Two Workingmen In Mexico

[ElghtHourHerald, Oct. 13. 1896.] Messrs. P. J. Maas and Patrick Enright, who were commissioned by the ïnule and Labor assembly of tliis oity to investígate the condition of labor in Mexico ander f ree coinage of silver, have returned to the city and at a special meeting of thé assembly held on Sunday afternoon last submitted their report, which was adopted and ordered spread upon the minutes. The report, which appeara complete below, is very ful] and decidedly comprehensive. It teacheï man; things to the unbiased. inquiring mincl, not the least of which i.s the undisputed f act that labor is sunk to a depth of degradation in Mexico which finds no parallel in the United States. How much of this is due to the difference in the financial poncies of the two nations it might be difticult to determine accurately, but the truth of tlie assertions soJ frequently made to the offect that cheap money advances all of the necessaries of life, the advance being from 200 to '300 per cent. in Mexico, while the wages paid is but about one-fonrth that paid ere, seems to be materiaily strengthened by the investigations of Mesara. Maas and Enright. To the Offieers and Members of the Chicago Trade and Labor Assembly - Ladies and Gentlemen: Chicago, 111., Oct. 10, 1896.- We, yonr committee, sent to Mexico to investígate the condition of the laboring classes of that country, present the following as the results of our observations and investigations: It was painfully evident to us that the toilers of Mexico, from the time of the Spanish invasión to the present, have had no change for the better in their social conditions. In the comforts and necessities of life they are down to the minimum, and in no time in history could their condition have been more deplorable or the race would be extinct. The principal inducement offered capital to invest in Mexico is the cheap native labor to be found and no danger of strikes or their consequent evils to the investor. This is one of the strongest points advanced in soliciting investments for México, which statements we have gleaned from native newspapers and literature sent broadcast to the world. To this we respectfully cali the attention of the workmgmen, as it gives a true status of the condition of labor as it exists in our sister republic, where, in that country, the only thing that the toiler. has to offer to maintain his existenee - his labor - is the cheapest commodity in the country. To take advantagc of this the foreigner is invited to enter and take, and, with unbridled sway, enri'ch himself on the general misery of the toilers. For labor creates all wealth, and the creator of all wealth, aye, even the Creator of the universe, if possible, would be dethroned to subserve the interests of man in his greed for affluenee and power, and in no country among the civihzed nations is this fact so manifestly true as in the United States of Mexico. HoBtility to Labor. The earpenter of Nazareth dignified labor. He proclaimed it honorable for all to eat bread by the sweat of their brow. But the haughty and indolent Castilian and: his hybrid progeny of Mexico have peryerted the noble words of Him who was ever the friend of the poor and lowly. In Mexico to don the raiment of toil is to wear the garb of servility. There olass distinction is carried to a degree parallel to the castes of India. There the native toiler beiieyes that ho is born to live and die a veritable beast of burden, and seemingly is contented with his lot. But that contentrnent, so harped on by certain writers, is the contentment akin to the burro - which, nianifesting neither joy nor sorrow, performs its task with the impressive indifference of an autooiaton. The first stop made by your committee was at El Paso, Texas, where we investigated the wages paid and the conditions of the American laborers. From that point we erossed an imaginary line (the Kio Grande river being dry) over the only international street railway in the world to the City of Juárez, formcrly called Paso Del Norte, and but two miles distant from El Paso. At this place a complete ehange met the eye - everything assuming a Mexican air, and we rèalized that the time had arrived when the real duties of our mission began. We took observations of the people as to their appearance, mode of living, social eonditions, wages paid and prices of commodities, and were surprised at the contrast ns compared with conditions, etc, in El Paso. Here we first saw the cotton clothing and sandals as worn by the peons. The clothing on many of these people was perforated and abbreviated in a inanner suffleient to show their bronze Bkiii as the sandals showed their feet. Jjlfe of tlie Poor Laborer. The two peoples, as to their habits, tastes, customs and mode of life, are such that a eomparison is unnatural. Life is regarded from very different standpointst as they live under different conditions, in■asmuch as the Mexican laborer is apparently content with tlie four bare walls of his ten-foot-square adobe hut, with nothing inside but the ground to sleep on, a shawl or blanket to cover or wrap himnelf ii]) in. a dish of tortillas (corn pencakeg) and fréjoles (beans) for his frugal ineal, and