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Bryan on Flexico
The reading which I did preparatory
to mv visit to Mexico revealed to me
how little I had known of the history
of that country, pa c t and current. In
this connection I acknowledge my in
debtedness to SSenor Romero, the Mexi
can minister at Washington for ad
van. cd proofs of his book, just issuing
fronj the press. descriptive of Mexico at
the present time. 8< nor Romero, be
sides bring a student of great industry
and re. ( arch, is t •< roughly familiar
with our language, ae.d iii- l ook will be
of gri t valu< to I otL repel li - - in that
it gives to ttie people of the United
fetates full and authentic information
vuh regard to our neighbor on the
south. The readers of The World may
be interested in a brief reference to
some of the facts which came under my
observation during a three weeks’ stay
in the land of the Aztecs.
i found:
First.—That Mexico is a delightful
place to visit. Travel on the main lines
is as safe, as comfortable and as cheap
|r as in the United States. The City of
Mexico is within four days’ ride of
Kansas Citj’ and can be reached by three
routes. The Mexican National leaves
the Rio Grande at Laredo, the Interna
tional at Eagle Pass and the Mexican
Central at K 1 Paso.
The weather is dry and pleasant dur
ing the winter months, and the temper
ature high enough to he inviting to
those who find the cold of the north too
rigorous. The descent from the City of
Mexico to Vera Cruz can be made be
tween sunrise and sunset, and in the
course of the day the traveler has an
opportunity to compare the flora of two
zones. As both the Mexican and the In
terocean ic railroads connect the capital
with this seaport the tourist is enabled
to vary the scenery without loss of
time. The new railroad which is build
ing from the City of Mexico to Acapulco
rises 2,500 feet almost within sight of
the City of Mexico, and then drops
5,000 feet to Cuernavaca, the present
terminus. The three snow crowned
peaks Popocatepetl,lztaccihuatl and Ori
zaba are magnificent mountains. Popo
catepetl and Iztaccihuatl are near the
City of Mexico. The first named, the
largest of the three, presents the best
view from Cuernavaca. All three can
be seen from a point on the Interoceanic
road n< ar Pueblo. Cathedrals built be
fore the landing of the pilgrims, huge
public* buildings, differing’ entirely in
architecture from our own; unique
Chapultepec, a national art gallery,
filled with tare and valuable paintings,
and a museum containing innumerable
relics of a civilization which antedates
the discovery of the continent by Eu
ropeans—all these combine to interest
and instruct.
Second.—That while our nation has
more inhabitants, covers more territory
and possesses greater wealth, we cannot
surpass the Mexicans in hospitality or
in the courtesy which they extend to
strangers.
Mexico Friendly to the United States.
Third.—That the Mexican authorities
entertain a very friendly feeling toward
the citizens of the United States, and
heartily desire a continuation of the
amicable relations now existing between
the two nations.
Fourth. —That Mexico is as firm as
the United States in the support of the
Monroe doctrine, having realized only
30 years ago the dangers attendant upon
an attempt to extend monarchical in
stitutions upon the western hemisphere.
Fifth. —That President Diaz is en
tirely deserving of the encomiums be
stowed upon him by his own people, by
resident Americans and by visitors. He
has a genius for public affairs, under
stands the condition and needs of his
people and has their confidence to a de
gree seldom enjoyed by an executive,
either hereditary or elective. While the
advantages of a stable government are
no\V so generally recognized that his
death or resignation would not disturb
the existing order of things, yet his
qualifications have been so amply proved
and bis administration so completely
successful that his people are unani
mous in the hope that he may yet enjoy
many years of official life.
Hidalgo, the warrior priest, who led
the movement which resulted in inde
pendence, is called the Mexican Wash
ington. Juarez, who successfully de
fended his country against Maximilian,
was the second great Mexican leader of
the nineteenth centuiv. President Diaz,
himself a brave general, by restoring
order, establishing the supremacy of the
civil law and perfecting the system of
public education has < anted for himself
and wi'.l enjoy in hMor" a place by
the side cf Hidalgo and Juarez.
•Sixth.—That the public men of Mex
ico are not in erior to our own in intel
ligence, education and general iniornia
tion. Senor Mari seal, secretary of for
eign affairs, adds to great ability long
experience as diplomat and is worthy
of com pan si with the premiers of the
leading nations of the world. Senor
Limuntaur, secretary of finance, is a
most accomplished gentleman and has
exhibited superior skill in the manage
ment of the fiscal affairs of the republic.
