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Title: Salvador of the Twentieth Century
Author: Martin, Percy F.
Language: English
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SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
WORKS BY
PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S.
MEXICO OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and more than 100 Illustrations. 2 Vols.
Demy 8vo. 30s. net.
"Will take its place as a standard work of reference on the
country."--_Truth._
PERU OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and 43 Illustration. I Vol. 15s. net.
SALVADOR OF
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
With Map, and 48 Illustrations. 1 Vol. 15s. net.
LONDON : EDWARD ARNOLD
[Illustration: "THE COLOURS."
THE SALVADOREAN FLAG, SUPPORTED BY CADETS OF THE SCHOOL FOR
CORPORALS AND SERGEANTS.]
SALVADOR
OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY
BY
PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S.
AUTHOR OF
"THROUGH FIVE REPUBLICS OF SOUTH AMERICA," "MEXICO OF THE TWENTIETH
CENTURY," "PERU OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY," ETC.
NEW YORK
LONGMANS, GREEN & CO.
LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD
1911
[_All rights reserved_]
PREFACE
"And so I penned
It down, until at last it came to be,
For length and breadth, the bigness which you see."
BUNYAN: _Apology for his Book_.
While it is quite reasonable to hope for a consistent improvement
among the Central American nations, and as easy to discern the
extent of amelioration which has already occurred, it is necessary
to bear in mind some of the causes which have hitherto conduced to
the turbulence and the tragedies which have characterized government
by some of these smaller Latin Republics.
Many writers, who can know but little of the Spanish race, have
attributed the early failures of the States which broke away from
the Motherland, not only to lack of stability, but to a radical
psychological defect in the national character. This is a decided
mistake, for the Spanish people, both in their individual and in
their collective character, are fully as capable of exercising the
rights, and of enjoying rationally the benefits, of self-government
as any other nation of the world. The patriots and heroes who
distinguished themselves in the early days of these young Republics,
while themselves descendants of the Spaniards, generally speaking,
and having only in a few cases Indian blood in their veins, had to
combat against all the ambition and avarice, all the pride and
prejudices, of the Church-ridden land which had set its grip upon
New Spain, and meant, if possible, to keep it there. But it was
not possible, and in a few decades was witnessed their complete
expulsion as rulers from the countries which had been won by the
flower of Spain's soldiery, and lost by the exercise of Spain's
oppression and greed.
While the early history of the Latin-American Republics contains
much to distress, and even to depress, the reader, it is impossible
to avoid paying a tribute to the band of gallant men who fought so
desperately in the cause of freedom, and eventually won it. It is
not just to say, as so many historians have said, that the highest
incentives of these men to action were the favours of artificial
and hereditary greatness, with the accumulation, by whatsoever
means, of that wealth by which such favours might be purchased.
Undoubtedly some mercenary motives were at work, as they usually
are in political upheavals of this nature. Does anyone imagine, for
instance, during the disturbances which occurred in Mexico early
in the present year, and which were personally assisted by United
States citizens, that low mercenary motives were lacking? Does
anyone imagine that the numerous North American filibusters who
took part in the fighting, first on the Texas borders, and then in
Mexico itself, had any idea of assisting a persecuted people to free
themselves from the yoke of a tyrant? Or was it not the glamour of
golden lucre to be paid to them, and the promise of the much-coveted
land across the Rio Grande del Norte, that impelled these young
Yankees to throw in their lot with the rebels, trusting to their
own complacent Government at Washington to see them through--as it
actually did--any trouble which might happen to them if they proved
to be upon the losing side?
It would perhaps be equally correct to describe the early Spanish
conquerors as greedy adventurers, since they never had any ideas
of benefiting the countries or the people whom they afflicted so
sorely. It is true that they encountered fearful dangers, displayed
unheard-of bravery, overturned empires, and traversed with bloody
steps an entire continent; but it was to aggrandize the Crown of
Spain and to fill their own empty pockets with golden spoil, which,
once secured, witnessed the fulfilment of their ambitions.
It was, moreover, from this veritable horde of greedy tyrants that
in later days the peoples of these nations sought to obtain, and
finally did obtain, their freedom; their experiences of the Spanish
Viceroys, with their courts more brilliant and more corrupt than
that at Madrid itself; the persecutions of the Church, which has
left a record in Latin-America more bloody and more barbarous than
even in Europe; the deafness shown by the Spanish Crown whenever an
appeal for consideration or clemency was addressed to it--all these
things conduced to that upheaval which has taken over one hundred
years to consummate and fructify.
It was, then, against all this that the people of Central America
were called upon to fight. Can anyone be surprised at the
demoralization which occurred in their own ranks when their efforts
to secure their freedom from Spain were once crowned with success?
History shows many other such instances; indeed, bad as is the
record of the earliest days of Latin-American self-government, it
by no means stands without parallel. The objects--beyond a desire
to be free from the brutal tyranny of the Spanish Viceroys--of the
Latin-American revolutionists were never very clearly defined or
well understood. Neither was any preconceived or organized plan ever
made or carried out in connection with the French Revolution.
Some historians are of opinion that the revolutionists of Central
America originally contemplated the establishment of an independent
Kingdom or Monarchy which should comprise the ancient Vice-Royalty,
or, as it was called, the "Kingdom of Guatemala." But there is
little evidence that any such notion was generally popular. Among
the body of office-seekers and hangers-on of royal Courts it may,
of course, have been regarded with favour. But the Provisional
Junta, which was convoked immediately after the separation from
Spain, showed a great majority of Liberals, who, in spite of the
pressure brought to bear upon them, and the personal danger in which
they stood, proceeded boldly to administer the oath of absolute
independence, and to convoke an assembly of patriots which should
organize the country on the basis of Republican institutions. The
effort which was made later on through French machinations to
establish a monarchy in Mexico failed dismally, as had the previous
efforts put forward by the Mexicans themselves, when Iturbide was
made--or, to be more correct, made himself--Emperor for a very brief
period.
The people of Central America were but few in number, and were
widely distributed over the face of the country. It took several
weeks to get into communication with some of the outlying districts,
and the diffusion of the newly-created voters prevented them from
becoming in any way a united people, or even cognizant of what was
being done in their name. In fact, while anxiously awaiting the
intelligence that their Junta was about to issue the long-looked-for
Republican Charter, the people of Salvador received the startling
and disastrous news that their country was to be incorporated
into the Mexican Empire. They had been basely betrayed, and it is
small wonder that they stood aghast at the colossal nature of that
betrayal.
Terrible indeed was the position for the newly-arisen Republic
of Salvador. The men whom they had sent to attend the Junta
at Guatemala City were met and overawed by armed bands; their
deliberations were forcibly interrupted and suspended; some of them,
such as Bedoya, Maida, and others, were ruthlessly assassinated,
while their own leader and President of the Provisional Junta, one
Gainza, turned traitor and went over to the enemy under promise of a
high post in the new royal Government.
Salvador was the nearest province to Guatemala, and the centre of
Liberalism. It was not long before the patriots of this country
took up arms in the defence of their newly-acquired freedom, and
when they did theirs was practically the first battle which was
fought upon Central American territory by Central Americans among
themselves. Unfortunately, it was by no means the last; and history
bristles with instances of terrible internecine warfare--of father
arrayed against son, brother against brother, and of whole families,
once united in bonds of love, wrenched asunder, never again to be
reconciled this side of the grave. For years following, the soil
of this beautiful land was drenched with human blood, its energies
crippled, its resources abandoned. Are we justified in supposing
that the end has come? I verily believe that, if it has not
actually arrived, it is at least in sight.
It must be remembered that the people of Central America are no
longer an uneducated and unduly excitable race, except, perhaps,
where their personal honour and independence are concerned; they
possess an exceedingly clear and precise knowledge of their
prospective or immediate requirements; they have as enlightened
leaders among them as ever their powerful Northern neighbour
possessed or possesses: all that they ask, and all that they should
be granted, is the freedom to manage their own affairs in their
own way and in their own time. A well-known writer upon Central
America, who visited these countries some five-and-fifty years
ago, declared: "Even as it was no one, whatever his prejudices,
could fail to perceive the advance in the manners and customs, and
the change in the spirit, of the people of Central America during
the ten years of freedom which the Constitution secured." If that
was true then, it is doubly, trebly true to-day, when education
and foreign travel have served to open the minds and broaden the
tolerance of these people, who may reasonably be permitted, and even
earnestly encouraged, to work out their own salvation. By free and
unrestricted intercourse with the nations of the world this can best
be effected, and day by day is proving the truth of the saying of
Dr. Johnson: "The use of travelling is to regulate imagination by
reality, and, instead of thinking how things _may_ be, see them as
they _are_."
_October_, 1911.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAGES
Discovery of Salvador--Scenery--Volcanoes--Separation of
Salvador from Spanish dominion--Central American
Confederation--Attempts to reconstruct it--General
Barríos--Lake Ilopango--Earthquake results--Remarkable
phenomena--Public roads--Improvement under Figueroan
Government 1-12
CHAPTER II
Government--Executive power--Chamber of Congress--The
Cabinet--Justice--The courts--Prisons and prisoners--
Employment and treatment--Police force--How distributed--
Education--Colleges and schools--State-aided education--
Teaching staffs--Primary education--Posts and telegraphs--
Improved interstate parcels post 13-35
CHAPTER III
Biographical--The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo--The
ex-President, General Figueroa--The Cabinet--Dr. don
Francesco Dueñas, Minister for Foreign Affairs--Dr. don
Teodosio Corranza, Home Affairs--Dr. Gustavo Baron, Public
Instruction--Ingeniero Peralta Lagos--Dr. Castro V.--Don
Eusebio Bracamonte--Don Miguel Dueñas--Department of
Agriculture--Señor Carlos Garcia Prieto, Finance and
Public Credit 36-48
CHAPTER IV
Government finances--London Market appreciation of Salvador
bonds--History of foreign debt--Salvador Railway
security--Central American Public Works Company--Changing
the guarantee--Financial conditions to-day--Public debt at
end of 1909--Budget for 1910-11--Small deficit may be
converted into surplus--Summary 49-60
CHAPTER V
Salvador _versus_ Honduras and Nicaragua--Attitude of the
President--Proclamation to the people--Generals Rivas and
Alfaro--Invasion of Salvador--Ignominious retreat of
enemy--Conciliatory conduct of General Figueroa--Character
of Salvadorean people--Treachery of Zelaya 61-73
CHAPTER VI
Outbreak of hostilities between Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Guatemala--Discreditable conduct of
Nicaragua proved--Failure of United States and Mexican
intervention--Dignified and loyal attitude of General
Figueroa--Warning to Honduras--President Davila used as
Zelaya's cat's-paw--The former's subsequent regret--Central
American Court of Justice trial of claim for damages and
result of judgment 74-85
CHAPTER VII
The Army--Division of forces--Active reserve--Auxiliary--
Republic's fighting strength--Military education--Strict
training--Excellent discipline--Schools and polytechnics--
Manual exercise--Workshops and output--Economies in
equipments--Garrison services--Barracks--Destruction of
Zapote Barracks--New constructions at Capital, Santa Ana,
Santa Tecla, Sitio-del-Niño, Ahuachapán, Cojutepeque, San
Miguel--Annual expenditure 86-95
CHAPTER VIII
British Minister to Salvador--Lionel Edward Gresley
Carden--British Legation hospitality--Mrs. Carden--
Government indifference to valuable services--British
Vice-Consul--No report for twenty years--Foreign Office
neglect--United States Minister--Valuable trade information
from American Legation--Salvadorean relations with
Washington 96-109
CHAPTER IX
United States information for traders--Improved Consular
services--United States and Salvador Government--Bureau
of Pan-American Republics--Mr. Mark J. Kelly--Exceptional
services--The American Minister, Major W. and Mrs.
Heimké--Salvadorean Minister to U.S.A., Señor Federico
Mejía--Central American Peace Conference and the United
States 110-119
CHAPTER X
Latin-American trade and British diplomacy--Serious handicap
inflicted by the British Government--Sacrificing British
interests--Why British trade has been lost to Salvador--
United States trade with Salvador--German competition--
Teutonic characteristics--Britain's free trade
principles--Severe American rivalry--United States Steel
Company's methods 120-136
CHAPTER XI
British trade declines--Suggested remedy--Distributing
centres--Trading companies and branches--Unattractive
cheap goods--Former hold on Salvadorean markets--
Comparative statistics between Great Britain, Germany,
and the United States--Woollen and cotton goods--Absence
of British bottoms from Salvadorean ports--Markets open
to British manufacturers--Agricultural implements 137-149
CHAPTER XII
British fire apparatus--Story of a British installation--
Coffee and sugar machinery--Cane-mills--Fawcett, Preston
and Co.'s installations--High reputation enjoyed by British
firms--United States coffee equipment--German competition--
Methods of German commercial travellers--Openings for
British trade--Effect of Panama Canal--Libel upon Salvador
manufacturers--Salvador Chamber of Commerce 150-165
CHAPTER XIII
Systems of business--Long credits--British and United States
methods _versus_ German--Making "good" stock losses--
Question of exchange--Effect upon business--Drafts and
speculators--Customary terms of payment--Central American
banks as agents--Prominent Salvadorean banks--The Press of
the Republic--Prominent newspapers--Some of their
contributors--Central American Press Conference 166-180
CHAPTER XIV
Mining--Ancient workings--Precious metals found--Copper
deposits--Iron ores--Treatment of ores in England--
Difficulties of transport--Some deceased authorities--
Mines in operation--Butters' Salvador mines--History of
undertaking--Large profits earned--Directorial policy--
Machinery and equipment--Butters' Divisadero Mines--
Butters' cyaniding plant 181-195
CHAPTER XV
Transportation--Salvador Railway Company--Early
construction--Gauge--Bridges--Locomotives--Rolling-
stock--_Personnel_ of railway--Steamship service--
Extensions--Increasing popularity--Exchange and influence
on railway success--Importers _versus_ planters--Financial
conditions--Projected extensions--Geological survey--Mr.
Minor C. Keith's Salvador concession 196-215
CHAPTER XVI
Ports and harbours--La Unión--Population--Railway
extensions--Lack of British bottoms--Carrying trade--
H.B.M. Vice-Consul--Port of Triunfo--Improving the
entrance--Proposed railway--Acajutla--Loading and
unloading cargoes--Proposed improvements--Salvador
Railway connections--La Libertad--Commandante and
garrison--Loading and unloading cargoes--Cable station
and the service provided by Government--The staff of
operators 216-227
CHAPTER XVII
Agriculture--Government support and supervision--Annual
productions--Agricultural schools--Cattle-breeding--
Coffee--Sugar--Tobacco--Forestry--Rice--Beans--Cacao--
Balsam--Treatment by natives 228-246
CHAPTER XVIII
Departments: Capital cities--Population--Districts--
Salvador Department--City of San Salvador--Situation--
Surroundings--Destruction in 1854 by earthquake--
Description of catastrophe--Loss of life actually
small--Evacuation of city--Recuperative faculty of the
people 247-255
CHAPTER XIX
City of San Salvador--San Salvador as place of residence--
Theatres--Parks--Streets--Hotels--Domestic servants--
Hospitality of residents--Societies and associations--
Educational establishments--Government buildings--Religion
and churches--Casino--Hospitals and institutions--
Disastrous conflagrations--Public monuments 256-275
CHAPTER XX
Department of Chalatenango--Rich agricultural
territories--Annual fair--Generally prosperous
conditions--Department of Cuscutlán--City of
Cojutepeque--Industries--Cigar factories--Volcanoes--
Lake of Cojutepeque--Department of Cabañas--Scenic
features--Feast of Santa Barbara--Department of San
Vicente--Public buildings and roads 276-286
CHAPTER XXI
Department of La Libertad--Physical characteristics--
Balsam Coast--Santa Tecla--Department of Sonsonate--
Life and hotels--Department of Ahuachapán--City of
Ahuachapán--Public buildings and baths--Projected
railway extension--Department of Santa Ana--Chief
city--Generally prosperous conditions 287-299
CHAPTER XXII
Department of La Paz--Characteristics--Zacatecoluca--
Population--Former proportions--Districts--Towns--
Principal estates--Santiago--Nonualco--San Juan
Nonualco--Climate--Water-supply--Santa Maria Ostuma--
Mercedes la Ceiba--San Pedro Mashuat--Some minor
estates--Small property holdings 300-305
CHAPTER XXIII
Department of San Miguel--Postless coast--Indigo
plantations--City of San Miguel--Cathedral--Water-
supply--Archæological interests--Projected railway
connections 306-310
Department of Morazán--City of Gotéra--Mountains and
fertile plains--Agricultural produce 310-311
Department of La Unión--Boundaries--Scenery--Guascorán
River--Industries--Commerce 311-313
Department of Usulután--Physical characteristics--Volcanic
curiosities--Surrounding villages--Populations--El
Triunfo--Santiago de Maria 313-316
CONCLUSION 317-320
INDEX 321-328
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
"The Colours" _Frontispiece_
Views on New National Road, between San Vicente
and Ilopango 8
H. E. Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Republic
of Salvador 1911-1915 18
The 3rd Company, Sergeants' School, in Review Order 28
Company in Line, Sergeants' School 28
Section of Riflemen kneeling, Sergeants' School 28
General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic of
Salvador 1907-1911 38
Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila, Consul-General for the Republic of
Salvador to Great Britain, appointed May, 1911 46
Artillery on Parade-Ground, San Salvador Barracks 60
Colonel's Quarters, School of Sergeants 70
Officers' Club-Room, School of Sergeants 70
Penitentiary at San Salvador 78
Officers' Club-Room, Military Polytechnic School 78
Colonel, Adjutant, and Captains of Company 86
Cadet Corps, School of Sergeants 86
Mr. Lionel Edward Gresley Carden, C.M.G., H.B.M.
Minister-Resident at Salvador (as well as at Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and Honduras) 98
Front of Sergeants' School, San Salvador 108
Typical Street in San Salvador, showing Style of
One-Storey Houses 108
Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., for Fifteen Years
Consul-General in Great Britain for Salvador (retired
June, 1911), and Chairman of the Salvador Railway
Company, Limited 114
Side-view of "El Rotulo" Bridge 118
The National Road leading to La Libertad, showing "El
Rotulo" Bridge 118
Entrance to Avenida La Ceiba at San Salvador 130
The Famous Avenida under Construction 130
View of the New Avenida leading to San Salvador, taken
from the North 140
View of the Picturesque Town of Marcala 150
El Parque Barríos, one of the most Beautiful Public Resorts
in Central America 162
Government Building ("Casa Blanca"), San Salvador 178
Campo de Marte (Racecourse), San Salvador 178
1. View of Butters' Divisadero Mines, Department of
Morazán, Salvador 188
2. Butters' Salvador Mines, Santa Rosa, Department of La
Unión, Salvador 188
Map of the Salvador Railway 198
Deck Bridge on Salvador Railway 206
Station Building at Santa Ana on the Salvador Railway 206
Mr. Charles T. Spencer, General Manager of the Salvador
Railway, appointed May, 1911 222
Don Juan Amaya, Governor of the Department of Cuscutlán 222
Native Habitation in the Hot Country 232
Native making Sugar from a Primitive Wooden Mill 232
A Street in Sonsonate (Calle de Mercado) 242
Type of "Quinta" or Country-House in Santa Tecla (New San
Salvador) 242
Public Park in San Salvador, where Throngs of Well-dressed
People assemble in the Evening to listen to an Excellent
Military Band 258
New National Palace at San Salvador 268
Theatre at Santa Ana, Department of Santa Ana 268
Cathedral of Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate 274
Public Park at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlán 284
Barracks at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlán 284
Municipal Palace at Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate 294
Group of Salvadoreans of the Superior Working-Class 314
The "Stately" Offices of His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul
at La Unión, one of the Principal Ports in Salvador 306
Barracks at Santa Tecla (New San Salvador) 306
Map of the Republic of Salvador _At end_
SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
CHAPTER I
Discovery of Salvador--Scenery--Volcanoes--Topographical
features--Mountain ranges--Natural fertility--Lake
Ilopango--Earthquake results--Remarkable phenomena--
Disappearance of islands--Public roads improvement
and construction under Figueroa government.
It was in the year 1502 that Christopher Columbus, that remarkable
and noble-minded Genoese, undeterred by the shameful treatment meted
out to him by his adopted countrymen in Spain, sailed away to the
East Indies in search of a new passage; and it was in consequence
of the mutiny among his ruffianly followers that, putting into
Hispaniola, Salvador was discovered. For something over 300 years
Spain ruled, and ruled brutally; the history of her government
here--as elsewhere through Latin America--being one long series of
oppressions, cruelties and injustices practised upon the unfortunate
natives and the Spanish residents alike. The ill-treatment extended
to Columbus is but a case in point.
Lying on the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of 13° and 14°
10' N. latitude, and the meridians of 87° and 90° W. longitude,
Salvador has a coast-line of about 160 miles, extending from the Bay
of Fonseca to the River Paz, which is one of the boundaries between
this Republic and the neighbouring State of Guatemala. While
Salvador is the smallest of the five different countries forming the
Central American group, boasting of but 9,600 square miles, it not
alone possesses some of the richest and most beautiful territory,
but has the densest population as well as the most considerable
industry and the most important commerce.
Very remarkable are the topographical features of Salvador, and
very profound is the impression created upon the traveller's mind
as he approaches it for the first time through the beautiful Bay of
Fonseca, with its wealth of tropical scenery, the romantic islands
and the background of noble mountains, afforested to the tops of
their numerous peaks, and filling the mind with awe at the memory of
their numerous destructive eruptions through the centuries.
The coast here presents, for the greater part, a belt of low-lying,
richly wooded alluvial land, varying in width from ten to twenty
miles. Behind this, and displaying an abrupt face seawards, rises a
noble range of coast mountains--or rather a broad plateau--having an
average elevation of 2,000 feet, and relieved by numerous volcanic
peaks. It is not the height of these mountains that lends so much
dignity and beauty, for, as mountains go, they would be considered
as anything but remarkable. It is their extraordinary formation,
their almost terrible proximity, and their long and terrifying
history, which challenge the attention of the individual who gazes
upon them for the first time.
Between the range and the great primitive chain of the Cordilleras
beyond, lies a broad valley varying in width from twenty to thirty
miles, and being over 100 miles in length. Very gently the coastal
plateau subsides towards this magnificent valley, which is drained
and abundantly watered by the River Lempa, and is unsurpassed for
natural beauty and fertility by any equal extent of country in the
tropics.
The northern border of this terrestrial paradise--so far as the eye
can judge it--rests upon the flank of the mountains of Honduras,
which tower skywards about it to the height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet,
broken and rugged to the very summits. To the south of the Lempa,
however, the country rises from the immediate and proper valley of
the river, first in the form of a terrace with a very abrupt face,
and afterward by a gradual slope to the summit of the plateau.
Then comes another curious physical feature--a deep, green, and
wooded basin of altogether unique scenic beauty and fertility,
formed by the system of numerous small rivers which rise in the
western part of the country around the feet of the volcano Santa
Ana, falling finally into the sea near Sonsonate. This formation is
in the shape of a triangle, the base resting on the sea, and the
apex defined by the volcano. A second and even a larger basin is
that of the River San Miguel, lying transversely to the valley of
the River Lempa, in the eastern division of the State, and separated
only by a number of smaller detached mountains from the Bay of
Fonseca.
Approaching the Salvadorean coast upon any of the steamers which run
there, one is confronted with no fewer than eleven great volcanoes,
which literally bristle along the east of the plateau which has been
mentioned as intervening between the valley of the Lempa and the
sea. As a boy and a keen philatelist, I always wondered why Salvador
postage-stamps had a group of three active and terrible-looking
volcanoes upon their faces. When I visited that country for the
first time I understood. The long row of sentinels, grim, yet
extraordinarily beautiful, form a right line from north-west to
south-east, accurately coinciding with the great line of volcanic
action which is clearly defined from Mexico to Peru. Commencing on
the side of Guatemala their order is as follows: Apaneca, Santa Ana,
Izalco, San Salvador, San Vicente, Usulután, Tecapa, Zacatecoluca,
Chinameca, San Miguel, and Conchagua. There are others of lesser
note, besides a family of extinct volcanoes, whose craters are
sometimes filled with water, as well as numerous volcanic vents or
"blow-holes," which the natives not inaptly call _infiernillos_,
_i.e._, "little hells!" Even the apparently harmless and beautiful
island of Tigre, which occupies the centre of the Bay of Fonseca,
and a veritable picture of scenic grandeur, is a slumbering volcano,
and has a history at once interesting and terrifying. The memorable
Cosieguina, El Viejo, Felica, and Momotombo, in Nicaragua, face El
Tigre on the other side.
The most beautiful of the Republic's many volcanic lakes is that of
Ilopango, on the borders of which is situated the village of the
same name, with a scattered population of between 1,400 and 1,500
people. The lake is some 6·85 miles long from west to east, about
5·11 miles wide, with an area of 25·1 square miles and a developed
shore-line of 28·8 miles. The late President of the Republic,
General Fernando Figueroa, was kind enough to place a steam-launch
at my disposal, which enabled me to see the lake under the most
favourable auspices, and in company with his nephew, Señor Angulo, I
spent several interesting hours upon its calm, deep green surface.
This lake has been the scene of numerous remarkable volcanic
phenomena, the most recent of which took place a few weeks after my
visit, and resulted in the centre islands, which were one of its
most charming features, completely disappearing beneath the surface
of its waters.
In January, 1880, the lake had also been the scene of a severe
earthquake, which shook the entire surrounding country. Upon this
occasion the waters suddenly rose about 4 feet above their usual
level, and, flowing into the bed of the Jibóa--a stream which forms
the usual outlet from the lake--increased it to the proportions of
a broad and raging river, which soon made for itself a channel from
30 to 35 feet in depth. A rapid subsidence in the level of the lake
was thus produced, and by March 6 in the same year the surface was
34 feet below its maximum. It was then that the rugged and stony
island, about 500 feet in diameter, and which I have mentioned
above, suddenly rose over the waters, reaching to a height of 150
feet above the level of the lake and being surrounded by several
smaller islands, the waters all around becoming intensely hot.
Previous to this extraordinary phenomenon, the bottom of the lake,
so I was informed, had been gradually rising, and so violent was the
flood when it occurred, that the small village of Atuscatla, near
the outlet, was entirely destroyed.
Some years afterwards--namely, in February, 1892--while some severe
earthquakes were taking place in Guatemala, their reflex was felt
in the same spot--Atuscatla, on Lake Ilopango--Lieutenant Hill, who
was then making investigations in Salvador on behalf of the United
States Government, declaring that a shock was felt lasting fifteen
seconds, and then continued with gradually decreasing force for a
further one minute and five seconds.
When I was a visitor to Ilopango, there were two extremely
comfortable hotels to be found on the banks, both having some very
convenient bathing facilities to offer, and each having a beautiful
garden attached. During the hot season, and upon Sundays and all
holidays, these hotels are crowded with visitors from San Salvador,
who ride out in parties, there being no other mode of reaching
the lake. The road is a truly beautiful one, travellers crossing
numerous streams and passing through shady, blossom-covered woods,
containing many magnificent trees. By moonlight this route appears
remarkably picturesque, and many people prefer to make the journey
thus. Ilopango is some four hours' ride from the capital, and the
journey across the lake usually occupies another two or three
hours in an electric or naphtha launch. The hotels and bathing
establishments, however, are located upon the side of the lake
nearest to San Salvador.
The outline of the beautiful Ilopango Lake, when last surveyed,
was quite accurately determined by means of intersections from the
various topographical stations. Its surface in January, 1893, was
found to be 1,370 feet (417·6 metres) above the sea. Its actual
depth the surveyors had no means of ascertaining; its basin,
however, is far below the general level of the surrounding ridges,
which are all volcanic. Those to the north and east are formed of
layers of sand and ashes partially compacted, yellowish in colour,
and throwing out spurs towards the lake, terminating in steep
bluffs. West of the lake the ground rises to the San Jacinto Hills;
but the soft material composing it has been eroded into a maze of
sharp ridges and deep gulches. The eastern hills are also broken
into a succession of knife-like ridges.
Professor Goodyear, a famous American geologist, has said that the
southern hills consist entirely of volcanic materials, but are of a
much harder and firmer structure than those of the north and east,
being composed largely of conglomerates containing boulders well
cemented together. The lake is situated upon the volcanic axis of
the country, and has long been the seat of numerous earthquakes and
active volcanic phenomena, the most violent of recent times being
those of 1879 and 1880. According to the same Professor Goodyear,
there was a series of earthquake shocks, some of great violence,
extending from December 22 to January 12, 1880, followed by a period
of quiet until the night of January 20, when, after a series of
loud reports and explosions, followed by violent hissings and dense
clouds of steam, a mass of volcanic rock rose from the centre of
the lake to a height of 58 feet (17·7 metres). Previous to this the
bottom of the lake had been gradually rising until January 11, and
the waters had been lifted to maximum height of 5·2 feet above their
usual level. This sudden rise converted the outlet from a small
stream--not over 20 feet wide and a foot deep, and with a current
of two or three miles per hour--into a raging torrent discharging
as much water as a great river. So violent was the flood that the
small village of Atuscatla, situated near the outlet, was as stated,
destroyed, and the channel was so widened and deepened that the
waters of the lake fell 38·6 feet (11·75 metres) from the highest
point reached, or 33·4 feet (10·17 metres) below their original
level. During the time of this flood the Rio Jibóa, which carries
off the waters of the lake, was enormously swollen and became very
muddy, and in the lower portion overflowed its banks, flooding broad
tracts of the plain. By the middle of February, 1880, the lake
adjusted itself to the new conditions, and since that time, until
the visitation of last year (1910), there had been no great change
in its level; the variations at present going on are due to the
excess of precipitation during the rainy months over that which is
prevalent in the dry season.
Anyone who had seen Salvador, say, ten years ago, and who revisited
it to-day, would assuredly be impressed by the great improvement
which has taken place in, and the extension of, both the main and
sub-roads of the Republic. Whereas in former times the roads were
only passable in the dry season, and were even then very trying to
travellers on account of the dust encountered, while in the wet
season they became mere morasses, to-day they are in the majority of
cases so well built and so carefully maintained that even in the wet
season of the year it is quite possible to use them.
This great improvement has been brought about mainly by the
enterprise of the late President, General Fernando Figueroa, who
evinced a keen and consistent interest in opening up new means of
communication by making public roadways of enduring worth, his
excellent work being actively continued by his present successor.
[Illustration: VIEWS ON NEW NATIONAL ROAD, BETWEEN SAN VICENTE AND
ILOPANGO.]
The main routes of communication in Salvador run longitudinally
through the country, from Rio Paz and the city of Ahuachapán on
the west, to La Unión and the Rio Guascorán on the east. From this
central line, which connects all the important cities and towns
of the interior, other roads run out like spurs to the towns and the
cities to the northward, or to those of the coast to the southward.
Thus, from Santa Ana there is a road north to Metapán, and one south
to Sonsonate and Acajutla. Ahuachapán also has a road to Sonsonate
via Ataco and Apaneca, two towns which are located high up in the
mountains. At Sitio de Niño, on the Salvador Railway line, there is
a road northward to Opico. Here, also, the main road to the city
of San Salvador divides, one branch going north to the volcano of
that name, and the other to the south of it via the famous Guarumál
Ravine and Santa Tecla. From the city of San Salvador there are
roads north to Chalatenango via Tonacatepeque, and south to the port
of La Libertad via Santa Tecla.
Cojutepeque is connected by road to the towns of Ilobasco and
Sensuntepeque to the north-east. San Vicente has a road to the
port of La Libertad, running south-west via Zacatecoluca. At San
Vicente the main east and west road separates, one branch going
to the north of the Tecapa-San Miguel group of volcanoes, via the
cities of Jucuapa and Chinameca to San Miguel, and the other south
via the city of Usulután. San Miguel has several roads leading in
all directions. There is one north to the town of Gotera, another
north-east to the Mining District via Jocoró and Santa Rosa, which
continues to the principal crossings of the Rio Guascorán; and there
is yet another, running nearly due east to La Unión, on the Gulf of
Fonseca.
I was in the country while construction was proceeding in connection
with the Ilopango-San Vicente road improvements, and I was much
impressed with the thoroughness of the work being undertaken. The
new construction was some 40 kilometres long by 6-1/2 to 7 metres
in width (say 20 to 25 feet). It was commenced in 1906, and it will
be finished by the end of next year (1912). It is estimated to cost
not less than 350,000 pesos. It is a purely Government undertaking,
and ranks as one of the most important highways in the Republic.
At first over 250 men were employed, but as the work progressed
this number was reduced to 200. The highest part of the road is cut
through the side of the mountain at 210 metres (say 700 feet) above
the shore of Lake Ilopango. The steepest gradient is 7 per cent.,
and the minimum radius 20 feet. The most expensive part was that
between Kilometre 14 and Kilometre 13, where extremely hard rocks
have had to be cut through. At one point ten men were engaged for a
period of nine months upon the most difficult part, and they were
suspended from above by ropes, in order to reach and to cut down the
massive timber trees obstructing progress.
The Chief Engineer engaged by the Government to undertake this
contract is Señor Don Juan Luis Buerón, a German by birth, having
seen the light at Königsberg; but he is a United States citizen
by adoption. Señor Buerón is now seventy-eight years of age,
and although he is getting rather beyond active hard work, his
valuable experience and shrewd judgment are much appreciated by
the Government in all such matters as road construction. He has
built many public roads in North America, he told me, and was also
responsible for laying the track of the Havana (Cuba) tramways.
This interesting old engineer had also gained some experience in
Mexico before the days of Maximilian (1857-1869). He now occupies a
position of comfort, and enjoys the deep respect of the hundreds of
_peons_ who call him master. Señor Juan Buerón junior, the son, is
an equally capable road engineer, and assists his father in his work
for the Government of Salvador.
Another road deserving of mention is that which has been put under
the charge of the official engineer, Don Guillermo Quirós, and
one which unites the town of Santiago-de-María with the port of
Linares, on the River Lempa, passing through Alegría. The section
from Santiago-de-María to Alegría has been completed, and it was
officially inaugurated while I was in the Republic; the journey from
Berlín to the River Lempa can now be continued with much greater
celerity. Very considerable are the advantages that this highway
has brought to that part of the country, in which are situated the
most valuable coffee plantations, whose owners now find far greater
conveniences for bringing the berry to the port of El Triunfo,
since the road leading to this place has also been repaired and
widened to facilitate the transit by beasts of burden. The official
engineer, Don Manuel Aragón, has been occupied with the planning and
opening of a road from Citalá, in the department of Chalatenango,
to Metapán, in the department of Santa Ana. The road leading from
this capital to the port of La Libertad is likewise the object of
attention. The official engineer, Don Andrés Soriano, with a gang
of foremen and labourers, have been working for several months past
repairing it.
This highroad continually needs very large sums of money for
maintenance. The repairs which in former years have been carried out
have proved anything but lasting, owing to the serious mistakes in
construction of an engineer who put into practice certain untried
experiments, which completely failed.
It is necessary now to remedy this mistake, and drains and aqueducts
have had to be constructed on the road where none previously
existed, to avoid, in the rainy season, destruction by the strong
currents of water rushing over it. The official engineer, Don
Alberto Pinto, was occupied during a good part of the year 1908 upon
road works, having made many alterations, improvements and widenings
in the roads of the Departments of San Miguel, La Unión, Usulután,
Chalatenango, Santa Ana and Cabañas.
On the way from Mercedes to Jucuapa, and also upon the road to San
Miguel, it is proposed to construct a bridge of stone and mortar,
at the place called Barrancas de Jucuapa; the chief engineer, Señor
Pinto, has already made an estimate and sent in the corresponding
plans. The cost will amount to a little more or a little less than
$10,000.
CHAPTER II
Early Days of independence--"Central American Federation"--
Constitutional Presidents--Executive power--Chamber
of Congress--The Cabinet--Justice--The courts--Prisons and
prisoners--Employment and treatment--Police force--How
distributed--Education--Colleges and schools--State-aided
education--Teaching staffs--Primary education--Posts and
telegraphs--Improved interstate parcels post.
The breaking away from Spanish dominion (although the seeds of
revolution were laid as far back as 1811) did not take place until
ten years later, and coincided with the successful termination of
the struggle for liberty which occurred in Mexico under the patriot
priest Hidalgo. Salvador gained its freedom, comparatively speaking,
without bloodshed; and on September 15, 1821, it was declared a free
and independent State. In the year following an attempt was made
to annex the country to the Mexican Empire, under the rule of the
ambitious and unscrupulous Emperor Agustin Yturbide, during his very
brief reign, in 1822. As history relates, this presumptuous Mexican
was born in Valladolid (now known as Morelia) on September 27, 1783,
and he was sentenced to death and shot on July 19, 1824.
It is to the credit of Salvador that it was the one Central
American State which firmly resisted the invasion of the Mexican
troops; but in the end it had to submit to a far superior force,
commanded by General Filisola, and was then formally incorporated
into the Mexican Empire. This humiliation endured, however, for
a very brief time, since in the following year Yturbide met his
violent death, after which a Constitutional Convention was called,
and in 1824 a Federal Republic was declared bearing the name of
the "Central American Federation." This was composed of the five
States--Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica--the
first President being General Manuel José Arce.
Party jealousies and personal ambitions, however, soon brought about
disintegration, and in spite of the efforts of some far-seeing
patriots, who considered that in union alone lay the hope of peace,
security and prosperity for their country, the form of government
proved wholly impracticable. Nevertheless it continued for a few
years to struggle along, General Francisco Morazán, doing his
best to maintain order and to save the union from disruption.
Notwithstanding all his efforts, the Federation was dissolved
in 1839, and the five States again became independent Sovereign
Republics. Three years later General Morazán unwisely made another
effort to reunite the countries; but his attempt was treacherously
rewarded by a conspiracy against his life, followed by his execution
in San José, Costa Rica, in the month of September, 1842.
Since his death various attempts have been made from time to
time, to reunite the several Republics, the last effort of this
kind having been prosecuted by General Zelaya, perhaps one of the
most unscrupulous and dishonest, as well as one of the cruellest,
Spanish-Americans who has ever attained supreme power. Whatever
chances of success a United Central America might have had, under
the auspices of a Zelaya it could have never met with anything but
failure. General Zelaya, in spite of frantic efforts to maintain
his position, was himself chased from Nicaragua in 1909, and is now
said to be living in Europe upon the proceeds of the money which he
is declared to have filched from his country during his long and
oppressive reign.
In the year 1885, General Justo Rufino Barríos, President of
Guatemala, had sought to accomplish what Morazán had failed to do;
but his efforts ended equally in disaster. On August 13, 1886,
the Constitution which is at present in force was promulgated,
and General Menéndez was elected as first President under that
Constitution by popular vote in 1887, for the term ending in 1890.
He was succeeded by General Carlos Ezeta, who was inaugurated on
March 1, 1891. The third President was General Rafael Gutierrez.
Then followed General Tomás Regaládo; Don Pedro José Escalón;
General Fernando Figueroa; and the ruling President, Doctor Manuel
Enrique Araujo.
The form of government in vogue is that of a free, sovereign and
independent Republic--that is to say, democratic, elective, and
representative. The Constitution now in existence is contained in
a code of articles. The Government is divided into Legislative,
Executive, and Judicial sections. The Legislative power is vested in
the National Assembly, which is composed of one Chamber, and having
the title of the National Chamber of Deputies. This consists of 42
members, three Deputies being elected for each Department by direct
popular vote for a term of one year, the right to vote being vested
in every male citizen who is over eighteen years of age. It is to
be observed that every Salvadorean is not only privileged, but is
compelled to vote, thus doing his duty to the State.
The Executive consists of a President and a Vice-President, who are
elected by popular vote for a term of four years. In addition to
being Chief Magistrate, the President is also Commander-in-Chief
of the Army. In the event of a failure to elect the Executive, a
President is chosen by a majority of votes in the Congress from
among the three candidates having polled the largest number of
votes in the popular election. He is not eligible for re-election
either as President or as Vice-President until four years shall
have elapsed. The date of the Executive's inauguration is on March
1 following the election, which is usually held in the month of
November.
The administration of each of the fourteen different Departments
is in the hands of a Governor, who is selected by the President
from personal knowledge of both his capacity and temperament.
Besides administering the civil affairs of the territory under his
jurisdiction, this official is usually either a military man or one
possessed of adequate military knowledge; and he is thus Commandant
of the military of his Department.
It was my pleasure to meet, and spend some considerable time in the
company of, many of the Governors of the different Departments, and
I was deeply impressed with their general thoroughness of purpose,
their keen desire in all cases to further the interests of their
Departments, and to apply to their benefit any and every advantage
which could be adapted from the governments of other countries.
The municipalities, on the other hand, are managed entirely by their
own officials, all of whom are elected by the people themselves.
The officials comprise an Alcade, or Mayor, a Syndic and several
Regidores, or Aldermen, these being numbered according to the size
of the population. A good deal of competition exists for office, and
at the time of election much amusement is derived from watching the
canvassing in progress. There is a decidedly healthy appearance of
municipal enterprise in most of the towns of Salvador, and, taking
these as a whole, they seem to be uncommonly well administered. In
the accepted sense of the word, there is no real poverty, no slums,
no crying "graft" scandal demanding redress, as in our much-vaunted
civilization, and such charities as are rendered necessary in
the form of hospital relief and medical attention are rendered
cheerfully and as a matter of course, entailing neither a favour nor
a dependence upon either party.
In Salvador, as in all the Latin-American Republics, the President
is a reality, and not a mere figure-head. He makes his presence
felt, and yet, in a perfectly constitutional manner; he associates
the form of a democracy with the reality of government. For many
years past the people have had, and have to-day, an excellent
example of a thoroughly sensible and dignified Chief Executive, who
has firmly upheld the good name of the country and piloted it with a
strong, and even masterly, hand through a maze of difficulties. Of
General Fernando Figueroa as of Doctor don Manuel Enrique Araujo,
it may truthfully be said that they have kept before them a lofty
ideal of the honour of their nation, and one which has been the one
incentive in guiding their policy. The whole demeanour of these
distinguished men has been productive of the country's esteem, while
their real qualities for administration have not been denied even
by their most determined political opponents.
The _personnel_ of the present Ministry in Salvador reflects the
best intelligence and the greatest administrative ability of that
country, the President having selected from among the former members
of the Cabinet, and added to their number, such persons as enjoy
the confidence of the majority of the Congress; and he has retained
them as his advisers and his coadjutors so long as, and not longer
than, that confidence continues. The present Cabinet consist of the
following:
MINISTERS OR SECRETARIES OF STATE.
Foreign Affairs, Justice and Beneficence: Doctor don Francisco
Dueñas. Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public Instruction and
Agriculture: Doctor don Teodosio Corranza. Finances and Public
Credit: Don Rafael Guirola, D.
SUB-SECRETARIES OF STATE.
Foreign Affairs: Doctor don Manuel Castro, R. Justice and
Beneficence: Doctor don José Antonio Castro, V. Interior:
Doctor Cecilio Bustamente. Industry ("Fomento"): Ingeniéro José
Maria Peralta Lagos. Public Instruction: Doctor Gustavo Baron.
Agriculture: Don Miguel Dueñas. Finance and Public Credit: Don
Carlos G. Prieto. War and Marine: Don Eusebio Bracamonte.
[Illustration: H. E. DR. MANUEL ENRIQUE ARAUJO;
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR 1911-1915.]
Perhaps it is the Ministry of the Interior which is charged with
the most numerous and most important sections. Upon this Department
depend the General Direction of the Post-Office; the General
Direction of the Telegraph and Telephones; the General Direction of
Police; the Direction of the National Printing Establishment; the
Direction of the Superior Council of Health; the General Direction
of Vaccination, as well as of the Municipal Treasury and many other
small offices that complete the establishments included in the
public administration.
The number of measures carried out by this one Ministry during the
years 1907 and 1908 amounted, more or less, to 3,600. The subjects
that came under the jurisdiction of the Secretaryship of State
are also many and complex; and in order to attain results they
demand both constant attention and an intimate knowledge of the
administrative laws, the many special regulations, the numerous
statutes and dispositions which exist, as well as any quantity of
minor laws.