in a large uumber of cases a little pig, a dog, and a chicken or two of the game cock order, sharing his scant quarters, while the American, laborer ncross the line has all the comforts of liome and many of the luxuries of life. Mexico, with all its boasted natural resources, charming climate, picturesque Bcenery, traditions, prehistorie ruins, its many and ancient churches, is attractive and interesting to the traveler, but the northern half of the country, from El Paso to Siloá, a distance of nearly 1000 miles (aside from its many high 'inountains, w hich no doubt contain rich deposits of coal, silver or gold), is a barren desert, with nothing but rocks, sage brush and cactus to meet the eyp, and presente anything but the ideal abiding place where civilization could eke out an existence, and holding nothing to bear out the moss-covered chestnut that Tiealth, wealth and a contented people live and thrive there. Excepting in the towns along the railroad, not a bird or animal was aeen, and a few peons and burros we saw were halr starved and the I picture of misery and dojection. Wages Are Very Low, Wages in Mexico, except to skilled and I Bteady mechanica - always foreigners - I are very low. On railroads, engineers I (Americaus) on passenger trains receive I $210 per month, while the firemen (MexI ican) receive $1.85 per day; freight enI gineers (American). !S2."i0 per month; fireI men (Mexican), ?1.50 to $1.75 per day; ■ passenger conductora (American), $100 ■ ltï mouth; Ljakeuiuu (Mesicau), $1.50 per day: freight conductora (American), ,2O0 per month: brakemen (Mexican), $57 to $63 per month; Pullman conductors, $80 per month (American money), and the portera $30 per month (American moncy), with ?" per inoiith extra, for boing able to talk Spanish. The national soldiers (or regular army) of Mexico, called rurales, and who aro all ex-bandits, reeeive $1 per day. ín a broom factory near the dojwt at Jiménez the men ure paid ."() cents, women and children 25 to 37% cents per day In the cotton milis, cotí mi seed oil milla and soap factory at Torreón men are paid 37% to 50 cents and women and children 25 cents per day A eároador (public carrier) has a rate of 12% cents per hour; but yon can hire him for from 25 to 37% cents per dar. At León, where nearly all the leather goods in Mexico are manufactured, the peón gets his leather cut for shoes, harness or other goods to be made by him. and takes the material to his lint, where the whole family assista him, the sanie as in the sweatshops of Chicago. For making shoes he receives ?1 and upward per dozen pairs; on other leather goods he receives 37% to 50 cents per day Eor his labor, working as long as daylight lasts, averaging twelve to rírarteen hours per day. Common laborera can be hired for 18 fo 50 cents per day. House servants, male or female, receive $3 to $5 per month and board themselves. In or near cities peona live in adobe housea and pay a rental of ?3 a year for the ground that the house stands on. When leaving this for another location all '"improvements" the peón has made go to the landlord or owner of the land, who pays no taxes whatever on the land. Building lots in cities, 50 by 125 feet, cost .f25 per front foot and up, or a smaller patch of ground - a verra - three feet square, at the rate of $2.50 to $3.50 per verra. Ancient Methods Still in Use. The chief indüstry of Mexico is mining, and the way mines are worked is certainly as primitive as can be. Very few mines are worked from the side of a hill: a shaft is generally sunk. The drilling is done by hand. „one peon holding a long steel ehisel, while the other uses a sledgehammer or stone to drive the ehisel into the rock. After blasting, peons break up the la'rger rocks into smaller ones, while others crush the same into a coarse powder by rubbing it on flat stones or breaking it with a hammer. This is then shoveled into bags and carried to the surface, a peon climbing a number of timbers with notches cut in them (called monkey ladders) 200 to 400 feet high, with 250 to 325 pounds of pulverizad ore on his back. To wateh a gang of peon laborera at work putting up a now building will break the heart of an American laborer. All building is done with a sLibies of stone called tepatate, which is quarried with an ax or hatchet, and which hardens by exposure to the elements. All material is carriod to the patio or open court in the middle of the proposed new building on the backs of peons and burros, a trench is dug and the foundation commenced, one peon mixing a native cement in a hollow log with a stick, while another carries stone to the trench for the mason. When the structure has reaehed the height of about live feet above the ground a seaffold is made on the outside of the building of wooden beams securely tied with ropes, across which other beams are laid, and the laborer carries the material up a series of inclines. The inside of the building is iilled with dirt and rubbish as fast as the walls go up. The hod-carrier carries the cement to the stone-mason in a bag, while another carries up stones or adobe bricks (size, 6 by 11 by 3 inches). generally carrying sixteen or eighteen of these bricks at a time,' or a stone weighing from 