Is Mexico Prosperous?

A. J. Warner, the Popocrat, discourses tlms : It is iiow generally admitted that, while the United States, ona gold basis, is súffering from proloiged business stagnation, Mexico on i silver basis, was nevei' so prosperous ms, now. The explanatiou of this difference in the business and industrial conditions of the two countries seems to puzzle a good inany people, and espeeially those whd hold to the belief that the gold standard is the conditiou under whicli a country ought to thrive best. The best way to ascertain whether a country is prosperous is to flnd out what the reward of labor is there and also the prices of those commodities which are in commonest use. That country is the most prosperous where a day's labor exchanges for the greatest quantity of the necessaries of life. Tried by that test, what does the Mexican prosperity AVarner extols amount to? The following tables will throw some light on that subject. The first one givesthe City of Mexico, which has about 350,000 people. The first column gives the actual wages paid, the second column gives their gold value, and the third gives American wages paid in gold or its equivalent : Mexico- S?12 Value in 's X T s - JT - S. "o & Occupation. 3 o. -j.-f. i' L-51 L cï t Carpenters 82.00 $1.00 i2oo Brieklayers 1.50 .75 3.00 Blacksruiths 2.00 1.00 2.50 Painters 2.50 1.25 2.00 Masons 1.75 .87 4.00 Printers 1.25 .87 4.00 Clerks in stores 2.50 1.25 2.50 Unskilled labor .40 .20 1-25 House servante .83 .17 .50 Hotel help .50 .25 1.00 Cooks __ 2.50 1 25 3.00 Factory hands .50 .25 2.00 Farm hands .50 .25 .60 Cardrivers _ .75 .37 f.25 (.'onductors 1.00 .50 1.25 Polioemen 1.00 .50 2.25 Miuers .50 :2o 1.00 Riülroad eugiueers 6.00 3.00 6 00 Firemen 4.00 2.00 3 00 Conductors -.00 2.50 4.50 Brakemen 1.50 .75 2.D0 It will be seen that in a few instances the Mexican workingman gets as many Mexican dollars as the American workingman gets 100-cent United States dollars. Generally the wage-worker who is paid in Mexican dollars gets fewer of them than the American gets of full value dollars. According to Warner this is prosperity. The second table deals with prices. The first column shows what the Mexican pays for the necessaries of life in Mexican dollars. The second colnrrn shows what he would be asked were be to pay in gold value American inoney. The third column shows the price paid in this country : Mexico. U. S.- Gold or -Value in- sllver, equal silver. gold. in value Flour, per pound. .08 .04 .0414 Bacon, per pouud._ .50 .25 .08 Lard, per pound .30 .15 .08 Beef, per pound 20 .10 .10 Mutton. per .20 .10 15 Tea, per pound 82.00 $1.00 .50 Coffee, per pouud- .40 .20 .25 Sugar, per pound.. ;1O .05 .(b% Beans, per pound- .10 .05 .02% Potatoes, per pound .05 .02J.; .UI' ■: Corn nieal. pouud- .20 .10 " 02U Rice, per pound .09 .04! .05 From which it appears that the Mexican gets less for bis labor and pays more for all he consumes. The day's labor of a car conductor there will buy 122 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of beef. Here the day's labor of a car conductor will buy alniost 28 pounds of flour and 12 U pounds of meat. Nevertheless, Warner declares that labor prospers in Mexico, and he proposes that the American workingman cast his vote for a candidate who will give him Mexican prosperity. Undoubtedly Mexico is more prosperous than she was twenty years ago. She has progressed in spite of her having a silver standard. She has had a more stable form of government. American capital has built railroads, which have opened up the country and given value to producís which were valueless previously for lack of transportation facilities. But with all the progress that has been made that which counts for prosperity in Mexico would count for wretchedness in the United States. American working men who feel inclined to vote for Bryan should study the above tables of wages and prices before they cast their bullots to Mexicanize the labor of this country. .