Private issues (El Triunfo and Santiago)

Santiago

Ignacio Verdugo

Francisco G. Cota

Ramón Moyrón

Han Ley y Compañía

Juan B. Cota

Juan and Carlos Ojeda

Felipe J. Estrada

Antonio Orantes

Julio Mendoza

Juan Bancalari

Placido Cota

Sixto M. Aramburu

Antonio María Cota

San Juanes Reduction Co.

Carlos (Charles) Benton

We have reports of vales issued by various businesses in El Triunfo but only one example is recorded. Three issues were printed by the government printing office and so would have been relatively professional, but the others might have been just a common design, even Jefatura Política vales.

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}. El Triunfo replied with a request for $460 for fourteen different businesses (Sixto M Aramburo $100, Felix González $100, Carlos Arámburo $50, Felipe J Estrada $20, Juan Bancalari $25, Han Ley y Ca $50, Ramón Moyrón $30, Antonio R. Amador $10, Octavíano Holasco $20, Tranquilina de Mendoza $10, Juan Ojeda $50, Juan B. Cota $10, Ygnacio Verdugo $50 and Placido Cota $25). The Presidente Municipal himself, Francisco G Cota, already had enough money^ibid..

On 14 April La Paz told the Subprefecto Político, Francisco Ramos, that if decree núm 7 had been complied with, paper currency would not be in the public’s hands. It should insist that employers paid workers with currency in general circulation, and that merchants did not give local vales as change but kept them to exchange for bonos of the Jefatura Política. Businesses could make provisional handwritten vales of five, ten and twenty centavos for change, subject to printing and validating them properly. In this way it should stop the circulation of local vales^ibid.. On the same day in another telegram Ortega confirmed his earlier message and ordered the Subprefecto Político to let his office know the number of local vales in the hands of the poor. The next day he would send bonos for businesses to exchange for vales of the Jefatura^ibid..

On 20 April four merchants had asked for bonos, with deposits in the Subprefectura. These were Carlos Mendosa de San Antonio $200, Magdalena Aguilar $15, Octaviano Holasco $80 and Antonio Maria Cota $75^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 647 2.2, exp. 38}. The next day four more merchants made request (Adela de Orantes $15, Antonio Romero $105, Félix Ojéda $125, and Manuel Gutiérrez $40)^ibid.. On 23 April La Paz sent the $1,355.00 in bonos to cover these eight requests and $700 for discretionary exchange^ibid..

On 23 April the Subprefecto Político, F. Ramos, reported that twelve merchants had asked for authorisation to issue a total of $385 in vales of 5c, 10c and 20c^ibid.. If all these requests were granted we can expect that the following vales were issued, probably simple affairs with the seals of the issuer and the authorising local authority.

Ignacio Verdugo was a regidor of San Antonio on several occasions from 1893 onwards.

Francisco G. Cota was appointed subprefecto político in San Antonio in July 1914^{ABCS, Guerra, vol. 624, exp. 209, telegram subprefecto político, San Antonio, to jefe político, La Paz, 29 July 1914}.

Ramón Moyrón was a member of the town council of San Antonio on several occasions from 1894 onwards.

Juan Ojeda Melsson was the tesorero municipal of Todos Santos in June 1915^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 telegram J. O. Melsson, Todos Santos, to Presidente, Junta Neutral, 14 June 1915}.

On 12 April 1915 Orantes was reported to the subprefecto político for refusing to accept local currency in payment for the meat he was selling. Orantes denied this and said he had already sold the meat to Sixto M. Arámburu and so had none available for sale^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 641, exp. 132}.

Placido Cota was a general merchant (comerciante) in San Antonio.

Sixto M. Aramburu asked for $40 for use in his butcher shop (carniceria).

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 $200 for Sixto M. Aramburu.

The catalogues list but do not illustrate a 5c vale from Sixto M. Aramburu dated June 1915^{[image needed]}.

	from	to	total number	total value
Sixto M. Aramburu
Sixto M. Aramburu				$250.00

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

The Sanjuanes (or San Juanes) reduction mill was located in San Antonio. On 8 May the government printers sent the Jefatura Política $500 in notes issued by the Sanjudines (sic) Reduction Co., in accordance with the 31 March agreement^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150}. These comprised

		from	to	total number	total value
San Juanes Reduction Co.	5c			1,000	$ 50.00
	10c			1,500	150.00
	20c			1,000	200.00
	50c			200	100.00
					$500.00

The plant was probably closed by this time^{It was certainly not operating in August 1914 (ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 623 bis, exp. 91 Informe del inspector de gobierno sobre la situación de las minas incautadas de San Antonio y El Triunfo, August 1914)}, so the notes were for local commerce or paying a residual staff rather than general wages.

On 20 May the government printing office (Imprenta del Gobierno) confirmed it had printed $500^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 642, exp. 150 letter F M González, Director to Secretario of Jefatura Política, 20 May 1915}.

The mine had reopened by May 1916 since the miners then went on strike, sending a note to the jefe politico in which they demanded that the company respond to their request to be paid, every fortnight, in silver or its equivalence in banknotes (billetes de banco). The authorities replied on 29 May that the management had agreed to fortnightly payments but was unable to afford an increase in wages^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 661, exp. 114}.

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}.

On 22 January 1916 the Presidente Municipal of Triunfo, F. G. Cota, reported that Sixto M Arámburo and Carlos (Charles) Benton had asked for authorisation to print vales, the first for $500 and the second for $1,000. They would be backed by bank notes^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 658 2/2, exp.190}. He was told he could authorise each to issue $250, fully guaranteed, of merely local circulation, and valid for 90 days^ibid.. Charles Benton then telegraphed Angulo that $250 was not enough and asked if they could validate the $1,000 that he had had printed^ibid..He was asked to send an example of his vales to the Comandancia Militar, and to provide the Tesorería Municipal with $1,000 in banknotes^ibid..

	from	to	total number	total value
Carlos Benton
Carlos Benton				$1,000.00

total
number

total
value

Ignacio Verdugo

Santiago is 135 kilometres southeast of La Paz, on the road to San José del Cabo.

On 8 April 1915 Alfonso J. Cota of Santiago reported that he was going to issue $40 in vales and Ortega replied that he had already arranged to send printed vales^{ABCS, Gobernación, vol. 648, exp. 106}.

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^ibid..