The gther cabinet officers, governors.
naan hers of the national and state con
grosses, mayors, etc., whom I met were,
without exception, men of refinement
and scholarly attainments.
Seventh. —That the English language
is being taught more and more exten
sively each year and is now understood
and spoken bv most of the public men
or by memo- is of ti. ir famili*. s. I was
informed that a majority of the mem
bers of the federal congress gonld un
derstand a spee< b delivered in our lan
guage. Ihe leading > hotels and slores
l.a\ o clerks who can speak English, so
that travel and traffic are made easy.
Advances In .fchluriitiona,! Aiftir*.
Eighth.—Mexico is making substan
tial progress in education The public
schools are free and attendance is com
pulsory. r lhe president and those asso
ciated with him in authority are put
ting forth every possible effort to im
•prove the system of instruction and to
bring all the children under the influ
ence of the schoolteacher. As an illus
tration, in the state of Mexico the num
ber of schools has increased more than
100 per cent within the last ten years,
and the number of pupils in attendance
shows an equal increase. The girls and
boys enter school upon an equal footing,
and the ambition of the pupil is stimu
lated by the offer of rewards for merit.
It was our good fortune to be invited
to witness the distribution of prizes
for the schools of the federal district.
Nothing impressed me more than the
scene here presented. President Diaz
delivered tin* awards to several hundred
boys aud girls. The Indian and the
Spaniard, the rich and the poor, all
mingle together in the public schools
and vie with each other for the prizes.
The state not only furnishes instruction
in the elementary branches, but pro
vides industrial training for both boys
and girls, normal schools for teachers
and professional schools for students of
law and medicine. President Diaz re
cently quoted a remark made by You
Moltke in praise of the Ge rman school
teacher and also pointed out the neces
sity for educated mothers. He recog
nizes, as did Jefferson, that popular edu
cation is vital iu a republic, and large
ly through his efforts Mexico sees a
yearly increase in the number of those
who are capable of intelligent partici
pation in government.
Ninth.—That the free coinage of sil
ver is entirely satisfactory to the people
of Mexico. They have had a chance to
test the system thoroughly and to com
pare it with the systems of the . United
States, England, France and Germany,
and I found no disposition either among
the officials or among the people to fa
vor the gold standard. The federal gov
ernment pays about $6,000,000 annual
ly on gold obligations, and while it is
compelled to collect over $12,000,000 in
silver to cover this interest account, it
has no difficulty in doing so, because of
the prosperous condition of the nation’s
industries. The government is not only
meeting its expenses, but has a surplus.
In Mexico the producers of wealth have
not encountered the disastrous fall in
prices which has afflicted all the gold
standard countries since 1873. While
exchange has fluctuated, the fluctua
tion has only affected foreign trade, and
that fluctuation, while of small impor
tance when compared with the great
advantage of maintaining the level of
prices, will entirely disappear when the
parity between gold and silver is re
stored.
I found quite a number of Mexicans
who went so far as to express the hope
that the United States would continue
the gold standard because of the advan
tage which Mexican manufacturers And
in a high rate of exchange, but the ma
jority of the people with whom I talked
desire the restoration of bimetallism in
the United states in order that stability
in exchange may be added to stability
in prices.
No Desire to Abandon Silver.
The United States has had the gold
standard for 23 years, and the system
has proved so unsatisfactory that at the
last election 6,500,000 voters expressed
a desire for independent bimetallism,
while 7,000.000 cast their votes for
candidates pledged to international bi
metallism. The gold standard has been
so disastrous that even a Republican ad
ministration is asking foreign nations
to help us to get rid of it. The people
of Mexico could adopt the gold standard
if they desired to do so, and yet no con
siderable number ol them wish to aban
don silver.
Tenth.—That Mexico is more pros
perous today than ever before. Her in
dustries are increasing in number and
importance. Near Orizaba is a cotton
mill of irnrn "se proportions. The com
pany operates 18,000 looms and 70,000
spindles. The plant has earned more
than 16 per cent a year on the capital
stock .during the last five yrs, has
been enl ' ged at the rate of more than
10 per emt per annum during that
time, a. ; the company is preparing i
a Id 500 looms and 12,000 spindles t.
year. At San Luis Potosi I found a cot
ton factory owned by an American.
The proprietor told me that he bad
been enlarging his plant and found the
business profitable. I went through a
new cotton factory at Mcnterey and
TAG JACKSON ARGUS.
learned of a large mill now under con
struction at Guadalajara. There are a
number of cotton mills also in the
neighborhood of Pueblo.
