican toycnuMUt cam. ibPifd to
S"'lfl-ri'NlaKa8l
see If the occupants had dutiable goods.
Nothing was found on which a tax
could be levied and the young man
smoked his cigar leisurely until he was
out of sight of the Mexican officer.
Then he "alighted, takiug with him
twenty pounds of American granulated
sugar which he had purchased at El
Paso for $1. If he paid for this sugar
in Mexican silver it cost him a little
less than $2, for Mexican silver was
worth 52 cents that day. The same qual
ity of sugar was selling in Juarez for
15 cents per pound, and if bo bad pur
chased it on the Mexican side would
have paid $3 for it
This little incident caused me to
make some investigations as to the
price of staple commodities on each side
of the line. In Juarez these prices pre
vailed:
Beans, 5 to 6 cents per pound.
Sugar, 14 to 15 cents per pound.
Coffee, 50 to 60 cents per pound.
Soap, 9 cents per pound.
Bleached sheeting, 20 cents per yard.
Prints, 12 cents per yard 133 inch
es). Candles. 3 cents each.
On tho western coast of Mexico corn
is a drug on the market, and the far
mers were selling crops grown two
ye:rs ago for from 20 to 25 cents per
bushel.
Beef cattle, as fine as any on the
American ranches, are sold on the Mex
ican plantations at from S23 to $35 per
, Lsi- . ... ttln lirtnnr frnm $.12
neaii. wdik iautu ,..- ..... -
to $16 per head. All classes of stock
are sold by the head, and uot by the
pound. Ranch horse." can be bought
tor $12 per head. Mules were quoted
at from $20 to $50 per head.
The above pricrs, of course, prevail
in the cheap Mexican dollar, worth a
little more than 50 cents, and these ar
ticles are produced by the toil of mil
lions whoso average daily wage Is 26
centB, in the Fame depreciated money.
P. O. MAVOY.
Wlipr Stamp Speaking Originated.
A Kentucky paper says the expres
sion "stump speaking" was originated
by Kentuckians, and gives this account
of its origin: In 1815, John McLean,
at the age of 21, moved from Logan
county, to Shawneetown, 111., without
other capital than is generally pos
sessed by lawyers of that day "poor,
talented and ambitious." Natuie and
Vfc on tlue grass soil made him a great
orator. Indeed, as u biographer ex
pressed it, "besides his great strength
of mind, there was no man in Illinois,
before or since his day that surpassed
him in pure, natural eloquence." Mc
Lean's first serious trial of his power
as for a seat in congress upon the ad
mission of his adopted state into the
union, in 1818. His opponent was Dan
iel P. Cook. al.co a Kentuckian, from
Scott county, "quick, wiry, eloquent
and determined." On stumps of trees
(.literally) the two spoke all over the
country, and from that campaign orig
inated the title since given to "word
of-mouth" politicians.
Mt!lia I'uns.
Millaio was an inveterate joker and
he never could resist any opening.
When Cardinal Newman went to give
the first sitting for his portrait, Millais
said to him: "Will your eminence be
good enough to place yourself upon that
eminence?" pointing to a platform in
the studio. The cardinal was offended
for a minute and whispered to the
friend who accompanied him: "Don't
you think I ought to take notice of
that?" However, his wrath quickly
abated and he became charmed with
Mil'ais before the sittings were fin
ished. Exchange.
Keatna Detbreaed.
Judge "Did you ever notice any
tigns of insanity in the deceased?"
Witness (a member of the legislature)
- -Well, once, when he was a member
of the legislature, te introduced a hill
that I wasn't r particle nf intereat u
aabray-except uxpayftri."
FARMER'S FRIEND.
CUTTINOI DOWN THE WAGES OF
HIS HIRED MEN.
V Cel. Caleatatlag Farmer Kxatelaath
Sltmatloa te Ills Wlf Ha Tnlaks II
Wilt Gala ICaariy SS.OOO by tha Six
teen ta Oa ScheBte.
Farmer I reckon this free silver's
about the best friend of us farmers
that's come our way since the war. Al
lowing Bryan's elected all right this
year, I calc'late I'll be worth nearly
$2,000 more next year than bow.
Farmer's Wife Nonsense, Hanre! I
don't believe silver's going to make
folks rich. One'll have to work for a
living if Bryan's elected Jut as bard as
if he Isa't.