25 to 200 pounds. This work is very tediqus owing to the m-ethod. After the building is eompleted the dirt and rubbish with which it is filled on the inside is removed in bags and carried away on burros' backs to some dumping place, while the seaffold is used by stonecutters to carve the front of the building, an art in which they are very skillful, and receive 87% cents to $1 per day. In the mines, as well as on buildings, the owners or builders endeavored to introduce modern ladders, but the peon would not use them, fearing to risk his life on the rounds. and when wheelbarrows were brought for his use he filled the box of the same and carried the loaded wheelbarrow away on his head. The stone quarriea in Mexico are from one to fifty miles away from the cities, but the stone, as fast as quarried, or as a use has been found for it, is carried on the backs of peons and burros to the cities. Your committee met one of tlie.se peona carrying a stone 3x3% feet square and 4 in ches thick, which he was carrying from a quarry nearly twenty miles away. Twenty minutes later we met a number of burros, each carrying two such stones, and íearned from the attendants that the peon had lef t the quarry at the same time as did the burros with their load. The native (or laborer) of Mexico is but a child in intelligence, and if left to his own resources would be helpless to make a livelihood. While he is an adept imitator, he has no idea of doing anythiug to better his own condition, and does not take up modern or advanced moa ns of brightening his existence, but retaina all the primitive characteristics of centuries ago, when Cortez lirst invaded that country. To this day the peon sweeps the public streets with whisk brooms, and carries the sweepings away in a bag on his head or back. Where there is a runuing stream of water, the women do the family washing, otherwise it is done in a hollow log. The women, whether of high or low degree, paint and powder m a manner comical to behold, and have not yet "apquired the artistic touch of their American sisters. Kverybody smokeg cigarettea at all times and places. The peons cut grass or graiu with a sickle or knife. One mystery that presenta itself for solution in the habita of the peon is that he lies on the cok! ground or tlag stones day or night with impunity from catching cold or contracting rheumatism, while the traveler in that country, lo be comfortable, must wear a light overcoat and light woolen underjwear, and havo blanketa for covering on the bed. Very early in the morning one meets large nuinbers of the nativos barefooted, in eotton shirt and knee pants, seeming to be quite comfortable. Hopeless and Aimless Men. Your committee, on learning of the low jirice paid i'or labor in Mexico, looking at that fact from a humanitarian standpoiut, and that the laborer was worthy of his hire, was shocked, to say the least. Kut later, when we saw, that although it took but 20 or 25 cents a day to keep a peon family of five, and all inembers worked, and that to pay him more was his ruination, we were somewhat relieved. If a peon's wages are ruisiid he wiü only work until he earng a certain araount and then quit, and not lo another stroke while he has a cent of money. Consequently they are totally unreliable and dear workmen. This eondition was brought about by the inattention and lack of interest manifested in thein as workers by their indolent masters. Thus, among the great nations of our advanced eivilization, Mexico has been marking time while other nationa have been marching on. The peón is polite and kind, if one is to judge from the deuieanor inanifested hen tte ineets a friend or in foudling ehildren, and we feel warranted in saying that ander proper eonditions they are capable of being a spiend id race of people. And if there is anything to the philosophy that some of us have been schooled in, which runs: God of the just, Thou forcest the bitter cup, We bow to Tby behest and drink It up. or, The path of sorrow, and that path alone, Leads to the land where sorrow is unknown. Then the Mexiean laborer will enjoy eternal bliss with the best in the great initnortality in the life beyond. The Costume of Poverty. Millinery is a scareity in Mexico, excepting in the city. Yonr committee did not see a female with a luit on until we reached the City of Mexico, and there only on the heads of the "400" and the foreigners. As a rule even there the women were bareheaded, their hair greased, yet nicely dressed. All wore a serape fa long shawl), which cost about $1.50, which is worn about the upper part of the body, and so arranged as to serve three purposes: 1. It is wrapped around the breast and shoulders and takes the place of a waist or basque; 2, by being drawn loosely over the chest, acts as a receptacle for carrying their babies, instead of on their backs, as the squaw earries her pappoose; 3, in a few instances the ends of this serape served as a covering for the head. A man's chief articje of dress is his sombrero, often costing as much as $35, while the balance of his clothing would make a crazy quilt turn green with envy, owing to its variety of colors and assortment of patehes, making it a hard problem to solve as to which is the original garment and which the patch. No stockings are worn by either sex, and only about one-third wear sandals, which are made from a piece of sole leather and tied to the feet with straps. These sandals cost from 12 to 20 cents per pair. The average cost of the necessities of life for a peón family of five is 25 cents per day, and flothing for the same costs about .