Private issues (Todos Santos and El Pescadero)

Todos Santos

Todos Santos is a town 80 kilometres south of La Paz, on the Pacific coast. The town was the centre of sugarcane production until the aquifer ran out in the 1950s and several leading businessmen, including Jesús Amador, Antonio R. Cota, Merced Salgado, Rosario Salgado, and Antonio María Cota, are listed as owning plantations.

On 17 February 1915 Valente Salgado, the interim Presidente Municipal of Todos Santos, wrote to La Paz that businesses wanted to issue vales for 5c and 10c, guaranteed by funds deposited in the Tesorería. The same day Félix Ortega replied that they would soon send the vales, on the understanding that they should be backed up by a deposit in the Tesorería^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}.

On 10 April Ortega asked the Presidentes Municipales of Todos Santos, Santiago, San José del Cabo and  El Triunfo what quantities of vales for 5c, 10, 20c and 50c each businessman needed^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 648, exp. 106}. Todos Santos replied that they needed $820 in total (Antonio María Cota $200, Román Salgado $100, Jesús Amador $200, Antonio R Cota $100, Valente Salgado $70, Merced Salgado $50, Balbino Pérez $50 and Ramón Wong $50)^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 648, exp. 106}. It is likely that they were sent Jefatura Política vales but they were not in use for very long.

On 28 April the Presidente Municipal of Todos Santos, Enrique R. Cota, reported that  all the previous Jefatura Política vales had been collected  by businesses to exchange for bonos and that purely local vales, with the stamps of the merchant and of the ayuntamiento were being used. The quantities issued by six different businessses were as follows^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}:

José G. Villarino  

José. G. Villarino was a farmer and rancher. He was a member of the town council on various occasions from 1890 onwards. By 1913 he had a business, the casa Herederos Villarino.

This was not complete, as we know of a 5c note, 

Antonio Maria Cota

Antonio María Cota was the second biggest landowner in Todos Santos. He was the presidente municipal in 1904-1905.

Ramón Fuong

Julio S. Salgado 

Jesús Amador

Jesús Amador was a farmer and rancher. He was a member of the town council on occasions from 1901 onwards.

Félix G. Rochín

on 21 January 1916 the Presidente Municipal, V. Rochín, reported that Felix G. Rochín had asked him to authorize $150 in vales of 20c and 50c, with his office’s seal ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}. He was told he could allow them, as long as they were guaranteed ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}.

On 2 May La Paz sent Todos Santos $400 in vales that it had printed for various merchants^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}. On 7 May the Presidente Municipal was told that, as some of these same merchants have already made definitive issues of fractional paper money and enough time had elapsed for it to be provided by all those who need it, the original provisional vales should be withdrawn^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}. On 14 May the Presidente Municipal, Enrique R Cota, replied that they had been distributed to the various parties^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}. On 20 May the government printing office (Imprenta del Gobierno) sent details of the vales it had printed^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 letter F M González, Director to Secretario of Jefatura Política, 20 May 1915}. They included the following six businesses.

Jesús Amador

Jesús Amador had already issued $25 in provisional vales: now he received $200 from La Paz.

Antonio R. Cota

Antonio R. Cota was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1897 onwards.

Román Salgado

Valente Salgado

Valente Salgado was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1901 onwards and was the interim Presidente Municipal at this time. He  owned the El Sauz hacienda.

Merced Salgado

Merced Salgado was one of the principal producers of sugar cane and panela (piloncillo) in the region. He was a member of the town council on several occasions from 1890 onwards.

Balbino Pérez

Balbino Pérez was a general merchant (comerciante) and rancher, owning the Los Naranjos hacienda. He was on the town council in 1906.

J. Ramón Wong

J. Ramón Wong arrived in 1910 from Canton, married a local girl and established La Central, the first grocery store in the town, on the corner of Centenario and Topete.

On 21 January 1916 Wong wrote to Angulo from Todos Santos that he had had printed 100 pesos in fractional currency, banco(?), and asked if he could put them into circulation. He would guarantee their value ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}. Angulo told him to ask the local Presidente Municipal to make a decision ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}. So, probably

The same day the Presidente Municipal, V. Rochín, reported that Felix G. Rochín and Enrique M. Estrada had asked him to authorize $150 in vales of 20c and 50c, with his office’s seal ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}. He was told he could allow them, as long as they were guaranteed ^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}.

Enrique M. Estrada

On 2 July when it was agreed that four casas comerciales in La Paz could make a further issue of vales the news was circulated to the Presidente Municipales of San José del Cabo, Todos Santos and El Triunfo, who were asked to find out if local businesses wanted to do the same^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}.

El Pescadero

El Pescadero is 13 kilometres south of Todos Santos.

On 20 May the government printing office (Imprenta del Gobierno) sent details of the vales it had printed^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 letter F M González, Director to Secretario of Jefatura Política, 20 May 1915}, including $500 for Rosario Salgado of El Pescadero.

Rosario Salgado