The Judicial Power is vested in a Supreme Court, which holds its
sittings in the city of San Salvador; two District Courts, which are
also held in the city; District Courts which are held in the cities
of Santa Ana, San Miguel, and Cojutepeque, as well as periodical
Circuit Courts held in different districts; and there is a long list
of Justices of the Peace.
The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the National
Assembly for a term of two years, while the Judges of the First and
Second Instance are appointed by the Supreme Court for a term of two
years. The Justices of the Minor Courts are elected by popular vote.
As in most Latin-American countries, the course of justice is
not always speedy, all depositions, no matter how trivial the
case under trial may be, nor whether it be civil or criminal,
having to be laboriously written out, "examination-in-chief" and
"cross-examination" being practices little known. Naturally, an
immense amount of valuable time is thus consumed, and the results
are anything but conclusive.
To a considerable extent the administration of justice in Central
America is based upon the same principles as those in force in the
United States, and it is generally admitted, especially by those who
have suffered from them, that these are far from perfect. The theory
of Latin-American justice is excellent, such theory being that
every man is entitled to justice speedily and without delay, freely
and without price. We all know that this is not the experience
of litigants generally, and in no part of Latin America can the
administration of justice be considered entirely perfect. Salvador
is not worse off than any of its neighbours in this respect, while,
on the other hand, there is a decided amount of respect entertained
for the judiciary, and few verdicts have been given which have
called forth any protest, nor many rulings handed down which have
excited conflict among the public.
Travellers in Latin-American countries, more often than not such as
pay but a very superficial visit to those lands, are in the habit
of drawing pitiful pictures of the cruelty practised upon prisoners
and injustice shown towards litigants, and they indulge in harrowing
accounts of "nauseating filth," "poisonous stenches," "germs of
disease," "bad food," and numerous other, blood-curdling horrors.
However true such descriptions of some countries are, and I rather
imagine that most of them are the outcome of vivid imagination on
the one hand and of blind prejudice upon the other, it is certain
that nothing of this kind can be truthfully said about Salvador.
It would be ridiculous to suppose that this Republic more than any
other builds luxuriously-equipped and comfortable prison-houses, to
act as an encouragement for the committing of crime. The object of
punishment, we are told, is prevention of evil, and we all know
that under no circumstances can it be made incentive to good. The
punishments inflicted upon Salvadorean prisoners are based upon
much about the same scale as in other countries; but the physical
condition of the prisoners as a whole is infinitely better than that
which is to be met with in any other Latin-American country, with
the two exceptions of Peru and Mexico.[1] Of all three countries I
may say with every justice that the present prison system is of a
much more lenient and humane nature than that of any other country
in either the old or new world. I state this deliberately and after
having visited most of the prisons in Latin-American Republics, as
well as many of those to be found in Europe and the United States.
[1] See "Mexico of the XXth Century," vol i., pp. 79, 83, 86, and
vol. ii., pp. 101, 143, by the same Author.
It is the object of the Government of Salvador to make as much
use of prisoners' services as is legitimate, and at the same time
to find for them intelligent and useful occupations. While hard
work is not always compulsory, and is not always an accompaniment
of a sentence to imprisonment, every encouragement is offered to
prisoners to engage themselves in some kind of work; and in many
instances substantial payments are derived from some of the work
thus undertaken, all such payments being carefully preserved for
the use of the prisoners, and handed over to them at the time of
their release. Thus, for instance, in the Penitenciaría Central,
at San Salvador, which is the chief penal establishment in the
Republic, many of the prisoners are engaged in making furniture
for the public offices, as well as military and police uniforms,
boots, etc., likewise for use in the army and the police force. I
am not sure whether any payment is made to prisoners for this kind
of contribution; but in other penal establishments which I visited
I observed that the prisoners were making baskets, mats, toys, and
other small articles, which were offered to visitors for a trifling
sum, and in other cases were sent to the public market for sale.
At the Penitenciaría at Santa Ana the same method was in vogue with
regard to employing prisoners, some remarkably good furniture,
police clothing, and military boots and shoes, being turned out
here also. In this establishment, as well as in others, the utmost
cleanliness prevails. The long rows of airy and well-ventilated
cells are well lighted, the walls and ceilings being whitewashed
and the floors, built of red brick, kept scrupulously clean. No
furniture of any kind is allowed to remain in the cells during the
day, but at night mattresses with clean blankets are thrown down
side by side, and the prisoners sleep with their day-clothes folded
up and placed under their heads or deposited under the mattresses.
In other cells there are light canvas or wooden cots of an easily
detachable nature, which are folded up and put away during the
daytime, so that the cells are always free from encumbrances of any
kind. Prisoners are allowed to move about freely (unless under very
severe punishment due to violence) from the cells to the yard, and
most of them are engaged during the daytime in weaving baskets,
sewing materials, or doing some other kind of work which may be
congenial to them. They are not compelled to wear any special form
of clothing nor a degrading uniform, while some are even permitted
to smoke.
Although strictly guarded by armed soldiers, I did not, when I
visited these establishments, witness a single instance of brutality
or overbearing demeanour on the part of these guardians; on the
other hand, there seemed to be a sort of fraternity between them and
their wards, chatting and laughter proceeding, apparently, without
objection upon the part of the Governor or Superintendents.
The area of the prison cells was in no case less than 10 feet by
6 feet, and in some instances it was found to be considerably
larger. All ablutionary exercises take place in the paved yard of
the prison, and prisoners are compelled to bathe at least once a
week in the open air; those who are so inclined may take a bath
once every day. The food, which I had the opportunity of tasting,
seemed thoroughly wholesome and plentiful, meat being provided in
quantities as well as boiled maize, beans (_frijoles_), and coffee
of excellent quality.
I can only repeat that, from close personal observation, I am
unable to endorse any of the harrowing descriptions of prison
barbarities, which I have referred to above, as applying in any way
to Salvadorean penitentiaries.
Considerable attention has been paid to the establishment and
maintenance of a thoroughly efficient Police Force, by the late
Director-General, General Enrique Bará, who has studied the question
of Police administration in Europe and the United States, and has
applied most of the good points which he found existing there to the
Police organization in the Republic of Salvador.
All Police are under the control of the Minister of the
Interior--Ministerio de Gobernación--although the organization
itself is a military one. The severest discipline is maintained,
and the men are moderately well paid. They seem, moreover, to be
drawn from the better classes instead of from the worst, as is so
often, unfortunately, the case in some parts of Latin America.
All the larger towns, such as Santa Ana, San Miguel, Sonsonate,
La Unión, etc., have their own well-organized Police Force, each
placed under a responsible officer, but all of them directly
dependent upon, and subject to control from, the Capital. Especial
care is taken to organize both the day and night corps, and, as
a consequence of the strictness which is maintained, very few
robberies, and scarcely any murders, take place nowadays in the
Capital or chief towns.
The Superior Officers of the Police Force consist of the following:
1 Director-General.
1 Sub-Director.
1 Secretario de la Dirección (Secretary to the Director-General).
1 Tesorero Específico (Special Treasurer).
1 Instructor.
1 Ayudante de la Dirección (Adjutant to the Director).
1 Juez Especial de Policia (Special Police Magistrate).
1 Secretario del Juzgado de Policia (Secretary to the Police Magistrate).
1 Guarda-Almacén (Storekeeper).
1 Escribiente de la Dirección (Amanuensis to the Director).
1 Escribiente del Juzgado (Amanuensis to the Magistrate).
1 Escribiente de la Comandancia (Amanuensis to the Commandant).
1 Medico del Cuerpo (Doctor to the Corps).
1 Practicante (Assistant-Surgeon).
1 Telegrafista (Telegraphist).
3 Barberos (Barbers).
2 Asistentes (Assistants).
The present Director-General of the Police is General Gregorio
Hernández A., who was appointed in the month of May last (1911).
The Capital is divided up into seven different districts or zones,
each zone being policed as follows:
Zone 1: 1 Comandante (Chief Superintendent in Charge), 1 Sergeant,
4 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 2: Same as Zone 1.
Zone 3: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 3 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 4: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 5: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 6: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 56 Policemen.
Zone 7: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.
In this last zone the policemen are mounted.
The different Departments are also well policed, as follows:
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), having 1 Comandante
(Superintendent and Director), 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.
Sonsonate: 1 Comandante (Superintendent and Director), 1
Sub-Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 32 Policemen.
Cojutepeque: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 25 Policemen.
Atiquizaya: 1 Director, 1 Inspector Secretario, 1 Sub-Inspector
(or Second Inspector), and 15 Policemen.
San Vicente: 1 Comandante (Director), 3 Inspectors, and 21
Policemen.
Ahuachapán: 1 Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 27
Policemen.
Chalchuápa has two Zones, which are policed as follows: _First_:
1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen. _Second_: 1
Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.
Santa Ana: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 1 Secrétario, 1
Guarda-Almacen, 2 Escribientes, 150 Policemen, 1 Comandante de
Dragones, 1 Sergeant, and 40 Mounted Men.
San Miguel: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 4 Inspectors, and 57
Policemen.
La Unión: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 3 Inspectors, and 40
Policemen.
Zacatecoluca: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.
The total _personnel_ of the Salvadorean Police Force is as follows:
In the Capital (including the Superior Officers above
mentioned) 454 men.
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla) 43 "
Sonsonate 38 "
Cojutepeque 28 "
Atiquizaya 18 "
San Vicente 25 "
Ahuachapán 32 "
Chalchuapa 20 "
Usulután 21 "
Santa Ana 174 "
San Miguel 63 "
La Unión 51 "
Zacatecoluca 21 "
------
Total 988 men.
The Government of Salvador are of opinion, and very rightly so to my
thinking, that inasmuch as education is compulsory it ought to be
free, since the State, by depriving parents of the labour of their
children, entails some sacrifices on them. It has also relieved
them of the burden of paying any kind of school fees; and this in a
country like Salvador, which possesses naturally a great proportion
of humble inhabitants, to whom the payment of even the lightest fees
would appear an immense taxation, means a great deal. To organize
a system of collecting fees from among the people living long
distances from the Capital would also have been onerous; and the
Government saves all this, and many other outlays, while procuring
the best results from its educational system. The benefits arising,
moreover, will be reaped by future generations, since a liberal
education is a matter in which all citizens are interested; and
there is certainly no hardship in calling upon all to contribute by
means of a moderate tax towards that end.
As I have said, the happiest results have been achieved by the
Government's broad and comprehensive system of education in
Salvador. The authorities combine with the municipalities in
carrying out their arrangements, and the teachers of both sexes are
drawn from among the best and most cultured classes of the community.
There has been established since July, 1907, a Board of Education
(Junta de Educación), which is subject to the directorship of
a specially-appointed Minister and Sub-Secretario of Public
Instruction. In the month of November, 1907, an important conference
was summoned, and held meetings at the Capital, at which the
curriculum to be adopted was fully discussed, and the plans for
the carrying on of all places of private and public education was
entirely reorganized. The whole system of conducting elementary,
normal, and advanced schools, holding day and night classes,
granting scholarships and holding periodical examinations, has now
been placed upon a thoroughly sound and comprehensive basis; and it
is only just to say that in this respect the Republic of Salvador
compares most favourably with any country in Europe, or with any
educational system in the United States of America.
The education of the sexes is conducted in the same elementary
schools, and not only is this found an economy, but the feminine
mind is found here (as in Scotland and elsewhere) to become
strengthened when put through the curriculum given to boys and men.
Competition is greater between the sexes than between rivals of the
same sex, and a correspondingly higher standard of achievement is
obtained. It has been found in Latin America, where until recent
years women were kept in ignorance and were denied the attainment
of any but social positions in the community, that constant
intercourse between the sexes had led to a more perfect development
of character, and had materially diminished shyness. Marriages are
now made of a safer kind, and a new and more intelligent class
of citizen is springing up, all of which facts will tend in due
course to bring about a more complete political settlement and the
introduction of permanent order among the people. Although by no
means as yet extinct, the conventual existence for the women of
Salvador is fast diminishing, and they are commencing to realize
the advantages and pleasures of living under freer and less morbid
conditions than formerly.
Santa Ana seems to be essentially the educational centre of the
Republic; for whereas schools, colleges, and Universities are to be
found in all of the Departments, in Santa Ana there are no fewer
than thirty-three such establishments, besides several private
schools and seminaries. San Salvador has between 6 and 7 important
educational institutes, and many small private schools; Cuscutlán
has 8 or 9; La Paz, 7 or 8; Sonsonate, 5 or 6; while Ahuachapán,
Chalatenango, Cabañas, San Vicente, La Unión, Morazán, and La
Libertad, are all similarly well provided.
The teaching staff at present employed under Government control
numbers something over 1,100, and is divided up into Directors,
Sub-Directors, Auxiliary Professors, these being composed of
both the male and the female sex. These latter are in a small
minority, but, still, there are over 278 Lady Directors, over 120
Sub-Directors, and 100 Professors.
[Illustration: THE 3RD COMPANY, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL, IN REVIEW ORDER.]
[Illustration: COMPANY IN LINE, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL.]
[Illustration: SECTION OF RIFLEMEN KNEELING, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL.]
The proportion of pupils matriculating is extremely high, and in
this respect the girls come very close in point of number, as
also in the number of marks obtained, to the boys. The Government
provides all the necessary books, stationery, models, apparatus,
etc., for the use of the pupils, and these latter are not put to
one penny expenditure for anything that they may require. It is
considered absolutely proper and consistent with the dignity of
the family for a Salvadorean child to receive a Government free
education; and as this is divorced from all compulsory religious
instruction, children of all denominations, or of none, can
participate. As a matter of fact, practically all attending are of
the Roman Catholic faith, but no dogmatic teaching is resorted to
in any establishment under Government control.
Mention should be made of the very useful and successful educational
establishments which the Government has organized and supported
since 1907, such as the Medical and Surgical College, Chemistry
and Dental Schools, Commerce and Industry College, as well as
the National University, which has been entirely remodelled and
reorganized since December 15, 1907.
Upon several occasions the Government has found the necessary money
to send a particularly promising pupil to Europe or to the United
States, for the purposes of study and receiving the finest training
that the world of art and letters can offer. The last pupil to be
sent to study music at the expense of the Government was Señorita
Natalia Ramos, who left for Italy in the month of May (1911), and
is now making good progress there. In every sense of the word
the Salvadorean Government has proved a "paternal Government" in
these respects; and many a genius has been rescued from probable
obscurity, and much dormant talent has been fostered and encouraged
for the benefit of the community at large as well as to the lasting
advantage of the individual.
Attention on the part of the Government is now being given to a
further modification in the system of primary instruction; and this
is being effected gradually, it being proposed as a preliminary to
establish several high schools throughout the country. A School
of Agriculture, with all necessary elements and machinery, was
inaugurated during the year 1908. Mixed primary schools in the
country now number 132, with a total number of registered pupils
amounting to 34,752. Expenditures for 1907 under this head were
nearly $400,000, and in addition there are many private institutions
where primary instruction only is given. Academic teaching is in the
charge of the National University of San Salvador, embracing schools
of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, civil engineering, etc.
In no other part of the Government service has greater improvement
been manifested than in the Department of Posts. This Department is
supported out of its own revenues, and the service during the past
few years has been extended to a very considerable extent, while the
credit of the Central Office has been maintained by punctuality in
the payments of the foreign postal service. Among the more notable
Conventions celebrated have been those with the Republic of Mexico
for the exchange of parcels and money orders, and a triweekly postal
service introduced to the neighbouring Republic of Guatemala via
Jerez; a postal service has also been established with the same
country via Zacapa. It is satisfactory to be able to state that
since the inauguration of these additional services, which took
place early in 1907, scarcely any interruptions have occurred, not
even in the rainiest weather, a fact which may be attributed to
the zeal and ability of the officials and employés of the Postal
Department.
The annual expenditure of this branch of the public service has
increased from $87,084 in 1902, $102,787 in 1903, $121,756 in 1904,
$142,855 in 1905, $161,662 in 1906, to over $200,000 in 1910.
The regularity and rapidity with which the house-to-house postal
deliveries take place in the Capital and principal cities of the
Republic have frequently been noticed, and favourably commented
upon, by foreigners sojourning in Salvador. Honesty among the
employés is no less a feature of the postal arrangements in this
Republic, where all public servants are reasonably paid and are as
diplomatically handled, so that general contentment obtains among
the large class of public servants employed.
The Parcel Post Department is also exhibiting from year to year
notable increases, as the following figures will show: $44,613.55 in
1901; $58,096.27 in 1902; $68,467.30 in 1903; $88,557.60 in 1904;
$90,662.72 in 1905; $93,295.80 in 1906; and for the first six months
in 1907 the figures given are $51,654.86, or at the rate of $103,000
for the whole year.
A Postal Convention for the exchange of money orders between
Salvador and Great Britain was signed in London on June 27, 1907,
in San Salvador on the following August 27, 1907, and, after
being approved by the President, General Figueroa, took effect
on September 5, 1907, the exchange offices being situated at San
Salvador and London respectively.
The telegraph and telephone service has also increased consistently,
especially since 1903, at which time as an economic measure, and
for the convenience of the public, a considerable reduction took
place in the amounts of the charges. There has been a large increase
in telephonic connections, and several new offices have been
established, while the old ones have been considerably improved,
necessitating large outlays for this purpose, as well as for works
and materials. Many hundreds of miles of new telephone and telegraph
lines have been added to the system, of late there has been a
marked increase in the telephone and telegraph apparatus, and the
_personnel_ of the system has been proportionately augmented. There
have been two handsome towers constructed at San Salvador, and
another at Santa Ana, for the introduction of wires to the Central
Offices, and the system in vogue leaves little to be desired either
in regard to efficiency or completeness. The general budget for
telegraphs and telephones has risen steadily, from a little over
$260,000, in 1902, to over $500,000, in 1910.
During the year 1910 the number of cablegrams received in the
Republic were as follows: Cables sent from Salvador, 7,877; received
in the Republic, 8,723. In those transmitted there were used 61,727
words, and in those received 75,950. Total of cables sent and
received, 16,600 = 137,677 words. The amount represented in cost was
$96,450.47, and of this the Government received $23,994.27.
Considerable progress has been made in Salvador in connection
with wireless telegraphy, this being one of the first--if not the
first--of the Central American Republics to adopt the new system
of communication. By the time these pages are in the hands of the
reading public, the Government will have completed two additional
wireless stations, one at Planes de Renderos, near the Capital
(San Salvador), and the other at the Port of La Libertad. With the
completion of these stations, wireless communication will have been
established between the Capital and all the ports of the Republic.
The electric light service used and supported by the Government
has also increased. In 1902 the total cost was barely $25,000,
whereas to-day it amounts to over $50,000, exclusive of the value of
subventions by which several of the electric light companies have
been aided by the Government.
In connection with the recently-held Central American Conference
convened in Guatemala City, and at which representatives of all
five Central American States were present, great improvements were
resolved upon in reference to the postal arrangements between
these States. It was determined, for instance, to introduce a much
more comprehensive parcels post; and although the dimensions of
articles which may be sent were not much extended, the character of
the commerce carried through the post was considerably broadened,
with beneficial results to all of the different States. It was,
among other things, decided to prevent any libellous or indecent
publications passing through the Post-Office; and here a distinct
improvement has been made upon British Post-Office methods, which
permit of the carrying of any sort of literature so long as it is
covered from inspection. The Central American postal authorities
reserve the right--and exercise it--to open and retain anything
which they suspect to be of a dangerous or wrongful nature, and thus
they act with more intelligence than some of their European brethren.
The Regulation for the Control of the Postal Service, as passed by
the Government on September 26, 1893, was found wholly unfit for
this important branch; and from that date to the present, continual
reforms have been introduced into the postal service, which now
stands among the best regulated in Central America. In the Fiscal
Estimate of the year 1907, passed by the National Congress, several
notable economies were introduced, such as the suppression of some
of the too numerous employés, and reduction of the salaries of
others; while these measures seemed opportune, they did not work
well in practice, neither did they give good results. The Ministry
was obliged, therefore, to again make alterations in order to insure
permanent order in the postal department.
By a resolution of September 28 and October 24 respectively, the
Government arranged to suppress the office of Administrator of the
Post-Offices in the different Capitals of the Departments, joining
the functions of that to those of the Administrator of Revenues,
but without augmenting the pay for this additional service. From
this arrangement, however, the offices of Santa Ana, Sonsonate,
and San Miguel, were excepted, while some others were annexed
to the Department of the Fiscal Receiver and to the respective
telegraph-offices.
At present the active staff of the Postal Service of the Republic is
composed of 327 individuals, organized in the following departments:
General Direction; Departmental Administrations; Postal Contractors.
The General Direction is subdivided thus: Sub-Direction; Secretary;
Bookkeeper and Cashier; Office of Postal Statistics; Keeper of
Stores; Amanuensis; and Keeper of the Archives. The Chiefs are those
of the Foreign Department, of the Interior, of Registered Letters,
of Parcels Post, and of Poste Restante and Unclaimed Letters
Department. There are besides five Assistants, two Transmitters of
Postal Specie, twenty-two letter-carriers, and forty-eight junior
postmen.
The Exchange Offices include three Administrators, three
Superintendents, and six letter-carriers. Those of the first
class are--six Administrators, six superintendents, sixteen
letter-carriers, and twenty-five postmen. Those of the second
class are--six Administrators and eight letter-carriers. Those of
the third class are--nineteen Administrators and an equal number
of letter-carriers. Those of the fourth class are--forty-three
Administrators and forty-three letter-carriers; and these are
again sub-administered by the respective municipalities. There are
seven Postal Contractors, who have in their service some forty or
fifty subordinates. Three Postal Agencies complete the service,
namely--one in Panama (Central America), one in the Sitio del Niño
(a station on the Salvador Railway), and the other in Parras Lempa.
CHAPTER III
Biographical--The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo--The
ex-President, General Fernando Figueroa--The Cabinet--Dr.
Francisco Dueñas--Don Rafael Guirola, D.--Dr. Teodosio
Corranza--Dr. Manuel Castro, R.--Dr. Cecilio Bustamente--Señor
José Maria Peralta Lagos--Dr. José A. Castro, V.--Dr. E.
Bracamonte--Dr. Miguel Dueñas--Señor Carlos G. Prieto--Dr.
Artúro Ramón Ávila.
Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Republic of Salvador,
although a comparatively young man, has long been regarded as one
of the most distinguished scholars and politicians of his time.
Born at Jucuapa, he came at a very early age to the Capital, in
order to study medicine and surgery, and very soon he secured a
wide reputation--extending, indeed, beyond the confines of his own
country--as a great authority upon special medical and surgical
cases. While still quite young, Dr. Manuel Araujo was married to
Señorita Maria Peralta, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a
former President of the Republic, Don José Maria Peralta, a man who
enjoyed universal respect and affection.
The young politician was always a strong Liberal in politics,
but he never permitted party spirit to prejudice him in respect
to his public actions, which have, both before and since his
occupancy of the Chief Magistracy, been characterized by complete
independence of judgment and commendable broad-mindedness.
Besides being the selected occupant of the Presidential Chair by
practically all political parties alike, Dr. Araujo is regarded
as the representative of both the culture and the scientific
professionalism of the country. As already mentioned, he is a very
distinguished surgeon; he has also invented some very delicate and
useful surgical instruments, many of which may be found in the
Paris and Continental hospitals. The Chief Executive occupies the
position of President of the Salvador Branch of the Spanish-American
University. In social as well as in educational circles, Dr.
Araujo is highly respected, apart from his exalted position; and
to foreigners he is especially _persona grata_, on account of his
broad sympathies and general charm of manner. It will be entirely
contrary to general expectations and present appearances if, during
his tenancy of the Chief Magistracy, Salvador fails to enjoy a
great industrial peace and prosperity, as well as a financial
regeneration, such as has long been devised to place this State in
the fore-rank of Latin-American countries.
While politics in Salvador, as in so many other countries north and
south of the Equator, have come to be regarded as a profession, Dr.
Araujo has shown that he has considered them as accessories rather
than expedients, and has carried out in principle the axiom that
"he serves his party best who serves his country best." Inasmuch as
Dr. Araujo occupied the position of Vice-President of the Republic
in the Government of General Fernando Figueroa, it may be assumed
that he has been in thorough accord with his policy; and now that
he himself occupies the same exalted office, no great change in the
Government's projects or methods of carrying them into effect will
result. That some of the youngest men have proved the greatest
statesmen history clearly shows; and the instance maybe cited of our
own brilliant countryman, William Pitt, himself a son of the great
Earl of Chatham, who made his first speech in the House of Commons
when he was but twenty-two years of age, and became Prime Minister
at the age of twenty-three. It is the young blood and youthful
activity which are helping to mould a successful future for the
Salvador of to-day.
By authority of Article 68 of the Constitution, the National
Legislative Assembly elected, last May, Señor Carlos Melendez,
Dr. Fernando Lopez, and General Juan Amaya, First, Second and
Third Designates respectively, to succeed to the Presidency of the
Republic in case of a vacancy occurring during the present term.
[Illustration: GENERAL FERNANDO FIGUEROA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
OF SALVADOR 1907-1911.]
General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic from 1907 to
1911, was born in San Vicente. Even when a small boy his disposition
led him to a military career, and while still in his teens he
enlisted in the ranks of the Salvadorean Army, during the memorable
struggle with Guatemala of 1863. Under the command of General
Bracamonte, he became a Lieutenant, and speedily distinguished
himself in the field. He was on this occasion very severely wounded,
and also was specially mentioned in despatches. After the death
of General Gerardo Barrios, and the election of Dr. Dueñas as
President, young Fernando Figueroa was given his captaincy. He
was mainly instrumental in organizing the militia, and in 1871 he
put its capabilities to the test when the war in Honduras broke
out. Upon the overthrow of the Government of Dr. Dueñas, and the
selection of Marshal Santiago González as Provisional President,
peace was proclaimed with Honduras, General Medina being
recognized as legitimate President, and young Figueroa's services
were temporarily unneeded. In 1872, however, Captain Figueroa was
again fighting in territory belonging to Honduras, namely at Sábana
Grande and Santa Bárbara, his gallant services at the first-named
place gaining for him his lieutenant-colonelcy. In the following
year, 1873, Colonel Figueroa distinguished himself in a third
expedition against Honduras, at which time the President of the
Republic was Señor Celio Arias, but who, by Salvador's aid, was
dispossessed of the Chief Magistracy in favour of General Ponciano
Leiva. Colonel Figueroa's bravery at the Battle of Amapala, and his
gallant support of General Juan José Samayoa, have become important
facts in Salvadorean history.
This same year he was appointed Governor of his native Department,
San Vicente. In 1876, after fresh exploits in the field, the rising
young soldier became a General, and with this military advancement
he assisted the same year at the Battle of Pasaquina, in which he
was once again seriously wounded. The events of 1876 led to further
civil war, which continued with but few important intervals of peace
until 1885, and during which period Marshal Santiago González fell
from power, and Dr. Rafael Zaldívar replaced him as President. At
this time, also, General J. Rufino Barrios died on the battle-field
of Chalchuapa, and General Figueroa was given the supreme command of
the Government troops against the Revolutionists, who were headed by
General Francisco Menéndez. The latter having succeeded in attaining
position as head of the State, General Figueroa retired temporarily;
but he returned with the inauguration of the administration of
General Carlos Ezeta, and was again appointed to his former post
of Governor of San Vicente. Later on he was nominated Minister of
War, which position he resigned upon becoming candidate for the
Presidency. He was duly and constitutionally elected in November of
1906, took office on March 1, 1907, and retired automatically with
the fresh elections of 1910, to give place to Dr. Manuel Enrique
Araujo, the present Chief Magistrate.
During his long and honourable career, General Figueroa has been
distinguished as much for his brilliant soldier-like qualities as
for his personal work and high sense of probity. He has had--as have
all great men--his enemies and his detractors; but none among them
can bring--nor ever have brought--any charge against his personal
honour or integrity.
It was his keen patriotism and shrewd diplomacy which arrested the
three-cornered armed conflict in which Salvador, Honduras, and
Nicaragua, were concerned in 1907, and but for General Figueroa's
tact and good sense, coupled with his masterly grasp of the
situation, these three sister States would have exhausted themselves
over a dispute which was practically worthless, and would have
proved just as fruitless.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Dr. don Francisco Dueñas, a
barrister, and a very distinguished member of the profession. Born
in San Salvador, and forty-three years of age, Dr. Dueñas has
occupied several important positions in the legal profession, and he
is looked upon as one of the soundest authorities on commercial and
general law. The Minister is regarded as an extremely able man, who
is bound to rise to the highest position which the State can confer
upon him.
The Minister of Finance is Señor don Rafael Guirola, D., a
thoroughly sound, practical business man, with a wide knowledge
of finance and commerce in all its branches and a member of one
of the leading families. He may be depended upon to adopt a
comprehensive and intelligent view of all subjects pertaining to his
Department, and it may be accepted as certain that he will give wide
encouragement to such foreign enterprise as can be regarded as of
benefit to the State. Señor Rafael Guirola, D., is forty-five years
of age.
The Minister of the Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public
Instruction and Agriculture, Dr. don Teodosio Corranza, is also one
of the most prominent lawyers in the Republic. He was born in San
Salvador, and is about fifty-two years of age. He has occupied some
of the most important and responsible posts in the country, and is
considered by all alike as lending both distinction and prominence
to his high office.
Dr. don Manuel Castro, R., Sub-Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, is a barrister by profession, and a distinguished member of
the Salvador Academy. Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr.
Castro has already filled with great distinction several important
positions in the legal profession, and he is regarded as a rising
"star" in the political firmament.
The portfolio for Home Affairs has been entrusted to the capable
hands of Dr. Cecilio Bustamente, who is also a distinguished lawyer,
as well as the writer of several books of more than ordinary merit.
On several occasions Dr. Bustamente has occupied a position on
the Bench, his judgments and rulings always having commanded deep
respect, and invariably being the outcome of calm consideration and
much forensic learning. Dr. Bustamente is about thirty-eight years
of age.
Public Instruction is under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Barón,
who is three years younger than Dr. Bustamente. By profession he
is a physician and surgeon, having taken high degrees at the Paris
University. Before entering the present Cabinet, Dr. Barón served
as teacher of, and lecturer upon, several subjects in the National
University of Salvador; and there is probably no man in the Republic
who enjoys a wider respect or a deeper regard, especially among
his colleagues, than the present Sub-Secretary of Instruction and
Promotion.
The important portfolio of Public Works has been entrusted to the
hands of Señor don José Maria Peralta Lagos, a civil engineer of
great reputation in Central America, although only forty-two years
of age. For many years past Señor Peralta Lagos has been interested
in engineering undertakings, and there can be no question that he
is admirably fitted both by experience and long study of current
engineering subjects for the high and responsible position which he
occupies.
The portfolio of Justice is in the hands of Dr. don José Antonio
Castro, V., a young but very brilliant man, his age being only
twenty-eight years, and who is a barrister by profession.
War and Marine are represented by Don Eusebio Bracamonte, a counsel
of great reputation, and who for a considerable time occupied
the position of Chief Justice of the High Court of Salvador. Dr.
Bracamonte is forty-three years of age.
The portfolio of Agriculture is in the hands of Don Miguel Dueñas,
who has devoted many years to a careful study of agriculture in
all its branches, and has, from his experience and the careful
observation of the methods employed in foreign countries, intimately
acquainted himself with all modern methods, many of which he has
personally introduced upon his own country estates. Señor Dueñas,
who is forty years of age, has travelled very considerably in the
United States and in Europe, and he speaks both English and French
with considerable facility. For some years past he has been a Member
of Congress, while he is also the Founder and the President of the
Salvadorean Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, an institution
which has already conferred considerable benefits upon the State.
Señor Carlos G. Prieto, Sub-Secretary of Finance and Public Credit,
is forty-five years of age, and a sound authority upon finance and
commerce generally.
It is worthy of mention that the Ministry of Agriculture in Salvador
is an entirely new creation, and owes its existence to the ruling
President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo. Considering the immense interest
which Salvador has in agriculture, and bearing in mind the fact
that upon its intelligent pursuit depends, to a very large extent,
the prosperity of the country, it is surprising that a Department
for Agriculture should not have been previously instituted. This
is probably due to the fact that the late Ministry was disinclined
to add further to the burden of expenditure in connection with
the government of the country; but the additional expenditure
incurred in the establishment of this Department has been abundantly
justified by results, and there is very little question that, if
for nothing else, the Presidency of Dr. Araujo will stand out
prominently in connection with a governmental creation which has
long been needed, and which is already proving thoroughly useful.
A new branch of the Government service has been established within
the past few months in the form of an Information Bureau, which
should prove of great utility to manufacturers and shippers, if they
desire to avail themselves of it. Already several North American
firms have done so, and, as I understand, with some material
advantage, the existence of the department having been brought to
the attention of United States commercial men by the very up-to-date
and shrewd American Consul-General at San Salvador, Mr. Harold D.
Clum. I have not heard that any attention has been directed to the
institution by the British Board of Trade.
The Salvador Congress authorized, and the Ministry of Agriculture
maintains, this Information Bureau, to report upon the orders which
the various departments of the Government may consider it expedient
to place abroad or upon the home market. The law provides that
Government orders shall be placed only after, and presumably upon
the basis of, a report from this Bureau; so that it is a distinct
advantage to manufacturers and others, who desire to market goods in
which the Government might be interested, to send their catalogues
(but printed in Spanish, and _not_ in English) with price lists
(but calculated in decimal measurements and coinage, and _not_
in "£ s. d."), as well as their proposals, to the Bureau. All
such communications should be addressed: "Oficina de Informacíon,
Ministerio de Agricultura, San Salvador." And let it be remembered
that the postage upon letters is 2-1/2d.!
The young and vigorous blood of which the Salvadorean Cabinet
is composed is perhaps one of its strongest and most promising
features, and the excellent impression which its formation created
last March has been confirmed in every way since it got to work and
proved the quality of its members for governing the country wisely
and economically.
It would, under ordinary circumstances, perhaps be difficult to
replace the valuable services which, for fifteen years past,
have been rendered by Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., as
Consul-General for the Republic of Salvador to the United Kingdom,
with residence in London, and to whom full reference has been made
in a preceding page; but it will be generally admitted that the
Government has made a very wise and a very acceptable selection in
Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila. The new Consul-General is a native of San
Miguel, and belongs to one of the leading families of the country,
and occupying a very high social position in the Republic.
Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr. Ávila has already
attained some celebrity in his own country, and has received the
degree of Doctor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence, a title which was
conferred upon him by the National University of Salvador. In 1907
one of Dr. Ávila's most notable achievements was the composition of
a "paper" which he read before the Tribunal of Examination, this
being a learned thesis upon the subject of "The Duel" ("El Duelo"),
consisting of 100 pages, and pronounced by literary critics as about
the most clever and most convincing essay which had been written
upon the subject.
Previous to entering upon his profession as an advocate, Dr. Ávila
served as a Justice of the Peace for one year in the Capital of
Salvador, being later on appointed Judge of the First Instance.
He occupied a similar position in the Civil and Criminal Courts of
Santa Tecla (New San Salvador), and held that post for two years.
Dr. Ávila had also for some time been advocate-in-chief for the
Banco Salvadoréno, of Salvador, and he represented legally various
other reputable houses of commerce. Dr. Ávila holds the position of
Consul-General of the Republic of Salvador for Great Britain and
Ireland, and has taken convenient offices at 8, Union Court, Old
Broad Street, London, E.C.
Señor Santiago Perez Triana, who has for some time been a resident
in London, entered the service of the Salvadorean Government
as Secretary of the Legation in 1900, under Dr. Zaldívar, and
accompanied him to the Spanish-American Congress which met in Madrid
in December of that year. Señor Perez Triana's capacity was that
of second delegate of Salvador, Dr. Zaldívar being chief of the
Mission, the third Attaché, who occupied a similar position to that
of Señor Perez Triana, being Señor M. Rodriguez. Subsequently Señor
Perez Triana was appointed Secretary of the Legation of Salvador
in Spain. Since 1901, when he went to the last-named country to
reside, he occupied the dual position of Chargé d'Affaires both in
Madrid and in London; and he still occupies a similar position in
the latter city, but not in Spain. In 1907 Señor Perez Triana was
appointed Delegate to the Hague Conference for Salvador, jointly
with Mr. P. J. Matheu. He is a quite remarkable orator and a man of
great culture, speaking English with complete accuracy and writing
it with equal facility.
[Illustration: DR. ARTÚRO RAMÓN ÁVILA;
CONSUL-GENERAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR TO GREAT BRITAIN.
APPOINTED MAY, 1911.]
In connection with the Coronation of Their Majesties King George and
Queen Mary, in the month of June last, the Salvadorean Government
sent to London an Extraordinary Mission to represent the Republic,
selecting for the purpose Señor J. Miguel Dueñas who by birth and
education was well fitted to fill so important a position. Señor
Dueñas was born in the city of San Salvador on August 28, 1871, and
is a son of an ex-President of Salvador, Dr. Francisco Dueñas, and
Donna Térésa Dardano. After a brilliant college career, pursued
both in his own country, in the United States, and in Europe, Señor
Dueñas returned in 1895 to Salvador, where he was soon afterwards
elected by popular vote as Deputy to the National Congress of
the Republic. He also became an active member of the Municipal
Council, and is the Founder and President of the Salvador Chamber
of Commerce and Agriculture in Salvador. He retains his position
as Secretary of State for the Department of Agriculture, which, as
mentioned previously in this volume, was brought into existence
upon the initiative of the present President of the Republic, Dr.
Manuel Enrique Araujo, this being one of his first official acts
after assuming the Presidential chair, in the month of March last.
Accompanying Señor Dueñas was his wife, Señora Donna Maria Eugénia
Palomo.
The new Minister of Salvador in Spain and Italy, with residence
at Madrid, is Dr. don J. Gustavo Guerrero, who was for many years
Consul-General for Salvador at Genoa, and acted as First Secretary
of the Special Diplomatic Mission of Salvador to the Court of St.
James in connection with the Coronation of King George V. He is
one of the several young men of great promise in Salvador, and is
destined to go far. He is, moreover, a distinguished advocate,
having taken high degrees at the Universities of San Salvador and
Guatemala City. He has acted as Deputy Governor at the first-named
Capital, as well as Consul at Burdeos, Consul at Genoa, Secretary of
Legation at Washington, and Chargé d'Affaires at Rome and Madrid.
In the month of May last (1911) Señor don Nicolás Leiva was
appointed Consul for Salvador at Liverpool, which port carries on a
fair amount of trade with the Republic.
CHAPTER IV
Government finances--London Market appreciation of
Salvador bonds--History of foreign debt--Salvador Railway
security--Central American Public Works Company--Changing the
guarantee--Financial conditions to-day--Public debt at end of
1909--Budget for 1910-11--Small deficit may be converted into a
surplus--Summary.
The high opinion which the London Market entertains regarding
Salvadorean Government securities is shown by the price at which
they are quoted; and although judged upon their merits, these
same securities are rather too cheaply priced, they form a marked
contrast to some of the neighbouring States' foreign loans, such,
for instance, as Costa Rica and Honduras. As a matter of fact,
the Salvadorean Governments of successive years have strictly and
faithfully performed their foreign obligations; and it has been the
firm policy of past Presidents, as it is of the present Executive,
to maintain their foreign credit upon an unassailable basis. It
is possible to speak very encouragingly of the Salvador 6 per
cent. Sterling Bonds, which were issued in March, 1908, at 86 per
cent., and which are at the present time of writing quoted at or
a little above par. Their desirability as an investment depends
upon the standard of security they afford--on the probability,
that is, that Salvador will faithfully fulfil its obligations. The
Salvador Government 6 per cent. Sterling Bonds (1908), amounting to
£1,000,000, were issued to meet the cost of certain public works
and to repay certain local loans contracted at a higher rate of
interest. The loan is redeemable by an accumulative sinking fund of
2-1/2 per cent., by purchase or drawing, and is secured by a first
charge on--(_a_) the special Customs duty of $3.60 (U.S. gold) per
100 kilogrammes of imported merchandise; and (_b_) the duty of 40
cents (U.S. gold) per quintal (up to 500,000 quintals) of the annual
export of coffee, the proceeds of which are remitted fortnightly to
the London Bank of Mexico and South America, whose Chairman stated
recently that "the rapid way in which the remittances are coming
forward is very satisfactory, and will, no doubt, in time improve
the credit of this small but hard-working country." The bonds
constitute the whole External Debt of the country, previous loans
having been commuted in 1899 for debentures of the Salvador Railway
Company, to which the Government pays an annual subsidy of £24,000.
This subsidy has now been punctually remitted for over nine years.
It is on such grounds as these that the friends of Salvador maintain
that the value of the bonds should not be gauged by the financial
reputation of some of the other Central American Republics.
It may be interesting to trace the whole history of Salvador's
foreign indebtedness, which commenced as far back as 1827. The
record--by no means an unworthy one--is as follows:
1827: Of the debt of the Central American Federation--which
was composed of Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, and
Nicaragua, and amounting to £163,000--the proportion which was
assumed by Salvador was one-sixth, £27,200.
1828-1859: No interest was paid during this long period of
turbulence and strife.
1860: Salvador compromised her share of the debt for 90 per cent.
paid in cash.
1889: A loan for £300,000 was issued, bearing 6 per cent. interest
and 2 per cent. accumulative sinking fund. It was offered by the
London and South-Western Bank at 95-1/2 per cent., and was specially
secured on 10 per cent. of the Customs duties and the rights of
the Government on the railway from Acajutla to Ateos (thirty-five
miles), and in the proposed extension to San Salvador. Out of the
proceeds of the loan a mortgage of the Government's interest in the
portion of the railroad already constructed (Acajutla to Sonsonate),
amounting to £183,000, was paid off. The extension of the railway
was only continued for a distance of seven miles from Ateos to La
Ceiba.
1892: Bonds for an amount of £500,000, bearing 6 per cent. interest
and 1 per cent. accumulative sinking fund, were created by the
Government and issued by Messrs. Brown, Janson and Co. to the
contractor Mr. A. J. Scherzer, in pursuance of a contract made by
the Government with Mr. Scherzer in 1891, for the purpose of the
extension of the railway. These bonds were specially secured on 10
per cent. of the Customs duties, and also by a first mortgage on
the railway line from Ateos to Santa Ana (thirty miles) when built.
These bonds were not issued to the public, but were delivered from
time to time to the contractor, against the engineer's certificates,
as the works proceeded.
1894: A company called the Central American Public Works Company
was registered by Mr. Mark J. Kelly in London, and Mr. Kelly was
associated with Mr. Scherzer in carrying out this contract, and in
the month of April a concession was obtained from the Government
under which the contract of 1891 was cancelled. The Central American
Public Works Company undertook to complete the line to Santa Ana;
to build a branch from Sitio del Niño to San Salvador (twenty-four
miles), together with a deviation of one and a half miles at the
port of Acajutla; to give the Government £70,000 in fully-paid
ordinary shares of the company when issued; and to redeem the loans
of 1889 and 1892. The Government, on its part, agreed to hand over
to the Company the whole of the railways for a period of ninety-nine
years, and to guarantee the Company for fifty years a net annual
profit on working the railways of 6 per cent. upon the sum of
£800,000, secured by a charge of 10 per cent. on the import duties.
A change of Government took place almost immediately afterwards,
and, owing to the differences which then arose between the
Government and the Company, the concession was declared void.
But in December a supplementary contract was entered into between
the Company and the new Government, by which it was agreed that--(1)
The £70,000 of shares of the Public Works Company were to be
delivered to the Government by May 31, 1895 (this was done, and the
Company took possession of the completed portion of the line and
commenced the construction of the remainder); (2) the duration of
the concession was shortened from ninety-nine to eighty years; (3)
the guarantee was reduced from £48,000 a year to £24,000 during
the construction of the line to Santa Ana, £36,000 during the
construction to San Salvador, and the full £48,000 was not to be
paid until the railway was entirely finished.