$20 per year. Street cars in Mexico are as good as can be expected, consisting principally of the small cars formerly jised in American cities. These cars are drawn by one or two mulcs in a level country and by three or four mules in a hilly country. The fare is G, 8, 12 and 15 cents for first-class passage, and two-thirds of that amoun't for second-class. After 7 p. m. the fare is doubled. All the cars are run on the side of the street, up one street and back on another. Land in Mexico is not taxed, and a man can pre-empt as much land as he can hire peons to keep other squatters off of. It is not even necessary for him to till orwork anypart of the land, but if it is intended to use any land for agricultural, mining or manufacturing purposes the government will grant concessions to the owner in the shape of admitting machinery or agricultural implements free of duty for a nuinber of years. Prïmitive Methods. The cactus, which grows in abundance, is used by the peons in many ways. The broad leaves are dried, ground into a flour between stones, and a sort of pancake made. The fruit called tunas, which resembles a russet apple, is sweet and cooling to the taste. For fodder for the burro the cactus is dried in the sun, after having the thorns burnt off, while other species are used as a fence around the hut. The tequila, which resembles the eentury plant and grows wild in abundance, is tapped at its base for the sap, from which the native whisky is made. Nearly all towna and cities are from one-half to three miles away from the railroad stations, so that the peón has work to carry baggage and freight from the depot to town. Your committee saw a carcador (public carrier) trotting along the highway with a large trunk on his back. another with a half-dozen hand satchels, another with an iron safe, another with forty adobe brick, another with two bales of hay, one with two barrels of fruit, one with a crate of crockery or of vegetables, another with two ten-gallon kegs or stone jars of water, and four peons carrying a piano. This wonderful power of endurance and strength of limb is a mystery, and prove them to be veritable beasts of burden in the carrying trade of that country, and, together with the burro, the railroad's only competitors. Laborers "Work ILong Hours. The day's work in Mexico runs from ten to fourteen hours. The bakers work twenty hours, and laborers who tako work to their homes work as many hours as they please. The Mexiean laborer works easy compared with the American laborer, except the carrier, wlro beurs enormous burdens on his back all day without manifesting fatigue. The question of shorter hours in Mexico is a long ways off, for in a country where labor is so cheap and plentiful that it is offered as an inducement to bring foreign capital in, its toilers will be compelled to work as many hours as they are physicially able; thanks to organized labor, or the American workingtoan would be in the same eondition today as his Mexiean brother. The prevailing style of architecture in the cities of Mexico is of a MoorishSpanish order. All of the buildings in the business and residence portion of the cities have inner courts, called patios, which give them the form of a hollow square. The inner and outer walls of these courts and the street sides of the buildings are handsomely frescoed, while the galleries are lined with a profusión of tropical and semi-tropical flowers, and large palms are always to be found in the center of the patios. In the interior arrangement of the buildings the system of ventilation is very poor; tbs inner rooms get their light from the (loor, in which the upper half is of glass. Shopkeepers live abovfe or in the rear of their stores, and those with palatial residences in the suburbs live in Paris most of the time. But those whose ineomes compel them to lire in the second or inner patio exist in a part ia 1 eclipse of the light of day. The fronts of the buildings are flat, seldom over two stories high; some havg smali balconiea, and all Windows on the street floor are heavily barred, where the young eavaliero may steal on tiptoe and breathe sweet words of lore to liis best girl, who is safely immured behind those prisonlike walls and windows, to guard her against the contamination of the outer world. The sameness of the honse fronts gives them a monotonous appearanee, whieh tires the eye in rouming the eities. M% of the houses are from 100 to 300 years old, except the adobe honses and lmts. From the poorly-lighted and poorly-ventilated arrangement of the houses it would be impossible for the people to maintain good heaith were it not for the pure. light air that envelops the table lands. All the buildings and huts that we entered seemed to be charged with a peculiar odor. Whether it was the age of the buildings, the material they were