F I don't eny .but what yoar
head's level there. Jaae. Ss folks
111 in ii aiiah aidar bliU aUn't
be us farmers. We'll come out on top
witb free silver. That's suro's shooting.
F. W. What crazy notion's In Your
head now anyhow? D'you think farm
ers are smart enough to make laws
that'll take money out of other folks'
pockets and put it in theirs?
p. P'r'aps not, but they're going to
try it. I s'pose you don't see how free
silcr'll help us, but I do.
p. w If you'll take my advice,
you'll not bother yourself to death try
ing to get rich by free silver. I'll war
rant it won't work as you calc'late.
F. I'll tell you one way it'll help
me, Jane. .You know that If we get
free coinage we will have silver dollars
worth 'bout 50 cents same's Mexican
dollars now.
v w I thought Bryan said that
silver'd be worth just as much as gold
when we get free silver.
p Yes, that'3 what he says in the
east ss's he won't scare, the millhands
and savings bank folks too much. But
he don't talk that way out here, be
causo he knows that ain't what we're
after. We want cheap money so's prhes
of wheat, corn and pork'll be twice as
high, same as in Mexico.
p. w. Supp's'n they are. Wouldn t
you have to pay twice as much for
clothes and groceries and everything
else you'd have to buy? If you got ?2
Instead of $1, you'd have to spend $2
instead of $1. It'd be as broad as it's
long. If that's the way silver's going
to make you rich, you'll never get itch.
F But I wouldn't have to spend ?2
for every $1 I spend now. You know,
we have at least two hired men the
whole year and three to five more from
April to November, besides the hired
girl for most of the year. Da you
reckon I'm going to raise their pay
when we get free silver?
p. W. I s'pose so. Why shouldnt
you?
F. Just because I wouldn't have to.
P'raps after a year or so I'd give 'em
$2 or $3 more a month, but nothing
like double what they're getting now.
I calc'late I'd save between $800 and
$1,000 in wages not quite so much on
John and Dave, because they board with
us. and of course the prices of some
of the things they cat would go up, but
I'd save 'bout half on my day hands
who live and board at home. That's
how I flgger it, and it's 'cording to tne
opinion of Governor Boies and other big
silver people. They say farm wages is
too high for profits and that silvcr'H
bring 'em down.
F w. And so that's why you're fcr
free silver, Harvc Grimes; want to
cheat your poor hired hands out ot nan
their wages, men who now can hardly
keep their families out of the poor
house! I thought it was them Wall
street shylocks and goldbugs you're
after with your free silver stick and
that you're trying to square accounts
with them rich fellers, but it seems
F. Hold up there, Jane! Free sil
ver's going to save us 'bout $1,000 on
what I still owe on that $4,000 mort
gage. Who d'you think'll lose that?
p. W. I don't care who'd lose it
Taint right to cheat anybody, but I
wouldn't say a word so long's it's some
body who could afford to lose it, but
when it cornea to cheating your poor
neighbors it's time to put a stop to It.
I don't care if you never get that "other
farm paid for. I guess we won't starve
on this old farm. I'm going to tell Tohn
and Dave and all the others just ho-.v
free silver will hurt them, and I'll get
them all to vote against Bryan. The
idea of such farmers as you trying to
elect Bryan to cut down the wages of
your hired men! I'm ashamed of you, I
am!
Farmer Want Cheap Money
The advocates of free coinage in the
west and south "don't take any stock"
HOMES OF THE POOR FARMERS
in Bryan's occasional assertion that he
"contends' that the adoption of this
policy would put up the price of silver
to $1.29. Indeed they would lose all
Interest in tbe agitation if they sup
posed that the silver dollar under free
coinage was to be worth as much as
the gold dollar is now. The real senti
ments of these people are clearly ex
pressed by James Kitchen, an exten
sive farmer and stockman of Grayson,
Ky., who. when asked the other day
why he was for free silver, made this
reply:
"I am for free silver because I am In
debt, and if we get free coinage I can
pay my debts with one-half of what it
now costs under our present money
standard. And another reason. I em
ploy laborers on my farm. They are
tbe creditors. I am the debtor. Under
free coinage Z can pay them with one
half It coiti me now, for It will raid?
tbe prl of producte, and X can theu
PV9SbbbVSHbV Cji'aV S" CamV-''' C - Cj"3r-Jia ' s ,R9Bl24'fip$4CuSs0!c22BBBBl
hire my farm help for 80 cents a day
and pay them ia bacon at 15 cents a
pound."