1898: In this year a new company, called the Salvador Railway
Company, Limited, was formed to take over the concession from the
Central American Public Works Company. Proposals were laid before
the holders of the 1889 and 1892 loans to convert their bonds into
mortgage debentures of the railway company. Some of the 1889
bondholders, however, declined to signify their adherence to the
scheme, and it was thus found impossible to arrange for the release
of the mortgage on the first section of the railway. The Central
American Public Works Company had, moreover, undertaken to deliver
to the Government all the bonds by December, 1898; they therefore
approached the Government with the object of securing further
legislation in order to get over the difficulty. In this they were
not at the time successful, and the Government declined to remit to
the company the sum due under the guarantee for the half-year ending
December 31, 1898. The funds for the payment of the February and
August, 1898, coupons on the 1889 bonds were sent by the Government
direct to the London and South-Western Bank. The November 1897
drawing and May 1898 coupons on the 1892 bonds, and the July 1898
drawing and February 1899 coupons on the 1889 bonds, were not paid.
1899: On February 8 of this year a further contract was entered
into between the Government and Mr. Kelly, representing the Central
American Public Works Company, of which the following were the
principal provisions: (1) The company was to hand over to the
Government for cancellation the outstanding 1889 and 1892 bonds (in
round figures amounting to £725,000) within six months from the date
of ratification of the contract by Congress. The company might,
however, leave outstanding £60,000 of the bonds if they could not
make delivery of the whole of them, but on these they were to pay on
their own account the same interest (6 per cent.) and amortization
(2 per cent.), as the Government was under obligation to do. (2) The
Government was to pay the company for eighteen years from January
1, 1899, a fixed annual subsidy of £24,000 in lieu of the previous
guarantee, and to hand over all the railways free of charge. The
subsidy was to be secured on 15 per cent. of the import duties, in
respect of which the Government was to issue special Customs notes.
These notes were to be handed to a bank named by the company, who
were to sell them and collect the proceeds.
The railway company engaged themselves to complete the line to the
Capital by June 30, 1900. If the bonds of the external debt were not
handed over within the period stipulated, the Government was to have
the right, subject to existing hypothecations, to take possession of
the railways.
In April, 1899, an agreement was entered into between the Council
of Foreign Bondholders, acting in conjunction with the Committee of
1889 bondholders, and the Central American Public Works Company,
for the transfer to the Salvador Railway Company of the railways
and concessions held by the Works Company, including the subsidy
payable under the contract of February 8, 1899, on such terms as
might be agreed between the Works Company and the railway company.
The railway company were to issue (1) Prior lien debentures to
the amount of £163,000, forming part of a total authorized issue
of £250,000, and bearing 5 per cent. interest and 1 per cent.
accumulative sinking fund, to be applied by purchase or drawings at
par. Such issue to be for the purpose of providing the funds for the
completion of railway, repairs, working capital, and expenses; (2) 5
per cent. mortgage debentures to the amount of £660,000, to provide
for the cancellation of the outstanding bonds of the 1889 and 1892
loans, the debentures of the Public Works Company (£150,000), and
other claims.
These debentures were to be redeemable by an accumulative sinking
fund of 1 per cent. per annum, commencing from August 15, 1906, to
be applied by purchases or drawings, at the price, in the case of
drawings, of £103 for each £100 of debentures. The holders of the
1889 bonds were to receive, in respect of each £100 bond, £100 in
mortgage debentures of the railway company, bearing interest from
August 15, 1899. The 1889 bonds were deposited with the Council
against the issue of negotiable receipts, with two coupons of £2
10s. each attached, payable out of the first two instalments of the
subsidy in respect of the coupons on each bond of £100, due February
15 and August 15, 1899.
This arrangement was accepted by the holders of the bonds of the
1889 and 1892 loans, who by the necessary majorities authorized the
trustees of the loans to release the respective mortgages. It was
also approved by the holders of the debentures of the Public Works
Company, and was duly carried into effect.
STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Year. | Revenue. | Expenditure. | Deficit. |
---------|-----------------|------------------|-----------------|
| $ | $ | $ |
1901 | 7,556,721.56 | 7,284,264.51 | 727,542.95 |
1902 | 6,702,021.70 | 8,459,460.84 | 1,757,439.14 |
1903 | 6,792,045.69 | 7,704,756.34 | 912,710.65 |
1904 | 8,060,689.05 | 8,759,404.63 | 698,715.58 |
1905 | 8,536,443.07 | 10,045,413.03 | 1,508,969.96 |
1906 | 8,484,419.78 | 12,246,825.76 | 3,762,405.98 |
1907 | 8,669,189.12 | 11,389,642.40 | 2,720,453.28 |
1908 | 10,676,338.92 | 12,656,656.61 | 1,980,317.69 |
1909 | 10,776,028.65 | 11,856,002.21 | 1,139,903.56 |
1910 | 10,620,865.57 | 13,027,546.96 | 2,406,681.39 |
---------|-----------------|------------------|-----------------|
| $85,814,833.11 | $103,429,973.49 | $17,615,140.28 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It will be observed that, while the general revenue of the Republic
had expanded considerably during the past decade, having, indeed,
increased about 50 per cent., the expenditure had, unfortunately,
expanded also, and to a greater degree, leaving an annually
increasing deficit to be met. The reason for this during the latter
few years is clear--the unfortunate political troubles which were
thrust upon the Republic by the acts of certain revolutionists
instigated by the evil genius of Central America, ex-President
J. Santos Zelaya, and which turned what might have been a fairly
profitable period into a disastrous one, from a financial aspect.
Nevertheless, there is no reason to adopt a despairing view of the
Salvadorean national finances, since the resources of the country
are very elastic, and their development is but in its infancy.
It is much to the credit of the Government, both the present and
that which was lately in office, that the situation should have
been so boldly and frankly met, the whole position being explained
and true reasons given. Everyone must think the better of the
authorities for their honesty in dealing with the nation, an honesty
which is, unfortunately, rare, not alone among Latin-American
States, but also among European Governments of much older growth
and wider experience. Don Manuel Lopez Mencia, the ex-Minister of
Finance, who is a thoroughly capable and experienced financier,
fully grasped the necessities of the situation, and before retiring
from office freely criticized his own Department, offering many
valuable and timely suggestions for improving it and for placing the
finances of the country upon a more satisfactory basis. I believe
that the present year (1911) is destined to afford a much more
encouraging condition, and a continuation of the present economical
and severe retrenchment policy in force; the deficit, which has made
an unwelcome appearance in each year's accounts over a period of a
whole decade, will gradually give place to a surplus. Naturally, all
depends upon internal peace being preserved and freedom from foreign
political troubles; both of which, happily, at the time of writing
seem to be well assured.
In regard to the general financial conditions of Salvador, which are
at the present time in a much more satisfactory state, the following
particulars will be of interest:
PUBLIC DEBT.
The composition of the Public Debt on December 31, 1909, stood as
follows:
GOLD LIABILITIES.
$ Gold. $ Gold.
Sundry cash creditors 906,585
Bills payable 363,545
National indemnity bonds 73,656
External loan principal 4,744,000
External loan interest and expenses 3,657,694
--------- 8,401,694
---------
$9,745,480 Gold.
= at 150 premium, $24,363,700 Silver.
SILVER LIABILITIES.
$ Silver.
Sundry creditors 930,550
Salvador bonds (principal and
interest) 3,564,207
Administrative salaries, expenses,
etc. 836,299
Deposits 2,629
Funds to be applied to special purposes 88,022
Various bonds 113,140
------- 5,534,848
----------
Total $29,898,548 Silver.
The Public Debt of the Republic of Salvador on December 31, 1901,
amounted to $10,666,584 (_gold_) = £2,133,517, and $6,207,059
(_silver_) = £517,256. Reduced to the silver unit, the total Debt
amounted to $32,873,520.
The Customs Revenues for 1910 show a small decline over those of
1909, the difference being $3,784.00.
IMPORT DUTIES. EXPORT DUTIES.
Sonsonate $3,522,875.05 $430,359.84
La Unión $1,086,766.03 $114,528.03
La Libertad $554,400.57 $125,926.49
_Import Duties_ at the General _Imports_ at El
Treasury (parcels post) $169,638.59 Triunfo $215,835.19
------------- ------------
Totals[2] $5,333,680.24 $886,649.55
[2] These figures are in Salvadorean pesos=$0.403 U.S. _gold_.
The Government's whole Revenue during the first half of 1910
amounted to $2,972,501 (_gold_), and its expenditure to $2,677,431
(_gold_).
The total import and export duties for the two years 1909 and 1910
are as follows:
1909. 1910.
Imports $4,176,931.56 | Imports $3,745,249.19
Exports $8,481,787.65 | Exports $9,122,295.09
(These figures are in U.S. _gold_ currency.)
BUDGET FOR 1910-11.
The estimates for the financial year 1910-11, approved by the
National Assembly, and published in the _Diario Oficial_ of June 6,
1910,[3] were practically identical with those for the preceding
year.
[3] This volume having to go to press a few weeks before the Return
of 1910 will have been issued, the figures for the preceding year
only are available.
The details are shown below:
ESTIMATES OF REVENUE, 1910-11.
CUSTOMS REVENUE.
_Imports_:
$ Silver.
Import duties 3,100,000
Fiscal tax of 30 per cent. 600,000
Taxes of $3.60, $2.40, and $0.50 gold per 100
kilos 1,952,500
Storage, etc. 285,000
Sundry receipts 148,500
_Exports_:
Coffee export duty of $0.40 gold per 46 kilos 600,000
Coffee export duty of $0.12-1/2 for internal
development in the Capital 75,000
Coffee transit permits 80,175
Tax of $1.50 per 100 kilos in favour of Central
Railway 4,000
Sundry receipts 66,557
INTERNAL REVENUE.
Liquor tax 2,500,000
Stamps and stamped paper 264,500
Internal Excise 126,500
Post-Offices, Telegraphs, and Telephones 270,250
National Printing-Office 25,000
Penitentiaries 30,000
Powder, saltpetre, and cartridges 65,000
Public Registry 38,000
Sundry receipts 88,800
-----------
Total $10,319,782
ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE, 1910-11.
$ Silver.
National Assembly 40,980
Presidency of the Republic 41,340
Department of Finance 670,256
" Internal Development 636,800
" Government 1,250,463
" Foreign Affairs 116,080
" Justice 507,192
" Public Instruction 714,652
" Beneficence 529,336
" War and Marine 2,573,510
" Public Credit 3,291,260
-----------
Total $10,371,869
SUMMARY.
Revenue $10,319,782
Expenditure 10,371,869
-----------
Estimated deficit $52,087
In regard to this Estimated Deficit, which in any case is very
small, it is to be mentioned that in November of this year (1911)
an additional export tax upon coffee, of 30 cents (_gold_) per
100 kilogrammes comes into effect, although only for two years,
and it is expected to produce $180,000 (_gold_). This additional
revenue will wipe out the small anticipated deficit, and leave a
considerable surplus, for the present year.
[Illustration: ARTILLERY ON PARADE GROUND, SAN SALVADOR BARRACKS.]
CHAPTER V
Salvador _versus_ Honduras and Nicaragua--Attitude of the
President--Proclamation to the people--Generals Rivas
and Alfaro--Invasion of Salvador--Ignominious retreat of
enemy--Conciliatory conduct of General Figueroa--Character of
Salvadorean people--Treachery of Zelaya.
There is no question that but for the prompt and conciliatory action
of General Figueroa the events which took place in the last months
of 1907 might well have involved the whole of the States of Central
America in a long, serious, and sanguinary conflict. As it was,
sufficient provocation was given to Salvador, whose territory was
invaded, and many of whose citizens were either injured or robbed.
In this month, the invaders who came from Honduras were largely
composed of Honduraneans, Nicaraguans, Salvadorean revolutionists,
and American filibusters, who actually seized the port of Acajutla,
and taking forcible possession of engines and cars belonging to the
Salvador Railway Company, reached as far as the city of Sonsonate.
The invading forces were led by Generals Manuel Rivas and Prudencio
Alfaro, the latter being General Santos Zelaya's candidate for the
Presidency of Salvador.
It was at this time that General Figueroa issued a fervent and
eloquent appeal to the loyalty of his troops and his countrymen.
In exhorting them to deeds of valour, he declared that he himself
would lead his army in defence of the national honour even to
death, and his previous military experience would certainly have
enabled him to have carried them to success. General Figueroa's
"Proclamation to the Salvadorean People" is worth quotation in these
pages, and I therefore give it in full as follows:
"Compatriots: General J. Santos Zelaya, in violation of the
faith imposed in international agreements, has broken his
solemn obligations contracted through the intervention of the
Governments of the United States and Mexico. At daybreak this
morning he surprised the small military force at Acajutla,
and has landed Nicaraguan forces with the object of conquest.
Before this brutal offence which the Nicaraguan Government has
committed against us, we should all, as one man, gather round
the flag of our country and defend it, letting our blood flow
rather than allow it to be stained by the adventurers who,
in an evil hour, seek to defile it. The national honour, the
deeds of our forefathers, the future of our children, and the
lofty legends of our people, cry to us to arise and punish the
insolence of the Nicaraguan President, and to preserve, not only
our military glory and our interests, which recent events in
Honduras have shown to be in danger, but the respect that our
heroic army has inspired whenever it has been called upon in
defence of our country.
"Soldiers: Do not permit the consummation of this insolent
attempt in the annals of an enlightened people which would fill
us with shame and opprobrium, rendering us unworthy to preserve
intact the sacred treasure of our autonomy, the honour of our
victorious banner and our sovereignty. Before permitting the
arms of an audacious adventurer to violate the soil of our
beloved country, whose safeguard is entrusted to the national
army and to your undoubted patriotism, prefer yes, a thousand
times, death with honour on the battle-field, where I will
accompany you even to death.
"I have full confidence in your loyalty and in your military
honour, and I therefore place in your hands the sacred trust of
the national defence.
"Free and heroic peoples never retreat before the enemy, for
they carry in their hearts the conscience of doing their duties
and confidence in the right, which assist all worthy and
independent peoples to repel aggression against their autonomy.
"Salvadoreans: In this movement be assured that I shall save,
untarnished, the honour of the country and the security of your
homes, which are now threatened by the mercenary soldiery of the
Nicaraguan ruler.
"Your chief and friend,
"F. FIGUEROA.
"SAN SALVADOR,
"_June 11, 1907_."
It is satisfactory to know that the Presidential call to arms, in
addition to the strong personal influence which General Figueroa
wielded, shortly afterwards put an end to the trouble that had
threatened at one time to assume the most serious aspects, and to
have involved the whole of the five States in a fierce struggle. Now
that the threatening cloud has been dispersed--it may be hoped for
all time--it is possible to smile at some of the incidents which
have been related in connection with the embroilment. It is, for
instance, related that the invasion of Salvadorean territory, the
first step of which took place in the month of June, 1907, failed of
achievement principally on account of a personal dispute which broke
out between the two Revolutionary Generals, Rivas and Alfaro.
It is alleged that the former, on reaching the town of Sonsonate,
after landing successfully at Acajutla, proceeded to the National
Bank in that town, where he overawed the cashier (not a very
brilliant achievement, since he was only a boy) and raised what is
known as "a forced loan," departing heroically with the sum of
$20,000 in silver, and nobly handing over to the bewildered and
trembling bank official a receipt for that amount signed by himself
as the "General of the new Salvadorean Army." On learning what his
brother-commander had done, Alfaro, it is said, strongly objected
to raising--"stealing," he described it--money in this manner; and
so emphatic was his language, and so indomitable his decision to
have none of it, that General Rivas refused on his part any longer
to act with him, and the two leaders parted there and then, Rivas
proceeding on his way to the Capital at the head of his following,
and Alfaro marching with his to Santa Ana.
Before leaving one another, it was arranged, however, that the
Republic of Salvador should be divided in half, General Rivas to
rule the Eastern zone, with headquarters at San Salvador, and
General Alfaro to rule the Western zone, with headquarters at
Sonsonate. To this proposition General Alfaro also strongly objected
at first, but consented reluctantly later; and while the two future
victors were quarrelling as to what they would do with the territory
which was not yet theirs, a messenger arrived hot-haste from the
Capital with the unpleasant tidings that General Figueroa was coming
in person with a train-load of troops to Sonsonate.
Thereupon followed a hasty and most undignified retreat to Acajutla,
and an eyewitness has left a humorous description of how the
brave invaders, in their desire to get out as soon as possible,
precipitated themselves into small boats, barges, and lighters, or
any kind of thing that floated, making their way to the gunboat
_Momotombo_, up the sides of which they scrambled helter-skelter,
glad enough to be safely off Salvadorean territory and once more on
their way to the refuge of the Nicaraguan port of Corinto.
The gunboat was obliged, as all vessels are, to anchor a half-mile
from the Acajutla pier, men, arms, and ammunition having to be
conveyed over that distance in any kind of boat of which they could
command the use.
At an early period of the invasion it is certain that General
Figueroa had the situation well in hand. He was always popular with
the army, and he likewise possessed the complete confidence of the
Salvadorean people, who felt that in his strong hands the safety of
the Republic lay. Moreover, by his excellent system of organizing
the Intelligence Department of his army, and the care with which he
had selected his officers, General Figueroa was always in complete
possession of the plans and actions of the opposing force; and even
when these latter fatuously supposed that he knew nothing, and
was doing nothing, to check their advance, General Figueroa was
laying his plans with consummate ability, and, as we now know, he
ultimately executed them with complete success.
Dr. Alfaro, who for the nonce had become a "General," was never
an opponent worth much consideration; while General Rivas only
displayed any marked ability when conspiring and organizing foreign
troops, destined to be led to battle, when led at all, by others
than himself. The only man who had any chance of making serious
difficulty, and who might have fostered formidable trouble, was
Barahona, of whose actions and intentions the President was always
fully aware, and who at the psychological moment consigned him to
the security of a prison. And there he kept him until the worst
trouble was over.
The conciliatory measures which were adopted at the beginning by
General Figueroa and his Government were adhered to throughout the
upheaval, and it is only right that impartial history should record
the dignified and sane proceedings which characterized the attitude
of the Republic of Salvador at this period. The views which General
Figueroa entertained and acted upon throughout are clearly reflected
in an official communication addressed to a well-known American,
the then Consul-General for Salvador in the United States. General
Figueroa said:
"Untiring enemies of the peace and repose of our people have
once more endeavoured to create disturbances; for some time past
my Government has received notices of what was transpiring, and
of the progress of the conspiracy, together with considerable
data. This Government did not, however, act hastily, assuming,
rather, an expectative attitude, but nevertheless following
closely the trend of affairs, until the moment had arrived when
active work was to be begun.
"This Government early received advices from various parts of
the country, notifying it of suspicious movements on the part
of the enemies of the Republic. It was also noted that many
of these left the Capital two or three days before for other
towns, and all of them were closely followed. The Government
was prepared for all emergencies; barracks were ready, and
the proper orders given to crush any movements on their part.
Consequently, when numbers of these conspirators formed in
groups around such towns as Sonsonate and Ahuachapán, many were
captured. The Government is now in possession of the persons of
most of the authors of the conspiracy, and the guilty ones are
being proceeded against legally. Fortunately, the trouble has
not interfered with the progress of the country, nor with the
gathering of the coffee crop which is now in progress; while
the Government has received assurances of sympathy and support
from the great majority of law-abiding citizens throughout the
country."
In this reference to the trifling effect occasioned to the coffee
crop by the political disturbances, the President was a little
premature. The subsequent depression which was experienced in
commercial circles generally was undoubtedly occasioned by these
disturbances, although the consequence only proved transient.
All travellers, foreigners and natives alike, who happened to be in
Central America at this time, were well aware of the provocative
part which President Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua was playing; for
many years he had been acting as the evil genius of this Republic,
and his misgovernment and brutalities to his own people met with
general condemnation.
There can be no question that the revolution which was started in
Salvador, but which was so promptly and effectually suppressed, was
promoted by Zelaya, who, rightly or wrongly, imagined that at the
psychological moment he would meet with support, not alone from
Honduras, but from the United States, either directly or indirectly.
There is sufficient evidence on record to prove that Dr. Prudencio
Alfaro, who, since the death of General Regalado during the war with
Guatemala in 1906, had attained some slight popularity in Salvador,
was the instrument through whom General Zelaya hoped, and indeed
endeavoured, to carry out his plans. The conquest of Salvador was
only one of them, since, as I have mentioned in another part of
this volume, it was the ambition of Santos Zelaya to reconstitute a
Federation of the five Central American States, and then to elect
himself first President.
It was with the financial and physical assistance of Zelaya that
Dr. Alfaro engaged the Nicaraguan gunboat to convey him and other
conspirators from Corinto to Acajutla in order to spy out the land,
and to industriously lay the seeds of revolution. It was nothing
to Zelaya that he should allow one of the Government gunboats to
be employed in making warfare against a friendly power, with which
he had signed a treaty of peace only a very few weeks before, or
to supply from the national treasury the funds for letting loose a
horde of armed ruffians upon a neighbour's territory.
I have been shown documentary proofs of the arrangements upon
which Zelaya had been employed for many months previous, and which
provided for the invasion of Salvador at four different points. From
time to time changes were made in the _personnel_ of the Nicaraguan
commanders, but the names upon the lists which were shown to me were
not in all cases the same as those of the men who actually took part
in the abortive invasion.
I remember, for instance, observing the name of General Salvador
Toledo, who had previously been deputed to command the invading
army which was to enter Salvador from Honduras, near the Guatemalan
frontier; and also that of General Estrada, who had been nominated
to strike at the enemy with the Northern forces at the proper time.
This General Estrada had been in command of the Honduranean forces
between Puerto Cortes and the Salvadorean line, and he it was who
numbered among his followers all the scum of the population, mostly
consisting of ex-prisoners and exiles, who were willing enough
to fight against their own country's soldiers, side by side with
Honduraneans.
Another name which was on the officers' list was that of General
Cierra, who was to have entered the Republic of Salvador from the
south, with the intention of capturing the port of La Unión, and of
meeting the forces of Generals Cristales and Presa. According to
the calculations which were then made, it was believed that General
Cierra had only 3,000 men with him.
General Figueroa at this time wisely declared the City of Salvador
"in a state of siege," which is the equivalent of suspension of
political guarantees, to enable summary action to be taken against
political offenders or even suspects; a condition afterwards
extended to the whole country; and his instructions to the Governors
of the several Departments no doubt saved the Central Government
from considerable embarrassment as the result of the rising. Those
who led the insurrection had counted upon receiving support from
the public, which, however, they did not realize, and the lack of
this made the capture of the leaders by the Government troops a
matter of comparative facility. Secondly, much of the inconvenience
which would have followed a general disturbance of the affairs of
the country at that time, and which would have caused both the
Government and the people losses upon coffee shipments, was spared
them, but not altogether obviated.
As we have seen, it was altogether a clumsy attack which had been
planned, and had better local knowledge prevailed it would have been
ascertained that the prestige of the existing Government stood too
high, and the personal popularity of General Figueroa was too great,
to have ever endowed this rising with any great chances of success.
In this connection I think I may well quote an extract from an
official statement which was made in _El Diario de Salvador_, one
of the most powerful papers in the Republic, of which I attach the
following translation:
"In our edition of yesterday we published the decree of the
Supreme Executive power declaring the Republic to be in a state
of siege. According to the terms of this decree, the Government
has been obliged to take extreme measures, owing to the attempt
of its enemies to create a revolutionary movement calculated to
cause a radical change in this Government.
"Fortunately for the Administration, the plot was discovered
in time, and repressive measures were at once adopted which
rendered the movement impossible of consummation. But, if it is
certain that the internal peace has not been disturbed, such is
not the case with the credit of the country. Furthermore, the
fact that the attempt was made at the time for harvesting coffee
aggravated the situation somewhat for the moment, and threatened
to interfere with the gathering of this important crop on which
much of the prosperity of the country depends; but the action of
the Chief Executive in issuing orders to the Governors of the
several Departments has reduced this evil to a minimum.
"In his instructions to the Governors, the Minister of the
Interior provided in part that, notwithstanding the state of
siege, the greatest latitude must be given persons and workmen
who were not actually under suspicion, but insisted on the
strict guarding of public order. Men in the discharge of their
duties, however, were allowed to pass toward the Capital of the
country without the necessity of presenting passports. This
referred particularly to merchants, managers of plantations, and
day labourers.
"As will be seen," continued the journal referred to, "the
circular does not mention the municipal elections which are soon
to take place throughout the interior, but the President of the
Republic has authorized us to make known his desires that these
elections be held with perfect freedom, and be unhampered by the
decree of the Executive."
[Illustration: COLONEL'S QUARTERS, SCHOOL OF SERGEANTS.]
[Illustration: OFFICERS' CLUB ROOM, SCHOOL OF SERGEANTS.]
The extract which I am quoting continues as follows:
"Whatever reasons the enemies of the Government may set forth
in justification of their conduct, it cannot be doubted that
the country has resisted the movement grandly, and has caused
the failure of another attempt, which adds one more to the
number which have aided to discredit the country abroad, and
characterized our land as one of convulsive nations, incapable
of making reasonable use of their Governments, such as we now
enjoy. We must not lose sight of the fact that the eyes of
Europe are upon us, thanks to the important rôle which Salvador
is destined to play in uniting the civilizations of the East
with the West."
It cannot be too emphatically pointed out that the Salvadoreans
are not naturally a rebellious or warlike people, and, except when
compelled to take up arms in their own defence or in favour of a
righteous cause, they ask nothing better than to be permitted to
devote themselves to the congenial and profitable occupation of
cultivating the bounteous land which is theirs by inheritance. In
the troubles which afflicted the country in the years 1907-08,
the whole cause was the incitement which was offered to them by
their turbulent and troublesome neighbours the Nicaraguans and
the Honduraneans. As I have shown very conclusively, it was the
long-established policy of Santos Zelaya to foster an outbreak in
Salvador which should broaden into a revolution, in the course of
which Salvadorean troops would be compelled innocently to commit
some overt act which would give Honduras or Nicaragua a cause for
the initiation of a movement against the Republic. This, it was
hoped, would ultimately result in the election to the Presidency
of Salvador of Dr. Prudencio Alfaro, who was always a creature of
Santos Zelaya, and who for many months was his guest at Managua,
where he formed all his plans, for the execution of which President
Zelaya was ready to pay. As we have seen, the agitators did not
wait for the _casus belli_ on the part of Salvador, but most
unwarrantably invaded that country and committed certain outrages,
only, however, to have to execute a most humiliating retreat before
any beneficial results could possibly have accrued to them. Had
it come to an actual encounter or series of encounters between
the allied forces of Honduras and Nicaragua on the one hand and
the Salvadoreans on the other, there can be no question that the
latter would in the long-run have emerged victorious; out of a
population of 1,100,000, the Salvadoreans can claim a fighting
force of at least 100,000. The Salvadoreans are the best and most
plucky fighters in South or Central America, as has been proved upon
several occasions, displaying great intelligence on the battle-field
and in the conduct of their campaigns. At the memorable battle of
Jutiapa, fought between the Salvadorean troops and the Guatemalans
in the previous year (1906), and in spite of the fact that the
latter numbered over 40,000 as against little more than half that
force arrayed on the side of Salvador, the former gave an extremely
good account of themselves, and showed that the excellent military
training which they had received had not been thrown away.
The invasion of Salvadorean territory in the month of June, 1907, by
the Nicaraguans was a direct and unprovoked violation of the Treaty
of Peace and Amity of Amapala, only signed on the previous April 23,
and ratified on May 8, by which the Governments of the two countries
agreed to submit their grievances to the Presidents of the United
States and Mexico for arbitration. The news was first received
through the telegram sent by President Figueroa, dated June 11,
1907, and addressed to Dr. Manuel Delgado, the Salvadorean Minister
at Washington. In this despatch, General Figueroa says:
"This morning the revolutionists bombarded and captured the port
of Acajutla. The forces were commanded by General Manuel Rivas,
and came from Corinto in the warship _Momotombo_, armed by the
President of Nicaragua. It is in this manner that President
Zelaya complies with the terms of the Treaty of Amapala, which
was the result of the intervention of the American Government."
The gunboat mentioned was one of six warships which Nicaragua at
that date possessed, and which composed the whole of the Nicaraguan
"Navy." The vessel was capable of transporting 1,000 troops, and the
facility with which these landed and seized the port of Acajutla
is explained by the fact that the Salvadoreans were entirely
unsuspicious and unprepared for such an outrageous act upon the
part of the treacherous Zelaya, with whom they had every reason to
consider themselves at peace. The civilized world has denounced the
Nicaraguans' act of aggression, and unhesitatingly expressed the
opinion that President Zelaya had committed a grave violation of
international ethics in opening hostilities against Salvador without
having made a preliminary declaration of war or giving any reasons
for such an action.
CHAPTER VI
Outbreak of hostilities between Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Guatemala--Discreditable conduct of
Nicaragua proved--Failure of United States and Mexican
intervention--Dignified and loyal attitude of General
Figueroa--Warning to Honduras--President Dávila used as
Zelaya's cat's-paw--The latter's subsequent regret--Central
American Court of Justice trial of claim for damages, and
result of judgment.
The true friends of interstate peace, of whom there are as many
in Latin America as other parts of the world--although, from the
frequent turmoils which occur in that part of the globe, one might
be excused for doubting it--were much distressed by the serious
quarrel which broke out between the neighbouring Republics of
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, in the years 1907-08.
This was not by any means the first conflict which arose between
Salvador and Honduras, for the two States were at war in 1871, when
General Miranda invaded Honduras with the object of proclaiming
General Xatruch as President in place of General Medina; again in
1872, when were fought the famous battles of Sabana Grande and Santa
Bárbara; and in 1873, when Salvador sent an armed expedition against
President Celio Arias, and in order to restore General Ponciano
Leiva to the Presidency of the neighbouring Republic. Although the
relations between Nicaragua and its adjoining States had long been
on a questionable basis owing to the ambitious projects of General
J. Santos Zelaya, its President, there was no reason to anticipate
any disturbance, more especially as at the most critical time, owing
to the intervention of the United States and Mexico, the cloud had
blown over, and to all appearances peace reigned.
The worthlessness of the intervention, and the absolute ineptitude
of the United States to effect any permanent improvement in the
prevailing conditions, was, however, proved conclusively a few
months after the Treaty of Peace and Amity had been signed, amid
somewhat premature rejoicings at Washington, on December 20, 1907.
Almost before the ink was dry upon the document, Honduranean and
Nicaraguan troops had violated the terms and conditions, and
continued, moreover, to do so in spite of all diplomatic reminders
and serious warnings from the United States. In these "warnings,"
however, Mexico took no part, merely using the good offices of
President Diaz to effect what the threat of the Big Stick had failed
to accomplish. Eventually peace was proclaimed, and since then it
has been strictly maintained as between the different Republics,
although not by any means so within their own borders, as witness
what has recently occurred, and is still occurring, in Honduras,
and, alas! within Mexican territory, also. It seems a cruel irony
that Diaz the Dictator should so soon have become the Deposed. The
fact recalls forcibly the poet Burns's well-known words:
"And may you better reck the rede,
Than ever did th' adviser!"
The true history of these Republics' quarrels of recent times
would at this stage be somewhat difficult to record, since an
immense quantity of official documents would have to be translated
and given in full. To do this, however interesting, would prove
impracticable within the limits of a single volume. The matter has
been sketched by me from personal knowledge, and I trust that I
shall escape the charge of prejudice or unfairness to any of the
parties involved.
For the facts set forth abundant evidence can be procured, and
possibly, if my account be compared with the many versions which
have been from time to time adduced by others, who have spoken and
written from authoritative or personal information, it will not be
found to vary very much in the main particulars. I have patiently
listened to the accounts of all that took place both on Salvadorean
and on Nicaraguan territory, and, furthermore, the incidents which
both led up to and followed the clash of arms were related to me
by the participants when all feeling of animosity and bitterness
had disappeared, and the usual friendliness between the members
of this strangely mercurial people had been restored. Thus very
little for spirit of resentment--although perhaps something for the
vainglorious spirit of the individuals concerned--need be allowed.
_Il est difficile toujours d'estimer quelqu'un comme il veut l'être._
Considerable as is the space which I have given up in this volume
to the relations of the Salvadorean, Honduranean, and Nicaraguan
troubles, I find it impossible to publish in its entirety, as I
should have liked to have done, the text of the complaints presented
by the Governments of Honduras and Nicaragua against that of
Salvador, and which were heard before and decided by the Central
American Court of Justice, as well as the final answer and arguments
which were later on issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Salvador. All these documents, which fill two substantial and
closely-printed pamphlets, the one consisting of 84 pages and the
other of 108 pages, are extremely interesting and instructive,
serving as they do to throw a particularly clear light upon the
methods of some of the Central American States, which imagine
that they are acting in an "honourable" manner and fulfilling a
respectable destiny.
It is significant that these publications, which are complete and
official, were issued by the Government of Salvador, from which
it is clear at least that this country had nothing to fear from
the world at large being made acquainted with the history of the
troubles. No less worthy of comment is it that neither Honduras
nor Nicaragua has ever made any rejoinder to the arguments
and conclusions of the Court of Justice or of the Salvadorean
Government, and in this action, perhaps, they have for the first
time shown some intelligent discretion.
The impartial reader of these publications can only arrive at one
conclusion, nor, indeed, is it even necessary that he should know
anything of either the countries or their inhabitants to be able
to form some sensible deduction from the actual position. The
correspondence, the genuineness of which is unchallenged, speaks
for itself. It seems clear that the Government of Salvador, while
subscribing in Washington the Central American Treaty of Peace,
swore faithfully to fulfil the International Agreement which bound
it to its sister Republics, and at the same time opened for itself
and for them, as it had every reason to hope and believe, a new era
of confraternity to be maintained in dignity and mutual advantage.
To the principles of that Treaty, Salvador adhered with the utmost
rigour; and, in the face of the most intense provocation, refused to
depart one inch from its solemn obligations. The attitude which this
small but high-principled State showed at this time of trouble and
trial has evoked the admiration and commendation of all statesmen,
independently of country, or creed, or political belief.
[Illustration: PENITENTIARY AT SAN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: OFFICERS' CLUB ROOM, MILITARY POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL.]
To particularize more minutely from the abundant evidence which
exists to this effect, and which may be gathered from every page of
these two pamphlets, is unnecessary in this volume; but one fact
at least I may call attention to, as exemplifying the honesty of
purpose and the good faith of the Salvadorean Government towards
the Republic of Honduras, at a time, moreover, when only armed
retaliation could reasonably have been looked for.
In all probability the friendliness of President Figueroa for his
neighbours would never have been questioned, nor their relations
have been in any way embittered, but for the Machiavellian
interference of Santos Zelaya. It is an eloquent fact of the
sympathy felt for Honduras, that President Figueroa of Salvador
wrote personally, and almost affectionately, to President Dávila,
on June 10, 1907, drawing his attention to the revolutionary plans
of certain Honduranean exiles who were making Salvadorean territory
their temporary headquarters. Only feelings of friendship and
good-nature could have prompted a neighbourly action of this kind,
which, however, some few months afterwards was rewarded by President
Dávila allowing his troops to join forces with the Nicaraguans in
their invasion of Salvadorean territory.
This I may say in defence of ex-President Miguel R. Dávila, whom I
know quite well, and with whom I have had many long and interesting
conversations: he is a man of great honesty of purpose, but of
singularly weak will; in fact, he has neither initiative nor power
of moral resistance. Quiet and modest to an extraordinary degree,
speaking very little above a whisper, and with the manners of a
curate rather than those of a soldier, one is inclined to rather
wonder _que diable fait-il dans cette galère_ of President of an
unruly and half-savage Republic.
In agreeing to join Zelaya upon his mad and mendacious enterprise,
President Miguel Dávila, who had only assumed the Presidency in the
month of April of that year (1907), undoubtedly allowed his better
judgment and sense of decency to be overruled. This do I know, also:
he has deeply and sincerely repented of his action, not because it
failed and he lost the game at which he had consented to try his
hand, but because, being a man, as I have said, of innate honesty of
purpose, he perceived when too late that he had committed what is a
worse offence than a mistake--a crime against personal honour.
General Fernando Figueroa, however, did something more than
merely warn President Dávila of the plotting going on against his
government and his life, and which was proceeding beyond his own
jurisdiction. He actually prevented the leader of the Honduranean
revolutionists, General Téofilo Cárcamo, from leaving Salvadorean
territory, keeping him, with many other conspirators, in prison,
and thus helping to quell an uprising against President Dávila's
government.
The magnanimity of the Salvadorean Government continued to the
end. Notwithstanding the finding of the Central American Court of
Justice, (delivered on December 19, 1908), and which, being in
favour of Salvador upon all points raised, should _sequentia_ have
carried costs, the Government forewent any such claims, which by the
terms usually prevailing under International Law could have been
insisted upon, and found its share of the expenses incurred by the
inquiry.
Subsequent to the troubles related in the foregoing pages, the
Honduranean Government stupidly courted fresh disasters by
prosecuting a claim for damages against the two Republics of
Salvador and Guatemala for injuries which it declared it had
sustained as a result of those two sister-States having harboured
Honduranean agitators and conspirators within their borders. The
exact value of this claim can best be judged by perusing the
following questions that were considered and determined by the
Special Court of Justice which was formed in Costa Rica (the only
State which stood aside and refused to be concerned in this Central
American squabble), and the members of which were made up of five
different nationalities. Attached is a faithful translation of what
transpired on this occasion:
IN THE CENTRAL AMERICAN COURT OF JUSTICE AT CARTAGO, COSTA RICA.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS VERSUS THE
GOVERNMENTS OF THE REPUBLICS OF EL SALVADOR AND GUATEMALA.
DECISION: IN THE CITY OF CARTAGO, COSTA RICA, AT MIDNIGHT OF THE
19TH OF DECEMBER, 1908.
Upon the closing of the deliberations of the Court for
pronouncing judgment in the complaint filed by the Government
of the Republic of Honduras against the Governments of the
Republics of El Salvador and Guatemala, charging responsibility
that took place in the first-mentioned Republic in the month of
June last, the Chief Justice submitted the following queries to
be voted upon in rendering the decision that is to settle the
controversy:
_First Question._--Should the Court sustain the exception taken
by the representative of the Government of Guatemala as to
the inadmissibility of the complaint, on grounds that it was
filed before all negotiations for settlement, between the two
respective Departments of Foreign Affairs, had been resorted to
without success?
The result of the vote cast was as follows:
_First Question._--The five justices answered in the negative.
_Second Question._--Should the Court sustain the exception
taken by the same party, as to the insufficiency of basis of
action, considering that no evidence was filed together with the
complaint?
_Second Question._--The five justices answered in the negative.
_Third Question._--Is it proven, and should it thus be held,
that the Government of the Republic of El Salvador has
violated Article 17 of the Treaty of Peace and Amity, signed
at Washington on December 20, 1907, by failing to bring to the
Capital and to submit to trial Honduranean exiles who endangered
the peace of their country?
_Third Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, and Astua
answered in the negative, and Justices Uclés and Madriz in the
affirmative.
_Fourth Question._--Is it proven, and should it thus be held,
that the Government of the Republic of El Salvador has violated
Article 2 of the additional convention to said treaty by
fostering and promoting the revolutionary movement referred to?
_Fourth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Astua, and
Madriz answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the
affirmative.
_Fifth Question._--Is it proven, and should it be held, that the
Government of the Republic of El Salvador has contributed to the
realization of the said political disturbance, through culpable
negligence?
_Fifth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, and Astua
answered in the negative, and Justices Uclés and Madriz in the
affirmative.
_Sixth Question._--In consequence, should the Court hold that
the action instituted against the Government of the Republic
of El Salvador is according to law, and, if so, should that
Government be sentenced to pay the indemnity for damages that
the complainant prays for?
_Sixth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, and Astua
answered in the negative, and Justices Uclés and Madriz in the
affirmative.
_Seventh Question._--Is it proven, and should it be held, that
the Government of the Republic of Guatemala has violated Article
17 of the Treaty of Peace and Amity, signed at Washington on
December 20, 1907, by failing to bring to the Capital and submit
to trial Honduranean exiles who endangered the peace of their
country?
_Seventh Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz,
and Astua answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the
affirmative.
_Eighth Question._--Is it proven, and should it be held, that
the Government of the Republic of Guatemala has violated Article
2 of the additional convention to the said treaty by fostering
and promoting the revolutionary movement referred to?
_Eighth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz,
and Astua answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the
affirmative.
_Ninth Question._--Is it proven, and should it be held, that the
Government of the Republic of Guatemala has contributed to the
realization of the said political disturbance, through culpable
negligence?
_Ninth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz, and
Astua answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the
affirmative.
_Tenth Question._--In consequence, should the Court hold that
the action instituted against the Government of the Republic of
Guatemala is according to law, and, if so, should the Government
be sentenced to pay the indemnity for damages the complainant
prays for?
_Tenth Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz, and
Astua answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the
affirmative.
_Eleventh Question._--Should costs be awarded against the losing
parties?
_Eleventh Question._--Justices Gallegos, Bocanegra, Madriz, and
Astua answered in the negative, and Justice Uclés in the sense
that costs be awarded against the Governments of the Republics
of El Salvador and Guatemala.
From the above-stated result, judgment is rendered dismissing
the action instituted against the Governments of the Republics
of El Salvador and Guatemala without costs.
JOSÉ ASTUA AGUILAR.
SALVADOR GALLEGOS.
ANGEL M. BOCANEGRA.
ALBERTO UCLÉS.
JOSÉ MADRIZ.
_Witness_: ERNESTO MARTIN, Secretary.
A more impudent or baseless claim than that put forward by Honduras,
and decided by the Central American Court of Justice, can hardly be
imagined. That the Honduranean Government would ever have thought
of prosecuting it at all but for the instigation from its immediate
neighbour seems hardly probable.
That the Court should have found a decision overwhelmingly in favour
of Salvador and Guatemala was only natural, but it seems unfair
that, having come to that inevitable conclusion, costs should not
have followed the event, and that Honduras should not have been
condemned to pay them.
There is but one consolation (a poor one, I am afraid) open to the
Republics of Guatemala and Salvador in this connection--namely, that
had the Court ordered Honduras to pay the costs of the inquiry, it
would never have done so, any more than it has paid back to its
foreign creditors either the principal of, or, even the interest
upon, the money which it borrowed.
Were the creditors American instead of British, some satisfactory
settlement would have been arrived at long ago. Even as it is, the
British bondholders will be unable to obtain a settlement of any
kind without recourse to American interference, and, as may be well
believed, it will be upon such terms as the Americans choose to
approve of, and subject to such profits out of the transactions as
the Americans choose to demand.
It is satisfactory at least to observe that Honduranean impudence
did not succeed in the above instance in getting "any rise" out of
either Salvador or Guatemala.
That the relations existing to-day between the two Republics of
Salvador and Honduras are upon a more friendly basis, and that they
are destined to so remain as long as the present Governments of
the two countries remain in power, is proved from the interchange
of congratulatory despatches made by Dr. Bertrand, President of
Honduras, and Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of Salvador, in
the month of March last, and copies of which I am enabled to give
in this volume. The correspondence, conducted by telegraph, was as
follows:
"TEGUCIGALPA,
"_March 28, 1911_.
"To _H.E. the President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo,
San Salvador._
"I have the honour to bring to the knowledge of Your Excellency that
I have to-day taken possession of the Presidency of the Republic
before the National Congress. In communicating this to you, I take
pleasure in anticipating the good sentiments that animate me for
the cultivation of better relations with the Government over which
Your Excellency so worthily presides, presenting to you at the same
time my good wishes for the well-being of the Republic and for Your
Excellency's personal happiness.
"I am, Your Excellency's sincere
and devoted servant,
"F. BERTRAND."
REPLY FROM THE PRESIDENT OF SALVADOR.
"SAN SALVADOR,
"_March 28, 1911_.