built of, or the poor sanitary arrangements we were unable to ascertaia. Military Discipline. Mexico is not primitive in everything. Many of its present laws and customs could be profitably adopted in this country. First of all its system of pólice and soldiers to guard life and property is certaintly perfect, excepting the pay, which is only 18 and 37% cents per day, with uniform furnished. In any city in the republic of Mexico a person is safer, either on the street or indoors, by day or night, than a person in the city of Chicago at pólice headquarters in the middle of the day. Housebreaking, robberies, hold-ups or murders are au unknown quantity in Mexican eities. But f une of these crimes is ever committed the guilty party is immediately apprehended, taken bef ore in officer of the day, where he is ordereci shot on the spot. The only crimes committed are petty thieving and pieking pockets. The gentry who ply this voeation are rounded up frequently, when half of them are taken from the jail and, uuder guard of a squad of soldiers, sent to a neighboring town - which the prisoners never reaeh. The "soldiers return in a few hours, report that their prisoners attempted to escape and were shot. This method of dispensing justiee acts as -an object lesson to the remaining prisoners. and is a system which has purified Mexico of crime and crimináis. The other pickpockets may be set free or ordered sent to another town at a later date. The libel and slander laws of Mexico are very severe. If a persou libéis or slanders another, either by mouth or pon. on complaint being made to any policeman, the guilty party is arrested and lodged in jail until he has proved tle charge made by mouth or pen. Nobocly is Trusted. All business in Mexico is transacted on a strietly cash basis; no credits are given or allo wed to anyone for any purpose whatever; commercial paper and proniises to pay are unknown, and if a merehant has a stock of goods be it large or smal], every article is paid for, consequently no business failures have occurred in that country in years. The compulsory school law of Mexico works admirably. It requires children between the ages of 7 and 15 years to attend the public schools ten months of the year. Statistics of Mexico show that where ten years ago 75 per cent. of its people could not read nor write, iiow 66 per cent. can. Another admirable feature of Mexican business life is that all places of business are closet! daily from 1 to 3 o'clock at noon to perinit everybody to go home to dinner, while stools and chaira are provided for the use of both the clerks and customers. The worst feature of Mexican business life is that no fixed price is put on any article, but the merehant will teil the truth as to the exact quality of the goods to be purchased. If ihe buyer offers one-half or one-third of the priee originally asked, the article can ganerally be bought. Wages are paid every Wednesday and Saturday. Social Inequality. Every town or city in Mexico has from oue to a dozen public parks, which are kept up by the government, in which semi-weekly concerts are given by government bands On Sunday moruing, in the City of Mexico, military bands play in the public parks for three hours, eommencing at 10 a. m. During the firsi; hour and a half the peon is privileged to promenade in the park and listen 1o the music, after which tinie he is ordered out by the pólice to make room for the socalled better classes, who then appear on dress parade until the close of the concert. At each entrance to the promenades pólice stand guard to drive away the unfortunate native should he hover too near. This manifestation of bocial inequality your committee considera wrong to those who are the real tvealth producers of the country, who cultívate the soil, bring treasures from the minos and earry loaos as beasts of burden, and in consideration of this should be permitted to occupy a higher plane ia the social arrangements of Mexico. Taxes for Everybody. AH mercantile business in Mexico is taxed (! to 8 per cent. of actual sales. A set of books must be kept of receipts and expenditures, which are examined by the tax collector as often as that worthy comes around, who üxes the amount of taxes to be paid nd affires revenue stamps for the amount of taxes paid on the books. Any adyertisetnenl or aunouncement in stores, wiudows, hovses or public places must have a 12-cent revenue tnx stamp affixed to permit its display. Even the ganibliug houses and lotteries are taxed one-third of their business. Although one-foarth of the natives of Mexico are married, no divorces or separations occur. They are a very affectionate people, and; whether of high or low degree, are polite almost to a fault. In their domestic relations they are happy - no farnily jars, no fumily skeletons. This felicity takes the place of the green-ey.ad inoaster that haa wrecksii ■ f many homes of the so-called better classes in America. Aged couples manifest much affection for each other. It is common to sec them walk the streets with hands joined and acting with the simplicity of little children. Your eommittee was told that the reason the natives do not go through the marriage ceremony was that it costs too