The manufacture of woolen goods,
the manufacture of hats, the manufac
ture of hoots and shoes and the brewing
of beer are all growing industries. The
silk industry is in its infancy, but a
Frenchman bus planted over BfoCo,ofio8 f oCo,ofio
mulbt rry rre. s in the state of Guana
juato v irhin the la-t few yeiy.es and is
much encouraged ov. r the success thus
which he had recently opened in the
suburbs of the City of Mexico.
The premium on gold has acted as a
wall to keep out foreign competition
and at the same time lias given a sub
stantial bounty upon exports. While I
was in Mexico the gold premium varied
from f 1.05 to $1.15, and I shall there
fore take sl.lO as an average. In 1873
the Mexican dollar commanded a pre
mium of about 3 cents over our gold
dollar. At that time a yard of cloth
worth a dollar in the United States or
Europe, when imported by Mexico,
would be worth about 97 cents in Mex
ican money plus transportation and
tariff. Now, with gold at a premium
of sl.lO, a yard of cloth worth a dollar
in the United States or worth
$2 10 in Mexican money plus trans
portation and tariff. Where the gold
price has fallen one-half the Mexican
price is about the same that it was in
1873.
On the other hand, those who export
from Mexico have a great advantage
over competitors living in gold standard
countries. For instance, a coffee raiser
in Mexico because of the rise in ex
change has fared much better than the
planter who has cultivated coffee on a
gold basis and who bad found his in
come diminishing while his debts and
fixed charges refused to fall. One of the
gold men of my own state has laid aside
his political scruples sufficiently to in
vest in a large tract of land near Tam
pico, upon which he is planting the
coffee berry. He is not the only Ameri
can citizen who is seeking in Mexico
the prosperity for which he voted in the
United States.
Large Importations of Raw Materials.
The cotton mills of Mexico now con
sume more cotton than Mexico pro
duces, but the acreage is increasing. If,
as some expect, they find it possible to
produce upon Mexican soil all the cot
ton needed by their mills, the Mexicans
will become dangerous competitors of
the gold standard countries. At present
they are handicapped by having to im
port so large a proportion of their raw
material. In reply to the argument that
is sometimes made—namely, that we
can protect our manufacturers by still
higher duties—l contend that we can
only do so by increasing the disadvan
tage under which American farmers
now labor. The lot of our farmer is
hard enough when the price of what he
buys falls in the same proportion as the
price of his own product, bi cause even
then his taxes, debts and other fixed
charges do not fall. If, however, we
maintain the price of manufactured
goods by a high tariff, the burdens of
the farmer will be so increased as tc
make his ultimate bankruptcy certain.
I might mention in this connection
that I found many of our protected
manufacturers selling their wares in
Mexico in competition with their Euro
pean rivals. At one store I found lamps
and lamp chimneys made in Missouri,
hammers and shovels made in Philadel
phia, cutlery made in Massachusetts,
also Yale locks; Disston saws, and hinges
made in the United States. California
wines and canned fruits and Chicago
canned meats find a market in Mexico.
At Guanajuato is a theater, recently
completed, the structural iron of which
came from the United States. At sever
al places I saw electrical apparatus of
American construction. In many in
stances an additional discount is given
by American manufacturers upon ex
ported goods.
Eleventh.—That wages are not only
higher on an average than ever before,
but still rising. Progress or retrogres
sion can be determined only by compar
ing the present with the past. The con
dition of the laboring classes in Mexico
can be improved, but it is a fact that
they are in better condition than they
were in 1873. when the Mexicau dollar
was worth more than our gold dollar,
and I believe that their condition is
much better today than it would have
been if Mexico bad adopted the gold
standard when the United States did.
It is not fair to compare the wages in
one country with the wages in anot' r
country without first making allcwai a
for differences in efficiency, differei
in climatic conditions, in
habits, etc.
Difierences That Cannot. Be Ignored.
Even w ithin the boundaries of our
own country there are differences too
great to be ignored. During President
Harrison’s administration Secretary
Rusk i..-ced a document entitled
“Wages of Far?u Labor Iu the United
States” (Report No. 4, year 189a). Pag-’
16 of this rep. n t -oi .ains a table show
ing that in 1892 the average wages for
farm labor (without board) was $12.50
per month in South Carolina, $13.30 in
Korth Carolina, 813.50 in Georgia and
$13.75 in Alabama, while in California
the wages paid were $36.50 and in the
state of Washington $37.50, the average
for all the states for that year being
$18.60, For farm labor with board the
wages varied from $8.40 to $25 and
averaged $12.54.