"_To H.E. President Dr. Bertrand, Tegucigalpa._
"I am delighted to receive Your Excellency's important message,
which conveys to me the flattering news that such a distinguished
citizen, to whom I am bound by chains of fraternal sympathy, has
to-day taken possession of the elevated office of President of that
Republic. Such a happy event is received with immense rejoicing by
my Government and the general public, because it implies for the
sister-Republic of Honduras peace and progress. I send good wishes
for the well-being of Your Excellency, to whom I am pleased to offer
the testimony of my perfect friendship and sympathy.
"MANUEL E. ARAUJO."
CHAPTER VII
The army--Division of forces--Active reserve--Auxiliary--
Republic's fighting strength--Military education--Strict
training--Excellent discipline--Schools and polytechnics--
Manual training--Workshops and output--Economies in
equipments--Garrison services--Barracks--Destruction of
Zapote Barracks--New constructions at Capital, Santa Ana,
Santa Tecla, Sitio del Niño, Ahuachapán, Cojutepeque, San
Miguel--Annual expenditure.
The National Army of the Republic of Salvador is divided into three
main sections, each of which is under the orders of a Departmental
Commander, the only superior to whom is the Minister of War. In
the Department of San Salvador, which comprises the Capital, the
command of the troops is vested in the hands of the Minister, and
special commissions are held in connection with this command. The
first of these commissions covers the Attached and Reserve Forces
of the whole Department; the second relates to the Active Forces of
the Department quartered outside the Capital; and the third deals
with the two military zones into which the Military District of San
Salvador is divided.
The entire strength of the Salvadorean Army is, approximately, as
follows:
Active Force consists of 78 Staff Officers, 512 Officers, 15,554
Troops, or, approximately, 26 Battalions.
Auxiliary Force consists of 49 Staff Officers, 356 Officers,
11,176 Troops, or 18-1/2 Battalions.
Reserve Force amounts to 251 Senior Officers, 1,743 Officers,
56,151 Troops, or 93-1/2 Battalions.
[Illustration: COLONEL, ADJUTANT, AND CAPTAINS OF COMPANY.]
[Illustration: CADET CORPS, SCHOOL OF SERGEANTS.]
This gives the total strength of the Effective Army as--378 Senior
Officers, 2,611 Officers, and 82,881 Troops, or 138 Battalions, more
or less.
The Government, on the advice of the late President, General
Figueroa, have devoted the closest care and attention to the
question of military instruction, and the system at present in force
is the outcome of the intelligent study of similar systems in force
in other countries, and the adaptation of the best features existing
in each. A very high _esprit de corps_ exists among the Salvadorean
troops, and, for the most part, they enter upon their schooling and
training with both zeal and interest. It must be remembered that a
great proportion of the troops are merely Indians; and it speaks
well for them that they should take so kindly to a course of what
really amounts to mental and physical restriction, which, after all,
is an experience somewhat different to what they and their ancestors
have been accustomed, except when serving as serfs under a brutal
Spanish dominion.
Conspicuous success has attended these courses of military
instruction, especially in regard to the 1st Infantry Regiment,
which is quartered at San Salvador, and to the 1st Artillery, which
is quartered at Santa Ana. Here the men punctiliously attend the
lectures upon military subjects which are delivered by the regular
officers, as well as by means of ordinary instruction classes. In
other garrison towns night classes are held regularly each evening
of the week, the instructors in these cases being the officers
quartered with the garrison, as well as an eminent German Professor
(Herr Alfred Vischer) who was engaged from Germany especially to
impart military education to the Salvadorean troops.
A School for Sergeants and Corporals has also been established,
with the idea of training these non-commissioned officers for
appointments to higher rank in the army. This school was some time
ago joined to the Polytechnic Institute, and placed under the
command of the Director and Sub-Director of the latter institution;
but subsequently, owing to a disastrous fire which broke out and
destroyed a portion of the Zapote Barracks, in which the classes
were customarily held, the two schools had to be separated and
conducted in separate establishments.
It is characteristic of the broad-mindedness of the Salvadorean
Government that among the instructors engaged was Colonel Armando
Llanos, of the Chilian Mission, who for a considerable time had been
Instructor of the Polytechnic, and later was appointed Director
and Commandant of that school. In addition to the Director and
Sub-Director, the School for Sergeants and Corporals has a Doctor, a
Paymaster, two Captain Instructors, eight official Company Ensigns,
and two Civilian Professors. All of the officers who serve in this
corps have to enter through the Polytechnic School, and among them
have been many distinguished cadets.
For the use of the officers there exists a very agreeable Club,
at which they can procure their full meals and all kinds of light
refreshments at moderate prices; while the usual amusements, such
as drafts, cards, billiards, etc., are provided for them. So
comfortable is this Club made that the officers, as a rule, find
very little inducement to visit the larger towns in search of their
amusements; a matter of great importance is this to them, in view of
the fact that the barracks are, as a rule, situated at some distance
from the City, and railway travelling is, under any circumstances,
rather expensive.
In addition, this school has a number of workshops attached, where
shoemaking, blacksmithing, tailoring, beltmaking, etc., are carried
on, the output providing the principal requirements of the garrison,
including the supply of uniforms for the officers.
The staff of officers and cadets of this school, together with the
troops who occupy the annex, take part in periodical reviews and
manoeuvres; and even severe military critics have been obliged to
admit that the smartness and orderliness of the troops are in the
highest sense of the word praiseworthy.
The course of instruction which is followed appears, indeed, to
be very thorough, while the examinations through which officers
have to pass are in every way drastic and thoroughly "stiff." The
Polytechnic has turned out some very smart officers, the supply
being fully equal to the demand.
Of late the Polytechnic School has been provided with a first-class
physical and chemical laboratory, equipped with most modern
apparatus. The annual expenditure upon this establishment may be put
at between $65,000 and $70,000, which includes all the salaries paid
to the Professors and the fees to the officers who deliver lectures,
the maintenance of the cadets and troops, forage for their horses,
and all general expenses.
It is the practice at these schools to have field-days, when the
troops, as well as the cadets undergoing instruction, take part.
Upon these occasions they go through most of the features of an
ordinary campaign, including embarking and disembarking upon the
various lakes and inland watercourses, shooting and camp-pitching,
bridge-building, and a thorough training in the evolutions of field
artillery. The various cadets who are attached to the Engineers
Corps, Telephone and Telegraph Sections, and Medical Staff, have
to go through courses in the duties of these particular branches
of the army; and it is, therefore, quite easy to understand--when
one considers the thoroughness of the training in all branches of
its service--why the Salvadorean Army should stand first among
the five Central American Republics for military efficiency. That
such training is thoroughly effective and conducted with the
best _morale_ results was proved in connection with the earlier
unfortunate trouble, when many of the officers from the Polytechnic
Schools distinguished themselves not only by fighting gallantly,
and in some cases meeting their death with bravery, on the field of
battle, but also in regard to the skill and ability with which they
handled their troops, both in defence and in attack.
In regard to the garrison services, the infantry and cavalry are
almost exclusively employed, the artillery being quartered both
in the Capital and the City of Santa Ana. The officers serve for
one year certain, and they are thus afforded every opportunity
of acquiring a sound and finished instruction, and of becoming
thoroughly disciplined. The 1st Infantry Regiment occupy commodious
and suitable quarters, and they are generally noticeable for their
smartness and soldierly appearance, when both on and off duty. Santa
Ana is garrisoned by the 1st Artillery Regiment; and here, again,
the troops are comfortably quartered, and the strictest discipline
is maintained. The barracks are located at the Casa Mata, an old
but commodious building, which has been remodelled and adapted to
present-day requirements. A new story has been added, and this is
used as offices for the Commanders and Majors of the corps, while
one side of the building has been converted into extensive stabling
for twice the number of animals that are actually needed.
In point of cleanliness and comfort the Casa Mata Barracks, as well
as those at the Capital, which I was invited to inspect, leave
little room for improvement; and it is worthy of remark that no
epidemic of any kind has broken out in these barracks for many
years past, these having remained perfectly free from contagion
even when smallpox was raging in some other parts of the Republic.
The Military Authorities are commendably particular in regard to
vaccination and re-vaccination, not only when the troops go on
active service, but at all times. There is a well-maintained army
dispensary attached to all the barracks, and every regiment in
the Republic is entitled to free supplies of medicine, drugs, and
attendance.
While duly economical in regard to its expenditure, and zealous in
seeing that nothing is wasted, the Government has done everything
that is necessary to keep the troops adequately equipped both in
arms and ammunition, uniforms and supplies. The extensive and
efficiently-equipped Government workshops are in the charge of a
German mechanic, and here many of the military criminals, who are
confined in the Central Prison, are taught useful trades, and their
services as masons, tailors, and mechanics, are employed to good
purpose. Some capital work is turned out in these workshops, such,
for instance, as military equipments, uniforms, etc. I was informed
that during the year there had been made there 2,710 complete
uniforms for the infantry and artillery, 890 for the cavalry, 545
for colour sergeants, 200 for the port police, 258 for marines; 931
soldiers' caps, 537 cartridge-holders, 2,023 putties, and 2,378
rifle-slings. Special orders had been executed in regard to 22,914
uniforms and 11,311 caps, giving the considerable total of 27,447
uniforms of all kinds, besides a large number of heterogeneous
military uniform fittings.
During this period there had been delivered to the different
garrisons of the Republic 27,223 uniforms of various kinds; 14,299
caps; 5,840 scabbards with their ferrules; 2,550 kitbags; 1,200
blankets; 1,550 pairs of cotton gloves; 562 cartridge-belts;
1,790 pairs of canvas putties; 200 pairs of leather spats; 2,040
rifle-slings; 271 pallets for soldiers; 354 cloaks; 600 pairs of
gaiters; 1,350 water-coolers; 450 canvas nosebags, etc. Although the
not inconsiderable sum of $151,723 was expended upon these and other
equipments, it will be readily recognized that the Government must
have saved enormously in its expenditure by employing the services
of its own workshops.
It is desirable to say something in regard to the character of
the buildings which the Government uses for military purposes.
References have already been made to the serious conflagration which
destroyed the handsomest and most generally used barracks in the
Republic--viz., the Zapote building. The fire broke out on March 27,
1908, the actual cause being a mystery, although it was supposed
that the disaster had its origin in the defective installation of
the electric light, a badly insulated wire having been allowed
to get into contact with one of the wooden turrets. The building
had been almost completed when this accident took place; but
fortunately, owing to the quick services which were rendered by the
garrison staff, the police, and some volunteer helpers, the total
destruction of the barracks was prevented, and the greater part of
the war material stored therein for use was saved. The barracks
have now been completed, and form one of the handsomest blocks of
Government buildings in the Capital.
In Santa Tecla, which is situated but ten miles distant from
the Capital, a large and handsome block of barracks has been
constructed, and is also practically complete, the work having been
in hand since the year 1905, but progress being considerably impeded
from time to time through various causes. It seemed, indeed, that
these barracks would prove something like Cologne Cathedral, and
never see completion; for as soon as one part was finished the work
was arrested, and before any new addition had been made the old
part had fallen into decay. Neighbouring wars, earthquake shocks,
and lack of necessary funds, all played their part in occasioning
these delays; but at length the building may be pronounced complete.
The front is constructed in two stories, the three other sides
being in one story only; and, while the exterior of the building
is constituted of handsome cut stone, the interior is of a lighter
material suitable for tropical residence. There have been over
50,000 blocks of stone cut and laid for the frontage; the total cost
will doubtless prove to be heavy, but the result achieved will have
been worth it.
In the town of Sitio del Niño new barracks have been built for the
garrison, an expenditure which has been rendered necessary in view
of the advent of the railway between Acajutla and Santa Ana, which
crosses here, and forms an important junction and stopping-place
for travellers. The barracks took several months to complete, and
they now form a very substantial addition to the town's notable
structures. The principal block of buildings has 27 yards of
frontage by 15 yards of width, including the corridors and other
buildings. The extent of frontage, which faces the railway-station,
has a notable elevation, and rests on 2 metres of stone foundation,
one course below the ground, and the other above the ground level,
which is considered to have been the most healthful style to have
adopted, the residential part of the building thus being elevated
appreciably above its foundation.
In Ahuachapán a substantial and handsome building for barracks is
also being erected, the chief material employed being masonry, while
the whole structure has been planned with a view to defence in case
of necessity. The building has four turrets, one situated at each
corner, in addition to two smaller turrets which are placed on
either side of the principal gateway. The thickness of the walls has
been decided upon with the idea of resisting the attack of artillery
of the kind usually employed in these countries. The interior of the
building is constructed of unburnt bricks, the arrangement being
of the utmost simplicity, the architect bearing in mind that the
building is destined to be used entirely for troops, workmen, etc.
In Cojutepeque a block of barracks is about to be erected, but
active construction will be postponed until the water-pipes, which
are now being laid to convey water to the city, have been completed.
In San Miguel various additional defence works have been executed
at the existing barracks, while others have been commenced, the
Government having resolved to make San Miguel a strongly fortified
town. New military stables have been added to the cavalry barracks
at Santa Ana; while in other Departments of the Republic a
considerable number of important repairs and additions to military
buildings have been completed.
From first to last the annual upkeep of the Salvadorean Army,
including both equipment and maintenance, as well as the expenditure
upon all the military educational establishments, payments for
the services of the national steamer, contributions to volunteer
regiments, reserve squadrons, etc., amounts to nearly $1,220,000;
and taking the whole of this expenditure for both War and Marine,
the total disbursement for the year 1908-09 stood as follows:
$
Private staff of the President 73,113.73
1st Artillery Regiment 155,155.69
1st Infantry Regiment 461,596.39
Cavalry Regiment 125,670.58
Polytechnic School (including subs.) 106,554.71
School of Corporals and Sergeants 100,887.38
Volunteers of the Capital 90,602.04
Reserve Squadron 52,393.87
Band of Supreme Power 45,741.59
National steamer _President_ (from January to
March) 3,943.84
-------------
$1,215,659.92
CHAPTER VIII
British Minister to Salvador--Lionel Edward Gresley
Carden--British Legation hospitality--Mrs. Carden--Government
indifference to valuable services--British Consul--No report
for twenty years--Foreign Office neglect--Salvadorean
Consuls and their duties defined--Correspondence with the
Foreign Office--Imports and Exports--British Supremacy in
1904--Germany's position.
For some reason known to the Foreign Office, but understood and
appreciated by no one else, Salvador is incorporated with Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and Honduras in its representation by a Minister-Resident
and Consul-General combined. Other nations in Europe of less
importance, and the United States of America, are represented by
separate Ministers and Consuls-General, and in some instances by
both. The niggardly Foreign Office, however, when it has contributed
the munificent sum of £2,000 for the Minister-Resident's salary,
and a further £300 as office allowance as well as £200 for the
Consul's office expenses, has done all that it thinks necessary to
sustain the dignity of Great Britain in a foreign country whose
people are peculiarly susceptible to compliments of this kind, and
leaves Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Honduras--separated from
one another not alone by hundreds of miles in actual distance, but
by many days' travel on horseback or by steamship--to make the
best they can of the arrangement. The inconvenience alike to the
particular Minister, to the British subjects living in these
Republics, and to the Governments concerned, is considerable, and at
times becomes of very serious import.
The British Minister to Salvador is Mr. Lionel Edward Gresley
Carden, a man of altogether exceptional ability and culture, a
born diplomat, and one of the most attractive personalities that
one could meet with. He was born in 1851, and is a son of the Rev.
Lionel Carden, of Barnane, Co. Tipperary, his mother being the
beautiful Miss Lucy Lawrence Ottley; and from her Mr. Carden has
doubtless inherited much of his physical attractiveness. Educated
at Eton, he was at the age of twenty-six given his first Government
appointment, namely, that of Vice-Consul at Havana, Cuba, in 1877.
A few years afterwards--namely, in 1883--Mr. Carden was attached to
Sir S. St. John's Special Mission to Mexico, and two years later
he was appointed H.B.M.'s Consul at Mexico City. It was then that
his valuable services as the British Commissioner at the Mexican
Mixed Claims Court were rendered, the Commission sitting on and off
between 1885 and 1889. While in Mexico Mr. Carden upon two occasions
took entire charge of the Legation, and in 1898 he went back to
Cuba, this time as Consul-General, remaining there until 1902.
Mr. Carden created a profoundly friendly feeling for the British
during these four years, and he is still spoken of with the greatest
esteem, not only by members of the British community, but by the
Cubans themselves, with whom he was always _persona grata_. In 1902
he was created Minister at Havana, and he remained there until 1905,
when he took up his present post as H.B.M. Minister-Resident and
Consul-General to Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Mr. Carden married Miss Anne Eliza Lefferts, a daughter of Mr.
John Lefferts, of "Flatbush," New York, U.S.A., a gracious and
talented lady who, by her kindness of heart and refined hospitality,
has endeared herself to all foreigners resident or travelling in
Guatemala. The British Legation, one of the handsomest residences
in Guatemala City, is the centre of much friendly and cultured
intercourse, not only among the British and American colonies, but
with many of the Guatemalan notabilities and families.
The only recognition that has been paid by the British Government to
Mr. Carden so far, in connection with his long and valuable services
in Latin America, has been the bestowal of the Coronation Medal in
1902. Beyond relieving him in 1908 of the burden of representing
the Government in Costa Rica in addition to Salvador, Honduras,
and Guatemala, the King's advisers have done nothing to show that
they appreciate Mr. Carden or recognize the onerous and responsible
mission which he has had to fulfil. And yet he is both by education
and temperament essentially one of the most useful and reliable
diplomats that the Government can call upon. His proper sphere would
be at one of the European Courts, or, better still, at Washington,
where his valuable and unique knowledge of Latin-American
countries and Governments would enable him to more adequately and
advantageously represent and protect British commercial interests
than does the present complacent Minister, who suggests the idea of
being more of an American in his sympathies than a Britisher.
[Illustration: MR. LIONEL EDWARD GRESLEY CARDEN, C.M.G.
H.B.M. MINISTER-RESIDENT AT SALVADOR (AS WELL AS AT GUATEMALA,
NICARAGUA AND HONDURAS.)]
It will be scarcely credible, but it is none the less a fact, that
the British Government has issued no Consular Trade Report upon the
Republic of Salvador for nearly twenty years! This fact is set
forth in the following correspondence which I attach:
"PONDTAIL LODGE,
"FLEET, NORTH HANTS,
"_April 23, 1911_.
"_To the Right Hon. Sir Edward Grey, Bart., Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs, Foreign Office, Downing Street,
London, W._
"SIR,--I should esteem it a great courtesy if you would let
me know whether any Consular Report has been published by the
Foreign Office in connection with the Republic of Salvador; what
was the date of such report; and whether any other report of a
later period is likely to be published--and if so, when? I have
been making diligent inquiries with regard to this matter, but
can obtain absolutely no information, a fact which seems more
remarkable in view of the trade relations which prevail, and
have for so many years prevailed, between Great Britain and the
Republic of Salvador.
"My interest in the matter must plead my excuses for troubling
you, and awaiting your courteous reply,
"I remain, sir,
"Yours obediently,
"PERCY F. MARTIN."
"FOREIGN OFFICE,
"_April 25, 1911_.
"The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents
his compliments to Mr. P. F. Martin, and, by direction of the
Secretary of State, acknowledges the receipt of his letter of
the 23rd inst., which is receiving attention."
"FOREIGN OFFICE,
"_May 8, 1911_.
"SIR,--With reference to your letter of the 23rd ultimo, I am
directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to transmit to you herewith,
a copy of the Consular Trade Report for Salvador for the year
1892, which is the last received.
"I am, sir,
"Your most obedient humble servant,
"(Signed) W. LANGLEY."
"PONDTAIL LODGE,
"FLEET, NORTH HANTS,
"_May 9, 1911_.
"_To the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Foreign
Office, London, W._
"Mr. Percy F. Martin presents his compliments to the
Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and begs to
acknowledge the receipt of a copy of the Consular Report
concerning trade in Salvador for the year 1892, which he notes
is the last which has been issued."
It may be asked why the Foreign Office grants an office allowance of
£200 to the Consul at San Salvador if the services of that gentleman
do not include the supply of at least an occasional report upon the
trade conditions of that important country? In view of the fact
that the share of the Republic's trade with Great Britain is still
of some moment, even if it has shrunk considerably in magnitude
from what it formerly was, it seems astonishing that not a word
concerning the conditions prevailing, nor of the opportunities which
exist for promoting trade in that country, should have emanated
from a Department of State which presumably exists to protect the
interests of the nation's trade and commerce abroad.
Assuredly, never at any time were the stinging sarcasms uttered
by Burke, concerning Government services of this kind, in 1780,
more deserved than to-day. In his memorable speech on "Economical
Reform," Burke observed that the Board of Trade was "a sort of
gently ripening hothouse where members received salaries of £1,000
a year in order to mature at a proper season a claim for £2,000."
If our Consuls are expected to do nothing more than sit in their
offices in order to qualify eventually for a pension, the sooner
they are abolished altogether the better for the country's pocket.
It is to be observed that certain among the Latin-American States
have a much clearer idea of the proper qualifications for, and
the functions of, a Consul and a Vice-Consul than our own Foreign
Office, which has challenged criticism and earned condemnation
on account of the ridiculous appointments which it has made, and
continues to make, to such offices. Quite recently the Government of
Salvador published a very important Regulation relative to Consular
appointments, and this contains so much good sense, and offers
so many points which might be adopted with advantage by our own
"Circumlocution Office," that I make no apology for reproducing the
gist of it here.
According to Article I., Clause (_b_), of this Regulation, the
Consular career "has for its aim above all to promote and increase
the commerce of the country, and also to insure for it social and
political representation." Then this official Regulation gives
a general review of the obligations imposed upon members of the
Diplomatic and Consular Corps, and adds: "Certainly, in order
to fulfil these, special knowledge is needed, which can only be
acquired by patient and careful study. Diplomats and Consuls, who
go to represent Salvador in foreign lands, must especially be
presentable and must possess individuality. If any unfortunate
circumstance makes them appear ridiculous, discredit will fall, not
only on themselves, but on their fellow-countrymen." The Regulation
continues:
"Travellers have been heard to say that they have sometimes found
the Salvador coat of arms lying in a dark, dirty hovel, or in close
proximity to a pawnshop; whilst some diplomatists have been rendered
conspicuous by their ignorance of the language and customs of the
country to which they have been sent, and, above all, by their
absolute lack of patriotism. A Professor of International Law has
related of an Envoy Extraordinary of the Republic of Salvador, that
he once had to be arrested by the police in the centre of the City
of Mexico for drunkenness."
I have heard of at least one British diplomatic representative in
South America who ought to have been arrested for a similar offence,
but who escaped the indignity by reason of the wholesome respect
which the Government had for the country which he represented, even
if it had none for the representative.
"Consuls and diplomatists," goes on this document, "must not only
possess special knowledge, but must be cultured persons, honourable,
tactful, and sympathetic." In a word, they must possess the
difficult gift of knowing "how to please."
The Regulation does not actually detail these latter qualities, but
gives it to be understood that they are indispensable. It, however,
emphasizes the necessity of "facility of expression" as an attribute
of the aspirant to the Consular and Diplomatic Service, at the same
time, without requiring him to be an orator. He must be capable
of "getting out of a difficulty decently, without making himself
ridiculous."
It would be advisable, the Regulation points out, that youths who
possess the desired qualifications should be employed by the
Government in subordinate positions connected with the Consulates
and Legations, before they receive higher appointments or become
Heads. As Secretaries or supernumeraries, they would have an
opportunity of becoming familiar with the language and customs of
the people among whom they were placed. All the necessary expenses
for this arrangement should naturally be borne by the State.
"It must also be remembered," this practical Regulation continues,
"that those who fulfil the required conditions are losers from the
point of view of any financial advantages, since for some time their
remuneration will not equal that which might have been gained by
entering commerce or professional work. At the same time, youths who
dedicate themselves to this career must have sufficient patriotism
and ambition to figure in the posts of honour. No time must be lost
in the task of training up Consuls, and as the perfection of human
work has resulted in the evolution of specialists, so the Government
must not too seriously consider the question of economy, but must
allow these young men to be sent to other countries, and to remain
in the same post long enough to specialize in their profession."
According to the new laws affecting the appointment of
Consuls, the regulations call for a division into two distinct
ranks--consuls-general and consuls _de carrière_ (irregular); and
consuls _ad honorem_ (honorary). The first-named are appointed
to: Hamburg (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), San
Francisco (U.S.A.), Mexico City (Mexico), Paris (France), London
(Great Britain), Genoa (Italy), Guatemala City (Guatemala),
Tegucigalpa (Honduras), Managua (Nicaragua), San José (Costa Rica).
The annual remuneration is £720 for the Consuls-general, and £480
for the Consuls.
The honorary consuls are at Panamá City, Panamá; New York City,
U.S.A.; Liverpool, England; Bordeaux, France; Berlin, Germany; and
New Orleans, U.S.A.
The first-named officials must be Salvadoreans and citizens of the
Republic; while the second may be of any nationality. These latter
may deduct from the fees collected by them such amounts as may be
necessary to cover office expenses, and the remuneration allowed
them under Article 186 of the organic law of the consular service.
The Government of Salvador considers that "those States which
maintain permanent Legations should keep themselves regularly
informed of all the antecedents and course of the questions that
are to be discussed. They should have a perfect knowledge of the
circumstances that may contribute to a solution favourable to
their interests; their diplomatic Ministers should have had an
opportunity of quietly studying the weaknesses of those persons
with whom they have to negotiate. The State that does not maintain
permanent representatives will experience difficulties of all kinds
in the most insignificant negotiation. If its Government conducts
affairs by means of a Foreign Office, by the post or telegraph, it
will be exposed to evasive replies and delays, which will be to the
advantage of the other State; and if a Special Mission is sent,
whatever may be the personal capacity of its chief, he will be in
unknown territory, and will lose precious time whilst he is studying
men and things sufficiently to master the situation, and to be able
to deduce from it the necessary material to bring to a successful
issue the negotiations entrusted to him."
These are all very sensible and apt observations, which I
respectfully bring to the attention of Sir Edward Grey, our present
Foreign Secretary, and the many "Official Barnacles" who surround
him and advise him in regard to the appointments to the Consular
Service.
The last British Consular Report from Salvador is dated "June 30,
1893," and relates to what took place during the previous year,
namely, "1892." It is from the pen of Mr. C. S. Campbell, then
Consul-General, and is addressed to the Foreign Minister of that
day, the Earl of Rosebery. It is apparent from this document, which
consists of exactly six pages, that Great Britain stood second on
the list of Imports, and third on the list of Exports, the figures
being as follows:
-----------------+----------------------+-----------------------+
| Imports. | Exports. |
Country. +----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| 1891. | 1892. | 1891. | 1892. |
-----------------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
| £ | £ | £ | £ |
United States | 122,047 | 104,587 | 247,632 | 397,055 |
England | 121,523 | 121,210 | 100,974 | 110,043 |
Germany | 46,744 | 37,018 | 212,276 | 108,618 |
France | 74,444 | 58,819 | 163,079 | 131,586 |
Italy | 12,504 | 9,514 | 92,282 | 55,128 |
Spain | 3,905 | 3,772 | 5,297 | 3,126 |
Sundry | 60,214 | 43,557 | 146,544 | 136,692 |
+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
Total | 441,381 | 378,477 | 968,084 | 942,248 |
-----------------+----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
It is clear from these figures that British trade with Salvador
was something considerable and well worth maintaining, having at
that time approached near that of the United States of America, in
spite of the great geographical advantage which the latter country
possessed--and still, of course, possesses--over Great Britain or
any other European country. Let us now glance at the position of
affairs a few years later:
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS BY COUNTRIES, IN GOLD DOLLARS ($4.85 = £1).
IMPORTS.
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
| Year. | Country. | Amount. | Percentage. |
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
| | | $ | |
| 1904 | England | 1,304,576 | 36·1 |
| | Germany | 404,422 | 11·2 |
| | United States | 1,002,437 | 27·8 |
| | Other Countries | 898,642 | 24·9 |
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
EXPORTS.
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
| Year. | Country. | Amount. | Percentage. |
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
| | | $ | |
| 1904 | England | 1,482,319 | 22·4 |
| | Germany | 958,533 | 14·4 |
| | United States | 1,103,030 | 16·6 |
| | Other Countries | 3,091,563 | 46·6 |
+--------+--------------------+--------------+---------------+
It will be observed that Great Britain in 1904 actually led in
the Republic's trade with foreign countries; but nevertheless the
Foreign Office deems this fact so unimportant that it will not
trouble to publish a syllable concerning the commerce of that
Republic, for the information of the industrial and trading world.
The average total of the foreign trade of the Republic of Salvador
may be taken as $10,600,000 (gold), or, say, £2,120,000, with a
balance of $2,250,000 (gold), or, say, £450,000, in favour of the
Republic. And it is when we come to analyze the imports from foreign
countries that we recognize how closely Great Britain and the United
States run together, and how greatly we have to fear our keen
American rivals as competitors. For the year 1909 we see that--
Great Britain sold to Salvador goods worth $1,438,613.90
United States " " " 1,344,315.79
-------------
A trifling balance in favour of Great Britain of $94,298.11
--or, say, £18,859. Our principal trade was in cotton, both
manufactured and yarn; while the United States took premier place in
flour, hardware, drugs and medicines, boots, shoes, machinery, and
agricultural implements. In these latter goods no country can touch
the United States for cheapness and general novelty; but it is only
fair to add that the goods are "made to sell," or, in other words,
they are "cheap and nasty"--a fact which the purchasers are finding
out for themselves. Until British manufacturers export something
considerably cheaper than the implements and farm machinery that
they supply at present, the Americans will continue to hold this
market. The Germans barely as yet have made much impression with
their agricultural implements. Although upon some of the _fincas_
which I visited--mostly owned or managed by Germans--I came across
some ploughs and reaping machines from the Fatherland, I was frankly
informed that they were entirely unsatisfactory, and were about to
be discarded in favour of some United States machines which had been
offered "at one-half the price paid for the German inventions."
STATEMENT OF EXPORT TRADE TO JUNE 30, 1910.
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+------------------+
| Country. | Value of Exports. | Country. | Value of Exports.|
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+------------------+
| | $ | | |
| Germany | 1,410,693.10 | Austria-Hungary | 388,035.33 |
| United States | 1,358,868.85 | Great Britain | 352,843.73 |
| France | 1,043,402.71 | Spain | 164,907.21 |
| Italy | 584,312.60 | | |
+---------------+-------------------+-----------------+------------------+
These figures are remarkable for the fact that they show _inter
alia_ that Germany had in the course of twelve months ousted France
from first place on the export list, and had supplanted her by an
extraordinary amount of advance. To prove this I give the official
figures for the first half of 1909, and which are as follows:
$
France took goods value 1,062,674
Germany " " 837,040
United States " " 636,721
Italy " " 352,122
Spain " " 281,961
Great Britain " " 111,312
It would therefore appear that, while Germany increased her trade
with Salvador from $837,040 in 1909 (six months) to $1,410,693 in
1909-10 (twelve months), France showed a decrease over the same
period of from $1,062,674 to $1,043,402. Great Britain's position is
so inferior as to need no comment whatever.
It will be noticeable that Germany was in 1910 the best customer to
the Republic, and took fully four times as much of her produce as
Great Britain. The greatest amount was represented by coffee, as
will be seen from the subjoined particulars of the class of articles
which were exported, as well as from the values which I add:
+--------------------+--------------++-------------------+--------------+
| Article. | Value. || Article. | Value. |
+--------------------+--------------++-------------------+--------------+
| | $ || | $ |
| Coffee | 4,661,440.98 || Tobacco (manufac- | |
| Gold, silver, lead | 560,569.64 || tured and leaf) | 9,638.67 |
| Sugar (brown) | 222,379.47 || Lumber | 3,773.07 |
| Indigo | 107,936.72 || Rice | 3,312.23 |
| Balsam and balsam | || Deerskins | 2,837.63 |
| seed | 39,187.97 || Hat palms | 2,723.21 |
| Cattle and hides | 36,167.46 || Miscellaneous | 23,247.92 |
| Rubber | 23,491.58 || | ------------ |
| | || Total | 5,696,706.85 |
+--------------------+--------------++-------------------+--------------+
[Illustration: FRONT OF SERGEANTS' SCHOOL, SAN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: FRONT OF SERGEANTS' SCHOOL, SAN SALVADOR.]
That the Germans mean to thoroughly exploit the Republic of
Salvador, moreover, and if they cannot secure a holding in one
branch of trade they intend to try in another, or in a dozen others,
is abundantly clear. In the month of September, 1909, a Treaty of
Commerce between the Republic and Germany was celebrated, and so far
the results have been very encouraging. Out of 463 steamers and 89
sailing vessels which visited the different Salvadorean ports last
year (1909-10), during the first nine months there were 153 German,
as against 245 United States, 79 Salvadorean, 74 Honduranean, and
not _one_ British bottom.
CHAPTER IX
United States information for traders--Improved Consular
services--Mr. W. E. Coldwell--United States and Salvador
Government--Bureau of Pan-American Republics--Mr. Mark J.
Kelly--Exceptional services--The American Minister, Major
W. Heimké--Salvadorean Minister to U.S.A., Señor Federico
Mejía--Central American Peace Conference and the United States.
How beneficial is the attitude of the United States of America in
collecting and disseminating every particle of information which
can prove of the slightest service to American traders! Month by
month, through the medium of the _Pan-American Bureau Bulletin_,
a Government-endowed institution journal of the utmost utility,
not only to American traders, but to those of every country of
the world, every item of commercial, industrial, and financial
information culled from Latin-American countries is published in
tabular form, and supplied at a merely nominal figure to all who
care to avail themselves of it. Such information is primarily the
result of the researches and the reports made by United States
Consuls in the countries mentioned, and it is perfectly certain that
none are permitted to enjoy "allowances" of £200 a year, as is our
Consul at San Salvador, without showing something in return for such
payment in the shape of a report of some kind or other.
Here I may record that of Mr. Walter Edmund Coldwell, our unsalaried
Consul at San Salvador, I have nothing whatever to say but what is
complimentary, since he is personally a very amiable and courteous
gentleman, ready and willing at any time to aid any Britisher
seeking his advice, and which, in view of his experience and
complete knowledge of Spanish, is certainly of great value. I feel
certain that, had any request come from the Foreign Office addressed
to Mr. Coldwell for a report upon trade conditions and prospects in
Salvador, he would have been perfectly prepared to supply, as he is
undoubtedly capable of supplying, it in view of his long residence,
extending over twelve years. I go further, and suggest that had Mr.
Coldwell not waited for any such request, but had acted upon his own
initiative and sent in a report to the Foreign Office, such would
either have been pigeonholed or the Consul have been snubbed for
his pains. It cannot be too often observed, nor too emphatically
pointed out, that it is _not_ the officials of our Consular
Service who are wholly to blame; it is the "System" perpetuated by
successive Governments--it matters not one pin's head whether they
be Liberals or Conservatives or a hybrid mixture of many political
parties--which is all wrong, and the ignorant and indifferent
Permanent Officials at Downing Street who are responsible for the
appalling condition of incompetency which our Consular Service
to-day displays.
The following incident will show with what care and attention the
Government of the United States follow every little incident and
occurrence that can in any way affect trade relations between
themselves and the smaller Latin-American States. In the month of
February, 1909, the United States Minister sent to his Government
a complaint to the effect that the Salvadorean Government allowed
favoured-nation treatment to certain articles of French origin
imported into the Republic, which treatment was not accorded
to similar articles from the United States. The United States
Government at once instructed the Minister at San Salvador to ask
for an explanation, and he as promptly got it; not, perhaps, in the
precise terms which he could have wished, but--he got it! The answer
came from the Minister for Foreign Affairs in the following terms:
"The Treaty of Peace and Amity, Commerce and Consular Rights
celebrated between Salvador and the United States on December 6,
1870, having become inoperative by reason of the denunciation
of the same on the part of the Government of Salvador, in
accordance with the prearranged conditions from May 30, 1893,
merchandise proceeding from the United States can only be
accorded such treatment in the Customs Houses of Salvador as is
provided for in the general tariff law of the Republic, without
special concessions or privileges."
The answer was so convincing and so conclusive that the United
States Government forthwith proceeded to celebrate a fresh Treaty
with the Republic, and has since then enjoyed all the privileges
which such can procure.
Upon a previous occasion--namely, in 1907--the United States
Vice-Consul in San Salvador having requested from the Government of
the Republic a general statement of economic conditions prevailing
throughout the country, the reply was published very soon afterwards
in the form of an elaborate and complete account of the commercial,
industrial, and financial conditions of the Republic, the whole
taking up the greater portion of a special number of the _Diario
Oficial_. One cannot imagine a British Consul having the enterprise
to make any such request from a foreign Government to which he is
accredited, although the information, if sought, would be as readily
forthcoming as it was for an American Vice-Consul. But when we
witness the sorry spectacle of British officials allowing--or being
allowed--twenty years to pass by without having issued any kind of
report for the information of his countrymen, what can be expected?
The United States Secretary of State officials, who are so ably
assisted by the co-operation of the Pan-American Bureau and its
admirable monthly publication, _The Bulletin_, deserve every credit
for the unflagging interest which they manifest in promoting and
assisting their country's trade abroad. In this matter, at least,
we might advantageously follow the example of our Transatlantic
competitors. As it is, we should feel deeply grateful to the
American Government for periodically issuing information which is
as accessible to Britishers, or to any other nationalities, as to
the Americans themselves. And it costs us nothing; which should be
gratifying to that large class of individuals who enjoy getting
something without putting their hands into their own pockets.
It seems a very remarkable fact that Salvador, like a great
number of other Latin-American States, has been enabled to find
in Great Britain a thoroughly capable and influential Consular
representative, while Great Britain has so signally failed, except
in some few instances, in securing similar representatives abroad.
Nor is this circumstance the less noteworthy when it is observed
that the Salvadorean Consul-General in London is not a native of
that Republic, but an Irishman, and is probably one of the first--if
not the only--Irishman who has filled a similar position. Mr. Mark
Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., F.S.A., etc., has been the Consular
representative of both the Republics of Salvador and Honduras for
over fifteen years, and it is only within the past few months that
he has been compelled, owing to continued pressure of work in
connection with the chairmanship of the Salvador Railway Company, to
abandon his consular position in regard to Salvador. How greatly the
Government of that State regretted Mr. Kelly's retirement, and how
strong was the pressure brought to bear to induce him to withdraw
his resignation, was fully evidenced in a remarkable letter of
thanks which the Government addressed to Mr. Kelly lately, and from
which the following is a brief extract. After referring in eloquent
terms to the deep disappointment which the Government felt at Mr.
Kelly's inability to reconsider the question of resignation, and
having announced that the Executive had therefore most reluctantly
accepted the inevitable, and had arranged to send over at an early
date a representative to relieve Mr. Kelly of his official duties,
Dr. Manuel E. Araujo, the President of the Republic (who has long
been personally acquainted with Mr. Kelly), addressed him as follows:
"I deplore profoundly your resignation of the business of the
Consulate-General, which with so much tact and industry you
have been discharging during so long a lapse of time; and
your resignation of your post, being based upon reasons which
I cannot set aside, has this day at last been accepted by my
Government, but with the hope that you will always contribute
in one way or another with the very valuable contingent of your
wisdom and experience in all matters relating to the good name
and honour of Salvador. I tender to you in consequence, in my
own name and in that of my country, the most whole-souled thanks
for the very important services which you have afforded to
us in the past, and which we do not doubt we shall continue to
receive from your well-known magnanimity."
[Illustration: MR. MARK JAMESTOWN KELLY, F.R.G.S.
FOR 15 YEARS CONSUL-GENERAL IN GREAT BRITAIN FOR SALVADOR (RETIRED
JUNE, 1911), AND CHAIRMAN OF THE SALVADOR RAILWAY COMPANY, LD.]
Mr. Kelly has undoubtedly rendered lasting and exceptional services
to the State of Salvador during the long period over which he has
represented its commercial and financial interests in this country.
As its Financial Agent in Europe, he carried out the long and
difficult negotiations which ended in successfully settling and
discharging the foreign debt of the Republic, and permitted of that
great undertaking, the construction of a through line of railway
from the port of Acajutla to the Capital of San Salvador, being
financed and completed. Last year Mr. Kelly also negotiated, with
much tact and conspicuous ability, a new Salvador Foreign Loan,
which to-day ranks as a gilt-edge security on the London Stock
Exchange, and stands at a substantial premium.
Besides his Consular appointments, Mr. Mark J. Kelly holds the
positions of Chairman of the Salvador Railway Company, Limited, and
President of the Salvador Chamber of Commerce in London; while he is
generally regarded as one of the greatest living authorities upon
the questions of foreign exchange and Latin-American commerce.
For many years Mr. Kelly was identified with railway construction
in Ecuador and later on with Salvador, and his great charm of
manner, coupled with his extraordinary grasp of detail and intimate
knowledge of finance in all its aspects, have combined to make his
co-operation in financial and commercial matters a question of the
greatest value to the latter country mentioned, as well as to all
who have invested money therein. Mr. Kelly is a perfect Spanish
scholar; and when I was travelling with him in Salvador, many of
the natives with whom we conversed frankly informed me that, but for
his distinctive European name, Mr. Kelly might very well pass for a
pure-bred Spaniard or Spanish-American, so admirably did he converse
in and write their language. Of the newly appointed Salvadorean
Consul-General. Señor Don Artúro Ramón Ávila, I have spoken in
Chapter III.
Major the Hon. William Heimké, who was appointed the Minister of
the United States of America to Salvador in 1909, is a native of
France, having been born in that country in 1847 and naturalized
in the United States. He went to America at a very early age,
and entered the regular army when he was but fifteen. He served
with distinction during the Civil War, being engaged in several
important battles. After the war he served as headquarters clerk
under Generals Sherman, Pope, Hancock, and Sheridan, and he was
also in the Quartermaster's and Commissary Departments. In 1881 he
became purchasing agent for the Mexican Central Railroad, and in
1883 was appointed general manager of the Chihuahua and Durango
Telephone Company in Mexico. In 1887 he again entered the service
of the United States as Vice-Consul at Chihuahua. He was advanced
to Consul in 1892, and retired in 1893. In 1897 he became Second
Secretary of the United States Legation in Mexico, and was promoted
First Secretary of their Legation in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1906.
He was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary
to Guatemala on March 10, 1908. Major Heimké is a member of the
American Academy of Economic, Social, and Political Science of
Philadelphia, and of the International Folk Lore Society of Chicago.
One of the kindest and most hospitable of men, Major Heimké, in
conjunction with his charming wife, a lady of the greatest culture
and artistic tastes, makes his home one of the most pleasant places
for Americans and foreigners alike sojourning in San Salvador. Major
and Mrs. Heimké have firmly established themselves in the regard and
the esteem of the Salvadoreans; and they are undoubtedly the most
popular diplomatic representatives of the United States of America
who have occupied the Legation.
The Salvadorean Minister to the United States of America is Señor
Federico Mejía, who is one of the most prominent men in his country,
having for some time been Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
Upon his introduction to his present office on April 6, 1907, he was
officially received by President Roosevelt, and upon this occasion
Señor Mejía said:
"Mr. President: I have the honour to place in your hands the
autograph letter by which I am accredited as Envoy Extraordinary
and Minister Plenipotentiary of the Government of Salvador, near
the Government of Your Excellency. I present to you at the same
time the letters of recall of my distinguished predecessor, Dr.
Don José Rosa Pacas.
"Nothing could be more pleasing to me than the honour of
conveying to Your Excellency the expression of my Government's
wish to maintain and draw closer, if that were possible,
the friendly relations which happily exist between our two
countries; and in the discharge of the duties of the mission
which is entrusted to me, I shall spare no effort to voice
faithfully the sentiments of the Salvadorean people, trusting
that I shall meet, in so doing, the same cordiality and interest
you have manifested in the cause of the welfare of my country,
and that of the other States of Central America.
"Accept, Sir, the wishes that I make in the name of the
President of Salvador, and in my own, for the prosperity and
further aggrandizement of the great American nation, and for the
health and personal welfare of Your Excellency."