It must become more and more plaia,
as tbe campaiga proceeds, that this Is
the motive and must be the result of
the free coinage.agltation. Tbe ques
tion at fssue will thus finally resolve
Itself Into the larger question, whether
the American people still believe that
honesty is the best policy.
SILVER IN A NUTSHELL.
fraa Calaage ef Brlcka Waald Stat
Their rrlee.
Did you ever stop to think what
would bo the result if the government
should by legislation determine that
ordinary building bricks 2 by 4 by 3
inches in sixe should be legal tender in
any amount for $1 eack and should ar-
range to bavt them so stamped la any
quantity freer eTcsst' to the persoaV
presentiag them?
Under such circumstances the price
- kiMIagZwicksuweWt-SiL
vance to $1,000 a thousand, for iftheyt
could be "coined" without cost the
bricks "uncoined" would be worth just
as much as ths "coined" bricks $1
each. But did it ever occur to you that
it would not be an advance in the value
of the bricks, but a decrease ia tho
value of the dollars, which would thus
establish a new "parity between money,
and property;" that under such a sys
tem $1,000 would be worth only l.OOOi
bricks; that that 1,000 bricks would ex-J
change for no more commodities or
labor than it does today, and conse-.
quently that $L00O would mean no,
more to us than 1,000 bricks do now?
In other words our government can
determine by legislation what commod
ity and what amount ot that commodity
GARRETT A. HOBART.
$1 shall be. but It must leave it to the
laws of comparative supply and de-j
mand, cost of production, etc., to de-.
terniine what the value of that com-j
modity shall be. It may declare that a,
brick shall be a dollar, in which case,
$1 will be worth whatever a brick will
exchange for. It may declare that 23.S
grains of gold shall be a dollar. In
which case $1 will be worth whatever
23.8 grains of gold will exchange for.
or it may declare that 112 grains of
silver shall be a dollar, in which caso
$1 will be worth only what 4122 grains
of silver will exchange for, the samo
today as 50.3 cents in gold, or, "giving
the debtor the option" as to what dol
lar he shall use with which to pay his
debts, it may declare that each of
these three shall be a dollar. In which
case $1 will be worth Just as much as
the least valuable of the three, which
under present conditions would be the
brick. L. Carroll Root.
Why Doea Not Mr. Bryau Answer?
Mr. Bryan tells the farmers that frco
coinage of silver will give them cheap
dollars with which to pay their debts.
Mr. Bryan tells city workingmen that
free coinage of silver will raise tho
metal to $1.29 per ounce, bringing tho
silver dollar at par with the gold dollar,
thus giving city workingmen another
dollar as good a3 the present one with
which to buy the farmers products.
That Is to say, to the farmers the
Bryan silver dollar is to be a cheap dol
lar to pay debts with. To city labor the
Bryan dollar i3 t" be a dollar of high
purchasing power to buy with.
Free coinage of silver cannot produca
these two dollars. It can produce only
one of the two. Why do not would-be
supporters of Mr. Bryan ask him which
dollar he really means? Both the farm
er, who wants to pay debts, and the
workingman. who must buy farm pro
duce, are interested in having this
question answered. Chicago Times
Herald. An Object I.eoa la SlUer
There is an American silver dollar.
There are two Mexican dollars. There
WHO WORK FOR 2Gc PER DAY.
is more silver In sach of them than in
the American dollar. I bought both of
them for that. What is the reason?
The sole reason is that our dollar is a
limited coinage, backed by gold. There
is another coin. That is a French 3
franc piece. I paid 95 cents for that.
It carries a little less silver than the
American silver dollar. France and
the United States are both gold stand
ard countries. They keep In circulation
a thousand millions of silver, and Mex
iso, China and Japan have not got one
dollar of gold coin In circulation. The
gold standard country can keep silver
in circulation. The silver standard
country can keep no gold. That is the
example of every nation today. Gold
all leaven the free coinage country.
Gold and silver both circulate in tbe
gold standard countries. From s
Speech by Senator Lodge.
Never work for & candidate wltU
poor memory.
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