much. Still the civil fee for the poor class is but $1.75 for the judge and registration fee, while for the better class the cost is from $10 to $20. The church fee is much higher. The church does not recognize a civil marriage and the state does not recognize the church marriage. On inquiring what is neceSsary for a peón to take unto himself a wife and go to housekeeping, we were told "a picture of a hidalgo, a bunch of Chile peppers and an almuda of maize (twenty-five pounds of corn)." As a consequence, these people live together like cattle more tlian human beings, and it is but five 3rears ago that a Iaw was passed in the City of Mexico compelling men to wear pants, as the breech cloth previously took the place of that necessary garment. The Poor Are Practically Enslaved. The haciendas (or plantations) are owned by the very rich, and cover an arca of from ten to one hundred square miles. Farming and agricultura! implementa are very primitive. The plow is a crooked stick or beam and scratches the ground to a depth of three or four inches. This "plow" is drawn by two oxen, while the harness is a broad strap or rope, passing over the forehead instead of the shoulders of the qxen. Planting is done by poking a hole into the ground with a stick, dropping the corn into it. and the seed is covered by the peon in stepping from hole to hole. On these immense tracts of land the natives or peona have lived for eenturies, and are forced to buy all their necessities of life at the haciendado's (land owner's) truck store. On the hacienda the peon gets from 18 to 25 cents per day for his work and a hut to live in, if he builds it himself. The peon gets no money except on feast days and for religious offerings. By this .system the peon is always in debt to the haciéndalo. Generation after generation of peons live on the same hacienda, and always under the same conditions. This form of slavery has been forbidden by Iaw for a number of years, but two-thirds of the peons do not know it, as they can neither read nor write, and their niasters take good care not to teach them this fact. The peou cannot leave the hacienda while owing the haciendado any money, and Mr. Haciendado sees to it that when settling up accounts there is a balance due him, which keeps the peon perpetually in his service and his debt. This relie of the baronial system has made the haciendado lord and master of evety man. woman and beast within the bounds of his extensive possessions. Right here a quotatiou from Aristotle, from his first book of politics, is most titting, which reads: "The scienee of the master reduces tself to knowiug how to make use of his slave. He is the master, not because he is the owner of the man, but because he makes use of his property. The slave constitutes part of the wealth of the family." This is exactly the position of the haciendado and the peon óf Mexico today. The peon is simply worked for the advantage of others. subject to the most intolerable priyations and bondage. Not one of them will ever reach a state of independence. So in the midst of the magniñcence of the haciendado's power, we only see a confused mass of enslaved, ■ who work to furnish supplies and a life or' case and luxury for the consumption of the grcat land-owners of Mexico. The peon, thus bound to the soil, is eonsidered the creature of his master and a veritable fixture to his possession by destiny. After 300 years of "isms" Mexico is now emerging from an. arrested development and has a good future before it. Under this republican form of governïuent, which, in fact, is a military despotism, the great masses of the working people have little social and absolutely no political standing. The machinery of the government, in its legislative functions, can and does exereise an unbridled sway with impunity. Organized lahor is unknown here, which is considered a great blessing. But that country today that has the best system of trade organizations and the greatest number of union men per capita of its population, is the foremost in wealth, progression and the haiipiness of its people. The true test of civilization and greatness of a nation depends on the intellectual and moral worth of its working classes. All laws inscribed on the statute books of nations bearing on the welfare of the toiler, have had thoir germs planted in the soil of trades unions, and by them quickened into life in presentable forms for adoption, and that country which has done the most on these lines stands at the head of civilization. ■ Beggars Everywhere. The cry is raised that there are no poorhouses in Mexico; but that is no indication of the absence of poverty. as yonr committee can fully testify without fear of contradiction, as the voice of the mendicant supplicating alms rang in our ears all through the country, and poorhouses would be u blessing to many of the wan faces and gauut, emaciated forms that erossed our path while there. Often in witnessing these and other distressing scènes we wished that many of our friends in the ranks of organized labor could look through our eyes and behold conditions it would be doubtful for them to otherwise believe. There are no manna trees in the land of the Montezumas where yon