The report cays that white farm labor
in the united States received $282 per
annum; that the same labor received
about $l5O in Great Lritain and S9O in
Germany. I refer to this rej ort because
it was is<utri by 1 publi an authority
and silos\ s that untier the upta ition of
the same financial system and the same
tariff system farm labor received tim e
times as much in one part cl the ul on
as it did in another part When it is
rtmeml turd that* the wages paid in
each state were ascertained by averages,
it will be seen that the differ uce be
tween the best paid labor and the poor
est paid labor is still greater. The re
port also shows that in the United
States Caucasian farm labor receives
more than three times as much as the
same labor receives in Germany, al
though both countries have a gold stand
ard and a protective tariff. Between
1816 and 1834 England had a gold
standard and the United States had a
double standard, with silver as the
mom yin common use, and yet laboring
men were better off here than in Eng
land. Turkey is one of the gold stand
ard nations, and Japan, until recently,
coined silver at a ratio almost identical
with ours, and yet the progress of Japan
was so great that Mr. Cleveland com
mented upon it in a message during his
second term. The gold standard advo
cate who would consider it unfair to
compare Japan and Turkey does not
hesitate to blame silver for the low
wages of the peons of Mexico.
lii all the leading cities of Mexico
can be found people from the United
States, England, Germany and France
—all drawn from gold standard coun
tries by the advantages offered in Mexi
co. Few have gone from the United
States to Canada, where they have the
gold standard and speak the English
language, but in Mexico, where an
American citizen is compelled to learn
an entirely new language, there are al
ready several American colonies, and
the number is constantly increasing.
Some are in business for themselves,
some working for wages, and they stay
there, although they are at liberty to
return whenever they see an opportuni
ty to better their condition in the United
States,
Twelfth.—Real estate is rising in
Mexico. Public and private improve
ments are in progress. Guadalajara, one
of the largest cities of the republic and
surpassed by none in beauty, has re
cently decided to put in a complete sys
tem of sewerage and waterworks. The
work of constructing the sewers was
let to a New Jersey contractor last
mouth. Monterey has recently laid con
siderable brick pavement, and the capi
tal has nearly completed a sewerage
tunnel through a mountain range.
Electricity is taking the place of the
old time street lantern, the shoe is
gradually supplanting the sandal, and
the coat is winning against the serape.
It would be unfair to give to Mexico’s
financial policy credit for all the prog
ress which the country has made in the
last 25 years. Her government and her
government officials have contributed
much to her development by giving se
curity to life, protection to property
and stimulus to education. If the advo
cates of the gold standard insist that
her financial system has been a hin
drance and that she has gone forward
not because of it, but iu spite of it. I re
ply that my observation as well as my
reason leads me to believe that the use
of silver has been of material advantage
to Mexico, and I am more than ever
convinced that the best interests of our
own people demand the immediate res
toration of the free and unlimited coin
age of gold and silver at the present
legal ratio cf 16 to 1 without waiting
for the aid or concert of any other na
tion.
Mexico is not strong enough to main
tain the parity between the metals, but
the people of the United States are.
Mexico has by the use of silver avoided
the fall in prices, but has suffered to a
certain extent from the fluctuations in
exchange. By opening our mints to the
free coinage of silver we, too, shall es
cape from falling prices, and by main
taining the parity we shall in addition
avoid fluctuation in exchange.
W. J. Bryan.
Mr. Ward JL. Smith, of Frederic ks
town. Mo., was troubled with chronic
diarrhoea for thirty years. He has be
come fully satisfied that if was only a
question of a short time until be would
have to aive up. He has been treated
b\ some of the best pbvsiciaus iu Eu
rope and America but <r -r, u > permanent
relit f. One day he picked up a news
paper and chanced t read a" adver
tisement of Chamberla Colic, Chol
era nod Diarrhoea Remedy, He. cot a
boi tie of it, the first. dose helped him
and its continued us-j cured him. For
sale by all druggists.
cures Dyspep-
I Idlllvl v sia, Constipation and Indi
gestion. Regulates the Liver. Price, 25 cts.
For Administration.
G RORG lA—Butts County.