To this friendly and well-expressed address President Roosevelt
replied in equally felicitous terms as follows:
"Mr. Minister: I receive with great pleasure the cordial
sentiments of friendship to which you give expression, both for
your Government and for the Salvadorean people. Entertaining
the most sincere wishes for the prosperity and happiness of
your countrymen, and having at heart the continuation and
strengthening of the good relations which have already subsisted
between our two countries, I assure you of my co-operation in
your aim to that end. I have no doubt that, while worthily
representing the Government by which you are accredited, you
will so conduct your mission as to merit and receive the sincere
friendship and high regard of that of the United States. I
am glad, therefore, to greet you as Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipotentiary of Salvador to the United States. I beg
that you will convey to the President of Salvador my cordial
appreciation of his message of goodwill to me personally, and
for the prosperity of the United States, and assure him of my
earnest reciprocation of his wishes. For your own good wishes I
thank you; and I trust you will find your residence with us to
be most agreeable."
[Illustration: SIDE VIEW OF "EL ROTULO" BRIDGE.]
[Illustration: THE NATIONAL ROAD LEADING TO LA LIBERTAD, SHOWING "EL
ROTULO" BRIDGE.]
On December 20, 1907, the Central American Peace Conference, held
in Washington, concluded a Convention providing for meetings of
Central American Conferences to be convened on January 1 of each
year for a period of five years, with the object of agreeing upon
the most efficient and proper means of bringing uniformity into the
economical and fiscal interests of the Central American States. The
Peace Conference designated Tegucigalpa, Honduras, as the place of
the first meeting of the Central American Conference, and prescribed
that the Conference should choose the place for holding the next
Conference, and so on successively until the expiration of the
Convention concerning future Central American Conferences.
The first Central American Conference, which met in Honduras on
January 1, 1909, selected San Salvador as the place for holding the
second Central American Conference, which was underlined for January
1, 1910. For unavoidable reasons the members of the Conference could
not meet in San Salvador on the date prescribed, and the President
of the Republic, acting in conformity with Article II. of the
aforesaid Convention of the Peace Conference, postponed the meeting
of the second Central American Conference until February 1 of the
same year, which met on that date and concluded its work on the
fifth day of the same month.
The results obtained by the Conference were the celebration of six
Conventions, all of which were signed on February 5 of last year.
The first of these Conventions provides for the establishment in
Costa Rica of a pedagogic institute for Central America; the second,
for the unification of the Consular service abroad of the five
Republics; the third provides for monetary uniformity on a gold
basis; the fourth, for Central American commercial reciprocity;
the fifth, for the adoption of the metric system of weights and
measures; and the sixth defines the functions of each Government
toward the Central American bureau in Guatemala.
CHAPTER X
Latin-American trade and British diplomacy--Serious handicap
inflicted by the Government--Sacrificing British interests to
American susceptibilities--The British Foreign Office's
attitude towards its diplomatic representatives--Why British
trade has been lost to Salvador--Free Trade and its advocates--
The Salvadorean view--German competition--Methods of bribery in
vogue--The Teutonic code of trade honour.
If ever the secret veil which shrouds diplomacy in all countries
from betrayal could be drawn aside, and some wholesome sidelights
could now and again be thrown upon the proceedings of our
responsible Ministers, a great many disquieting, and even alarming,
things would come to light. These would show, for example, that the
great declension in British trade during the past few years has
been in a very considerable measure due to the astounding character
of the British Government's instructions to representatives abroad
in regard to the attitude of the United States of America. It will
be news--and very disquieting news--to the general public to know
that every effort has been made by our Government to consult the
wishes and the feelings of the United States in reference to almost
every trade treaty which has been either suggested or entered into.
The failure of our diplomats abroad to carry to a successful issue
a commercial treaty proposed or desired has not infrequently been
attributed to the neglect, or perhaps to the inability, of the
particular Minister employed. In practically every case, however,
it would be fairer to place the blame for the failure upon the
shoulders of the Foreign Office.
I know of several cases in which this is the undoubted and
undeniable cause of the breakdown of our negotiations in the very
moment of their imminent success. A craven and absurd desire
not to "hurt the feelings" of our greatest rivals and our most
clever competitors--the Americans--has dictated a policy which has
resulted in the earnest efforts of our skilled and able diplomatic
representatives abroad being absolutely wasted, and they themselves
being placed in a deeply humiliating position, which I need not say
has been as keenly resented.
This was the case with a highly important treaty which we were
upon the point of completing with Cuba; it has been the case with
a similar agreement entered into tentatively with the Republic
of Honduras, and it has been so likewise with the Republics of
Guatemala and Salvador. With how many other possible excellent trade
markets it has also had effect I do not know; but it is not very
difficult to imagine.
So pronounced has this policy become of late, that it is now having
a decidedly bad effect upon our commercial and financial relations
generally with the Latin-American Republics. Formerly these small
independent States looked upon Great Britain as the one Power to
whom appeals could be made in all matters of dispute, no matter
about what or between whom, with a moral certainty of a just and
impartial decision being given. This was in the days when Great
Britain still preserved her dignity and independence of thought, and
before her Government had learned to truckle to the bluff of the
Roosevelt-Philander Knox diplomacy. To-day, although there is more
reason than ever to ask for the calm and disinterested advice of
Great Britain in the numerous, and even dangerous, questions which
are continually arising between the Latin-American Republics and the
United States of America, it is recognized by the former that it
is entirely useless to appeal to Cæsar any longer, since Cæsar has
become an advocate for, or a creature of, the United States, and, so
far from acting as judge, merely now pleads as an amateur attorney.
It is necessary to travel in these Latin-American countries to
thoroughly comprehend the full effect of this mistaken and--I do not
hesitate to apply the term--degrading British policy. The result is
that the Republics themselves deride us, the United States laugh
at us, and our trade is meantime leaving us. The small Republics
are frightened to enter into any private negotiations with our
diplomatic representatives, since they are fearful, in the light
of previous unfortunate experiences, that their secrets may in due
course be revealed to Washington as a sop to the United States, and
that their efforts to strengthen their commercial bonds with us
will merely serve to embitter their own relations with the powerful
Americans, and without in the least improving their position with
Great Britain.
It is almost inconceivable that our Foreign Office should ask the
opinion, and to all intents and purposes solicit the approval, of
the United States before completing any trade compact with the
Latin-American Republics. What our Government has to fear or to
hope for from the United States, Heaven only knows; nevertheless
it is the sanction of Washington which is sought for before any
treaty can be now concluded with any of the Latin-American States;
and, what is much more sad to have to add, without such sanction no
treaty seems possible. That the United States of America is, or ever
has been, foolish enough to consult our Government under similar
circumstances is not upon record.
Our Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United
States of America, the Right Hon. James Bryce, is credited, by those
who are privileged to know him, with the decidedly Utopian idea
of associating the trade aspirations of both America and England
in Latin-America. It is doubtful if there exists another equally
eminent individual in the world who entertains any such wild and
impossible notion. It would be as easy to associate fire and water
as to form a bond, or even an understanding, between the traders
of America and England, since they are, and always must be, keen
rivals in the markets of the world. Mr. Bryce thinks, perhaps,
that it is feasible to divide up the universe into commercial and
financial zones, which shall be, thereafter, apportioned among the
United States and Great Britain for their lasting benefit? He must
be a very innocent and a very unimaginative individual if this be
his conception of the methods of latter-day trade competition. Mr.
Bryce has perhaps cherished the idea that our common language should
form a bond of union, and that this should become the central pivot
upon which our relations with the United States should revolve? He
is even credited with the aspiration that a Customs Union might be
formed on the basis of reciprocal Free Trade, with mutual advantage
to all. The commercial jealousy between the two nations has upon
more than one occasion been demonstrated, as witness the disputes
some years ago, and the Venezuelan boundary embroglio, which nearly
precipitated a conflict between the two countries.
But whatever be Mr. Bryce's precise ideas, the fact remains that he
has viewed with but little favour any treaty of trade and commerce
which our diplomatic representatives abroad may have suggested
where the interests of the United States of America were likely to
suffer. The Foreign Office, holding this distinguished diplomat--as
indeed they may justly do--in high esteem, have consulted him upon
most matters of trade, commerce, and finance affecting the smaller
Latin-American Republics. The Foreign Office, on the other hand,
have deemed it expedient to refer matters to Washington, with the
result that not only have our private negotiations with these small
independent States become the common knowledge of our American trade
rivals, but those representatives who negotiated the treaties have
been rendered ridiculous and contemptible, while our manufacturers
at home have been deprived of the benefits attaching to the most
favoured nation's agreements, such as the United States has itself
acquired in other directions, without having previously consulted
Downing Street or, indeed, caring one rap whether it was agreeable
or not. To the Foreign Office, therefore, the commercial and trading
communities of Great Britain owe a deep debt of gratitude!
For Mr. James Bryce as an individual it is impossible to feel
anything but esteem and regard, since he ranks as one of the most
distinguished and illustrious scholars of the day. The author of
such monumental works as "The Holy Roman Empire," "The American
Commonwealth," "Studies in History and Jurisprudence," and
"Studies in Contemporary Biography," must always rank as a man of
great ability and intellect. But, unfortunately, Mr. Bryce has
graduated in a school of diplomacy which has clouded his horizon and
diminished his chances of attaining any independent and untrammelled
view of Britain's commercial needs and the Empire's industrial
obstructions abroad. As Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in
1886, and as President of the Board of Trade in 1894, Mr. Bryce
was encumbered with all the machinery of permanent officialdom,
and was unable to see anything of this country's foreign trade
matters except through the narrow and often perverted views of his
subordinates.
I am very much afraid that this has interfered with some of his
subsequent policy; but of later years he has put himself to the
trouble--let us hope that it was also a pleasure--of seeing
something of Latin-America, and how British trade has to fight its
way there, an experience which might have been of great benefit
to Mr. Bryce, and of incalculable advantage to British trade in
Latin-America, if it had taken place, say, some five or six years
previously.
As a writer upon academical and historical subjects probably Mr.
Bryce has few equals, and still fewer superiors; but when discussing
British interests and making treaties for promoting British trade
in competition with American manufacturers, a child might do better
for our side than Mr. Bryce could have, or at least has, done. It is
easy to understand why he should be so extremely popular with our
friends the North Americans, and why his presence as our Ambassador
should prove so welcome and so gratifying to the acute authorities
at Washington. A malleable diplomat who sees so closely eye to eye
with them in arranging or defeating commercial treaties which could
in any way be regarded as likely to injure or to delay United States
interests, is naturally a most desirable acquisition; Mr. Bryce has
satisfactorily answered to these requirements, and, indeed, must
have frequently astounded his American friends by his complacency
and conciliatory attitude when discussing British interests.
In Mr. Philander Knox, Mr. James Bryce has had one of the very
cleverest, and I may add, least impressible, of American statesmen
to deal with, and it will remain to be seen in the future how much
Mr. Knox got out of Mr. Bryce, and how much or how little Mr. Bryce
squeezed out of Mr. Knox. "He who sups with the devil needs a long
spoon," and it will be interesting to learn, as we shall do no doubt
ere long in connection with the Anglo-American Arbitration Treaty,
the exact length of Mr. Bryce's "little concave vessel," as the
Dictionary describes it.
Mr. Bryce, who is a profound Latin scholar, will not have failed to
have noted Cicero's observations in his "De Officiis": "Sed tamen
difficile dictu est, quantopere conciliat animos hominum comitas
affabilitasque sermonis"; or, let us put it: "It is difficult to
tell how much men's minds are conciliated by a kind manner and
a gentle speech," and in both such attributes the courteous and
amiable Secretary of State at Washington excels.
In March of 1908 the representatives of the Governments of Salvador
and the United States signed, at the capital of the first-named
Republic, a convention determining the status of the citizens of
either country who renew their residence in the country of their
origin. This convention is found of great utility to the United
States citizens, more so even than to those of Salvador. There is no
such convention in force between this Republic and Great Britain.
In the previous year (1907) the Government of Salvador determined to
establish a permanent Legation at Washington, "so that the friendly
relations now existing between the two Governments may be continued
on a more intimate basis, and in order that the good counsel of the
United States may be more readily sought and obtained."
As far back as 1850 the American Minister of the day, Mr. E. G.
Squier--who, by-the-by, was a former husband of the well-known
American newspaper-owner, Mrs. Frank Leslie--negotiated a treaty
with Don Agustin Moráles, Plenipotentiary of Salvador, which
subsequently received the requisite ratification on both sides, has
since been renewed, and is in full force and effect. It secured to
the citizens of the United States all the rights, privileges, and
immunities of the citizens of Salvador in commerce, navigation,
mining, and in respect of holding and transferring property in
that State. It guaranteed to the American citizens resident in the
country full protection and enjoyment of religious freedom, and, in
short, every other right and privilege which has been conceded in
any treaty negotiated between the United States and any other nation
in the world.
Owing to the extraordinary energy and unmistakable ability displayed
by Mr. Charles H. Sherrill, the late popular and able United States
Minister at Buenos Aires, contract after contract which should--or
at least might--have gone to British manufacturers, have been
secured for America. I need only mention two instances: one for the
building of the three Dreadnoughts which are now being constructed
in United States yards; and the other an order for fifty locomotives
for the Government railways, which might--and, again, probably
would--have gone to British shops. While the United States Minister
did his level best for his countrymen, and for which he deserves
every credit and congratulation, and while his efforts on their
behalf were smiled upon with approval by the American Secretary of
State, the British Minister, locked up behind his customary reserve
and official dignity, neither could nor would move a finger to
help British manufacturers in their struggle against this serious
competition.
It seems, indeed, strange that where American, German, French,
Italian, and Belgian diplomats consider it by no means beneath
their dignity, or as at all outside their sphere, to personally
influence trade orders for their countrymen, the usual type of
British diplomat raises his hands in horror at the mere suggestion
of a Legation condescending to recognize the existence of trade,
repelling with frigid dignity any suggestion that the representative
of the British Government should concern himself with anything of a
purely commercial or industrial nature.
That the United States diplomats do not stand alone in their
gallant efforts to support American trade and commerce, and that
they are not singular in the supposition that the whole duties of
an Ambassador or Minister are confined to Government functions and
meaningless ceremonies, is proved by the energy which is displayed
by some German diplomats, who are very often instrumental in
checking the energy and frustrating the success of their American
competitors. It was only in the month of March last that Mr. H.
T. Schwerin, of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, in testifying
before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals, then sitting at
Washington, declared that his own company had lost 60 per cent. of
its carrying business to German lines largely through the activity
of the German Minister to Mexico, who had successfully exercised
his diplomatic influence in extending German commerce in Central
America. Distressing as this must have been to our good American
friends, I do not think that the information will be received with
feelings of much regret by British readers, especially as it will
appear to them in the light of "poetic justice," since British
commercial and industrial circles in the Argentine Republic, as
elsewhere, have suffered in exactly the same manner at the hands of
the Americans.
The trade of Central America, as has been shown, is very largely in
the hands of the Germans, for, not content with the representation
of their own industries and manufactures, a great proportion of
our own "British" Vice-Consuls are Germans by birth, if not by
choice. Thus, in both Guatemala and Honduras our trade interests
are to-day partially represented by Teutons. It can scarcely be on
account of there being no genuine Britishers available, since I have
encountered several Englishmen who could, and doubtless would, act
as Vice-Consuls, or merely as Consular Agents, if necessary.
Undoubtedly the Germans rank among the most capable of the foreign
traders doing business in these countries, as they put themselves to
the greatest amount of trouble to study the people and the local
conditions--much more so than either the British or the Americans.
The German is not only among the earliest of risers in the morning
and the latest to seek his rest at night, his store being always
the first to open and the last to close, but he avoids politics,
and discreetly retires into obscurity at the first intimation of
internal trouble. He studiously, if not willingly, falls into the
ideas and complies readily with the wishes of the country, no matter
what forms they may assume; and he is hardly ever known to complain
to or about anyone. He knows full well that it would be useless to
do so to his home Government, which, like our own, seldom concerns
itself with the personal affairs of its subjects abroad, this being
one of the reasons why the Germans so cordially hate their own
people, and especially the official classes. With them it is indeed
an absorbing hatred, and they do not hesitate to confess to it.
No other foreigner earning his living abroad seems to possess the
same gift for small economies as the German, nor his ability for
steering a clear path among the numerous spies and agents who
abound in some of the politically-ridden countries. The Germans,
both in their trade and their social relations with the natives,
are "all things to all men." They are apparently thoroughly at home
among them. One hardly ever hears of a German becoming involved
in political trouble or failing in his business. He thrives as no
other foreigner in these lands of difficulties and intrigues. It is
clear, however, why and how he manages to do so. And for him there
is no such thing as a Monroe Doctrine, which was once denounced by
Bismarck as a "piece of international impertinence." As often as not
he marries a native, and loses his identity.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO AVENIDA LA CEIBA AT SAN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: THE FAMOUS AVENIDA UNDER CONSTRUCTION.]
As an instance of the German's enterprise may be cited the supply
of cloths and hats for the natives which are found exclusively in
Bolivia, the same individual trading in Peru, however, bringing
out quite a different class of stuffs and styles for that country.
The ordinary British or American manufacturer would probably
contend that it would be useless or unprofitable to make special
materials or designs of this kind so entirely unlike anything before
attempted, and he would leave the matter just there. Not so with
the observant travelling German. He first studies the question of
demand, then he sends a complete range of patterns and samples from
the looms of the native manufacturers to his house in Germany. In a
few months' time there arrive in the country the German imitation,
and, first in small, then in ever-increasing quantities, is built
up a connection; and where the Salvadorean, Guatemalan, Bolivian,
or Peruvian importer finds his materials and his hats, he buys most
of his other miscellaneous European goods, so as to have but one
account and one customer.
Then, in regard to credits, the German is most accommodating,
granting payments over twelve, eighteen, and even twenty-four
months, and never asking any interest upon his outstanding accounts.
How he does it is a mystery, more especially as his prices in no
way exceed, and in the majority of instances are below, the prices
of other European and American houses, while the number of his
bad debts is considerable. Probably there is a seamy side to all
this promiscuous trading by the German houses; but if there is,
there must likewise be some decided advantages accruing, since no
one would credit Teutonic manufacturers and dealers with motives
of philanthropy. But whether their commercial dealings with the
Latin-American races be profitable or profitless, it is beyond
question that they are extending, and extending rapidly--all
of which means that there is so much smaller a field for other
countries. These specimens of Bolivian hats, Peruvian dress-cloths,
Mexican _rebosos_, and Guatemalan _mantillas_, made in Germany,
resemble in every way the native manufactures--so closely, indeed,
that they cannot be told from the original except by an expert. The
Germans are actually making all these articles, exporting them to
these countries, and selling them there more cheaply than the native
article. The question is, "_How_ can they do it?"
It is decidedly useful to come abroad to such countries as the
Latin-American States, if only to glean a few opinions as to the
position which Great Britain occupies in the minds of the people of
these regions. There are many individuals whose judgments are well
worth recording, since while they may have gathered their ideas from
trading only--and, indeed, few of them have been outside the borders
of their own State--are sufficiently shrewd in their criticisms to
make these latter worth observing.
The good people of Salvador, like a great many other experienced
individuals, both in Latin-America and elsewhere, know the
advantages to be derived from a system of Protection, and they are
at a complete loss to understand how it is that Great Britain alone
among the trading nations of the world can "afford"--that is the
expression used--to admit a policy of Free Trade, and especially in
view of the Empire's Colonies' well-known feelings on the subject.
Here, as elsewhere, the advantages of Free Trade are admitted; but
without some form of retaliation it is absurd to suppose that any
other nations will ever accept it. The opinion in general in these
countries, where local manufactures are gradually commencing to
make themselves a potent object of attention, is that Free Trade is
desirable for all raw materials, but that a duty should be imposed
upon all manufactured articles, whether they compete with local
productions or no.
These Latin-American critics can but observe how the export trade
of other foreign countries, such as Germany, the United States, and
France, is continually increasing, while that of Great Britain,
where it does not exhibit positive signs of decay, remains in a
stagnant condition. This state of things is attributed to Great
Britain's adherence to Free Trade, and the system of Protection
adopted by its competitors. I have not encountered a single
individual with whom I have discussed such matters as these who does
not hold the opinion that, without reciprocity, real Free Trade is
an impossibility. These intelligent people are just as convinced
that, were Great Britain to tax those countries which protect their
industries against it, they could before long be forced to adopt
Free Trade also; and if they did not do so, Great Britain could
and should continue to tax them until they did. They can see quite
clearly that the interests of the producer and consumer are so
closely interwoven and connected that any injury to the trade of the
former at once reacts on to the latter; in slack times, as these
Latin-American races have good reason to know, it is really the
consumer who is most seriously affected, since his very existence
depends upon the producer and manufacturer. Thus any action, they
very sensibly argue, which serves to revive or to promote trade
must, of a necessity, increase the prosperity of all. It is strange,
indeed, that such a view should be so clear to individuals living
out here, and remain absolutely obscure to those thousands of
individuals at home.
Our great strength in these Latin-American countries has always been
our textile manufactures, and it is here that we are being attacked
by both the United States and Germany. The former have successfully
imitated most of the English designs, and these, combined with
the better class of printing, the larger proportion of cotton,
and the superior quality of the water employed in the dyeing of
the material, have combined to make the American textiles more to
the liking of the native buyers. So much is this the case, that
the importers who formerly took British goods almost exclusively
now send home American patterns and designs to be produced in
England, even the United States trade-marks and lettering upon
the piece-goods being followed as closely as it is possible to do
without risking an action for infringement. The labels, instead of
being printed, as heretofore, are now lithographed, and are likewise
colourable imitations of the American ones; and it is sad to have
to relate that, in order to keep together some semblance of British
trade, it is apparently necessary to pass off the products of our
looms as "American."
So far there has been but little attack made upon British bleached
cotton goods, the proportion of which is 80 per cent. in favour
of our country; but German importers, of whom there are an
ever-increasing number in Salvador, are now seeking to increase the
supply of these goods from the Fatherland. The United States, as
yet, have done little in this direction. In yarns we seem steadily
to be losing ground, mainly, as I understand, on account of our
poor colouring. The people of these sunny lands insist upon the
brightest of bright hues--the most vivid scarlet or vermilion for
Turkey-red yarns; the deepest of blues; the prettiest of greens. The
British products are lacking in these, so much so that many of the
Turkey-reds spun in Scotland are sent to Germany to be dyed before
they are exported to these countries as "British" yarns. Our next
great competitor in regard to textiles is France.
British trade has been no more fortunate in regard to its machinery,
hardware, or iron and steel trade connections with Salvador, and
here it is the United States that is met with as a powerful and
resourceful rival at all times. The great combine which was formed
in the United States in 1909 to supply the wants of Latin-America
with all iron and steel productions, has met with an immense
success, so much so that even its organizers have expressed
astonishment. The geographical advantages possessed are not the only
ones. The United States Steel Produce Export Company is enabled to
handle orders more promptly and much more cheaply than any European
factory could do, but with these commanding points in its favour the
Company is not satisfied. It has organized a system of canvassing
either directly by personal application or by mail, which is both
timely and effective. Immediately it is known, or even suspected,
that any new railway or other construction is about to be entered
upon, the Company despatches an agent to see the promoters, or,
in the absence of this, forwards by mail a complete library of
handbooks, cost estimates, attractive illustrations, drawings and
code-lists, even prepaying a cable message when business is likely
to result. The terms offered are often such as no European could or
would tender, and, even if it were a question of direct competition,
the Steel Company would probably win-out; but the prices which it
quotes and the conditions which it imposes are of so tempting a
nature that they stand alone.
It is to be remembered that practically the whole of the
transportation arrangements in Central America, Salvador excepted,
are in the hands of Americans, whose carefully arranged Pan-American
Railway System is now fast approaching practical realization. When
completed, it will be possible to journey from New York to Panama
without change of car, and what this means for quick and cheap
freights can be realized. In all probability there will be severe
shipping competition to meet with, however, more especially on the
part of the Tehuantepec Railroad, which is already carrying an
enormous traffic, and is regarded with envious eyes by the Panama
Railroad Company. With the exception of the Tehuantepec route and
the Salvador Railway, the Americans now control the transportation
arrangements of Central America, being thus enabled to regulate
the freight charges upon all merchandise entering these countries.
Already several cases of unfair discrimination have been recorded,
such, for instance, as charging a British commercial traveller in
Costa Rica a sum of $75 (£15) for the conveyance of his samples
between the Port of Limón and the capital of San José, while an
American drummer was actually granted a rebate of 50 per cent. off
the ordinary rates, his expenses amounting to little more than $20
(£4) all told. In both cases the weight of the samples was the same.
CHAPTER XI
British trade declines--Suggested remedy--Distributing
centres--Trading companies and branches--Unattractive cheap
goods--Former hold upon Salvadorean markets--Comparative
statistics between Great Britain, Germany, and the United
States--Woollen and cotton goods--Absence of British
bottoms from Salvadorean ports--Markets open to British
manufacturers--Agricultural implements.
While everyone who has studied the question of British trade abroad
is practically agreed that it is at present suffering from more
than the average number of disadvantages, few have any real remedy
to suggest that might possibly put a different face upon matters.
One idea which has been suggested to me, however, is worthy of
careful attention. This is to establish throughout the Central and
South American States a number of retail British houses which shall
act as agents and distributing centres for our home-made goods. I
acknowledge that the notion is not a new one, since the enterprising
Germans, who are, as I have shown, our keenest competitors in this
part of the world, have long conducted such retail establishments,
and have found them most beneficial in the extension of their
business with the Latin-American countries. To open up new branches
without the aid of some such method, it may be said at once,
is almost, if not wholly, impossible. I admit that there are
difficulties which will have to be encountered, as there are in all
enterprises of this nature; but that these are not insuperable the
Germans have themselves very clearly demonstrated.
In the first place, the establishment of these retail
establishments, if undertaken at all, would have to be upon a large
and a very comprehensive scale. For this reason it is possible
that few British manufacturers would have the pluck to enter upon
the project. The result of such timidity is that, in the minor
branches of trade in the Latin-American Republics, the volume of
which is continually increasing in importance side by side with the
increase in the demand for the small luxuries and the conveniences
of life, the representation of British manufactures is becoming an
insignificant factor.
The remedy--or at least a partial one--for this, as already
indicated, lies in the formation of large trading companies, which
would combine a retail and wholesale business in all branches of
imported goods, with the purchase of local produce for export. Apart
from the advantages which such a company would enjoy, due to the
magnitude of its operations over ordinary importers, its retail
department would afford a practical means of advertising and placing
upon sale all kinds of novelties, which naturally would serve to
continually widen the scope of its operations. It would likewise
be in a position, better than that of any private firm, to receive
goods for sale upon commission; and by exporting produce it would be
able to effect considerable economies in its remittances (especially
in such countries as Salvador and Guatemala, where the exchange
is often altering), while at the same time it could afford to pay
better prices than its competitors. The question is already really
answered by the success of the co-operative stores established in
England, and it is upon some such basis as this that the scheme
for the Latin-American Republics is laid. It must be remembered
that in all of these countries the difference between the wholesale
and the retail prices is enormous, and that the dealers' profits
are exceedingly high. It is an idea which Mr. Lionel Carden, who
is, perhaps, one of our greatest Pro-Consuls, and particularly
gifted with common sense, has frequently urged in his reports to
the Home Government, and perhaps for this very reason it has never
been adopted. It is one which I cordially commend to the careful
consideration of my readers.
Yet another point to which the attention of British manufacturers
may be drawn is the unattractive manner in which the cheaper classes
of goods are turned out. I have in previous publications shown how
trade with the Latin-American countries is injured by the extremely
commonplace and often ugly coverings and wrappings used upon boxes
or bindings. The question is, "Why should an article, because it
is perhaps cheap, be made particularly ugly?" The long-established
custom among our manufacturers of using the commonest and crudest
of coverings is matched by their fondness for finishing off their
cheaper articles in the dullest and least attractive of colours or
casings. This is in striking contrast to both American and German
manufacturers, whose artistic taste is shown in the manner in which
their goods--often mere rubbish though they be--are packed, and with
very excellent results, so far as the export trade is concerned. In
an age like ours, when lithography of every description is so cheap
and taste in design so improved, it seems wholly absurd that good
orders should be continually lost on account of their non-adoption.
I have heard of another idea which I may pass on to manufacturers of
small articles enjoying a large sale in these countries, and this is
to procure, through anyone living in the country, photographs of the
rulers--the Presidents and Vice-Presidents--and use them lavishly
upon their labels and box-covers whenever possible. The people are
extremely fond of collecting these cheap oleographs and pasting
them upon their walls and windows; and in all parts of South and
Central America may be seen thousands of the pictures of King Edward
and Queen Alexandra, of the Kaiser, and even of famous actresses.
How much more readily would the features of a familiar ruler or a
popular Minister help the sale of a cheap material or a low-priced
article of any kind? The desire to secure something for nothing--or
as an extra "thrown in"--is as predominant in Latin-America as
elsewhere in the world, and must be pandered to.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE NEW AVENIDA LEADING TO SAN SALVADOR,
TAKEN FROM THE NORTH.]
Salvador is one of the many Latin-American States whose great
richness and prosperity repose in their immediate future. In area
it is one of the smallest of the Central American Republics, but
it is in no whit less important from a prospective development
point of view. Its superficial area is but 7,225 miles, but its
population is considerably over 1,000,000, which gives it an average
to the square mile much in excess of either Guatemala, Costa Rica,
or Nicaragua. It is, moreover, an easier country to deal with,
physically considered, since it is in fully three parts of its area
quite amenable to cultivation. It is remarkably well-watered, it is
richly endowed with mineral deposits, and its people are a quiet,
peaceful, and industrious race, well-disposed towards foreigners,
and with as much distaste nowadays for revolutions and internecine
disturbances as their immediate neighbours would appear to display
for similar diversions.
In a word, Salvador seems to offer at the present time an excellent
field for the investment of both capital and enterprise. It is quite
clear that the favourable position existing is also appreciated,
since the country is, and has for some time past been, full of
the "commercial ambassadors"--in other words, of commercial
travellers--representing the manufacturing trade of the United
States and of many European houses, mainly German.
While several British firms still maintain their connection with the
Republic, there are to be found barely half a dozen British houses
throughout the length and breadth of the country. This is all the
more surprising since the names--and nothing but the names--of many
one-time influential British firms are to be seen on the door-posts
and signs of the shops. The old-established emporiums in San
Salvador, in Sonsonate--the next most important trading centre--in
Ahuachapán, in Santa Ana, in Chalatenango, and in Sensuntepeque,
all tell that formerly they imported their goods through English
establishments almost exclusively, and that British travellers
called upon them at regular intervals for their orders. To-day, the
greater part of the orders, with some notable exceptions, are taken
by German and American travellers, and a British "drummer" is about
as rare an object as the fabulous Dodo. "We should be glad enough
to see them," added one of my informants; "but they seem to have
forgotten that such a place as Salvador exists."
The President of the Republic, General Fernando Figueroa, who
retired last November from office, a very intelligent and charming
man, in conversation with me, dwelt in the same strain concerning
the disappearance of the Britisher as a trading factor from the
Republic of Salvador. He frankly expressed both his regret and his
surprise that the desirable commerce of this wealthy and promising
Central American State should have been practically abandoned by the
shrewd and enterprising Northerners, when they had at one time so
firm a hold upon its commercial relations.
The Germans, who have to all intents and purposes taken possession
of the connections, but not of the affections, of the Salvadoreans,
which formerly were the almost exclusive holdings of the British,
are now to be found everywhere. They not alone year by year further
extend the tentacles of their trade by all usual means and methods,
but they make a point of coming out to reside for a number of years;
and this is one of their strongest holds upon the country. The
Germans are prepared to endure any personal sacrifice in the way of
comforts or conveniences to make and maintain profitable commercial
relations with the people of the countries among which they elect to
trade. In the majority of cases they open branch-houses in the chief
cities of these countries, sending either one of their partners,
or, failing him, one of his junior relations, to live in the State
and personally conduct the business of the house and closely study
the conditions of the country. Dozens of bright, intelligent, and
enthusiastic young Germans are met with, who have been, perhaps,
but a few years away from school or college, serving in their
shirt-sleeves, without a blush or sense of humiliation, behind the
counters at the small country stores, opening their establishments
at 6 a.m., and closing them at 8 or 9 p.m., Sundays and weekdays
alike.
I have asked many of these young fellows how many years they have
been in the country, and how many more they mean to remain. Some
have been quite new arrivals; others have been, perhaps, serving
in Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and other of the Latin-American
States; but none of them, apparently, think of going home, even
upon a temporary visit, in less than ten years, and to all
appearances they are perfectly happy to be where they are, not even
saving money, but building up a trade connection for themselves
or for their employers, as already indicated--in most cases their
relations--which may one day prove valuable.
I may say that, although these same young Germans live quite like
the people of the country, eating the same food, occupying the same
kind of houses, rising and retiring at the same primitive hours, and
not infrequently even marrying into their families, they maintain
all the cleanliness of their own lives and habits, and are always
as orderly and as well-conducted in all relations of life as any
self-respecting young man need be.
While it is true that the Germans do not succeed, any more than
North Americans, in ever endearing themselves to the inhabitants
of these countries of the South, they do most assuredly earn the
respect and the esteem of their neighbours, and succeed in living
for many years in their countries, surrounded, as is found the case,
by occasional revolution and internecine troubles, without in any
way becoming involved in the vortex.
This cannot be truthfully said of the average American, who comes
down either upon a business or a pleasure trip; the political
affairs and the border complications seem to have a peculiar and
dangerous fascination for him, and, as in the case of the celebrated
"Little Jack Horner" of nursery memories, he must have a finger in
the pie. As often as not, the "plum" which he at length succeeds
in pulling out proves to be a fairly indigestible one, and he
is compelled to drop it and make a bolt from the kitchen rather
precipitately, too.
It would appear, from the statistics which are given in a previous
chapter (see p. 106), that Great Britain in 1909 led in the net
value of the country's foreign imports. The figures, however, must
not be read in the light of competition only, but in the much more
disturbing aspect of the closeness of their totals to the completion
attained by the most serious rivals to the United Kingdom--namely,
the United States and Germany. The returns for 1910 prove this.
Comparison has been made with the figures of 1904 (which were
selected for the special purpose referred to), and I now desire my
readers to glance at some of more recent date.
For the whole of the Republic the foreign importation of merchandise
for 1908 was as follows: Packages = 267,791; kilogrammes =
18,830,121. Value: $4,240,561.21. Out of all the different countries
concerned, we are interested for the moment in three only--namely,
Great Britain, Germany, and the United States of America, and these
returns stand as follows:
+---------------+-----------+---------------+-----------+
| | Packages. | Kilos Weight. | Value. |
+---------------+-----------+---------------+-----------+
| | | | $ |
|Great Britain | 42,613 | 3,740,138 | 1,539,046 |
|Germany | 29,605 | 2,542,732 | 442,860 |
|United States | 146,857 | 9,765,056 | 1,287,452 |
+---------------+-----------+---------------+-----------+
Looking into the details of the returns, it seems that British
textile and cotton manufactures have been the most vigorously
attacked by both the German and the American competing houses. The
shares respectively for 1909 were as follow:
Total Value.
Great Britain $957,172.07
United States 451,692.72
Germany 57,376.64
In woollen and cotton textile goods there is not any further
improvement in the trade of the United States, the 1910 figures
being $300,075; but those of Germany stand at $71,080, as against
$763,171 for Great Britain. From this it will be observed that in
this respect they "who were last may yet become first," a very
significant fulfilment of the Biblical prognostication so far as
Great Britain is concerned. The chief articles of export of "other
countries" to Salvador are iron and hardware, $73,447.96; sacks for
coffee, $92,937.38; and various articles, $132,660.04. Germany is
represented by an immense number of different articles, but none
of them in net value touch very high figures. The most important
is hardware, which is represented by a value of $69,092.25, while
linen goods stand at $57,376.64, as against the British total of
$957,172.07.
A somewhat different kind of trade is done in this class of goods
to that most general, for instance, in Guatemala. There the natives
demand a cheaper and more flimsy kind of material. In Salvador
they would appear to prefer a somewhat higher class of goods and
of a rather more sober pattern. The Germans are catering actively
for this market, and although, as will be observed, they have a
very long headway to make up before they approach to within the
region attained by either the British or the American figures, the
persistency with which the Teutons are pursuing these Latin-American
markets makes their competition a serious factor for the future (see
p. 149).
In regard to exports from the port of Acajutla, a few words will
suffice to explain the situation. France stands first as the
recipient of the Republic's products from this particular port. The
figures for the first half of the year (1909) show that France took
coffee to the value of $749,946, Germany came next with $667,304,
while the United States stood third with $506,064. Great Britain did
not figure at all in the trade of Acajutla; but from the port of
La Libertad the United Kingdom took goods to the value of $106,043
in coffee, against $127,740 by Germany, $311,093 by France, and
$124,700 by the United States.
$874,958.32 represents the total value of the coffee shipped from
the port of La Libertad for the six months of that year. This
business with England must have been carried on in foreign bottoms,
for, as mentioned elsewhere, a British vessel had not been seen
in the port of La Libertad for some years, a fact vouched for by
the Comandante of the Port, who keeps the records of all ships
arriving and departing. The values, it is as well to mention, are
given in gold dollars, the equivalent in Salvadorean dollars being
$2,186,495.80. In regard to the Republic's trade generally, the
countries with which it does its export business stand in the
following order of importance: France, Germany, United States,
Italy, Austria, Great Britain, Spain, and "other countries."
Reference may be made to the trade done in the article known as
balsam, which is a product peculiar to Salvador. Hamburg is the
principal market for the article, and its quotations fix the price
for the world. Within the last two years the price has fluctuated
from 12 to 22 marks per kilogramme--say $2.86 to $5.24 per 2.2
pounds. The price at the beginning of 1909 was 14 marks--say, $3.33
per kilogramme. The method of obtaining the balsam is very curious,
and is described at some length in Chapter VII.
Manufacturers of agricultural implements and machinery for the
Latin-American markets should remember that it is unnecessary and
undesirable to make the articles in such a manner as to last for
ever. While durability and substantiality are no doubt excellent
features of machinery of all kinds, and in connection with
British-made goods have always been much depended upon, it is quite
possible to carry the virtue too far. It must be borne in mind that
out "in the West" the same ideas do not prevail as at home, and in
any case these countries are still in the experimental stage, when
new industries are continually superseding the old. The Americans
and the Germans both understand this, and consequently they are
ousting the British-made heavier goods from the market.
What are required are light ploughs, watering-carts, hay-rakes,
seed-sowers, and similar machines, but of a light yet strong
character. The question of freight comes in very seriously,
since not only is the steamship charge to be considered, but the
frequently long overland journey upon mule-back. By the time
that the implement or machine has reached its destination, it
frequently costs double the invoice price. All easily detachable
and duplicated-part machines are very much more in demand than
other kinds, and they are but seldom found in Central America of
British manufacture. But there is absolutely no reason why they
should not be made, and as freely sold, as the American classes,
which are to be seen displayed--painted in all the gaudy colours of
the rainbow--in practically every hardware store in Latin-America.
No small part of the dealers' profits, either, is derived from
supplying duplicate parts, due to losses and breakages. The
purchasers seldom, if ever, complain of breakdowns, and they prefer
discarding their latest purchase for a new, and maybe an untried,
invention, which is advertised to do all the wonderful things which
the late implement did, in addition to numerous others which it
could not do.
Small pamphlets, printed in Spanish, showing, with the aid of
drawings, how the machine or implement may be detached, cleaned,
repaired, and again put together, are also to be recommended. I
would even suggest sending out with each article a brightly-coloured
illustration of the machine in operation, since purchasers are
very fond of hanging such upon their walls; and in the absence
of any other picture I have often seen the flaring advertisement
of some totally different machine, such as a plough or a reaper,
occupying a conspicuous position upon the house-walls of a farmer's
establishment. If he were sufficiently fortunate to possess an
actual illustration of his own particular machine, I think that he
would gladly endow it with a special frame, and thus advertise it
freely for the benefit of the manufacturer. It is, therefore, well
worth while for dealers to give such matters their attention. The
initial cost is very small, while the corresponding advantages are
undoubtedly great. At least our American and German competitors
think so, and have the courage of their opinions.
The present chapter could hardly be more usefully completed than
by adding the latest trading returns to hand from the Republic--up
to July, 1911--which provide the figures for the whole of the year
1910. These show that what has been so long threatened has actually
occurred--Great Britain has lost to the United States its first
place upon the Imports List; while upon the Exports List, it stands
fifth. Here let the statistics speak for themselves:
+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| | 1908. | 1909. | 1910. | |
+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+
|Imports: | $ | $ | $ | |
| United States | 1,287,452 | 1,344,316 | 1,346,598 | |
| Great Britain | 1,539,047 | 1,438,614 | 1,165,993 | |
| +-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+
| Great Britain | +251,595 | +74,298 | -180,605 | |
+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+
|Exports: | $ | $ | $ | $ |
| United States | 2,046,398 | 1,838,302 | 2,280,156 | +441,854 |
| Germany | 1,038,305 | 955,888 | 1,584,627 | +428,739 |
| France | 1,417,428 | 1,146,316 | 1,097,118 | -49,198 |
| Italy | 374,434 | 440,163 | 609,674 | +209,511 |
| Great Britain | 449,167 | 440,359 | 480,737 | +40,278 |
+------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------+
Thus, from having a _surplus_ of trade in Salvador over all other
countries in 1909 to the value of $74,298 (as against $251,595
in 1908), we show a _loss_ of $180,605 in 1910. While the United
States, Germany, and Italy all showed an increase in their purchases
from Salvador of considerable amounts, Great Britain records the
contemptible advance of $40,278! We may well echo Syrus's maxim:
"_Heu, quam difficilis gloriæ custodia est!_"
CHAPTER XII
British fire apparatus--Story of a British installation--Coffee
and sugar machinery--Cane-mills--Fawcett, Preston and Co.'s
installations--High reputation enjoyed by British firms--United
States coffee equipment--German competition--Methods of German
commercial travellers--Openings for British trade--Effect of
Panama Canal--A libel upon Salvador manufacturers--Salvador
Chamber of Commerce.
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE PICTURESQUE TOWN OF MARCALA.]
There are, on the other hand, certain classes of machinery and
appliances of British manufacture which can be met with not only
in practically every part of the world, but which no amount of
foreign competition would seem to seriously affect. Among these
specialized manufactures may be included, coffee and sugar machinery
and fire-engines. The latter stand, indeed, quite alone as effective
and universally known features of British construction, and I do not
in any way exaggerate when I state that in no part of the world to
which I have been--and that is equivalent to saying "everywhere upon
the face of the habitable globe"--have I failed to see some kind of
fire-extinguishing apparatus, old or new, of British manufacture.
In the Central American States the reputation of such appliances
stands very high, as was exemplified at the time of one of the
several serious conflagrations which have afflicted San Salvador,
and which occurred some four years ago, when a great portion of the
capital city was for a time in jeopardy of destruction. One of the
principal churches was actually destroyed, and this so affected
the people that the Government determined to invest in fire-engines
and necessary appliances.
As soon as this determination became known, the officials were
inundated with the catalogues of manufacturers from Germany, France,
the United States, and other countries. An emissary from America
even came down personally from the States to canvass for the order;
but the reputation of the British fire-apparatus was strong and
its general effectiveness was generally recognized, so that the
Government did not hesitate in its decision to follow Mr. Mark J.
Kelly's advice to award the order to a Greenwich firm. A larger type
of the Merryweather steam-engine, with a very complete outfit for
the firemen, has since been added, through the instrumentality of
the same gentleman.
Further proof of the utility of the English engines was afforded
later on, when yet another serious and disastrous fire occurred
in San Salvador, the work, it is believed, of an incendiary, with
the result that an entire block of fine buildings, including the
National Theatre, was burned to the ground. It is admitted by
everyone that but for the services rendered by the fire-engines,
and not a little also by the heroic work of the local brigade, the
greater portion of the city, in all probability, would have been
destroyed. It is the intention of the authorities, I understand, to
further increase the effectiveness of the service by ordering more
hose and additional salvage appliances.