can piek np three meáis a day off their branches or if one is too tired to reach for the fruit lie under its broad branches and wait until the fruit drops into your mouth: nor is it a Schlaraffenland, where roasted poultry is flying through the air or baked whitefish or broiled trout in its streams; nor even does milk and honey flow there. Instead, in the 1200 miles of the country your committee traveled through, going and returning, only a few fertile tracts of land occur, elothed with sage brush and cactus, and supposedly watered by a spring from a neighboring mountain. Under the influence of such a, spring gome yeLutat0J4 bursts íortb and covers a more or less extensiye area, but ha-s long ago become the balting place of somt' prospector or smal! farmer, and in several places such an oasis supports a considerable population. By meuns of irrigation some corn and cotton are cultivated, and owing to the short erop of eorn ia Mexico, brought about by an extended season of drontti. President Diaz recently issued a proclamation taking the import duty off American corn, and millions of bushels of our corn are shipped to Mexico as a result. Butter One Dollar a. Pound. In the cities of Zacatecas and Guanajuato, vvith populations of 40,000 and 70,000, respect] vely, we failed to get butter and potatoes on the tables of the best hotels. On inquiry we were iuformed that if we paid $1, a pound of butter would be purchased for our exclusive use. Your committee would caution American workingmen against going to Mexico without sufficient funds to bring them hink, or to have employment eecored before going there, or they will be obliged to subsist on cactus and the sap of the tequila plant while doing the country. On asking an American who was doing' a prosperous business in one of the cities which your committee visited why it was that the foreigners all seemed to be making money no matter what business they engaged in, he, with characteristie frankness, replied: "The laborer here is different from the laborer in the states. Here labor is cheap, and we have no brains to coutend with." Aceording to a census taken in September. 1895, Mexico had a total population of 13.000,000 neople, of which niunber nearly 6.000,000 are Indians, 4,500000 are a mixed race of Indians and Spaniards - this is the peon class. Together they represent about 85 per cent of the total population of the country, and directly contribute not one cent to the support of the governmetLt. The government is supported and maintained by the balance of its population - 2,500,000 - who are designated as the white race and consists of Spaniards, Englíslimen, Germans, French, Italians and Americans. The mission entrusted to your committee is a peculiar one. We were sent to sttidy the social and finaneial conditions of a far-away people. We are plain toilers, inured to the hard knocks of the factory and workshop, and none are better qualified to investígate or feel and sympathize with the workers of anotheï country than men frora our ranks. We did not go ioaded with credentials to ba entertained by people of the better classes, or yet as scholars to describe tha monuments of historie interest, or to have our poetic fancies, inspired by tbs landscapes and azure skies, or build np wasted energies in the healthful ir of that Southern clime, but to go among the common people, who are of our own clasa and study conditions froni that siauj point, Plain Statement of Facts. Henee this epistle does not abound i high-sounding platitudes on the sublime and beautiful of that country, but on facts tliat still exist and are ready to speak for themselvea to those who will go and seek as we havo done; and shonld they do so they will feel as we do, that the American workingman is a princa compared to the workingman of Mexico. That in this country all stand equal ia social and politica! life, and in that jmlitical right they should exercise with care the faithful discharge of their duties, anprejudiced and unbiased, by supporting snch principies as will do the greatest good to the greatest number, irre8pective of party politics or the nuchinery of either party, who may 'nanipulate conditions and measures for personal gain, to the detriment of the whole people. Fcllow workers, appreciating the honor conferred upon us, we thank the Chicago Trade and Labor assembly for the eonfidence reposed in us by sending ns on so important a mission, aml believe that we have fulfilled the duties aasigned to us free from prejndices, as in this report we have simply held the mirror up to nature and chronicled fvents and couditions just as we have found them. In conclusión we submit compar.itive tables of the average prices of commodities of life and wages paid in the different cities visited by us. All of which is respectfully submiited. I commlttM COMPARATIVE TABLE OF AVERAGE WAGES PER DAY, PREPARED BY COilMISSION AND MADE PART OP ITS REPORT. American Money. (a)Mexican Money. Ö H S N 55 ö Si i II I Occupation. _- o g L j gM ra g - o M c.= 3 P 1, ' ñ" Teamsters $1.75 $ .75 ? -75 J5Ö $1.00 " Street cars-drivers. .. 2.25 (bl.50 .50 .50 .75 . Street cars- conductora 2. i") .50 .78 .7o í.ou Miners . 