People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 March 1896 — Free Silver Mexico. [ARTICLE]

Free Silver Mexico.

"The free coinage law of Mexico has driven gold out of circulation and given the people of that country aoO-centdollar. Free and unlimited coinage of silver in the United States would produce a like disastrous result to our nation's financial interests.and while a free coinage law will greatly benefit the silver mine owners, the farmers and laborers of the country would be the first victims of the cheap money system." The above from the Winamac Democrat-Journal isafairsample of the gold standard education that is being dished up to the credulous public. Now’ note these facts, reader: Mexico is a silver producing country and patriotically uses the product of her silver mines for money. What gold her people produce they sell for export; they have no use for gold; silver pays their taxes, pays their debts, and buys every article they need for consumption. The nation is practically free from debt, so are the states, cities and individuals, and prosperity today is manifest throughout the whole country. There are no panics in Mexico and private failures are few. The people as a rule own their homes, and it is a strange custom that in many homes are constantly kept provision stores to last for three years, thus providing against famine, sickness and other disaster. There practically are no paupers in the whole country, and people, though industrious and frugal, take life easily and are perhaps the most contented and happy nation on earth. The Mexican silver dollar will buy as much todav of all commodities as it would years ago when it was at par with the American dollar. The only two things that have increased materially in value under their standard has been land aind labor, though both are still very cheap. But it must be remembered that in Mexico the laborer does not require nearly so much to maintain himself as in the United States. The habits of the people are different, their wants are fewer and simpler and the climate is favorable to cheap living. But there are no destitute unemployed, though really an over supply of labor, which is happily becoming less every year, as new enterprises are being developed aind the country developed. And this in Mexico, constantly being referred to as an example of free coinage disaster. That such dis-1

aster might befall our own unhappy country, which is today unable to keep its precious gold from disappearing, though it borrows by the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is the verriest rot to talk about the farmers a,nd laborers being victims of a cheap money system. It. is the money loaner, the owner of the mortgages, tho salaried official, the man of fixed income w ho is doing the kicking. Under the present system of shrinking values, as measured by the “dear” gold dollar, his income is constantly becoming more valuable as it will buy more of the products of labor; under free coinage of silver and consequent currency expansion, the farmer will the easier pay off his debts, the merchant will be able to pay his over due accounts as his debtors will be in shape to pay him, everywhere the thrill of reviving business and enterprise will call the labor of the land to action; wages will advance in keeping with the demand for labor; the mines will resume their activities aud once more the products of the farm will be sent to the mountains. True the Mexican dollar is worth but fifty cents of our gold standard money but then the cotton taiser gets 14c for his inferior crop while our planters gets from 5c to 7c. The Mexican pays 9c in silver to raise a pound of coffee and gets 21c in gold for it. He gets a dollar for wheat, and all other crops iu proportion. He pays 2c and 3c a mile for railroad travel and proportionately for freight. Taxes are no higher than they always have been.

The Chicago Chronicle of last Saturday in an article on the silver vote in- the coming democratic national convention gave seventeen states and territory as solid for “honest money,” not one of which went democratic at the last election. It gave twenty-two states and territories as solid for silver; eight of which are or were democratic at last" account. It gave teq states as doubtful; three of wbibh by the figures of the last election are democratic. According to the Chronicle’s own count every democratic state and territory in the upjop excepting three, are solid for silver and the excepted three it classes as doubtful. The

Chronicle expects the republican states of the east to furnish the democratic platform at Chicago. These are queer figures coming from a democratic gold bug paper. The summary of the Chronicle’s count is: “For honest money, 400 Silver 16 to 1, 272 Doubtful or straddling, 234.”