In conversation with the former President of the Republic, General
Fernando Figueroa, upon one occasion, he paid an eloquent tribute
to the excellence of British machinery of all kinds. He has had,
it may be mentioned, some experience of the manufactures of other
countries as well as of our own. He mentioned to me the fact that
he recollected at one time that many British manufactures, not only
of machinery, were to be met with largely in Salvador, and that the
names of several of the large importing firms and store-keepers in
many of the other cities of the State were British. To-day there
are but five or six English houses to be found in Salvador. On the
other hand, as previously pointed out, one meets with many German
names, these ubiquitous and enterprising trade rivals having firmly
established themselves in the Republic, as they have also succeeded
in doing in Guatemala and Costa Rica.
In regard to coffee and sugar machinery, of which mention has
already been made, this trade is split up between the two houses of
John Gordon and Co., of London, and Marcus Mason and Co., of New
York. Both make excellent apparatus for the purpose of treating the
berry and cane, the Germans in this particular direction finding but
very little favour even among their own people. I visited several
of the large _fincas_ or estates, where both coffee and sugar are
treated, and in all such instances the properties were either owned
or being managed by Germans. In all cases the machinery was either
British or American, and in a number of instances both were freely
employed.
Upon inquiry, I was informed that the sugar machinery turned out by
German manufacturers in the majority of cases is too complicated
and delicate for practical purposes, and that it needs an expert
mechanician--a decidedly _rara avis_ in this part of the world--to
understand the apparatus or to carry out the necessary repairs
when things go wrong. In all of the factories visited by me the
equipment, with the exception of the boilers and some of the
vertical donkey-engines for feeding them, came either from Great
Britain or the United States of America.
One excellent testimonial to the superiority of British machinery
was afforded at the Laguna Finca, belonging to Herr Fédor Deininger,
who, as may be assumed from his name, is a German proprietor. Here I
found a complete sugar-manufacturing plant, consisting of cane-mill,
liquor pumps and tanks, defecators, juice-heaters, clarifiers and
evaporators, steam eliminators, filters, and, indeed, everything but
the centrifugals, which alone were of German construction, had been
provided by the Liverpool firm of Messrs. Fawcett, Preston and Co.,
Limited, of the Phoenix Foundry. The date upon this installation
is "1867"; and Herr Deininger, the present owner of the factory,
who acquired it from his uncle, Herr Bogen, some twenty years ago,
declares that it is quite unnecessary to replace the installation,
"as it is still working most satisfactorily." Of this I, indeed,
assured myself by personal observation. I venture to believe
that this is an altogether unique instance of a sugar-machinery
installation, erected over forty-three years ago, and which has
been in constant operation during that time, day by day, Sundays
included, being found in a sufficiently sound and workable condition
as to need nothing more serious than an occasional replacement of a
small part or a temporary stoppage for overhauling.
In Salvador there are several cane-mills of quite recent
construction throughout, and in most instances these are the
manufactures of Messrs. Fawcett, Preston and Co., Limited, who,
it would appear, have erected similar installations in many other
parts of the world, since I have come across them in Southern
Brazil, Cuba, India, and the Argentine. The cattle-mills, which are
peculiarly adapted for this country, where oxen are used everywhere
and for all purposes of road-hauling, are made with three horizontal
rolls, secured upon strong gudgeons, running in adjustable gun-metal
bearings, supported and held in place by two massive head-stocks
bolted to a strong bedplate. This latter extends under the rolls
from one side of the mill to the other, serving as a juice-pan
attached to it. There is also fitted an upright shaft, turning in a
footstep secured to the mill bedplate, and in a pedestal bolted to
an entablature, supported by four pillars, which form part of the
head-stocks. To this upright shaft is keyed a bevel-wheel, which
gears into another keyed upon the toproll gudgeon. In addition to
the bevel-wheel, the shaft is provided with ironwork for carrying
wooden steps for the hitching of oxen, horses, or mules.
Of recent years Messrs. Fawcett, Preston and Co., Limited, have
introduced an improved type of Rousselot cane-mill, by which the
returner-bar and knife are reduced to the smallest dimensions by a
special patented arrangement of bringing the side-rolls as close
together as the top cap-bolts will admit. These latter are inclined
vertically to one another, and the effect of this arrangement is
to reduce the width of the knife, and consequently the friction
of the cane passing over it, and also economizing the power and
consumption of fuel necessary to drive the mill. The special feature
of the Rousselot patent is to be found in this improvement--that is
to say, that the strain is taken off the cast-iron head-stock by
through bolts, which secure against the breakage of the head-stocks.
Greater ease is also found both in the erection and the taking
down of the mill. These rolls are made of a special mixture of
cast-iron, selected as the best to withstand the wear and tear to
which they are necessarily subjected. The gudgeons are of the best
hammered scrap-iron, and are forced into the rolls by means of
hydraulic pressure, while, in addition, the rolls are keyed on to
the gudgeons. All the head-stocks, mill-bottom, and crown, are of
cast-iron.
Yet another improvement which this firm have introduced into their
sugar machinery is in connection with the juice-heaters. These
now consist of three cylindrical heaters of a compound type, with
Chapman's patent steam separator, and which are fixed horizontally
side by side, being so connected that while any one of the three is
out of use for cleaning or repair, either of the other two can be
worked as a high-pressure or finishing heater, and the other as a
low-pressure heater, thus economizing considerable fuel. The steam
separator worked in connection with these heaters economizes about
8 per cent. of the steam required in the multiple effect apparatus
for evaporating the cane juice, since by this arrangement the steam
that would otherwise flash off from the superheated juice into the
atmosphere and be lost is collected and conveyed to the heating
drums of the multiple effect, and so utilized for the evaporation
of a corresponding amount of water from the juice. Improvements are
also to be observed in connection with the subsiding defecators, the
steam eliminators, bag-filters, the apparatus known as the "Coffey"
still.
Reference has been made above to the vogue which British-made
coffee machinery, and especially that of Messrs. John Gordon and
Co., of London, has had in the Latin-American States. So far as
Salvador is concerned, I understand that this class of product
stands in serious danger of being ousted from the market by American
competition. While it is generally admitted that none better than
British machinery for coffee, rice and cocoa can be obtained, the
very success of these manufactures seems to an extent to have
resulted in a slackness to obtain further orders, and the field,
thus neglected, and always most carefully watched, is being occupied
by the Americans. I am informed, for instance, that to-day fully
65 per cent. of the coffee machinery to be found in Salvador is of
American make, and that fresh orders are being despatched frequently
for further supplies. I also learn that no British traveller in
this class of machinery has been seen in Salvador for fully five
or six years, while, on the other hand, the largest of the United
States manufacturers has an agent, in this case a young German
speaking Spanish fluently and possessing a very pleasant manner,
who is continually travelling up and down the country, visiting
the different _fincas_ at which, apparently, he is always welcome,
submitting drawings, plans, and estimates for improvements and new
installations.
Moreover, this young man is an expert mechanic, and most skilful
in effecting repairs and alterations to machinery and plant
installations. It is not at all difficult to understand how such
an individual makes headway with the kind-hearted and hospitable
Salvadorean estate owners, and how he succeeds, not alone in
obtaining orders from them for their coffee and other machinery, but
in introducing German manufactures of other kinds; for your German
traveller is always open for business, and, indeed, appears to live
for very little else. Thus, it would seem, unless some "move" is
made by British manufacturers of coffee and rice machinery in this
part of the world, at no distant date the trade will be snatched
from them; and that once done, nothing will probably succeed in
bringing it back again. Lost ground of this character is seldom
recovered, and it may be hoped that those manufacturers who are
mostly concerned will take the hint here conveyed, and set out to
put their neglected houses in order. The coffee industry of Salvador
is _the_ most important of all its exports, and its pursuit is the
mainstay of the country. In 1910 the value was $5,130,404, out of a
total export trade of $7,294,602.
Among the British goods which I have more particularly noticed to
be well displayed in the retail stores are chemical preparations
and drugs. The Salvadoreans, like most Latin-Americans, are large
users of all kinds of patent medicines; and although a great many
of these come from the United States, those of British manufacture
are not at all poorly represented. Such articles as Eno's Fruit
Salt, Apollinaris and Apenta Water, Pears' Soap, Odol, and many
of the better-known vegetable pills, are to be found here--except
Cockle's, which are a very difficult drug to obtain, although in my
opinion one of the most efficacious. The chemists' shops are full of
all kinds of other drugs and patent medicines, and apparently the
proprietors conduct a remarkably good trade.
Relative to the trade of pharmacy, a new law is proposed which
will regulate the practice of this trade, and which will create a
Faculty of Pharmacy and Natural Sciences, to which all chemists and
druggists, whether native or foreign, operating in the country,
must belong. In default of membership in this faculty, a special
licence will have to be taken out for pharmaceutical practice.
Drugs, medicines, and perfumery to the value of $82,676 were
imported in 1910.
In regard to British wines and spirits, these are hardly ever
seen except in the houses of the few British residents who may
have imported a small supply for their own use. The total value
of victuals, wines and spirits, however, is not inconsiderable,
amounting in 1909 to about 12,748,249 kilos, representing a value
of £179,431, which, however, contrasts with 15,689,307 kilos, or a
value of £211,819, for the previous year. The wheat, rice, cereals
and breakfast foods, which are not as well known here as in other
parts of Latin-America, come from the United States, which also send
here by far the greater part of the lard, tallow, dairy produce,
sweetmeats, and dried and smoked meat and fish. The United Kingdom
shares in the salt trade, but this is only small.
I am of opinion that a better trade could be done by exporters
of British beers and liquors, which would be purchased here to a
more considerable extent. The number of cafés and restaurants is
increasing, and the tendency of the inhabitants, especially in good
times, is to dine from home. Although beer is brewed, it is more the
beverage of the workers than of the well-to-do.
In regard to the tobacco and liquor trades carried on in Salvador,
a record of the progress and management is maintained by means of
the regulations which have been introduced covering the operation
of cigar and cigarette factories and of breweries and bottling
establishments in the Republic. This control has been in vogue
since June of 1909. Proprietors of these establishments are required
to furnish to the proper authorities a sworn statement as to the
capacities of their plants, the number of the operatives employed,
etc. The analyses previously ordered for wines and liquors is also
extended to beers, both manufactured and imported.
In regard to the duties on wines and canned goods, imported liquors
pay a duty of 50 cents; heavy and white wines, 25 cents; and old
table wines, 5 cents--per quart bottle. Canned goods pay 10 cents
per kilo (=2,204,622 pounds). These duties are in addition to
Customs charges.
What effect will the completion and opening of the Panama Canal
have upon Salvador and other Central American countries? I have
often been asked this question, and perhaps this is as good a place
as any in which to answer it. That capital from North America will
flow more abundantly into Central America after the completion of
the great waterway is a practical certainty; but I do not consider
that there will be any such considerable augmentation, nor that the
difference will be so prodigious, in regard to results, as some
critics imagine. For many years to come the United States, with
its great area and its many undeveloped resources, will need more
capital--much more, indeed, than it can conveniently find among
its own people; that is to say, it will have to borrow from Europe
in addition to saving all that it can on its own account. The old
world has nowadays fewer opportunities for industrial and commercial
expansion; money is comparatively cheap, and all new countries
on the other side of the Atlantic offer the inducement of higher
interest.
How much of this investment will be made with purely American money?
The Yankees are certainly becoming more and more enthusiastic,
and at the same time more and more reckless, in their foreign
investments, and especially in regard to Latin-American countries.
Nevertheless they have a long way to go before, in actual figures,
they can in any way approach the value and extent of British foreign
investments. In regard to the return which their investments bring
them also, they have, on the whole, proved far less fortunate. In
all probability, British foreign holdings in South and Central
America to-day approach the sum of £500,000,000 (=$2,500,000,000),
and upon this gigantic amount of capital they earn a fair average
of 5-1/8 per cent. per annum, allowing for the higher and the lower
rates of interest paid, and which amounts to anything between 25 per
cent. and 35 per cent. on some land shares, and the modest 4-1/2 per
cent. and 4-3/8 per cent. earned upon railway debentures. I also
include in this return some "bad eggs" among a very diversified list
of investments.
I should say, on the other hand, that American foreign investments
would not amount in the aggregate to more than £200,000,000
($1,000,000,000), and of this at least seven-tenths are invested
in the Republic of Mexico, and probably two-tenths in enterprises
in Canada. American foreign investments are, in a large measure,
tributary to great concerns located in the United States, which
have their agents in foreign countries looking after their local
interests. From this considerable invested amount it would be
impossible to estimate a higher return than 2-3/4 or 3 per cent.;
for while many of the investments--such as the Standard Oil
interests in Mexico and the many banking interests in Cuba, Panama
and other countries--yield often a sensational amount of profit, so
much capital has been lost through rank speculation and dishonest
management, and so little sound judgment has been displayed in the
matter of sound original selection, that a considerable portion
has been irretrievably lost. This has been the case in the Sonora
district of Mexico (especially in the Cananea Copper-Mines); in the
gold and silver mines of Guanajuato; and in connection with some of
the railways of Costa Rica, Guatemala and Ecuador, so that what has
been made on the one hand has, to an appreciable extent, been lost
on the other.
Thus I do not anticipate any very pronounced rush of American
capital into Central America merely because the Canal will have
become _un fait accompli_. On the other hand, the United States
trade and commerce must feel benefit from the speedier means
of transport. Already the United States control 60.8 per cent.
of the importations into Mexico, and 89 per cent. into Panama;
something over 70 per cent. into Costa Rica, and about 60 per cent.
(increasing year by year) into Guatemala. With the active assistance
of the Washington Government, in conjunction with the compulsory
financial "assistance" forced upon them by the J. Pierpont Morgan
Syndicate, Honduras will also shortly be taking about 80 per cent.
of the United States goods as well as accepting _nolens volens_ the
loan of United States capital.
It is, however, the Republics of Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile
which will become better markets for the United States through the
medium of the Panama Canal; and while I was travelling recently
upon the west coast, I particularly remarked the arrangements
which were being organized to handle this anticipated additional
trade with all efficiency and despatch. American agents were busy
opening-up new branches or appointing local representatives to
handle the goods destined to be consigned in increased quantities;
German houses, already established, were also arranging their
houses and remodelling their order-books to deal with the expected
reorganization of North American trade, all of which proves that
a very substantial belief exists in the approaching trade "boom"
consequent upon the opening, in 1915, of the Panama Canal.
What attention are British manufacturers and British agents paying
to this all-important question? This is very easily answered--NONE!
The first place in the Imports from European countries into Salvador
is given to cotton-manufactured goods, nearly the whole of which,
I may again point out, come from Great Britain. In 1906, out of a
total of $4,000,000, which represented the value of the imports,
cotton goods figured for $1,500,000, or 30 per cent. of the total.
Of this $1,500,000, Great Britain was responsible for $974,964,
which represented woven goods, in addition to $141,328 representing
the value of thread. The United States came second on the list, with
textiles valued at $409,072, and thread $2,885, although in the
list of this classification America was outranked by both Germany
and France, which sold thread to Salvador to the value of $8,349
and $4,160 respectively. These two countries exported textiles to
Salvador to the amount of $32,199 and $71,890 respectively, while
Italy figured for $54,952.
[Illustration: EL PARQUE BARRÍOS.
ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PUBLIC RESORTS IN CENTRAL AMERICA.]
In this class of goods, practically the same relative status of
countries has been maintained on the Import list of the Republic
since the year 1876; but it is noteworthy that the position of
cotton imports has, in the intervening period, declined no less than
50 per cent. of the total; on the other hand, the value of cotton
thread destined for use in the mills of the country has increased
fivefold since 1901, while mixtures of woollens, linens and silks
have also advanced in value. This is to be explained by the fact
that more woollen and cotton mills are gradually being erected in
the Republic, and that a great amount of encouraging success is
attending their operations. The skill of the native weavers, the
improvement of the quality of the cottons, and the industrious lives
of the inhabitants, are all factors which have led the Government to
consider the advisability of encouraging the growth of the required
supply upon a more comprehensive scale. Already, indeed, the
Government have commenced, offering export bounties for the surplus
stock, with a view to stimulating the culture.
In this connection it is difficult to understand how any intelligent
writer, who claims to have visited Salvador with his eyes open,
could have published such an utterly misleading and untruthful
statement of fact as that which appears in a book entitled "Central
America," from the pen of Mr. Frederick Palmer, F.R.G.S., who upon
p. 112 of that volume declares that "the only manufactures are from
an occasional hand-loom." Mr. Palmer does not inform his readers
how many days or hours he remained in Salvador, but apparently they
were insufficient to enable him to make himself even superficially
acquainted with the industrial conditions of the Republics. He
devotes exactly eleven and a half pages out of a total of 340 to
this country, and upon nearly each one of these pages he indulges in
either an exaggeration or in a misstatement, sometimes in both.
An important factor in the trade relations existing between Great
Britain and the Republic of Salvador is found in the Salvador
Chamber of Commerce in London (Incorporated), which was established
upon the initiative of Mr. Mark J. Kelly, F.R.G.S., in February,
1903, and duly incorporated under licence of the Board of Trade. It
will be remembered that the President of the Salvadorean Chamber
of Commerce in San Salvador, as well as being its Founder, is
Señor Don Miguel Dueñas, Sub-Secretary of State for Agriculture.
The first President of the Chamber was Mr. C. S. S. Guthrie, of 9,
Idol Lane, London, E.C., with Mr. C. Rozenraad, President of the
Federation of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in the United Kingdom,
as Vice-President. The objects of the Association are to promote
the trade, agriculture and industry of Salvador with the British
Empire; to keep members informed and acquainted with all matters in
connection with the trade of Salvador; and to promote study upon
all questions relating to the various international Conventions
which concern the trade between Salvador and Great Britain, as well
as to act as commercial arbitrators at the request of interested
parties, and exclusively in commercial disputes, where the interests
of Salvador trade are at stake. The Chamber numbers some forty
members, composed of merchants of London and other parts of the
United Kingdom doing business with Salvador. Upon his resignation of
the chairmanship of the Salvador Railway, Mr. Guthrie also resigned
from the Chamber of Commerce, and, at the urgent request of the
Council of the Chamber, Mr. Kelly, who with characteristic modesty
had refrained from allowing himself to be elected as the first
President, accepted the post (which is a purely honorary one), and
is now the President of the Chamber.
CHAPTER XIII
Systems of business--Long credits--British and United
States methods _versus_ German--Making "good" stock
losses--Question of exchange--Effect upon business--Drafts
and speculators--Customary terms of payment--Central
American banks as agents--Prominent Salvadorean Banks--The
Press of the Republic--Prominent newspapers--Some of their
contributors--Central American Press Conference.
The general idea prevails among both British and North American
manufacturers, who have had little personal experience of the
Latin-Americans, that extreme difficulties must inevitably be
connected with all--or, at least, with most--transactions conducted
in these countries, as far as payment for goods is concerned. I can
but observe that the Latin-Americans as a race, if not more honest
than Europeans or North Americans, are by no means any less so; and
probably, if sufficiently reliable information were obtainable, it
would be found that these former are, as a whole, quite as ready and
able to meet their foreign obligations as any class of traders in
either hemisphere.
As I have, however, pointed out in another chapter of this volume,
it would be extremely unwise upon the part of any firm in Great
Britain or in the United States to attempt to conduct their
transactions by correspondence; an Agent is indispensable if
difficulties in transportation and delivery through the Customs, as
well as the collection of the account when due, are to be avoided.
In most of the Central American ports and cities, especially (in
Salvador) at La Libertad, La Unión, El Triunfo, and Acajutla, the
services of such Agents are obtainable. Moreover, some of the banks
undertake to look after the interests of their correspondents who
are recommended to them, and who are prepared to pay a fair price
for the services rendered.
The usual method of conducting transactions of this kind is to
draw upon the purchaser of goods for the amount of the invoice,
and to negotiate the draft through some local bank, which will in
the majority of cases collect the amount, provided the shipping
documents be delivered in good order and are found to be free from
consular or Customs-house objections. The banks, naturally, take no
responsibility in the matter; and in any case the shipper should
know something reliable about the firm and their financial status
before entrusting them with the goods. Another mode is for the
purchaser of the goods to arrange with his own bankers to open a
credit with the shipping firm to be operated upon, against delivery
of the documents to the bank indicated, or in such other form as may
be agreed upon; while a third expedient--an unusual one, however,
and not to be recommended--is to make a remittance to the buyer
beforehand, either by means of a bank draft or cable transfer.
The safest method to adopt is to draw bills on the importing firm
at a usance,[4] agreed upon at the time that the order is taken,
generally from 90 to 120 days' sight, and to pass the bill and
documents through the bank for collection or sale. The draft is
usually made payable in return remittance at 90 days' sight on
London, Hamburg, or New York, but this is quite a matter of mutual
arrangement between buyer and seller.
[4] Usance = the time which in certain countries is allowed by
custom or usage for the payment of bills of exchange drawn on those
countries.--AUTHOR.
American as well as British export firms are, as a rule, disinclined
to give credit, while the German, on the other hand, offers as much
as his customer demands. Undoubtedly the latter loses a larger
proportion of his book-debts by pursuing so generous a policy;
but at the same time he multiplies the orders upon his books, and
he has a clever and somewhat unscrupulous way of so manipulating
the accounts of his honest customers as to make them directly or
indirectly liquidate the debts of the dishonest ones. How this is
done I do not know, but I know that it _is_ done, for I have the
assurance to that effect from more than one German trader who has
thus balanced his ledger for several years, and always without
suffering any bad consequences.
That the sanctimonious and strictly conscientious British tradesman
is not altogether averse, upon occasions, to pursue similar
methods was shown some few years ago, when a prominent West End
saddler confessed to the fact that when he took stock and found
a gentleman's £5 saddle was missing, and that he was unable to
remember to whom it had been sold, he instructed his bookkeeper to
charge up this item to each one of the firm's customers. "Some," he
unctuously observed, "will, of course, deny that they have had such
a saddle; to these you can write and express our profound apologies
for the unintentional error, etc. Those who don't complain will
probably be unable to remember what they had and what they did _not_
have. Let _them_ pay. Thus we shall get square."
And it is to be added that so careless or forgetful are the majority
of the customers of a "high-class" firm in London, that 70 per cent.
of those who were wrongly charged with the missing saddle paid the
unjust bill without questioning it.
Adverting to the subject of granting long credit to Central American
importers of foreign goods, it must be remembered that the majority
of these latter are obliged to ask for this indulgence on account of
the excessively large amounts which they are called upon to find in
order to clear their consignments from the Customs; and also because
the retail business which is carried on in these, as in practically
all agricultural countries, is a long-credit one. Only the most
liberal concessions of credit can secure any decisive advantage for
any one of the numerous competitors in business. Additionally, it
is not always possible for the importer to secure good drafts at
low rates in the market. In some of the countries--and Salvador is
not any exception--the market for drafts is completely dominated
by speculators, evidence of which is to be found in the fact
that heavy and unaccountable fluctuations present themselves at
short intervals. The possibility of speculators thus controlling
the market is increased by their finding in the banks--no
matter how highly these may be ranked as honourably-conducted
institutions--ready allies.
The question of exchange in Salvador, and the baneful effect which
it has, and for some years has had, upon commerce and trade,
especially upon the profitable conduct of the Salvador Railway, is
more fully dealt with in another part of this volume (see Chapter
XV.). But a few observations concerning the character of the
exchange business in Central American countries generally may not
be out of place here.
In Honduras, exchange rates are often only nominal, because no
regular commercial paper is to be found in the market. The large
exports of minerals, bananas, and other produce, are covered, since
the proprietors, who are mostly foreigners, need only the necessary
amount for the wages of their labourers, and this is remitted to the
country by means of drafts. The exporters, moreover, consider the
premium on gold not only as profit earned upon their sales, but as
representing an economy in their working expenses, since the export
product and the wages for labour are paid for in silver, which
naturally makes the first cost of the product much less. Drafts are
in this way arbitrarily held back and kept out of the market, or
prices are asked for them which are out of all proportion to the
silver quotations of London and New York. So the importer in these
silver standard countries, in some of which the exportation of the
white metal is prohibited, finds himself compelled to wait for a
favourable opportunity to buy drafts at a low rate in order to pay
for his purchases in foreign countries.
The customary terms of payment for European houses are four to
six months from the date of the invoice; in many cases shipments
are made "to order," and the bill of lading is delivered to the
purchaser when he accepts the seller's draft at his local bank,
and in this way the customer is held to strict observance of the
time when the bill falls due. In case of failure of the customer to
meet his drafts when they mature, the matter is generally arranged
by issuing drafts payable at sight after ninety days on London
or Hamburg, with payment of interest for the time they are out.
The operations of having drafts accepted and remitting the funds
collected through them are carried out by the large banks or private
banking firms located in these countries in consideration of a
commission varying between 1/2 and 2 per cent.
Open credits (that is to say, running accounts which the customer
can vary in amount to suit his needs, with payment of interest, of
course) are no longer granted, except by a few firms to some of
their oldest and best customers.
The intelligent and not over-cautious European exporter accepts
without hesitation the usual six-months terms, because he has some
knowledge of these countries and their people; and he often prefers
such a settlement to cash in advance, since he likewise recognizes
that he is binding the customer to do more business with his firm.
On the other hand, one often hears commercial houses complain that
when they decide to place a trial order with North American firms
which are desirous of doing business with them, and have repeatedly
and insistently solicited such orders, they are required to pay cash
with the order. That nobody in Central America would accept such
terms, or at least very seldom, the clever Yankee business man ought
to be able to see, especially as the most notable traits of the
Spanish-American character are extreme sensitiveness and the need of
courteous treatment.
A cash discount of 3 to 4 per cent. is not much of an inducement in
a country where the usual rates of interest are 18 to 40 per cent.
Some of the banks of Central America, which secure but a small
and unimportant share of the business going, and which pay less
attention to the development of the country than to the needs of
their own treasuries, often demand 1 to 1-1/2 per cent. monthly,
with security worth two or three times the sum loaned.
There are no established commercial agencies in Central America
which furnish information, but reliable information uninfluenced
by personal interests can sometimes be obtained from the
principal banking firms--such, for instance, in Guatemala, as the
International Bank, American Bank or Guatemala Bank, Clermont and
Co., Schlubach, Dauch and Co.; in Salvador, from the Banco Agrícola,
Occidental or National Bank, and Messrs. David Bloom and Co.; in
Panama, Messrs. Ehrmann Brothers; in Honduras, from J. Rössner and
Co., P. Maier and Co., Francisco Siercke, and Juan Stradtmann;
in Nicaragua, from the young and well-respected British Consul,
Mr. Albert J. Martin; and in Costa Rica from the following banks:
Anglo-Costa Rica, Commercial and Sasso and Pirie. These houses
are better informed than anyone else about the amount of credit
customers may deserve, because, knowing the promptness with which
the various firms meet their outstanding drafts, they are in a
position to form a reliable opinion of the solvency of prospective
or actual customers.
The Banco Agrícola Comercial has a subscribed capital of $5,000,000,
of which $1,000,000 is paid up. The Reserve Fund amounts to
$100,000, and Eventualities Fund to $115,180. The Permanent Director
is Señor Mauricio Duke, and the Consulting Directors Señores J.
Mauricio Duke and Eugenio Aguila. There are two other Sub-Directors,
Señores Rafael Guirola and Miguel Judice. Señor F. Drews is the
General Manager.
The Banco Agrícola Comercial, which was established in 1895, has
gone through more than one critical financial and commercial
period, but it has come out of the ordeal with considerable credit
to itself. There can be no doubt that the bank has been a great
assistance to agriculture and trade generally in the Republic, nor
that it has not done at all badly for itself, which fact is seen
from the last balance-sheets issued. In 1908, upon a total turnover
of $14,500,000, the bank's profits were $145,634 (silver pésos).
There was a dividend of 8 per cent. paid to the shareholders upon
the paid-up capital of $1,000,000 (pésos) after all charges for
administration had been met, and a substantial addition made to the
Emergency Fund. In 1909 the total amount of business transacted
figured at $16,200,000 (silver pésos).
The following summary of the bank's financial transactions and
position over a period of three years will be of interest:
+-------------------+-------+----------+---------+---------+------------+
| | Cash. |Commercial|Accounts |Accounts |Circulation.|
| | |Paper and | and |bearing | |
| | |Mortgages.|Deposits.|Interest.| |
+-------------------+-------+----------+---------+---------+------------+
|First half of 1907 | 717 | 588 | 906 | 780 | 816 |
|Second " " | 565 | 758 | 828 | 931 | 741 |
|First half of 1908 | 935 | 779 | 1,175 | 991 | 816 |
|Second " " | 1,441 | 1,013 | 1,485 | 1,186 | 984 |
|First half of 1909 | 1,424 | 1,213 | 1,954 | 1,142 | 921 |
|Second " " | 946 | 1,181 | 1,603 | 1,453 | 969 |
+-------------------+-------+----------+---------+---------+------------+
It will be observed that the last year's showing is less favourable
to the bank, but this may be attributed to the heavy demands made
upon its resources in financing the movement of the coffee crop.
The metallic reserve for meeting outstanding obligations over the
same period had been considerably weakened in consequence, as the
subjoined table will prove:
METALLIC RESERVE.
(A denotes notes alone; B denotes notes, deposits and current
accounts.)
+--------------------------+----------------+----------------+
| | June. | December. |
| At the End of the Month, +--------+-------+--------+-------+
| in per Cent. | A. | B. | A. | B. |
+--------------------------+--------+-------+--------+-------+
| 1907 | 87.89 | 44.63 | 76.27 | 37.82 |
| 1908 | 114.39 | 46.90 | 146.35 | 58.33 |
| 1909 | 154.60 | 49.54 | 97.62 | 34.36 |
+--------------------------+--------+-------+--------+-------+
This bank, like others in Salvador, does not disclose the character
of its investments, and it is therefore impossible to pronounce any
opinion of its actual financial status. It is always desirable to
know something regarding the character of the paper which a bank
has in hand, and it is precisely this knowledge which is withheld,
and by many British companies also. The omission to provide it is
in no way the fault of the bank, be it observed, but of the custom
which controls its actions. In Costa Rica alone, among the Central
American States, is the practice general among the banks to publish
in the balance-sheets some particulars of the commercial paper
carried, and this is taken into account like every other asset
and inventoried. In Costa Rica, also, all the issuing banks have
their books inspected once a month by Government officials, and a
certificate of solvency is presented to and published by them.
The National Bank of Salvador (Banco Nacional) was founded in 1907
with a capital of $1,000,000 (silver pesos). Of this amount one-half
has been paid up. The following statement of account for the first
three years of its existence will be useful:
+-----------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| | 1907. | 1908. | First Half |
| | | | of 1909. |
+-----------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|Total earnings | 18,173.74 | 38,786.85 | 26,175.36 |
|Deductions | 3,000.00 | 8,138.35 | 6,175.36 |
| |-----------+-----------+------------+
| Net Profits | 15,173.74 | 30,648.50 | 20,000.00 |
| Increase in 1908, 15,442.26 |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
The balance-sheet shows the following accounts:
+-----------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
| | 1907. | 1908. | First Half |
| | | | of 1909. |
+-----------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
|Negotiable paper | 568,727 | 675,176 | 427,751 |
|Loans on current accounts | 546,331 | 777,847 | 724,734 |
|Cash | 264,374 | 634,803 | 449,207 |
|Notes in circulation | 90,908 | 517,153 | 426,732 |
|Credit and deposits at sight | 211,361 | 365,333 | 302,870 |
|Time obligations | 223,905 | 502,174 | 430,682 |
+-----------------------------+-----------+-----------+------------+
The metallic reserve account stood as follows:
+-------------------------+--------------------+---------+---------+
| | June. | December. |
|At the End of the Month, |----------+---------+---------+---------+
|in per Cent. | A. | B. | A. | B. |
+------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| 1907 | 354·32 | 39·36 | 262·90 | 60·05 |
| 1908 | 115·93 | 60·10 | 126·47 | 42·70 |
| 1909 | 105·26 | 38·50 | | |
+-------------------------+----------+---------+---------+---------+
The steady increase shown is somewhat remarkable, and the
distribution of profits, considering the comparatively recent
establishment of this bank, hardly less so. This distribution, after
making all the necessary provisions, stood as follows:
+-------------------+--------+--------+------------+
| | 1907. | 1908. | First Half |
| | | | of 1909. |
+-------------------+--------+--------+------------+
| Reserve fund | 3,000 | 7,000 | 10,000 |
| Emergency fund | -- | 2,000 | 2,000 |
| Dividends | -- | 30,618 | 21,503 |
| Undivided surplus | 15,173 | 2,980 | 1,675 |
+-------------------+--------+--------+------------+
For the first six months of 1909, the dividend declared and paid was
4 per cent. upon the amount of capital paid up = $500,000 (silver
pesos). For the remaining half-year and for 1910, and the first half
of 1911, increased distributions have been made, and the financial
condition and prospects of the Banco Nacional are considered to be
in a satisfactory state. Señor Guillermo Hemmeler is the Manager,
and he has bought up the connection of the bank's customers
consistently from the time that he first assumed control. The bank
allows 3 per cent. interest upon current accounts, and it has the
privilege of issuing its own notes.
El Banco Salvadoreño was established in 1885, and has a subscribed
and paid-up capital of $3,000,000. The Reserve Fund amounts to
$231,985.80 and the Dividend Equalization Fund to $20,000; the
Eventualities Fund at present stands at $50,000. There are branches
established at Santa Ana (the Manager being Señor Cuno G. Mathies)
and at San Miguel (the Manager being Señor R. Schlensz). The General
Manager in San Salvador is Señor Alberto W. Augspurg, who speaks
English very well, and is invariably courteous and obliging to
foreigners who seek his assistance or advice.
Banking business in Salvador always has been, and still is, carried
on by a few private firms. The establishment conducted by Messrs.
Blanco and Trigueros was founded as far back as 1835, with a
capital estimated at $1,500,000. In 1893 the Bank of Nicaragua
opened a branch office in the city of San Salvador, and for long
did a good and steady business. Certain concessions and privileges
were also granted to Messrs. Linares and Co., of Barcelona, Spain,
enabling them to establish a national bank in San Salvador, with a
capital of £1,000,000 sterling. A concession was also granted for
the establishment of a purely Mortgage Bank, but up till now such an
establishment has not been started.
The House of David Bloom and Co., with branches at New York and San
Francisco, is composed of Messrs. David and Benjamin Bloom, and who
are the principal private bankers of the Government. Subject to the
criticism which this position involves, mainly upon the part of
those, perhaps, who are not as well endowed as are Messrs. Bloom and
Co. with moral courage and confidence in the peaceful continuity of
government in Salvador, this firm enjoys an excellent reputation for
fair dealing, and is well regarded throughout the country.
The Press of the Republic is well represented by some five or
six daily newspapers, several weekly publications, and a number
of monthly reviews. There are entirely free press laws existing,
and on the whole there is no abuse of the privileges accorded for
expressing public opinion. _El Diario del Salvador_ was founded in
July of 1894 by Señor R. Mayorga Rivas, and is to-day conducted
by the same talented journalist and cultured writer. The General
Manager is Señor J. M. Lacayo Téllez. Among its regular contributors
are Señores J. Dols Corpeño, a young but vigorous writer; Armando
Rodriguez Portillo, who is but thirty years of age; and other
distinguished _littérateurs_ of Salvador. _El Diario Latino_, of
which Señor Miguel Pinto is the Director and Proprietor, and Señor
Juan Ramón Uriarte is the Editor, has a large and influential
circulation, which is by no means confined to the Republic itself.
_El Heraldo del Salvador_, which is the recognized organ of the
Church, is edited by the Rev. Dr. Eduardo Martinez Balsalobre. It
is, as may be assumed, a high-class publication, and publishes
occasionally some powerful literary contributions from the pens
of some of the most talented writers. _El Diario Oficial_ is the
property and exponent of the Government, but scarcely takes rank as
a newspaper, being in all respects similar to our _London Gazette_,
with the exception that it prints daily a good service of cables.
[Illustration: GOVERNMENT BUILDING ("CASA BLANCA"), SAN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: CAMPO DE MARTE (RACE COURSE), SAN SALVADOR.]
Among the many weekly publications of note may be cited _La Riqueza_
and _La Vida y Verdad; La Semana Mercantil_, which is the organ
of the Society known as "Orden y Prosperidad"; _El Franciscano_,
a Catholic paper conducted by a Franciscan Brother; _Repertorio
del Diario del Salvador_, a well-illustrated review of literary,
commercial, and social matters, and edited by a gentleman bearing
the very English name of Samuel C. Dawson. This publication is, as
its title may suggest, closely allied with the great daily paper _El
Diario del Salvador_. Other publications are--_La Razón Católica_,
a monthly Church organ; _El Comercio del Salvador_, also a monthly
illustrated dealing with politics, sociology, and a variety of
other subjects; _En Serio y en Broma_, a humorous monthly review;
as well as a large number of technical prints, weekly and monthly,
such as--_Anales del Museo Nacional_, _Archivos del Hospital
Rosales_, _Vida Intelectual_, _Revista Judicial_, _Boletín de
Agricultura_, _Revista Cientifico-Militar_, _Libro Rosado do El
Salvador_, _Boletín Municipal_, _Boletín del Consejo Superior de
Salubridad_, _La Voz del Obréro_, _Boletín Masónico_, _La Buena
Prensa_, _La Luciérnaga_, and _Juan de Arco_.
Each of the Departments has likewise one or more daily or weekly
papers, many carrying great influence among the better-class
Salvadoreans, who are both diligent readers and intelligent critics.
In Santa Ana there are _El Demócrata_, which was founded in 1900,
and a weekly known as _El Santaneco_. In Chalchuapa there are two
weeklies, _La Vanguardia_ and _El Patriota_; in Achuachapán there
is one weekly, _La Nueva Era_; in Sonsonate, _La Prensa_, also a
weekly; in Santa Tecla, _Don Bosco_, a weekly which is the organ of
the Instituto Salesiano; in Cojutepeque there are two periodicals,
one weekly and one monthly, respectively known as _El Imparcial_ and
_El Cuscatleco_; in Suchitoto, a monthly review, _La Mujer_ (The
Woman), holds the field; in Santiago de Maria, _El Anunciador_;
and in San Miguel, _El Eco de Oriente_. A fair share of local
advertising is accorded to all of these publications, but, of a
necessity, in the majority of cases the circulation is small.
There was recently formed a Central American Press Association,
composed of the representatives of the principal newspapers
published in the five Republics of Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, and Honduras. Already the news published in each State
concerning the sister-Republics is full; but the new association,
working by means of a mutual exchange of information fit for
publication, will result in a considerably improved service being
maintained. The papers which have taken the initiative in this
important Association are--_Diario del Salvador_ (El Salvador),
_Diario de Centro América_ (Guatemala), _Diario de Nicaragua_
(Nicaragua), and _La República_ (Costa Rica). Towards the end of
this year (1911) a Conference of Press Representatives is to be held
in San Salvador, which is expected to be attended with considerable
success, and even far-reaching consequences.
CHAPTER XIV
Mining--Ancient workings--Precious metals found--Copper
deposits--Iron ores--Treatment of ores in England--Difficulties
of transport--Some deceased authorities--Mines in
operation--Butters' Salvador mines--History of
undertaking--Large profits earned--Directorial policy--Machinery
and equipment--Butters' Divisadero Mines--Butters' cyaniding
plant.
Tradition points to the fact that the whole of the Central American
States were more or less mineralized, while some of them, such
as Honduras and Salvador, have long been known to contain great
mineral wealth. The geological conditions of Salvador, as may be
inferred from the physical facts which have already been set forth
in these pages, show that precious metals have been found in some
of the Departments. There are on record considerable operations
in connection with the different Salvador mines of Tabanco,
Sociedad, and others in their immediate vicinity and lying in the
north-eastern part of the Department of San Miguel, on the confines
of Honduras.
These mines have been extensively worked, and have in their time
yielded very profitable results. About six miles distant from
Tabanco are the goldmines of Capitalis, once believed to be of
great richness, and the group of silver-mines known under the name
of Minas de Tabanco, and where is found silver in common with
galena and sulphurate of zinc. In times past these mines have been
worked with very little difficulty, and they have yielded from as
little as 47 to as much as 2,537 ounces to the ton. The most famous
producer among these was the Santa Rosalía, and a great part of
these ores were formerly shipped direct to England. Old archives
of this concern show that in the year 1830 an attempt was made to
work the mines on a large scale by an English company, which sent
out a whole corps of Cornish miners for the purpose. The machinery
which was despatched at the same time was so heavy, however, that
it was found impossible to transport it from the coast, which
difficulty, combined with others, entirely broke up the enterprise.
Had the organizers of the company, as a preliminary, constructed
a good cart-road, which was quite possible, and had then sent out
the machinery in parts, which could have been packed separately on
mule-back, as is done in Colombia and other mountainous countries,
the undertaking might never have been a failure.
That mining paid, and paid well, in Salvador in olden days is
proved by the record which has been left by Mr. R. C. Dunlop, in
his "Travels in Central America." This writer tells us that "five
leagues north of San Miguel are a number of mines of silver; among
them is one called La Carolina, which was worked by a Spanish
_empresario_ about thirty years ago [Dunlop's book was published in
1847]. He invested his own property, borrowed $100,000 and, after
getting his mine into order in less than six months, was able to pay
his obligations; and although he died before the end of the year,
he left $70,000 in gold and silver, the produce of the mine. After
his death the ownership was disputed, the works fell into ruins,
and the mine became filled with water. The mines of Tabanco yield
more silver than those in its vicinity, and when worked yielded
upwards of $1,000,000 annually, although operated in a rude manner
without machinery. The principal one yielded $200,000 annually to
the proprietors."
I fear that the late Mr. Dunlop somewhat exaggerated the value of
these mines; for while I was in the country, and in the particular
district referred to by the author, no one seemed to have any
recollection of any such values having ever been obtained.
The same doubtful authority is responsible for the statement that
"nine leagues from Santa Ana are some rich mines of iron which
produce a purer and more malleable metal than any imported from
Europe. The ore is found near the surface, and is very abundant,
while there are extensive forests in the immediate vicinity which
serve for making charcoal." Another authority on Salvador, long
since gathered to his fathers--viz., John Baily, R.M.--who published
a book upon Central America in 1850, assures us that some of this
iron which was sent to England for the purpose of examination proved
to be "a very valuable variety suitable for the manufacture of fine
steel, approaching very nearly in this respect to the celebrated
_Wootz_ of India."
The mineral veins of Salvador present themselves principally in
the rocks of the mountain chain, or Cordillera, which extends into
Honduras and Nicaragua, and forms the richest mining districts of
those countries. Generally speaking, the veins run parallel with
the direction of the ranges--that is, from east to west--but they
are often found to be very much broken and interrupted by the
action of upheaval. In the eastern parts of the Republic, deposits
of gold, silver, copper, and lead are found, while in the western
are the rich iron-ore deposits. Coal is found in the valley of the
River Lempa. Although it is rather difficult to obtain full and
accurate returns of all the mines in operation in Salvador to-day,
roughly speaking they may be put at between 180 and 200. The table
on p. 185, which has been compiled by the head of the Salvadorean
Bureau of Statistics, and which shows the number of mines of each
Department and the minerals which they possess, will be of some
interest.
The labour question is, however, one which must be carefully gone
into; but here again the local (State) Government could, and no
doubt would, help the enterprise considerably, for so closely are
the authorities in touch with the people that they can at most
times influence a good and continuous flow of _peon_ labour when
their assistance is invoked. General shortage of labour has been
responsible for a great number of the mining returns not being
satisfactory of late, especially in connection with the Butters'
Salvador Mines, of which fuller details are given.
TABLE COMPILED BY SEÑOR DON RAFAEL REYES, CHIEF OF THE SALVADOREAN
BUREAU OF STATISTICS, SHOWING NUMBER OF MINES IN EACH DEPARTMENT,
AND THE MINERALS THEY PRODUCE.
A Building Stone.
B Gypsum.
C Silver and Lead.
D Tin and Lead.