2.00 .87% ■'■ ■". í'riatersv.v:::::::::: ' 3.00 i. .75 : .5 1.25 Pressmeñ 3.50 1.00 50 .37% 1.20 Press Feeders 1.75 .50 37% .28 .8itf Ronk Rimlm 2 751 .87y2 .o0 l.UO IronSers .■....:.:: 2.50Í 2.50 O-200 L2feïS? Cigar Makers $8 per $11.00 per Women [ b$U?T 1000 & up. 1000 37%goO .M 1000. CnSe"6 MakerS-Fe" . 37% .26 I .50-62% BÏÏSire. V.Ï.'.V.Ï.:' ".'.'. 2.75 (O.60 1.00 1.00 .87% (c).50 Bakers 2.00 2.00 .87 1.25 .oO 1.50 Shoe Makers 2.50 1.50 .87% .62% l.-.j Carpentera E.80 3.50 .75 1.00 .75 1.25 Brioklayers andMas'ns 4.00 5.00 % J .J4 Plasterers 4.00 2.50 -'■ -50 .87% Hod Carriers. 2.00 1.50 3.00 1.00 1-25 2.75 Clerks 2.25 ."„no .37% .50 .._. Wood Workors 2.25 3.00 -8T% -Ï1 r;' Hnmess Makers 1.50 2.00 -8i% -„ ]-; Horse Shoers 3.23 2.50 1-00 .75 L50 Blaeksmiíns 3.00 2.75 -Jo .8% 1. Waiters 2.25 1.00 l.oO-2 .o0 1.75 3.0o Cooks 3.2ñ 125 .50 .37% 100 Machlnlsts 2.75 2.50 .50 -JO 7 on Sïit Tailors 1,50 1.00 -50 .3i%-50 , 7.00 snit Painters 2.75 3.00 1.00 1.25 .75 1.25 Bntchers 2.00 1.25 -87% .62% .75 Engineers, atationary. 1.00 2.50 125, ■%[$ l% Flremen, stationary .. 1.00 2.00 u-S'V-$ i'- Mnsiclans 3.00 2.00 50 hour .37% 1.75 Cal) and Hack Drivers. 1.75 1.00 1 .7o .50 1.W Common laborera 1.25 (b)1.00 1.00 .50 .o0 .87% Helpers-miners .50 .J -SO ■% Helpers-molders 1.00 j .37% ..S% Helpers-eigar makers .50 -g -L ;"' Helpers-bakers 1.00 .75 .; Helpers- shoeraaiera .50 .80 Helpers-on buildings 1.00 .37% .VA Helpers-horsc shoers ., 1.00 -87% .76 .8. % Helpers-blacksmitBa .' 1.25 -7o -2% -% Helpers-machlnista 1.25 .37% .37% .o0 Helpers-palntera 1.00 .37% .37% .50 Helpers-tailors -50 -37% - .ou Helpera-butchers ,50l -3' Va -37% L2_ Blanks denote no journeymen are employed. (a) Equal to 50í4(S54 cents Americaji money. (b) Mexican money. (e) Per cent. _ COMPARATIVE PRICES OF COMMODITIES OF LIFE IN MEXICO. (Prepared by the Conimlssion and niade a part of lts report.) Americaa Money. líexlcan Money. g a 9 s ai i. i i f % ñ :, .8 s "I L i a P -1 8 - I? : ! I -i Oalico, per yariJ $ 5 $ 4 ? 10 $ 27 $ 14@17 i 14 Black casümere. peryd. .. 25 75 1.50 1.20 90@1.05 90 Ten-qr. sheeting. per yd... 22 15 SO KS 55 50 Jumpers and overafls 20@50 1.00 1.50 1.23 „.... Bleached muslin. per yd... G 5 10 25 25 20 Cnbleaehed muslin, per yd 5 5 11 12 22 20 Oilcloth, peryd 15 20 50 75 05 75 Red tablecloth, per yd 25 60 1.00 ' 1.25 Blankets, per pair 3.50 5.00 0.00 5.50 5.50 6.00 Shawls, wool 4.00 , 75 1.50 8.00 3.00 3.00 Hosiery 15 50 25 25 40 Half hose , 15 25 25 , 25 38 Cottou uuderwear, suit... 1.00 1.00 1.50 88 1.00 3.00 Flannel underwear, sult .. 2.00 2.00 4.00 1.00 1.00 7.00 Hickory shirts 50 50 50 87 1.25 Unen shitts 75 1.00 2.00 2.50 2.00 1.75 Handkerehleís, bandanna. 5 5 10 10 12 12% Handkerchiefs, linen 15 10 18 , 25 50 Cotton drill ■ Wool Suit of clothes, wool 15.00 7@15.00 15@35.00 7501.00 1.25 12@15 Straw ■ - Mex. felt Men's hats, íelt 2.00 5.00 25 50 75 2.00 Matting Ingrain carpet, peryd..., 60 1.25 25 36 40 1.20 Mexican pottery Stove, No. 7. cook 9.00 8.00 15.00 20.00 28.00 Iron bedstead, single 3.25 3.00 6.00 9.00 10.00 9.00 Kitehen table, oak, 6 feet. 3.50 2.00 2.00 4.00 3.00 3.00 Hand Sewing machine. 40.00 05.00 15.00 14.00 85.00 85.00 Single harness 10.00 16.00 25.00 15.00 25.00 30.00 Wacon 65.00 70.00 100.00 Cart 90.00 Cart 100.00 125.00 Saddle 5.00 15.00 25.00 35.00 15.00 25.00 Winchester rifle, 44 11.00 13.00 20.00 30.00 32.00 25.00 Colt's pistol, 44 13.00 12.00 25.00 25.00 30.00 20.00 Powder, per pound 20 40 1.50 50 Table cutlery, per % doz.. 1.25 1.25 2.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 Pocket cutlery, each 75 75 1.50 1.00 1.50 1.50 Ax 60 85 1.2,1 1.25 1.60 2.00 Iron shovel 40 75 75 85 1.00 80 Piekax 62 85 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.2o Handsaw, 26-inch 1.15 1.28 2.00 1.50 2.50 3.00 Cookiug utenslls, set 12.00 5.00 25.00 Stoneware. 30.00 Hundred-piece set china.. 6.50 9.00 25.00 Pottery. 40.00 Plates. cups, saucera, each per dozen 75@85 1.00 V50 3-n0 3-00 MS Table lamp 50 23 75 1.50 1.12 1.50 Wateh, silver, 7-Jewel... 10.00 4.00 8.00 Gilt 12.00 Gilt 14.00 12.00 dock 3.00 2.00 6.00 10.00 6.00 7.00 Plow 4.00 3.00 5.00 9.00 12.00 i: Reaper 65.00 50.00 t 250.00 200.00 22o.00 Sandals Boots, pair .■ 3.00 1.00 12(g25 12@25 2.00 ■ Sandals Snoes, pair 2.00 4.00 25 20 4.00 5.00 Kitehen chaira, each 40 90 2.50 3.50 3.00 Bread, per pound loaí. ... 5 10 1% 2 6 i Flour, per pound 2 3 4 6 oYi J Butter, per pound 18 25 50 50 o öo Susar, por pound 5 6 12% 8 12% 10 Tra. per pound 40 75 50 1.00 2.00 1.50 Goffae, per pound 25 25 42 . 34 30 88 Milk. per quart 5 10 6 6 Syrup, per gallon 30 75 7o -"o Elce, per pound 6. 8 10 8 T Meat. per pound 10 10 6 10 12 20 Cañned fruit , 12 16 35 1.00 l.oO Q&nned vegetables 9 1SR4 25 1.00 bO Poultry, each 30 13 25 20 2o 17 Ham, per pound 12 12 28 50 60 35 liaron, por pound 12 12 28 L0 0 Flsh, per pound 10 20 50 2o Bl Corn, per pound % 1% 1 I1! c ■sn Beans, per pound 4 3 4 SV 6 10 Potatoes, per pound % 1% 8 ' Apples, per pound , 2 4 % .V k Cabbage, per pound hí 4 12% 15 head lo o Cheese, per pound 12% 15 . 25 made. 10 32 40 Toma toes, per pound.. .., Y. 3 i ■ . 6 1 ■: „ Melons, each. . , 15 12-, V 8 25 17 80 Turnips, per pound . .. 1 4 12% 1 '';; i? Soap, per pound 5 10 12 __ 10 __M } __ . Elaaks denote tSat susb ceeds are not íoi sala.