I o all whom it may concern:
Wm. Sanders having in pr.q,er form applied
to me for permanent letters of administration
on the estate of Tlios. R. Bailey, late of said
county, this is to cite all and Singular the
preditors and next of kin of Thus. R. Bailey to
be and appear at my office within the time* al
lowed by law, and show cause if any they can,
why permanent administration should not be
granted to Wm. Sanders on Tims. R. Bailey's
estate Witness my hand and official signature,
this 10th day of January, lays.
JAS f. Carmichael. Ordinary.
Letters of Dismission.
GEORGIA —Hi tts County.
To all whom it may concern :
Mrs. K. F. I*. and. administratrix of the es
tate of F. E l’cvnd. deceased, up; .- me for
letters of dismission from saidadii.Uost uion,
abd i will puss up n the , iuu . e< in
• pieuson. Butis county. Ga.,ou rii first Mon
d-”-."' ill Marco, ieus. < riven unOermy hand and
oincia. signature. Tins the day ~} ! veem
lu r, 1,-v. i7.
J F. C V R Ml* 1! \FL. Ord nary.
Flection Notice.
S r l ATEOFGE t) RG 1 A—Bn tts von n ty.
Wh rens. it. has been made known to me that
one-tenth of the voters who are entitled to
vote for tuembers of the Geneial Assembly
have petitioned for an election to determine
whether or not such spirituous liquors as are
mentioned Section 1548, Code of Georgia. lsp-y,
vol. 1. shall be sold within the limits of Butts
county.
1. the undersigned, ordinary in and for said
county, do hereby give notice for an election
to taae place in the same manner and at the
same places as elections for mem iters of the
General Ass'*mbl\, and by same electors, on
Thursday, the 3rd day of March. 1898. provided
said electors have actually resided within the
territorial limits to be affected thereby at least
six months next preceding the date of elec
tion.
All persons voting at said election, who are
against the sale of such intoxicating liquors
as are mentioned in section 154,5, Code of ba.,
INUS, vol. I.shall have written or printed on
their tickets •-Against the Sale,” and those who
favor the sale of the articles tnemioued in said
section 1548, shall have written or printed on
their ballots, *• For the sale,” and that this no
tice be printed once a week for four weeks in
The Jackson Argus, that being the official
organ of the sheriff of this county.
Given unier my official signature, this 18th
day of January, 1898.
JAS. F. C ARMICHAEL. Oruinary.
GEORGIA—Butts County.
To all whom it may concern:
The appraisers appointed to set apart the
twelve months allowance of Mrs T. L. Wil
liams and her four minor children, and
returned the same to the ordinary. This is to
citeall aaid singular, the creditors and next
of lan of T. L. Williams to he and appear at my
office within the time allowed by law, and
show cause, if any they can. why such allow
ance snould not be confirmed. This the 13, day
Dec., 1897.
JAS. F. CARMICHAEL,
Ordinary,
HIDES
Bought and Sold by
W. E. HARP,
POSTMASTER,
Jackson, - Georgia.
Before Selling Your
EEX3DES I
A REASON
For so any Failures in
Tie Treatient of Cataril
There is a fixed law in Therapeution,
that paliatives never tftVct structures,
but pathological functfi ns; treatments
offered in lhe form of Smokes, Vanors
and Atomizers, etc., are but paliative
and • ft-c f only functions, as evidenced
by the relief of suffering, only for ill©
time being.
I ° affect a permanent cure, Hie mucus
membrane must be cleaied of all mor
bid matter of whatever mature, as this
is the fust step in the restoration of an
eli fee ted area, this to be followed with
direct local applications, the structural
changes that are always present in
Chronic Catarrh must be brojght to a
normal Condition by Constitutional
Treat merit.
I win be pleased to 1 ave any one that
is suffering with Catarrh call at my
office and consult witli me, or correspond
with me upon the subject.
Upon tlie recommendation of any min
ister of the Gospel I will place upon
treatmeu' at half price any person not
able to pay full charges.
DR. S. T. WHITAKER, Special, st.
205 NORCROSS BUILDING,
A TLA XT/ .
THE DELINEATOR
IS THE
Woman’s Favorite Hagazine,
And is issued by the Famous Fashion
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lishing Cos. (Limit and), at 7 to 17
West Thirteenth St., New. Yoik, at
the remark aby low rate of SI.OO
for a year’s subscription, or 15
cent a copy.
Cl family magazines it is the great
caterer to domestic needs, and can
be recommended for its cheapness,
usefulness, beauty, freshness and
utility.
TEA cures Dyspep-
P Iflsilvl v sia, Constipation and Indi
gestion. Regulates the Liver. Price, 25 eta.
3