E Rock Crystal.
F Marble.
G Tin.
H Lead.
I Iron.
J Limestone.
K Quicksilver and Antimony.
L Gold.
M Silver.
N Silver and Gold.
O Copper.
P Coal.
Q Silver and Copper.
R Total.
+--------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+
| Departments. |A |B |C |D |E |F |G |H |I |J |K |L |M |N |O |P |Q |R |
+--------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+
| San Salvador | 1| 1| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2|
| Santa Ana | | | | 1| | | | | 8| | | |10| | 4| | 5| 28|
| Ahuachapán | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| La Libertád | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sonsonate | 5| | | | | | | | | 8| | | | | | | | 13|
| Cuscutlán | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Chalatenango | | 1| 2| | 1| 1| 1| 2| 1| 2| 1| 1| 6| 5| 3| 1| | 28|
| Cabañas | | | | | | | | | | 5| | | | 9| | 3| | 17|
| San Vicente | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| La Paz | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Usulután | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Morazán | | | | | | | | 1| | | | 1| 4| 84| | | | 90|
| San Miguel | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| La Unión | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2| | | | 2|
| +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+
| Total | 6| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| 3| 9|15| 1| 2|20|100| 7| 4| 5|180|
+--------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+--+--+--+---+
The Salvadorean _peon_, like his Peruvian brother, is a very
tractable kind of labourer, and can be successfully handled by
kind treatment. He is, moreover, naturally free from that taint
of dishonesty which so strongly distinguishes the Mexican and the
Colombian _peon_, and which renders it impossible to leave anything
of a portable nature in their way. The native labourer of Salvador
is usually able to earn an easy livelihood by means of husbandry,
and he takes to mining from choice rather than from necessity. This
fact renders it all the more important that fair treatment should
be extended to him, and upon most of the foreign-owned mines this
is certainly the case. The late manager of the Butters' Salvador
Mines, Mr. Garthwaite, whose death occurred last year, was entirely
_sympatico_ to the men employed upon the mines, and his kindness to
them and to their families was generally acknowledged and deeply
appreciated.
That the industry of mining has considerably improved in Salvador
during the past decade is sufficiently evidenced by the subjoined
figures, which trace the industry in its progress from January,
1901, to the first half of the year 1910:
Period covered. (U.S Gold $)
Year 1901 $183,760.00.
" 1902 114,585.20.
" 1903 814,733.88.
" 1904 652,854.33.
" 1905 768,677.60.
" 1906 1,296,666.00.
" 1907 1,223,565.00.
" 1908 1,318,224.00.
" 1909 1,116,717.00.
" 1910 (half-year) 560,570.00.
These figures refer to all the auriferous silver, copper ore, gold
bars, gold and silver ore, lead ore, gold slimes, gold and copper
slimes, gold and silver slimes, and lead, which had been mined in
the country during the period mentioned.
I should say that modest fortunes await the enterprising
capitalist--foreign for choice, since as a rule he is less easily
discouraged by a run of temporary ill-luck--who exploits some of the
_antiguas_--_i.e._, the ancient copper workings of the Salvadoreans
which have been abandoned owing to lack of capital or labour. I know
of many such opportunities which exist in the Department of Morazán,
where already a considerable group of foreign companies and private
individuals are working with occasionally remarkable success. With
the modern machinery and reduction plant now available, certainly
the greater part of these ancient workings might be made to pay
something as a return upon the amount of capital expended upon
them. To-day, also, there exists a first-class cart-road leading
from these mines to the principal town, and thus transportation,
which was formerly both costly and difficult, is now a matter of
comparative facility.
In some of the iron ore mines one can find the old and wasteful
Catalan system of reduction still in use, and yet with proper
treatment, as was sufficiently proved when a trial shipment of
ores was sent to England some years ago, as much as 87 per cent.
of magnetic iron can be obtained from these ores. And the quantity
of ore which they contain is apparently inexhaustible. I know of
but two or three small smelters at present existing in Salvador,
and, naturally, the industry of copper-smelting carried on in this
primitive and limited manner proves anything but profitable. I am of
opinion that the Government would encourage any serious attempt upon
the part of foreign capitalists to exploit the unquestionably rich
copper deposits of the Departments of Chalatenango and Cabañas, and
such an enterprise might well be worth the attention of some British
or United States mining capitalists. The latter are usually the more
enterprising and plucky.
About twelve years ago there was registered in London a mining
property covering 546 acres in Salvador, comprising a number of
gold-bearing properties, with the title of Butters' Salvador Mines,
Ltd., the principal owner being Mr. Charles Butters, a well-known
American engineer, and who is the chairman of the company. From the
very commencement of its operations, the company seems to have been
eminently successful, and was able to distribute its first dividend
in 1903, when 5 per cent, was paid. Since that date the dividends
have varied from 40 to 80 per cent., that for 1910 being at the rate
of 45 per cent., which compared with a similar rate for the previous
year, but with an additional bonus of 23-3/4 per cent. On account of
the present year, 15 per cent. has already been paid as an _interim_
dividend, and, according to the recently-issued report, the ore
reserves are now estimated to amount to 108,000 tons, and to carry a
profit value of £400,000, or more than twice the value of the entire
share capital.
At the end of last May, dividend "No. 87" of 3-3/4 per cent. (= 9d.
per share) was declared by the Board of Directors, who at the same
time informed the shareholders that dividends will in the future be
distributed quarterly instead of monthly, as has been customary in
the past.
[Illustration: 1. VIEW OF BUTTERS' DIVISADERO MINES, DEPARTMENT OF
MORAZÁN, SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: 2. BUTTERS' SALVADOR MINES, SANTA ROSA, DEPARTMENT OF
LA UNIÓN, SALVADOR.]
The inherent wealth of these mines is clearly demonstrated when one
recollects that, in spite of the able and experienced management
that has been the rule, many difficulties have had to be encountered
and overcome, not the least of which has been the lack of labour,
and, during the early part of last year, some serious trouble with
the boilers at the mines. The consistently cautious policy which the
directorate have adopted, notwithstanding the large dividends which
they have been able to recommend, has resulted in their establishing
the mines upon a thoroughly solid and business-like basis. It is
worth remarking here that the whole of the existing plant and
equipment, which are as complete and efficient as any to be found
upon the American Continent, have been paid for out of revenue,
and they stand in the books of the company at the present time at
the ridiculously low price of £2,000.
The principal work which the management has in hand at the present
time is cross-cutting the formation, with the object of finding
split or parallel veins, and the discovery of such split veins has
naturally much improved the position of the company. The whole
policy of the management will now be devoted, for some years to
come, to proving the mines in depth, and such, indeed, would have
been undertaken before now but for the troubles to which I have
above referred in regard to labour. The ore indications, which have
so far been met with, are of a distinctly favourable nature, the
most encouraging, perhaps, being the cutting of the famous Miguel
ore-shoot at the 700 feet level. The width of this vein exceeds 3
feet, and it assays over 6 ounces. The Miguel shaft is now down
nearly 800 feet, but the deepest working from which the ore has been
stoped is the 600 feet level; the shaft will therefore give 200 feet
of backs below the present workings.
At present between 25,000 and 30,000 tons of ore are being
crushed annually, which yield on the average a value of 1 ounce 7
pennyweights. The working expenses have never been particularly
high, owing greatly to the excellence of management and the economy
of the reduction plant, which bears the name of the chairman of
the company--viz., the Butters' Cyanide Process--but there are
nevertheless hopes that these costs will be still further reduced
in the near future. There is no question that the Butters' Salvador
Mines rank among the most valuable ore deposits to be found in
Central America, and it is no less sure that they are being managed
in the most expert and most economical manner.
As to the financial situation of the company, the balance-sheet
proves that the cash in hand on June 30, 1910, in Salvador, London,
and San Francisco, amounted to £5,001, and that on the same date
the stores in hand and in transit were valued at £32,228; sundry
debtors in Salvador and London amounted to £812, and _per contra_
the amount owing to sundry creditors was £3,642. The profit and loss
account showed a net profit for the period of £62,645; while the
amount brought forward from the previous account, and which amounted
to £19,042, being added to the net profit, showed a total available
distributable balance of £81,677. The dividends which have been paid
for the twelve months aggregated, as already mentioned, 45 per cent.
upon the capital of the company, and which absorbed £67,500, thus
leaving a carry-forward of £14,177.
It is worthy of mention that in the directors' report for the period
ending June 30, 1910, a graceful tribute is paid to "the continued
consideration which the Government of Salvador has extended to the
company," and which testimony goes to prove what I have already
indicated--viz., that the Government is anxious and willing to
encourage in every legitimate manner sound foreign enterprise; but I
go further, and say that I know of no other Latin-American Republic
which has shown greater good-will to all foreign enterprise in all
its phases than that of Salvador.
It is over seven years since the Butters' filter was introduced in
connection with mining, and the process may now be met with in all
parts of the world, and especially in Mexico, where I have seen it
working with excellent advantage upon the famous Dos Estrellas
gold-mine at El Oro, as well as in Brazil and in other South
American countries.
The need of a filter of some sort was first forcibly presented
to the mind of Mr. Charles Butters and his associates at their
works in Virginia City, Nevada, U.S.A. The tailing being cyanided
there was originally derived from the Comstock Mills, but it had
been treated and retreated several times by the Pan-Amalgamation
process; as it stands to-day in the dams, it contains about 75 per
cent. of material that is leachable, and which may be designated
as "slime." The slime is of an exceptional character. In addition
to the difficulties connected with the solution of gold and silver
contents, the mechanical condition was such that it gave trouble
in settlement for decantation. The clarification produced by a
coagulant such as lime was perfect, but the subsidence was so
slow that the amount of solution recoverable in this way was not
sufficient to make the decantation process a practical success.
It was proved, in fact, that coagulation was not necessarily
accompanied by good settlement.
After experimenting with several forms of vacuum filter units, both
cylindrical and rectangular, there was evolved a form of filter
which is the recognized present standard, and the preliminary plant
of 336 leaves, which was erected at Goldfield seven years ago, is
still in full operation to-day. As the filtration process is found
working at the Salvador mines and in other parts of the world, the
filter-leaf is made on a frame, the upper side of which is formed
on wood, and acts as a suspending bar when the leaf is in position
in the filter-box. The remaining three sides are made of 1/2-inch
pipe, perforated with holes and connecting to the vacuum pump.
The filtering medium consists firstly of a porous mat of such size
as to exactly fill the space formed by the pipe frame, and upon
either side of this is placed a sheet of canvas, large enough to
overlap the frame, around which it is securely sewn. The first
containing-box which was used at Virginia City was an electrolytic
precipitation-box, which was not needed for its special purpose, and
was adopted for the use of the new filter. An air-compressor was
converted into a vacuum pump, and with this equipment the vacuum
filter of to-day came into existence.
From the beginning it proved a marked success, and the next step
in its perfection was the designing of the large Goldfield plant
to handle 800 tons of dry slime per diem. When designing the
containing-box for the special purpose of the filter, the lines of
the original box were slightly departed from as regards the shape of
the hoppers, these being given sixty sides to facilitate the better
discharge of the cake, and a quick opening valve of large area was
placed at the apex of each hopper. Instead of a dry vacuum pump
and gravity drainage, a wet vacuum pump was used, permitting the
solution pump to be placed above the filter.
The cycle of operation is as follows: (1) Filling the box with
pulp; (2) the formation of a cake on each side of the vacuum
leaves by suction; (3) emptying the box of pulp and filling with
weak solution; (4) drawing through the cake sufficient solution to
displace all soluble values; (5) emptying the box of solution and
filling with water; (6) drawing through the cake a small quantity of
clean water to displace any solution held in the cake; (7) shutting
off the vacuum and admitting water through the leaf connection,
thereby throwing off the cake, which falls to the bottom of the
box, and cleansing the canvas in preparation for the next charge;
(8) opening the valve in hopper bottom of box, and allowing the
residues to escape to the waste dam; (9) closing the valve, thus
rendering the filter ready for the next charge of pulp.
It is a very unusual thing to find in the newer mining companies
of Central America such up-to-date machinery and mining processes
as are in use in the Republic of Salvador at the Butters'
Salvador and the Divisadero Mines. The Government of Salvador has
to be congratulated upon the wisdom it has shown in extending
consideration to companies engaged in the development of its mines,
and to practical men of the type of Mr. Charles Butters and his
associates, to induce them to devote their money and their brains to
the development of Salvador. The most modern processes and the most
up-to-date machinery can be here found at work, and the Government
is permitted, by the terms of the franchise which they have granted
to the companies, to send Government students to attend at these
works to complete their studies in mining and metallurgy. Among the
processes at Butters' Salvador Mines are dry-crushing and roasting,
electrolytic precipitation as well as electrolytic refining. The
cyanide process with the Butters' Patent Vacuum Filter is found
here treating gold ore without amalgamation, and making extraction
of from 95 to 96 per cent. The mining at this property has been by
adits principally. Electrical winding plants and electrical pumping
plants are now installed at this property. Both at the mine and at
the mill a high efficiency of working has been attained for many
years.
At the Butters' Divisadero Mines, located twelve miles distant from
the Butters' Salvador Mines, a much larger quantity of ore, but of
a lower grade than at the Salvador Mine, is treated, about 10,000
tons a month being handled on this property. The Government student
has here the privilege of seeing ore, of about $5 a ton, mined and
milled. A large electric plant is established, by means of which
all the hoisting and pumping are carried on. A large quantity of
water is encountered at this mine, and where formerly it was found
impossible to handle the water by the use of Cornish pumps, it is
now kept under control by means of the Sulzer electrically-driven
centrifugal pump. Two sinking pumps, of a capacity of 600 gallons
per minute each, have been installed, which are suspended from the
surface, and are calculated to operate down to 600 feet in depth.
These pumps lift 300 feet to the 300 feet level, and deliver to
horizontal station-pumps erected at this level. The most modern
electric-generating plant, hoisting, pumping, and ore-compressing
plants, are at work upon this property. The mill is of the
best-class construction, with a capacity of crushing between 8 and 9
tons per stamp, with tube-mills, Butters' Patent Vacuum Filter, and
special methods of precipitation.
At both of these mines complete shops are established, including
iron-foundry and wood-working machinery. The shops are competent to
deal with the heaviest repair jobs on the machinery in use, and as
many spares as are found economical to manufacture, so that a large
staff of mechanics are kept busy in the shops.
In a new country like Salvador, it is absolutely essential, for
the establishing of the mining industry upon a firm footing, that
a large force of natives should be educated in the repair and
manufacture of the machinery and extra parts in use at the mines.
There are native Salvadoreans who have been educated in these shops,
and they have become highly competent mechanics, able to cope with
almost any difficulty occurring at the mines. The result of this
education will be that less and less foreign help will be required
to carry on the business in Salvador.
Anyone living in Salvador who desires to know of the "latest thing"
in mining and metallurgy is permitted, through the arrangements
which the Salvadorean Government has made with Mr. Charles Butters,
to take up any course of study he may desire.
CHAPTER XV
Transportation--Salvador Railway Company--Early
construction--Gauge--Bridges--Locomotives--Rolling-stock--
_Personnel_ of railway--Steamship service--Extensions--
Increasing popularity--Exchange, and influence on railway
success--Importers _versus_ planters--Financial
conditions--Projected extensions--Geological survey--Mr. Minor
C. Keith's Salvador concession.
The means of internal communication are perhaps more apparent and
more systematically undertaken than in any of the smaller States,
Salvador possessing at present over 100 miles of railway track and a
number of excellent roads and bridges, which are being added to and
improved continually. The only organized railway system at present
is in the hands of a British company, the Salvador Railway Company,
Ltd, and its relations with both the Government and the public are
of the best.
The concession granted to the company was dated 1885, but it was
four years later when a public issue was made--namely, in October,
1889. The concession is for a period of eighty years, dating from
April, 1894; at the expiration of the period the railway and all its
accessories become the property of the Salvadorean Government. In
the meantime, however, it is open to the Government to buy up the
existing railway in 1940 if it so desires, at a price to be agreed
upon or fixed by valuation. The railway company enjoys protection
from competition, and has also preferential privileges (except as
against the State) for constructing future extensions.
The road actually dates from the year 1882, when the first section,
from the port of Acajutla to the town of Sonsonate, one of the
most important in the Republic, and situated at about fifty miles'
distance from the capital, was opened for traffic. The distance
was 20 kilometres, or, say, 12-1/2 miles, the next section to be
finished being that from Sonsonate to Armenia, a further distance of
26-1/4 kilometres, or 16-1/2 miles, thus bringing up the constructed
line to 46-1/4 kilometres by the end of September, 1884.
From then onwards the rate of construction was as follows: From
Armenia to Amate Marin, 6-1/2 kilometres, or 4 miles, opened
for traffic September, 1886; from Amate Marin to Ateos, 3-1/4
kilometres, or 2 miles, January, 1887; from Ateos to La Ceiba,
and which forms a branch ending at this town, a distance of 10
kilometres, or 6-1/4 miles, March, 1890; from Ateos to La Joya, a
distance of 22 kilometres, or 13-1/2 miles, opened to traffic on
September 15, 1895; and from La Joya to Santa Ana--a very important
town of some 33,000 inhabitants--a distance of 29 kilometres, or 18
miles, opened in November, 1896.
From Santa Ana, which is another terminal point, the railway
receives a valuable freight in the form of agricultural produce,
such as coffee, sugar, tobacco, and various kinds of grain.
A continuation of the line was then made to the capital, San
Salvador, the extension from Sitio-del-Niño to Nejapa, one of 18
kilometres, or, say, 11 miles, being opened for traffic in February,
1898; while the last section, between Nejapa and San Salvador, a
distance of 20 kilometres, or 12-1/2 miles, was completed by the
month of March, 1900. The total distance of the track is, therefore,
155 kilometres, or 96-1/4 miles, exclusive of sidings. There are
some eighteen stations, including the terminals at Acajutla, Santa
Ana, and San Salvador; while the buildings, both here and at
Sonsonate, Sitio-del-Niño, and Quezaltepeque, are well built and
efficient structures in every way.
The gauge of the track is 3 feet, and the maximum gradient one of
3·75 per cent. The minimum curve radius is 359 feet 3 inches. The
interesting engineering features of the line are many, and these are
found for the most part upon the Santa Ana section, between that
town and Sitio-del-Niño. There are forty-one bridges, consisting of
through-truss, plate-girder, and rolled "I" beams. These run from 20
to 14 feet span, the makers who have supplied them including German,
Belgian, British, and American contractors. The principal bridges
are as follows:
+-------------------+--------------+-------+-------------------------+
| | | Span. | Made by ---- |
+-------------------+--------------+-------+-------------------------+
|At Kilometre 78·700| Deck-plate | 56 ft.| Aug. Lecoq, Hal, |
| | girder bridge| | Belgium. |
| " 82·600| Through-span | 78 ft.| Harkort, Duisberg, |
| | girder bridge| | Germany. |
| " 98·500| " " | 70 ft.| San Francisco Bridge |
| | | | Company. |
| " 188·700| Through-deck |140 ft.| Atliérs de Construction,|
| | girder bridge| | A. Lecoq, Hal, Belgium.|
| " 191·700| " " |140 ft.| " " |
+-------------------+--------------+-------+-------------------------+
There are a number of culverts, over sixty-six being of some
importance, besides several of minor interest, of 3 feet and under.
The road is exceedingly well ballasted from beginning to end, and
is maintained in an altogether efficient manner of repair and
orderliness.
[Illustration: SALVADOR RAILWAY TO ACCOMPANY SALVADOR OF THE
TWENTIETH CENTURY BY _PERCY F. MARTIN, F.R.G.S._ ]
In regard to the rolling-stock, this is equally well equipped and
maintained, the greatest care being taken by the management to see
that every car that is sent out is in a thoroughly sound state of
repair and cleanliness. There are in all eleven locomotives, of
which the following details will be of interest:
+---+------------------------+-----------------+---------------+-------+
| | | Cylinder. |Driving Wheels.|Weight.|
|No.| Makers. +---------+-------+------+--------+-------+
| | |Diameter.|Stroke.|Pairs.| Inches.| Tons. |
+---+------------------------+---------+-------+------+--------+-------+
| 1 |Prescott, Scott and Co.,| 12 in. | 16 in.| 2 | 38 | 17·50 |
| | San Francisco | | | | | |
| 2 |Baldwin Locomotive | 15 in. | 20 in.| 4 | 38 | 25·00 |
| | Works, Philadelphia | | | | | |
| 3 | " " | 15 in. | 20 in.| 4 | 38 | 25·00 |
| 4 | " " | 15 in. | 20 in.| 4 | 38 | 25·00 |
| 5 |Cooke, Patterson and | 16 in. | 20 in.| 4 | 38 | 30·35 |
| | Co., New Jersey | | | | | |
| 6 |Baldwin Locomotive | 17 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 36·74 |
| | Works, Philadelphia | | | | | |
| 7 | " " | 17 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 36·74 |
| 8 | " " | 17 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 36·74 |
| 9 | " " | 16 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 32·40 |
|10 | " " | 16 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 32·40 |
|11 | " " | 16 in. | 20 in.| 3 | 42 | 32·40 |
+---+------------------------+---------+-------+------+--------+-------+
In addition to the above, two other engines of precisely similar
make have lately been delivered to the Company by the Baldwin
Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, U.S.A. It is explained that the
native engine-drivers are now accustomed to these engines, which are
to be found in use upon almost the whole of the South and Central
American railways.
The rolling-stock on the Salvador Railway is maintained in the
same efficient order as are the stations and permanent way. It
consists of some twenty-three passenger coaches as follows: Eight
of first class, light but strong carriages, suitable for a tropical
country and fitted with wide seats upholstered in rattan; one
second class, only a trifle less expensively upholstered, but in
no wise less airy or comfortable; and four brake and luggage vans.
Of goods-waggons there are 161--namely, 1 workmen's car, 5 cattle
cars, 95 covered-goods and 60 platform cars. These cars are mostly
the manufacture of the Lancaster Carriage and Waggon Company,
Ltd., of Lancaster, and the Allison Manufacturing Company, of
Philadelphia, U.S.A. The company have recently erected some ten box
waggons at the well-fitted railway shops at Sonsonate, where every
appliance and the newest equipment of machinery are to be found.
The passenger coaches are also partly of British and partly of
American construction, the Lancaster Carriage and Waggon Company,
Ltd., and the Harlan, Hollingsworth Company, of Philadelphia, being
responsible for this part of the equipment.
In the month of April last a change took place in the general
management of the Salvador Railway, when Mr. C. T. S. Spencer,
the newly-appointed chief, proceeding to his post via Mexico City
and Salina Cruz. Mr. Spencer served his pupilage with the London
and South-Western Railway, mainly on the North Devon and Cornish
branches. When out of his articles, he accepted an appointment as
District Engineer on the Abbotsbury Railway, near Dorset, which
line is now a part of the Great Western Railway system. In 1886
Mr. Spencer went out to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), as District
Engineer on the Brazil Great Southern Railway, and subsequently
rose to the position of Chief Constructing Engineer. On this line
he built the Ibicúy Bridge, which still ranks as the largest bridge
in Brazil, being over a mile long, with some 70-metre spans resting
on cylinders sunk by the pneumatic process, which at that time was
in its infancy. When the line was completed, Mr. Spencer surveyed
an extension running into some hundreds of kilometres, and passing
through the beautiful district of Missiones.
Mr. Spencer, still a young man, then went to Salvador, and in 1889
he surveyed the La Unión-San Miguel line. This railway was partly
constructed by the Government, and its completion to San Miguel is
now being pushed forward. In 1892 Mr. Spencer went to Colombia as
General Manager of the Antioquia Railway, which commission he held
until the Government attempted to cancel the concession without
paying any indemnity to the company. He afterwards went to Angola,
and drew up the plans for a large railway scheme from the coast
inwards; a part of this line has since been built.
Upon returning to London, Mr. Spencer accepted the post of
Consulting Engineer to a railway-constructing syndicate in the City,
and a few years ago he was elected to a seat on the Board of the
Salvador Railway. Mr. Spencer visited the Republic in 1908, and on
his return pointed out to the Chairman that, owing to the opening
of the Tehuantepec Railway, a special steamer service connecting up
Acajutla with Salina Cruz would probably prove a paying concern. Mr.
Mark J. Kelly, the able and experienced Chairman of this railway,
with his customary quickness of perception, combined with his own
not inconsiderable experience of the Republic of Salvador, of which
for fifteen years he had acted as Consul-General in England, at once
fell in with the idea, and the steamship _Salvador_ was the result.
Mr. Spencer is an Associate Member of the Institute of Civil
Engineers, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. While
it is a subject of regret that Mr. Charles Stewart, late Manager
of the Salvador Railway, was compelled to abandon his post owing
to ill-health, the shareholders of the railway may be unreservedly
congratulated upon obtaining the services of so able and experienced
an engineer as Mr. Spencer.
Mr. John White Hinds, Chief Engineer of the Salvador Railway
Company, started in his profession at the age of fifteen, and
was for over a year in the shops of the Great Western Railway at
Swindon. He then remained for four years as a pupil with Mr. W. H.
Lancashire, C.E., of Sheffield. Three years were passed in London
studying, when Mr. Hinds went to America, and entered the shops of
the Chicago and North-Western Railroad. He has also seen service
in Chile, Peru, Guatemala and Salvador. In this latter Republic,
Mr. Hinds has acted as chief of the party of engineers on final
surveys of the Santa Ana branch of the Salvador Railway, while he
also went to La Unión, the largest of the Salvadorean ports, to
construct the railway from La Unión to San Miguel for the Salvador
Government. The line was only constructed to the extent of ten miles
or so, when a revolution broke out and the work was abandoned. Since
then--namely, in 1894--Mr. Hinds has been engaged upon the Guatemala
Northern Railway as Surveyor, and helped in the construction of
that portion of the line to the City. Mr. Hinds likewise completed
surveys to the town of Zacapa, on the same railway, and assisted in
the construction work between Puerto Barrios and Zacapa. Latterly
Mr. Hinds has been exclusively engaged upon the Salvador Railway, of
which he has been the Resident Engineer since 1903, and Permanent
Way Engineer since 1906.
One of the contractors who were connected with the railway in
the early days was Mr. Albert J. Scherzer, and it is interesting
to note that his nephew, Mr. George Scherzer Walsh, a young and
clever railway engineer, was also connected with the company. Mr.
Walsh accompanied Mr. M. J. Kelly and Mr. George Todd Symons (the
senior partner of G. T. Symons and Co., of 4, Lloyd's Avenue, E.C.)
to Salvador in the spring of 1910, upon matters relating to the
extension of the company's track and the appointment of agents for
the steamship service. Mr. Walsh did some good and useful work as
technical adviser on the ground, but, unfortunately, in the end
his services proved unfruitful, owing to the selfish and senseless
opposition offered to the company's contemplated extensions upon the
part of the American Syndicate, who hold a railway concession from
the Salvadorean Government to build new lines within this zone. At
the time that the American group protested--and protested, as it
seems, successfully--against any further construction work being
undertaken by the Salvador Railway Company, they had done absolutely
nothing themselves, and had not even presented the preliminary plans
to the Government. As will be seen, however, they have at last made
an attempt to commence work of some kind; but my latest advices
point to the fact that successful completion is still far from being
even within sight.
The property owned by the Salvador Railway Company, as has been
shown above, is an extensive and increasingly valuable one. It
embraces something like 100 miles of track, with its own telegraph
and telephone services; a long and well-built iron pier, located
at the Port of Acajutla, and which cost no less than $1,000,000 to
erect; as well as warehouses and a fleet of tugs and barges for the
prompt and efficient handling of the cargo.
Upon all sides one hears the services rendered by this company
spoken of in a manner altogether flattering to the management;
and it may be said in truth that in no other Republic of South or
Central America can one come across a wider consensus of opinion
favourable to a foreign-managed railway undertaking than in the case
of the Salvador Railway.
To the not inconsiderable assets above mentioned, the railway has
added a fleet of steamships to carry cargo between Acajutla, its own
port terminal, and Salina Cruz (Mexico), the Pacific terminus of the
Tehuantepec Interoceanic Railway. It is worthy of note that both of
these railways are managed by British corporations, a matter of no
small importance in view of the strenuous efforts of North American
interests to secure complete control over the transport arrangements
in this part of the world.
The Salvador Railway's first steamer, the _Salvador_, is a neat,
trim, and well-built vessel of some 1,200 tons, out of the yards of
Messrs. Swan and Hunter, of Newcastle-on-Tyne. It is fully equipped
with all the latest appliances for the quick and efficient handling
of cargo, while its passenger accommodation is of a commodious and
comfortable character. This handsome vessel has for some time been
firmly established as a favourite with the importers and exporters
of the Republic of Salvador, who now, for the first time in their
experience, are enjoying the advantages of rapid and reliable
communication with Europe and the United States of America, with
punctuality in regard to dates of arrival and departure each week.
As a matter of fact, this service now effects in about two weeks,
what could not be previously done in less than one month. The
appreciation by the public of these advantages is sufficiently
displayed in the circumstance that the S.S. _Salvador_ carries
something like three-fourths of the imports and exports of the
country, to the great disappointment, and even dismay, of the older
lines. Other similar vessels are being built for the Company by
Messrs. Swan and Hunter.
The company has in view the rendering the same services to the other
Salvadorean ports as that now offered to Acajutla and the Mexican
port of Salina Cruz. An important local trade between Mexico and
Salvador, to the mutual advantages of both, is now being built
up, thanks to the initiative of the Salvador Railway Company in
establishing this steamship service.
How successful the company's fleet has proved is best seen from some
observations which were made by the Chairman at the last annual
meeting of the proprietors, December 13, 1910, and in which he
stated, _inter alia_:
"It is a matter of great satisfaction to me and to my
co-directors to be able to assure you that we have not only
emerged, in respect to this service, out of the experimental
stage, but we have actually become a fairly settled institution
as a steamship line on that coast. Instead of one boat, with
which last year we gave such a service to Salvador by the port
of Acajutla as they had never had before, carried out with
a regularity and strict adherence to schedule to which they
were utterly unaccustomed, your company is represented to-day
by three steamers, and is making the service from Salina Cruz
clear down to Nicaragua, embracing all the ports of Guatemala,
Salvador, Amapala, the only Honduranean port on the Pacific,
and Corinto. In barely a year we have found ample reason for
increasing our service to three vessels, two of which are
chartered boats, while we may be able to put in hand the
building of a second boat of the same type as our first. This
satisfactory result has only been attained by untiring effort;
but we have reason to believe that your steamship service
has arrived to stay, and that it will be represented by a
substantial figure in the earnings in the future. The service
has won deserved popularity by reason of its being carried out,
as I have told you, with adherence to a schedule, and we now
frequently receive in London applications from Central Americans
travelling about Europe with their families to reserve cabins
for them on our steamer _Salvador_. Mails are now sent by this
service of ours in connection with the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
and reach Europe in about sixteen days instead of a month; while
the planters get their produce to European markets in little
over thirty days, against forty to fifty by way of Panamá,
and over one hundred by way of the Straits of Magellan. The
passenger traffic on the _Salvador_, which we were all disposed
to regard as something that might take a considerable time to
develop, has already given results which you will understand
better when I tell you that generally the accommodation provided
for passengers on the _Salvador_ is fully taken up. During my
stay in Salvador I took advantage of the appreciation thus shown
by the public of our steamship venture to arrange with the
Government a contract for a subsidy, and we are now receiving
£100 per month in gold on this head. I had the honour of being
received by His Excellency President Diaz on several occasions
during my stay in Mexico, both going out and returning home, and
he promised favourable consideration by his Government of an
application, which we have since formally put in, for a subsidy
from that Republic, which is benefiting as much as Salvador from
the development of your steamship service."
[Illustration: DECK BRIDGE ON SALVADOR RAILWAY.]
[Illustration: STATION BUILDING AT SANTA ANA ON THE SALVADOR
RAILWAY.]
With such prospects the Salvador Railway seems destined to enjoy
a time of great prosperity; and, indeed, the outlook would be
practically undimmed but for the ever-threatening question of the
exchange. The high rate of sterling exchange constitutes a
very real and visible "fly in the ointment." Salvador, it may be
pointed out, has the advantages of a metallic currency, with no
fiscal paper money of any sort; but, unfortunately, it is a silver
currency, which is aggravated by the circumstance that the export of
silver, if not actually prohibited by legislation, is at all events
very difficult to bring about, inasmuch as official permission is
required, and is as often refused.
On the other hand, the banks are overstocked with silver, and are
willing to lend sums at what may, for these parts of the world,
be considered very low rates of interest--namely, 5 per cent. per
annum--which enables people, who would otherwise be compelled to
sell drafts against their exported produce, to hold them back, and,
by a simple understanding among themselves, keep the rates as near
to 200 per cent. premium as may suit their own interests.
The Salvador Railway Company, which has a silver tariff pure and
simple, has to buy sterling drafts, whatever the rate may be, in
order to meet debenture interest payments, the cost and freight
upon all imported materials for its various services, insurance
upon its properties, its London expenses--including directors'
remuneration--and towards this large expenditure the only sterling
contribution of the country is the Governmental subsidy of £24,000
per annum, which payment will terminate automatically in 1916.
In sending out their Chairman, Mr. Mark J. Kelly, therefore, in
1910, to endeavour to reduce the company's burden in this respect,
the Board of Directors undoubtedly made a wise move, inasmuch as
no one could possibly be better placed, by reason of his great
popularity and exceptional experience, than Mr. Kelly to conduct
such delicate and intricate negotiations. In spite of such influence
and personal weight, however, I am much afraid that the time is
hardly yet when any serious modification of the terms of the
company's concession--such as the granting of a tariff payable in
gold--may be looked for.
At a time when gold is in the neighbourhood of 200 per cent. premium
(_i.e._, 1 silver dollar equals 33 cents gold) this would mean an
increase in the tariff rates, and the Government can hardly be
expected to authorize that increase in the present circumstances.
As a matter of fact, the company's tariff is much below that of any
railway undertaking in the whole of Latin-America, of which I, at
least, have any cognizance. But the public are hardly likely on that
account to be any more disposed to fall in with an increase in the
railway's rates.
The outlook for the Salvador Railway generally is, as observed,
a hopeful one. It is admitted by all who are acquainted with its
operations that its advent and completion have materially aided
the development of the Republic's resources, and day by day the
expansion of its industries is becoming more apparent. The local
traffics, showing as they do gradual but consistent development,
are the outcome of the safe but conservative policy of the
management, whose relations, as I have already observed, with the
railway's _clientèle_ are of the most friendly character. If the
agricultural development of the portions of the country served by
the railway have been somewhat slow, the movements have, at least,
been consistent; and there can be little doubt that an intelligent
expansion of the Republic's magnificent possibilities is merely
a question of time. No permanent improvement must be expected,
however, to assert itself until the difficulties of exchange
have been overcome. While poor trade may have somewhat affected
the returns of the last two years, the rate of exchange has been
responsible for the greater part of the financial disappointment.
Possibly the poor trade is the cause of the exchange being so
high, as much as the exchange being the cause of the poverty of
trade. So far as the railway is concerned, the effect is certainly
twofold--directly, by reason of the loss upon remittances to the
head-office in London; and indirectly, on account of the prejudicial
influence upon trade.
There is a very general and perfectly comprehensible complaint that,
in spite of the better crops which have been garnered this and
last year, and the abundance of silver currency, actual sales of
merchantable goods have been less, on account of the high rate of
exchange compelling the sellers to continually mark-up their wares.
One result of this is that the merchants have ordered fewer goods,
and the railway has carried less freight.
Unfortunately, in Salvador--as in other parts of the world, our
own not excepted--there are several divergent opinions upon this
question of economics, and here one comes across as many individuals
who are in favour of a high exchange as those who decry it. The
planters, for instance, hold that the high exchanges constitute a
clear and legitimate bonus upon the value of the coffee, the indigo,
the balsam, and the other articles of export; while the importers
clamour loudly, and perhaps with some more reason on their side,
that the high exchanges, if, indeed, they are really of any benefit
at all to the planters, form no less a tax, and a very heavy one at
that, upon the goods consumed by the general public. Still worse,
however, they act as a deterrent to active trade and commerce,
since all goods sold must be marked-up at higher prices than are
customary, with the very natural result of a smaller consumption.
Thus, the public are disappointed, the merchants are grumbling,
the revenue of the country in its Customs-houses suffers, and the
railway and its shareholders are left lamenting--all because the
planters must be humoured.
This contention might also contain a little more force were wages to
advance in the same _ratio_ as the rate of exchange. But this is far
from being the case, for no advance in wages has followed upon the
increased premium upon drafts on London; while bankers of Salvador,
on the other hand, declare that they derive no profits on balance
from their exchange account. More often than not, so they say, they
suffer a loss, since the fluctuations in the rates are so eccentric
and so difficult to control that they are particularly favoured when
they succeed in covering the cheques or short-dated drafts, which
they issue on Europe by purchases of ninety days' drafts from the
planters, without actually incurring a loss.
The rate of exchange in Salvador to-day is a very high one--nothing
like that of Colombia, it is true, but at time of writing gold is at
160 per cent. premium. Here, however, it must be remembered there
is no official currency of paper whatever, the banks which issue
notes being subject to rigorous inspection and compelled to maintain
silver coin to an extent which reduces their issues of notes to a
mere matter of public convenience, rather than a source of profit
to the banks themselves. All this is of great moment to the welfare
and the future of the Salvador Railway, and has more than once been
explained at length by the capable and experienced Chairman, Mr.
Mark J. Kelly, at the meetings of the shareholders held in London.
The financial condition of the Salvador Railway is to-day a steadily
improving one. We see that for the last year (1909-10) the gross
receipts were better by £6,921; while the ratio of expenses was
also satisfactory, namely, 51·81 as against 54·68, a decrease of
2·87 per cent. Improved good-traffics were also met with, and
worked out at 1s. 1d. a ton in excess of previous figures. After
providing interest and redemption upon both classes of Debentures,
and interest at 5 per cent. per annum upon the Terminable Notes,
the amount available for distribution amounted to £8,565 13s. 9d.,
out of which was made a payment of 3 per cent. upon the Preference
shares for the year, leaving a balance of £1,065 13s. 9d., carried
forward to the credit of Net Revenue Account. Prior Lien Debentures
amounting to £3,600, and Mortgage Debentures to another £9,000, have
also been redeemed this year, making the total redemption £62,200 to
date of the accounts.
In June of next year (1912) the Terminable Notes, amounting to
£45,000, will be either paid off or converted into Debentures
probably bearing 5 per cent. interest. The exact financial position
of the company stands as follows:
Authorized Share Capital:
Preference shares, £250,000 (in £10 shares).
Ordinary shares, £250,000 (in £10 shares).
Of these, the whole amount has been issued, viz. £500,000
Debentures:
Authorized (5 per cent. Prior Lien) £250,000
(5 per cent. Mortgage) 660,000
--------
£910,000
Out of which a balance still remained unpaid off 847,800
Five per Cent. Terminable Notes Authorized and
including cost of issue 45,000
----------
Thus the company has a total liability outstanding of £1,392,800
Few of the States in Central America offer greater opportunities or
inducements for railway extensions than Salvador, and this in spite
of the fact that the country is generally mountainous, and is more
than well supplied with rivers, most of which for railway purposes
have to be bridged. It must be remembered, however, that Salvador is
the most densely populated of all the Central American Republics;
the country has therefore been very carefully surveyed, with the
idea of railway extension upon a considerable scale.
In the year 1891 the United States Government despatched
an Intercontinental Railway Commission to make surveys and
explorations, not only in Salvador, but in Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. The result of such enterprise has been
the publication of a voluminous Report, which was issued in 1898,
five years after the Commission's return to the United States. The
Report is altogether favourable for railway extension in Salvador,
and it speaks very highly of the enterprise of the Salvador Railway
Company, of which a description will be found in the preceding
pages. Previous to the despatch of the American Commission, the
Salvador Government had had a survey of the eastern portion of the
country made by Mr. Charles T. Spencer, an English engineer of
great experience, and who is now General Manager of the Salvador
Railway. There can be very little question that at some time in the
near future further railway construction will be proceeded with,
since the country is so rich in agricultural produce that a means
of transportation in addition to and other than that in vogue must
be introduced. In many parts of the country the ground is quite
favourable to railroad work, the soil being largely decomposed
volcanic ash, which stands well in cuttings, although there are
numerous spurs to be cut through in many of the districts surveyed;
these are in general all lava rock or conglomerate, offering good
material for ballast. In but few localities are any grades found
steeper than 2 or 3 per cent., or any curves sharper than 12°.
A Government concession for the construction of a railway from La
Unión to the Guatemalan frontier was granted on June 15, 1908, to
Mr. René Keilhauer, who was authorized to construct a line to extend
from the port of La Unión, on the Gulf of Fonseca, to a point on
the Guatemalan frontier. The line as projected leaves the port of
La Unión, and passes or connects with the cities of Usulután, San
Vicente and Cojutepeque, unites with the line already built between
the capital and Santa Ana, and proceeds to the Guatemalan frontier
to make connection with the Atlantic Railway of that country, and
which was inaugurated towards the middle of 1908. A branch line will
eventually, it is supposed, also run from La Unión to San Miguel,
the most important town of the eastern section of the Republic of
Salvador, and connection will be made with Ahuachapán to the west,
thus furnishing railroad links with all the principal Departments.
The total length of this line will be 360 kilometres, and the
contract carries with it the construction of a wharf at La Unión
of steel and iron, to be erected in connection with the railroad,
and capable of accommodating the freight handling of steamers.
The stipulation is made that the survey of the line shall begin
"within sixty days of the signing of the contract," and that the La
Unión-San Miguel section be completed "within eighteen months"--that
is to say, by the end of 1910; but this stipulation obviously has
not been carried out. Of the remaining sections of the railroad,
20 kilometres annually are to be put into commission. Government
assistance is guaranteed, and free entry for all material at the
Customs-house is assured.
Previously Mr. Keilhauer had been granted a concession for the
construction of a line of railroad from Santa Ana to the Guatemalan
frontier, the duration of such concession being ninety-nine years,
and carrying with it a Government subsidy of 3 per cent. per annum
of the cost of each kilometre, which was fixed at $20,000 (=£4,000).
The most important feature in this contract lies in the circumstance
that it covers the section of the Pan-American line belonging
to Salvador, as defined in the Convention which was signed in
Washington on December 20, 1907, on the occasion of the Central
American Peace Conference. As a matter of fact, work upon this
construction was only commenced on April 15, 1910, on the Eastern
Division of the Pan-American Railroad, and the occasion was
celebrated by official banquets, as is the hospitable custom
in Latin-America. It is significant that at the time that the
concession was obtained, and before any actual work commenced,
the name of Mr. René Keilhauer was used; but from then onwards
it disappears, and those of Mr. Minor C. Keith and Mr. Bradley
M. Palmer, both of the United Fruit Company, the former being
the President, are substituted. Mr. Keith has a firm grip upon
several of the Central American Republics, particularly Costa Rica,
Honduras, and Guatemala; while he has also extended his tentacles
to Nicaragua, with somewhat doubtful beneficial effects to that
Republic. Mr. Minor C. Keith is likewise the moving spirit in the
railroad from Santa Ana (in Salvador) to Zacapa (in Guatemala). This
line has a length of seventy-nine miles, and is of a standard gauge.
Although surveys had been undertaken and materials had been ordered
at the time of my visit last year to the Republic, nothing whatever
had been done towards active construction.
There are some critics of this contemplated line of railway who
consider it not alone one extremely costly to construct, but as
likely to prove a financial loss to the proprietors when finished
and open to traffic. It may be, of course, that this view is
unnecessarily pessimistic, but, inasmuch as hereafter the investing
public may be invited to take a hand in the enterprise, it is
desirable to present the other view for their careful consideration.
CHAPTER XVI
Ports and harbours--La Unión--Population--Railway
extensions--Lack of British bottoms--Carrying trade--H.B.M.'s
Vice-Consul--Port of Triunfo--Bad entrance--Proposed
railway--Acajutla--Loading and unloading facilities--Proposed
improvements--Salvador Railway connections--La Libertad--
Comandante and garrison--Loading and unloading facilities--
Cable station and the service provided by Government--The staff
of operators.
The western arm of the Gulf of Fonseca forms the capacious
and land-locked harbour of La Unión, which is situated on the
south-western shore, four and three-quarter miles above the
entrance. On the north side of the bay are extensive mud-flats
that contract the channel in places to less than a mile in width,
while another in front of the town uncovers at half-tide, virtually
cutting off all communication with the shore. This flat has
encroached upon the anchorage since Sir Edward Belcher's survey
was made, diminishing the depth slightly, and shifting the channel
a little to the northward. A small pier facilitates landing at
high-water, and on the outer end of it a light is sometimes shown;
but it is of minor value, being dimmed by the lights in the town
behind it. Coffee, cotton, hides, and balsam of Peru (so called,
although it comes from Salvador), are exported. Beef, poultry, and
oysters, can be obtained at reasonable rates. As ships find great
difficulty in watering here, it is recommended to anchor and fill up
at the spring, one mile below Chicarene Point.
Steamers coming to La Unión are given the following directions:
"If bound for La Unión, keep to port of all the islands, and
steer to come between Conchaguita and the western shore under
the volcano of Conchagua. When fairly in mid-channel, the
entrance to the harbour will be seen ahead between Punta Sacate
Island on the right and Chicarene Point, which terminates the
eastern slope of the volcano on the left. Steer nearly for the
Point, and even bring it a little on the starboard bow if the
flood-tide is running, as it sets across the shoal north of
Conchaguita. As the point is approached, open it a little from
the north end of Punta Sacate and run past, giving the island
the widest berth, as there is a rocky patch making out from the
south-west point. It has been recommended to keep Chicarene
Point close aboard, but a steamer drawing 15 feet touched a rock
in doing so; therefore a safe rule would be to keep a little to
the westward of mid-channel. During the springs the tide runs
through the pass at the rate of three knots an hour."
The port of La Unión is the largest in the Republic, but, in spite
of this fact, landing is sometimes difficult, and until some
constructional improvements are made it will continue to be so.
At present it is necessary to disembark from the steamer on to a
launch; from the launch descend into a small row-boat, and from the
small row-boat transfer to a "dugout." Even then the traveller is
not at the end of his trials, since he has to leave the dugout for
a ride on a man's back through several yards of surf before he can
reach _terra firma_.
La Unión has a population of 8,000 people, including a garrison of
1,000 troops. It carries on a considerable amount of trade, chiefly
in coffee exportation and foreign goods importation, in spite of
the difficulties of approach by sea. The advent of the railway
is likely to add to this volume of traffic, if only to a limited
extent. It is noteworthy, however, that the people of La Unión are
by no means enthusiastic regarding the approach of this railway, and
they speak very pessimistically as to its prospects. In conversation
with one of the leading citizens, I was informed that the railway
"is hardly likely to prove profitable, since it is in the hands of
the wrong people" (namely, an American group); and the case of the
railway at Puerto Barrios, in Guatemala, which is controlled by some
of the same entrepreneurs, is quoted as an example of what may be
expected. So indifferently are passengers treated in connection with
the Guatemala Railway, which is under the jurisdiction of the United
Fruit Company of Boston, U.S.A., that no one now will travel upon
it if he can possibly avoid it. It is quite probable, in view of
the much-improved steamship service offered by the Salvador Railway
(from Acajutla to Salina Cruz, Mexico), that this will continue to
be the principal means of reaching the United States and Europe and
for transmitting cargoes.
La Unión was at one time a port of call for the Pacific Steam
Navigation Company of Liverpool, which, however, withdrew their
service in 1898, apparently finding the competition with the Pacific
Mail Steamship Company of San Francisco too keen, and the carrying
business insufficient. The Pacific Steam Navigation Company sold
out their interest to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and since
then--much to the regret of all shippers and passengers alike in the
Central American ports--its boats have not been seen at La Unión.
In fact, no British steamers have called there except an occasional
Leyland or a Lamport and Holt steamer sent to load coffee, and
the reappearance of the British flag has been entirely due to the
efforts of the Salvador Railway Company.
The Pacific Mail Steamship's Company's freight charges are now $3
gold (12s. 6d.) per ton for carrying coffee from La Unión and other
Central American ports to San Francisco, U.S.A., but they formerly
charged $8 (33s. 4d.) per ton. The considerable reduction is due to
the severe competition which this octopus-like company has had to
meet with from both the Kosmos Company and the Salvador Railway.
The annual export of coffee from La Unión amounts to 150,000
sacks, all of which are carried to Europe (Hamburg, Havre, etc.),
the Kosmos Company taking by far the greater part. Day by day
the Pacific Mail Steamship Company loses ground and popularity
throughout Central American ports owing to its extortionate charges
(where there is no competition), to its indifferent management, and,
above all, by reason of the gross discourtesy with which its clients
are sometimes treated by the uncouth and half-savage officials whom
it employs.
British interests at La Unión, such as they are, are represented
by Mr. John B. Courtade, His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul; and
this gentleman also acts as French, Chilian, and Norwegian Consul.
Mr. Courtade, who is a Frenchman by birth, has been a resident of
La Unión for thirty-three years, and he is one of the best-known
and most-respected inhabitants of the place. The "palatial"
offices which enshrine H.B.M.'s Vice-Consulate will be noted with
satisfaction by the patriotic.
Between La Unión and La Libertad is situated the port of Triunfo,
which is 60 miles from the latter, and 156 miles from the former.
Triunfo, however, has a very poor natural entrance, owing to the
heavy surf which is continually breaking on the shore. It is to
this port, nevertheless, that an American syndicate are about to
construct a railway, with the idea of handling the large quantity
of coffee which is grown in the neighbourhood, and consigned to
this port for shipment abroad. So dangerous was Triunfo formerly
considered as a landing-place, that Lloyd's had been advised by
their agents not to issue insurances, but to allow shippers to take
the risk. With the contemplated improvements at the port, however,
in conjunction with the railway, Triunfo will probably be ranked
with La Unión as a safe and convenient port. At present the steamers
of the Salvador Railway Company call there on their way to and from
Corinto to Salina Cruz.
During last year the Government encouraged measures to maintain a
first-class service of loading and unloading cargo at the various
ports, while attending also to the embarking and disembarking of
passengers, recognizing the necessity of putting both these branches
of service upon a more satisfactory footing. Serviceable and
commodious port-boats have been provided for each of the Comandantes
at La Unión, La Libertad, and Triunfo. The latter port is now used,
as mentioned above, for the shipping of coffee almost exclusively;
and it is through El Triunfo that is exported the produce of the
bountiful coffee harvest yielded by the Department of Usulután,
which represents more than a third part of the whole of the
Republic's coffee produce.
Acajutla, the port of Sonsonate, is an open bay about sixty-two
miles to the east of San José; it is sheltered from the south-east
by the Remedios reef, a dangerous and extensive shoal, extending
from a point of the same name. The salt water here is considered
injurious to cables and copper. Ships anchor in 9 to 11 fathoms.
Landing is occasionally difficult, and ought to be effected in
a good boat. Merchant vessels load and discharge their cargoes
by means of bongos, or large craft in the shape of whale-boats.
A substantially-built pier, fitted with cranes, facilitates the
landing, although at times the surf renders it hazardous. By giving
short notice, fresh provisions may be obtained in large quantities
from Sonsonate. The active volcano of Izalco, on a north-east by
north bearing, forms a good leading mark for this part, and Point
Remedios, long, low, and thickly wooded, may easily be recognized.
The sea-bathing at Acajutla contributes to the attraction of the
place. Nowhere upon the coast of these Central American countries
will a smoother or wider sand-beach be found; and at all times of
the year, while at most hours of the day, women and children are
found disporting themselves in the swelling and sometimes boisterous
surf. The comparative freedom from the attacks of sharks and other
predatory fish is also a great benefit, although there are stories
current of men and women having been seized and carried away by
these prowling tigers of the sea. An "old inhabitant" of some
twenty-five years' residence, however, informed me that he had never
known of a case where death had ensued, and, while he himself had
heard of the shark stories referred to, he had no personal knowledge
of their accuracy.
The sanitary conditions of Acajutla are at present poor, and it is
scarcely surprising to hear that cases of fever and other maladies
exist in certain seasons. All this could easily be changed by a more
strict municipal supervision, and an ordinance which rendered penal
the perpetration of the prevailing habits of the people. Such deadly
fever-dens as the local "hotel," for instance, should be swept
away without remorse or hesitation, and a system of house-to-house
inspection introduced. In view of the fact that many foreigners as
well as natives have, of a necessity, to spend a certain amount of
time in the port, awaiting their steamers proceeding north or south,
it is the bounden duty of the local authorities to see that their
lives are not endangered by pestilential conditions existing in
the town. The small but important colony of hard-working port and
railway officials should also be considered, and especially as among
them are some few Europeans who are not accustomed to the unsanitary
system in vogue. I have little doubt that, once the attention of the
Salvador Government is directed to this matter, some improvement
will be introduced, and, once introduced, will be carefully
maintained.
[Illustration: MR. CHARLES T. SPENCER;
GENERAL MANAGER OF THE SALVADOR RAILWAY. APPOINTED MAY, 1911.]
[Illustration: DON JUAN AMAYO;
GOVERNOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CUSCATLÁN.]
Whatever prospect is in store for the port of Acajutla depends to a
great extent upon the success of the new shipping arrangements in
connection with the Salvador Railway, and these, as I have already
pointed out elsewhere, are making consistent and steady progress.
It is but a small place, and, although very picturesquely situated
upon a typically tropical coast, it is at some seasons found rather
trying, especially to Europeans. The surrounding scenery, like all
the country in Salvador, is attractive to the eye, the long line of
blue ocean, fringed with its lacelike foam, for ever gathering
and breaking in dazzling green and white waves upon the smooth and
sandy beach; the brilliant green of the mangrove, the cocoanut
palms, and the banana patches lend vividness of colour, while the
distant mountain-peaks, innumerable and fantastic of shape, give the
port of Acajutla a decidedly romantic aspect.
Although during the dry season a strong and cool wind blows for
several hours of the day, and at sunset changes to a pleasant
land-breeze, blowing sometimes steadily, and at others decidedly
gustily, during the night, the hours of darkness never seem so
long nor so trying, on account of the heat, the dryness, and the
mosquitoes, as is the case in so many parts of South and Central
America. Some day, maybe, this place will be taken in hand by the
speculative builder, and as great improvements effected as have been
introduced at Panamá, at Puerto Limón (Costa Rica), and at San José,
in the same Republic, but on the Pacific side of that Republic.
Acajutla is just as open to, and capable of, improvement and
reformation; between the enterprise of the Salvador Government and
the Salvador Railway Company there is no reason why this port should
not eventually become one of the most important in Central America.
La Libertad is the second of the three Salvadorean ports, as
already mentioned, Acajutla and La Unión being the other two. It
is a small but well-formed roadstead, but does not invariably
offer good shelter to the largest vessels, since sudden rollers
come in which are apt to snap ship's cables unless with a long
range. The foreshore is narrow, and is backed up by some lofty
hills--scarcely high enough to be called mountains, however--which
are partially cultivated, and form a pleasing setting to the Port
itself. The buildings are few as yet, but such as there are they
seem to be well constructed and of superior character both outwardly
and inwardly; the usual style of Latin-American architecture is
followed in regard to the one-story edifice, except in the case
of the Comandancia--official residence and office of the chief
authority--which is a large wooden edifice of two stories, the lower
portion forming the quarters of the garrison, and the upper part
the residence of the Comandante. About 100 men form the garrison,
the regiment quartered there being the 5th Artillery. They possess
several pieces of modern ordnance, which they know how to handle
with great expedition and efficiency. The guns are kept exceedingly
clean, and frequent drills serve to keep the artillerymen both
smart and interested. The Comandante of the Port, Captain Angel
Esteves, is quite a young man, possessed of a very pleasing face
and figure, as well as of charming manners. He has travelled in the
United States, and speaks English fairly well. He expressed to me
his intention of shortly visiting England in order to study military
matters, and "to see a country of which he had always heard great
accounts, and for which he entertained a profound admiration."
The streets of La Libertad are mostly paved with hewn stones, and
the whole place, consisting of but 700 or 800 inhabitants, is kept
in excellent sanitary order. A market is held here every week, and
a considerable amount of local trade is carried on from day to day.
The extensive warehouses and Customs sheds are also well filled with
foreign goods received from different ports of Europe and the United
States; but while as many as three or four ships call there every
week, I understand that these do not include any British bottoms
other than the steamer _Salvador_, belonging to the Salvador Railway
Company. The Comandante informed me that during the two years that
he had been in La Libertad he had not seen another British vessel at
the Port, the vessels calling there being either American, German or
French.
A large amount of coffee is exported from La Libertad, the bags
arriving out-bound from San Salvador, the capital, which is only
eight leagues (about twenty-four miles) distant, and the journey
usually being performed in a day and a half by ox-waggon, or in
three or four hours on mule-back.
Between the Capital and the Port are situated two towns--Zaragosa
and Santa Tecla--both of some importance. Around both also are
located many coffee and sugar _fincas_, such as that of La Laguna,
near San Salvador, the property of Herr Fédor Deininger, of whom I
have made mention elsewhere in this volume, and who is one of the
wealthiest, as well as one of the most enterprising, coffee-planters
and sugar-manufacturers living in Salvador.
La Libertad possesses a strong and well-designed iron pier, some 450
feet in length, with two large covered warehouses, steam-cranes,
and all the necessary apparatus for loading and unloading lighters.
There is a double set of rails running from the pit-head to the
Customs-house, and a fair equipment of flat-cars and platforms-cars.
The warehouses are kept scrupulously clean and airy, everything
being maintained in admirable working condition.
The pier and the wharf were constructed by a local company some
forty years ago, and the concession which covered that period having
only expired last year (1910), the pier and everything connected
with it have now become the property of the Salvadorean Government.
It is not intended, however, to make any additions or alterations
to the structure, which is in all respects equal to the port's
requirements at the present time. In all probability La Libertad
will not much increase in importance as a port, in view of the
extensions at Triunfo and at Acajutla, which already possesses a
railway to the Capital, and of La Unión, which ere long will also
have one to the interior of the Republic.
La Libertad must nevertheless always count as of some consequence,
if only on account of its being the one cable-station in the
Republic of Salvador, and which serves at the same time as a
receiving-station for Costa Rica, the one Central American Republic
which has no cable-station of its own. La Libertad shares with Colón
the monopoly of despatching and receiving all the cable-messages
from Central America and the United States. Its cable extends
to Salina Cruz, in Mexico, messages being thence transmitted to
Galveston, U.S.A. La Libertad's cable, although in constant use,
is regarded more as a "stand-by" in the event of a breakdown
on the Panama line, an eventuality of by no means infrequent
occurrence, especially in time of political trouble and when the
fierce Atlantic storms prevail. A full equipment is therefore
always maintained, although the active staff employed consists
of but two individuals--Mr. A. H. Hooper, an American of great
linguistic ability and remarkable literary judgment, and a young
Danish telegraphist, Fédor Michaelson. Both officials are expert
instrument-operators, and in depending upon the La Libertad station
as a substitute or a "stand-by," the Cable Company are leaning upon
no hollow reed. Messrs. Hooper and Michaelson are highly competent
officers, the latter, indeed, being one of the quickest and most
accurate operators that I have met with in any part of the world.
In La Libertad a number of press and Government messages from all
parts of the world are received every day, and sometimes almost all
day. The instruments used include Muirhead's automatic transmitter,
which will send 200 letters per minute, and Sir William Thompson's
patent recorder, as well as a complete fault-finding apparatus,
which enables the officials to at once trace the seat of any
breakdown which may occur to the cable, and thus despatch the
repair-ship to the necessary spot. While visiting the La Libertad
cable-station, I witnessed several messages being despatched and
received (and actually corresponded with Salina Cruz, Mexico), the
average speed being a little over fifty words in three minutes, or,
say, seventeen words a minute received and recorded.
At this cable-station above mentioned, a service of cablegrams
received for the Salvadorean Government averages 2,000 words a day.
The service is supplied free of all charge by the Government to
the Salvador newspapers, and is greatly appreciated by the reading
public. The source of supply is New York, and the Correspondent
responsible is the New York Correspondent of _La Prensa_, the great
Argentine daily newspaper, which enjoys the proud position of
possessing the most palatial offices of any newspaper in the world.
The news-cables are very informative, and are at the same time
commendably free from political bias or personal opinions--a rare
recommendation indeed, considering the land of their origin.
CHAPTER XVII
Agriculture--Government support and supervision--Annual
productions--Agricultural schools--Cattle-breeding--Coffee--
Tobacco--Forestry--Rice--Beans--Cacao--Balsam--Treatment by
natives.
It is only natural, in a country where agriculture forms one of the
most important sources of revenue, that the Government should have
directed its particular attention to the supervision and control of
the industry. The Land Law of Salvador consists of no fewer than
245 separate articles, which are contained under eight different
"titles," as follows: Title I.: Concerning the government and
control of the industry, and which contains six chapters; Title II.:
Concerning persons who devote themselves to agricultural industry,
containing five chapters; Title III.: Concerning rural property,
which contains four chapters; Title IV.: Concerning live-stock and
game, consisting of four chapters; Title V.: Concerning public
roads, containing but one chapter; Title VI.: Forest culture,
containing three chapters; Title VII.: Water for public use,
containing two chapters; Title VIII.: Concerning administrative
justice and guarantees afforded to rural property, consisting of
two chapters. This Land Law is a model of common sense, and shows
evidence of much ability in construction; it might well serve as
a model for similar executive ordinances in other countries, not
excepting that of Great Britain, where agricultural legislation and
Governmental assistance are sorely needed.
The Government of Salvador exercises its control over all
agricultural matters, firstly by the Executive, through the medium
of the Department of the Interior; secondly, through an Agricultural
Board; thirdly, through Departmental Governors, who are assisted by
Local Boards; fourthly, through municipalities, with their Mayors
and Agricultural Committees; and, fifthly, through the services of
Rural Inspectors, Special Assistants, and Commissioners. It is to be
observed that the Land Law of Salvador, while of an administrative
character, leaves in force the Civil Code of Civil Procedure, even
in those questions especially relating to rural property, without
prejudice to the few provisions relating to these codes, and which
can be regarded as additional or modifying provisions.
The annual amount of agricultural produce exported from the
Republic of Salvador may be put as follows: Coffee, 30,000 tons;
Sugar, 70,000 cwt.; Rubber, 500 cwt.; Balsam, 1,300 cwt. These
figures, however, are exclusive of the considerable amounts of each
commodity consumed in the country, and which likewise comprise large
quantities of cereals, such as corn, beans, rice, wheat, etc. The
Government is encouraging the cultivation of henequén, or _Sisal
agave_, as well as cotton, maize, and other useful plants, which
will figure to some degree in future returns from the Department of
Agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture and the Councils and Committees of the
Department, besides contributing to the development and increase of
agriculture, also assist the scientific improvement of the crops,
circulating among cultivators all those provisions which they
judge to be opportune, and as likely to conduce to the prosperity
of the industry. A step in the path of agricultural progress is
the creation and maintenance of the School of Agronomy, which is
carried on upon a plantation of some 200 manzanas in extent, where
there is water in abundance. The farm is located between the cities
of Sonsonate and Izalco, and lies at 450 metres elevation above the
level of the sea. The school building is constructed on a tableland,
which occupies the most elevated part of the plantation, and
consists of all the usual departments considered to be indispensable
for an establishment of its kind. It possesses laboratories for the
study of, and experiments in, chemistry and botany, and a small
model dairy, provided with all the necessary apparatus, instruments,
and tools. The total cost of the institution and its equipment
amounted to $64,498.19. It was inaugurated on June 4, 1907, and
in the month of September of the same year student classes were
opened, and they have since been maintained, under the direction of
the Agronomical Engineer, Don Félix Choussy, without interruption.
This school ranks as one of the most pronounced successes which the
Government of the Republic has achieved.
It would be difficult to find any locality in South America, not
excepting the Argentine Republic or Uruguay, where the breeding
of cattle could be engaged in, nor where finer butcher's meat can
be grown more successfully, than upon the magnificent pastoral
ranges of Salvador. Cattle are not only abundant, but they seem to
thrive with practically little or no attention. The meat secured
is of a delicious and firm nature, but, unfortunately, as in all
tropical countries, it must be cooked and eaten the same day that
the animal is killed. The natives do not deem this any objection;
but Europeans, who are accustomed to the taste of tender and juicy
meats, do not so generally approve. The price of beef is moderate
in extreme, and it can be found on sale in the markets all the year
round.
Sheep are somewhat scarce, and they do not appear to thrive here
as they do in some parts of Mexico or in Argentina. I should not
consider Salvador a good sheep-country, and the breed is not in any
way encouraged. Possibly the heat of the plains is a bar to any
great success attending the raising of these animals, while, on the
other hand, mutton is not a popular diet with the people, who are
not in any case very heavy meat-consumers. On the great majority of
small estates, and even among the poorest of the people, hogs are
very largely bred, and some fine specimens are to be met with. Among
poultry, fowls and turkeys, again, are numerous, and generally of
excellent quality, large and plump birds being obtainable for very
moderate prices at all times. In this case also it is customary to
cook and consume the birds a few hours after they have been killed,
so that a tender fowl is not often met with. I noticed but few
ducks or geese, and the latter birds may be regarded as somewhat
of a rarity. Quantities of wild-fowl, however, find their way to
the market, and there they fetch moderately good prices. Immense
flocks of duck are found at certain seasons of the year feeding
and breeding upon the many inland lakes, and they afford excellent
sport to the few guns which break in upon their almost undisturbed
repose. These quiet and peaceful lagoons, in their entrancing scenic
surroundings, form an ideal spot for the sportsman, since they
would be found an almost untouched field for his amusement.
Salvador, from the conformation of its surface and the nature of
its soil, is essentially an agricultural State. The basin of the
River San Miguel, that of Sonsonate, and the valley proper of the
Lempa, no less than the alluvians bordering on the Pacific, are of
an extraordinarily fertile character and especially adaptable for
the production of tropical staples. Around the Bay of Jiquilisco
and the port of La Libertad, cotton has been cultivated with
success for the last sixty years, but it is only up to within
comparatively recent years that the principal products of the
State have included indigo, sugar and maize. In many respects the
State of Salvador differs agriculturally from the South and other
Central American Republics. In the first place, there is but little
unappropriated land to be found in it, nearly the whole being the
property of private individuals; secondly, the people are active and
intelligent--naturally so, and not merely by education; they are
unquestionably industrious. Certainly they are the best cultivators
in Central America; and under favourable circumstances--that is
to say, during periods of political tranquillity--they can find
abundant employment for their labour.
[Illustration: NATIVE HABITATION IN THE HOT COUNTRY.]
[Illustration: NATIVE MAKING SUGAR FROM A PRIMITIVE WOODEN MILL.]
Indigo, or, to give it its native name, "jiquilite," for long
constituted the chief article in the exports of the country, but
in point of importance it has had to give place to coffee. Indigo
is found in practically all parts of Salvador, but especially in
the districts of Zacatecoluca and San Miguel, and some idea may be
obtained of the great space of ground which is, or rather which
used to be, appropriated to indigo, when it is stated that it takes
about 2 cwt. of the green plant to yield 8, 10 or 12 ounces of
indigo; on the land which is found most suitable to it, 12 ounces
are seldom exceeded, but there are records which show that in
favourable seasons, upon taking an average of five years, upwards
of 12,000 serrones (1 serron=150 pounds) have been produced in the
entire Republic. A quantity such as this, in former times, would be
valued at $3,000,000 in the European markets; but as long ago as
the year 1850 the value of the product had become greatly reduced,
and it would not even then have realized one-half that sum. To-day,
when aniline dyes take the place of indigo, it would be difficult
to place anything like an accurate price upon such an amount of
produce, nor to suppose that it would be marketable at all. How much
the production has fallen off in later years can be seen when it is
said that the total amount produced in 1891 was only 7,889 serrones,
and in the year following, 9,587 serrones.
Indigo is produced from an indigenous triennial plant, _Indigofera
Añil_, which is its botanical name, and the plant flourishes
luxuriously upon nearly all kinds of soil. The land requires
comparatively little preparation, being merely burnt and slightly
ploughed. The seed, which is scattered broadcast, is sown in the
months of February and April, and the growth of the plant is so
rapid that by the end of August it has attained a height of from 5
to 6 feet, and is then fit for cutting. The product of the first
year is but moderate, and it is at this stage called "tinta nueva,"
the strength being reserved for the second and third years, when
the product is known as "tinta retoño." When the crop is ripe, the
process of manufacture is carried on daily without interruption
until the whole of the crop is garnered. Just as the plant requires
little attention and no skill, so the manufacture of the indigo
calls for neither a very difficult nor any expensive process; all
that it needs is that it be cut promptly and at the proper period,
otherwise it becomes worthless. This means that the proprietors
of the larger estates must have an ample and a reliable supply of
labour at hand, which desideratum cannot be implicitly relied upon
in the present condition of the market.
Next to indigo, coffee ranks second in importance in the country's
agricultural products; the very finest berry is grown in the
Republic. It may be found in practically all parts, wherever
the land rises between 1,500 and 4,000 feet above sea-level.
The choicest and most productive plantations are located in the
Departments of Ahuachapán, La Libertad, San Salvador, San Vicente,
Santa Ana and Sonsonate. The berry is also grown in Usulután, La Paz
and Cuscatlán, many hundreds of thousands of additional trees having
been planted throughout this part of the country during the past two
or three years.
The coffee-tree is a tender shrub, and needs careful attending and
protection from the sun from the time of planting, and even for a
lengthy period after it has begun to produce crops. It required a
great many years to convince the cautious inhabitants of Salvador
that there was money to be made in growing coffee, and up till some
fifty years ago little attention was paid to the industry, since
few opportunities existed for disposing promptly of a whole crop.
The stimulus which latter-day transportation offers was wanting, as
was the world-wide demand for the coffee-berry which has since been
met with. Since the industry was first seriously entered upon, the
resources of the State have been greatly augmented, and the welfare
of a large labouring class has correspondingly increased.
I was informed upon one estate, or _finca_, that the trees in
Salvador were sufficiently matured when three years old to produce
a fair crop, and that this yield continued to increase until the
seventh year, when it reached its maximum. It is calculated that
the outlay for labour and expenses in producing coffee amounts to
between 2-1/2d. to 3d. per pound, while the retail price varies from
5d. to 1s. It may be taken, on an average, that one-half of the
annual crop is consumed in the country, and that the remainder is
exported. There is a general opinion prevalent among experts that
Salvadorean coffee is superior in quality to that of Brazil, or even
to the Blue Mountain (Jamaica) berry; while as to the pre-eminence
of the aroma over both of these rivals there can be no question
whatever.
Sugar-cane growing is an industry for which the genial climate
and the bounteous soil of Salvador are admirably adapted, and
the cane is cultivated to a greater or less extent in all of the
fourteen different Departments. As I have pointed out in another
part of this volume, when describing sugar machinery (see Chapter
XII.), there is a great need of improved equipment, which, were it
provided, would probably serve to double, and even in some cases
to treble, the amount of this particular product. But even with
the imperfect reduction work which is carried out upon nine-tenths
of the _fincas_, sugar is produced to such an extent as not only
to abundantly supply the home requirements, but to provide a
considerable share of the country's exports. The greater part of
the sugar used in the country is turned out in the shape of small
blocks or cakes, weighing about 2 pounds each, and bearing the
name of _panela_, similar to that produced in Brazil and Mexico. A
large quantity of this stuff, which looks and tastes very much like
toffee, while it also resembles the maple sugar of North America,
is used in the manufacture of native rum. Conical-shaped loaves of
compact white sugar, weighing from 25 to 40 pounds each, are also
manufactured, but are mostly made for export.
In the "golden days" of California, the greater part of the rum
which was consumed upon the gold-fields came from Sonsonate in
Salvador, being packed in 14 and 15 gallon casks and greybeards of
from 3 to 6 gallons, suitable for easy transport to the Californian
diggings.
For some years past Salvador has been gaining a reputation for
the excellent quality of its tobacco, and there are several
manufactories established in the Republic, which are doing
remarkably well. One of the best known for cigars is that of Señora
Josefa B. de Diaz, the amiable proprietress of the Hotel América, at
Cojutepeque.
Half a century ago Salvador was exporting tobacco to Mexico, and had
been doing a fair amount of trade with that country even in the time
of the Spanish dominion. The tobacco production collectively in all
the provinces of the Republic yield a net revenue to the Government
of more than £500,000 annually; but the method of administering and
collecting the taxes in former times helped as much as anything else
to retard the industry. For instance, under the old régime a general
system was subscribed, and scrupulously adhered to, which precluded
people from raising tobacco, except when they should obtain a
licence to do so from the authorities; and the growers, under
one of the many irritating conditions attached to the official
permission, were bound to deliver the entire crop, after it had been
dried and prepared, into the Government factories at a stipulated
rate per pound; it was then retailed to the community at a fixed
price, and yielded the substantial revenue referred to. Later on
each province passed its own laws for regulating this branch of the
public income, and, inasmuch as these laws were neither uniform nor
permanent, great confusion prevailed and much loss was incurred,
while an immense amount of smuggling went on, as may well be
believed.
The Government of Salvador of recent years has adopted quite
different methods, and has done much to encourage the industry,
such, for instance, as importing tobacco-seed and distributing it
gratis among cultivators, with the idea of promoting the culture of
the plant; while at the same time it has imported native cultivators
from Cuba for the purpose of teaching the method of growing and
working the tobacco as practised on that island. In spite of this
free and valuable instruction, I am afraid that the methods of
handling the tobacco in Salvador are often found to be decidedly
primitive, the growers allowing the leaves to dry in the sun without
detaching them from the stalks, the latter being cut a few inches
above the ground. They are then piled in stacks from 6 to 9 feet in
diameter and from 3 to 4 feet in height, heavy weights being placed
on the top, and the whole covered over with a thick layer of banana
leaves. Fermentation then ensues, and by this action the colour and
aroma of the leaves are brought out. Only by guesswork is it decided
when the process is complete, and the tobacco is then taken from
the stack, exposed for a short time to the air, whereafter the
leaves are detached from the stalks, sorted, and tied into bundles,
and then sent to market. It will be recognized that the choiceness
of the tobacco and its excellent quality must be very high when they
can withstand successfully such a crude treatment as this. How much
more valuable might the plant's product become as a commodity, and
how much higher would be the revenue yielded, were modern methods of
treating the leaf to be introduced!
In some sections of Salvador tobacco-growers have resorted to an
ingenious method of ridding the tobacco-leaves of destructive
insects and worms that feed upon the tender young plants at certain
periods of their development. A kind of turkey, known locally under
the name of "chompipe," a bird which was brought originally from the
West Indies, and is capable of being easily domesticated, is kept in
flocks of considerable size in the vicinity of the tobacco-fields,
and at certain hours of the day these are driven through the fields
in order to rid the tobacco-plants of worms and insects.
These turkeys do their work so well that the smallest insect fails
to escape them, and yet they pick them off with such care that the
tender leaves remain free from injury. Without the use of these
fowls, labourers must be employed to go through the fields at
stated intervals to pick off the insects and worms from the leaves;
and this method, aside from being tedious and unsatisfactory,
often damages the leaves through rough handling, causing defective
development and a reduction of their value as a marketable product.
I found, in my travels through the country, other classes of
agriculture being pursued besides those which have been mentioned.
For instance, india-rubber is a distinctly profitable branch, in
spite of the primitive methods pursued in collecting it, and which
are still, for the most part, in vogue. The Government has made
many earnest efforts to improve conditions and to teach the people
how to both cultivate and to collect the precious material, but it
is not possible to congratulate those who pursue the industry upon
the amount of success attained. I have been shown the extensive
forests of promising-looking rubber-trees growing in the provinces
of La Paz, La Unión, San Miguel, and Usulután; but when I inquired
into the methods followed by those who are employed in collecting
the gum, I found the most wasteful system in force, and the work
generally conducted in a desultory, indifferent manner, with the
result that it hardly paid to follow the occupation at all. Under
properly organized labour and systematically managed, rubber-growing
ought to, and no doubt one day will, become a valuable feature of
the country's industries.
Then, again, rice is cultivated, but not at all scientifically.
Nevertheless some fairly good crops are annually gathered in,
mostly of the upland variety, and grown upon the tablelands and
hillsides. Very little rice, comparatively speaking, is exported,
the greater part of that produced being consumed locally. Some of
the neighbouring Republics take a small quantity of the grain from
Salvador, but as a rule these States grow their own supplies, and
need but little importation. It seems a great pity that, with land
so eminently suitable for rice cultivation, so little--and that
little of such poor quality--should be annually produced in Salvador.
Cacao is one of the leading products of this much-favoured country,
and it can be found growing more luxuriantly in Salvador than
in any of the Central American States. Very little attention is
given, however, to the method of cultivation, in spite of the fact
that cacao is one of the oldest agricultural specialities of this
country. History shows that at one time Sonsonate and San Vicente
were famous alike for the quantity and the excellence of the cacao
grown there. Such plants as are cultivated now are utilized almost
entirely in the country in the manufacture of chocolate, etc., and
this product figures but insignificantly among the country's exports.
Beans--known here, as in all Latin-American countries, as
_frijoles_--form a large proportion of the humbler people's
daily diet. They are large, brown, and flat in appearance, very
nourishing, and very palatable when properly cooked. They are grown
all over the Republic, and seem to flourish even in poor-quality
soil. Indian corn, or maize, wheat, potatoes, sweet-potatoes, yams,
and other vegetables in great variety, flourish here, and one is
reminded of a famous cultivator's exordium upon the merits of
Jamaica: "You have," said he, "but to tickle the ground with a hoe,
and it at once smiles a yam."
Except in Brazil, which probably stands unrivalled among the South
American States as a precious-wood-yielding country, I know of no
State possessing finer timber forests than Salvador. I have ridden
mile upon mile through magnificent timber-tree lands--the cedar, the
mahogany, the ebony, the granadilla, and many other valuable cabinet
woods; but upon inquiry as to what is being done with all this
precious material provided by a bountiful Nature, I was informed
that it is rarely marketed, although it is cut occasionally for
local building purposes. Many of the larger private houses and
public buildings in San Salvador are constructed of native woods,
and one is struck with the beauty of their grain and their extreme
hardness, while they will mostly take on a high polish. In the
lowlands there is an extremely large variety of dye woods to be
met with; but here, again, the great forests are left almost
untouched, many of them being as trackless as the day that they came
into being. The only tree among these latter of which use is made
is the _mora_, or fustic of commerce. The pine-forests are also
just beginning to be exploited, and one or two successful lumber
enterprises have been started. The Salvadorean forest pine is fully
equal in durability, in quality, and in appearance, to the Southern
States _ceiba_ and other pine-woods.
The pride of place in the forestry of the Republic belongs
to the beautiful and valuable balsam-tree--the _Myrospermum
Salvatoriensis_--yielding what is known to the Materia Medica as
"balsam of Peru." The Indian appellation for it is _hoitzilixitl_.
Why is it called "balsam of _Peru_" if it is the "balsam of
Salvador"? I am told, because the precious gum was exported as an
article of commerce to Peru from Salvador in the early days of the
Spanish Dominion, and thence found its way to Europe. As a matter
of fact, it is to be found growing in no country of the world
_but_ Salvador, and there in only a few parts of it. "La Costa del
Bálsamo" is to be seen marked upon any map of Central America, lying
to the seaward of the great volcanic range of mountains; and here
it is that the trees are met with, standing together in so close
a mass that the daylight seldom enters, and sunlight never. The
whole district is inhabited by Indians, who have come to regard
the place as their own undisputed territory. They live entirely
upon the product of the balsam-tree, hewing down huge planks of
this and other woods, which they market to great advantage. The
balsam is their main source of wealth, however; and although to-day
the annual product falls short of what was realized, say, half a
century ago, it still figures very largely in the annual exports of
the country. Strangely enough, the tree cannot be cultivated in any
other part of Salvador, although the climatic conditions, the soil,
and the physical characteristics, may be found suitable. Similar
experiences are found in Jamaica, where the pimento-tree is to be
met with in one particular locality only, and nowhere else, even
careful planting proving quite useless to alter or improve upon the
conditions which have been dictated by Nature.
[Illustration: A STREET IN SONSONATE (CALLE DE MERCADO).]
[Illustration: TYPE OF "QUINTA" OR COUNTRY HOUSE IN SANTA TECLA (NEW
SAN SALVADOR).]
The Indian gatherers obtain the balsam from the tree by scraping the
skin of the bark to the depth of one-tenth part of an inch, using
for the purpose a sharp native knife, or _machete_. This scraping
is done in small patches, extending to 12 or 15 inches square, the
incisions being made both across and along the trunk and the largest
branches of the tree. Immediately after the operation of scratching
is completed, the portions scraped are heated with burning torches,
which are made out of the dried branches of a tree known locally as
_chimaliote_; and after burning the surfaces are covered over with
pieces of old cotton cloth, under which they are left for a time. By
punching the edges of the cloths pressed against the tree with the
point of the _machete_, they are made to adhere. In this condition
they are again left for a space of twenty-four hours, and even as
long as forty-eight hours (especially in the month of January),
when the rags are gathered and submitted to a strong and hot
decoction in big iron pots. While still hot the rags are put under a
great pressure in a primitive kind of machine, which is made by the
Indians themselves, and composed of a combination of wooden levers
and strong ropes, worked entirely by hand. The balsam juice then
oozes out, and drips slowly into a receptacle, where it is allowed
to cool. It is then in the stage known as "raw balsam." Afterwards
it has to be refined, which means boiling it again and draining off
all impurities, when it is packed in iron cans and sent away to
market.
There is another method, which was explained to me, for extracting
the balsam--namely, by entirely barking the trees and heavy
branches, a process which, of course, kills the tree outright, or
at least renders it valueless for a good many years. The bark is
ground down to a coarse kind of powder; it is then boiled, the
juice or gum floating to the top, and is thus collected. But this
process, although speedy, really destroys the full value of the gum,
which only realizes a low price when treated in this manner. The
Government forbids this method to be adopted, as a matter of fact;
but the Indians, on the "get rich quick" principle, practise it all
the same. The balsam, as seen in the market, looks like a thick,
fatty, viscid resin, of a deep brown or black colour, and emitting a
delicious odour.
The analysis is--Cynamic acid, 46; resin, 32; benzylic alcohol, 20,
per cent. Balsam is used in making perfumery and soaps, and as an
unguent; while for asthma and other pectoral complaints its odour is
considered very beneficial.
The personal appearance of the Salvadorean peasant, as will be seen
from the group shown in the photograph given, is unquestionably an
agreeable one. The men are short in stature as a rule, but they
possess regular and amiable features--those who are not of the
pronounced negro type; while the women are also usually physically
attractive, especially when young.
In regard to native costume, in the villages and smaller towns the
men still wear the same attire as they have adopted for some hundred
years past--namely, loose and baggy trousers of cotton spun and
woven locally, mostly on the native hand-looms; a shapeless coat or
loose jacket of the same material; and a large palm-leaf hat without
any ribbon, binding, or other ornamentation. The women's ordinary
attire consists of a dark blue cotton or cloth woven skirt, a loose
cotton blouse with very short sleeves, and the native shawl worn
gracefully over the head. To-day many affect the European style of
costume, and almost generally they do so in the Capital and the
larger towns.
The Indians are very domesticated, and are naturally of an
affectionate and amiable disposition. It is quite a common
occurrence to find several generations living together in one
small but cleanly-kept hut, married and single members of the
family occupying the same room, the oldest member--grandfather or
great-grandfather--being much deferred to, and, as a rule, governing
his extensive family with a firm but gentle hand. Parental authority
is greatly respected in this country among the natives, and family
life is often found very beautiful in some respects, offering,
indeed, a marked contrast to what one finds existing in European
countries, especially in England, among the working classes of the
population.
The Indian inhabitants of Salvador are supposed to be lineal
descendants of the Nahwals, whose other branch are found in Mexico
and Guatemala. Certainly there is a strong connection both in
their physical attributes and their ancient dialects. Naturally,
the aboriginal population has been much modified by nearly four
centuries of contact with the whites, and an almost equally long
subjugation to the Spanish rule. Nevertheless there are some towns
in the Republic which to-day retain their primitive customs, and
in such, to all appearances, the aboriginal blood has undergone
scarcely any, if indeed the slightest, intermixture. In most places,
however, the original language has fallen into disuse, or merely a
few words, which have also been partially adopted by the whites, are
retained. The original names of places have in some localities been
preserved with the greatest tenacity, and afford a sure guide in
defining the extent of territory over which the various aboriginal
nations have been spread.
I have visited several of the towns situated in the neighbourhood
of Sonsonate, where the inhabitants are almost exclusively Indians,
and I was then told that the language which they habitually speak to
one another is also aboriginal. So curiously attached are some of
these people to their ancient speech and government that in the year
of 1832 a number of the inhabitants of San Vicente arose in revolt
against the new government which was then imposed, and attempted to
restore their ancient dominion, at the same time threatening to kill
all the whites as well as everyone showing a trace of European blood
in their veins.
The new census of the country will have been taken on July 1, 1911
(too late for inclusion in this volume, which will have gone to
press), in accordance with instructions of the President, the
officers engaged being attached to the General Bureau of Statistics.
Every effort has been made to render the returns in as accurate a
form and as complete as possible. The present population, according
to the statistics of 1910, showed that the number of inhabitants
stood at 1,084,850, of whom some 200,000 were foreigners.
CHAPTER XVIII
Departments--Capital cities--Population--Districts--Salvador
Department--City of San Salvador--Situation--Surroundings--
Destruction in 1854 by earthquake--Description of catastrophe--
Loss of life actually small--Evacuation of city--Recuperative
faculty of the people.
The Republic of Salvador is divided into 14 Departments, which
are again subdivided into 31 districts, 27 cities, 51 towns, 164
villages, and 215 hamlets. The following table shows the names
of such Departments, with their respective capital cities, their
population, exclusive of foreigners, and the number of districts
which they contain:
+-------------+-------------------+-------------------------+------------+
| | | Population. | |
|Departments. | Capital Cities. | | Number of |
| | +-----------+-------------+ Districts. |
| | | Capitals. | Departments.| |
+-------------+-------------------+-----------+-------------+------------+
|San Salvador | San Salvador | 32,000 | 65,000 | 3 |
|La Libertad | New San Salvador | 11,000 | 49,000 | 2 |
|Sonsonate | Sonsonate | 11,500 | 41,500 | 2 |
|Ahuachapán | Ahuachapán | 12,000 | 37,000 | 2 |
|Santa Ana | Santa Ana | 33,750 | 80,500 | 3 |
|Chalatenango | Chalatenango | 6,000 | 54,000 | 2 |
|Cuscatlán | Cojutepeque | 8,000 | 62,000 | 2 |
|Cabañas | Sensuntepeque | 10,000 | 35,000 | 2 |
|San Vicente | San Vicente | 11,000 | 40,500 | 2 |
|La Paz | Zacatecoluca | 6,500 | 70,000 | 2 |
|Usulután | Usulután | 6,000 | 42,000 | 2 |
|San Miguel | San Miguel | 23,000 | 60,000 | 2 |
|Morozán | Gotera | 3,100 | 35,100 | 3 |
|La Unión | La Unión | 3,700 | 35,700 | 2 |
| | +-----------+-------------+------------+
| | [5] Total | 177,550 | 707,300 | -- |
+-------------+-------------------+-----------+-------------+------------+
[5] The above statistics are out of date; the present population of
the Republic of Salvador is estimated at 1,200,000.
DEPARTMENT OF SAN SALVADOR.
_Cities._--San Salvador, Tonacatepeque (2).
_Towns._--Mejicanos, Apopa, Nejapa, Santo Tomas, Panchimalco (5).
This was one of the first of the original divisions into which
the Republic was divided in the year 1821, at which period the
separation from the neighbouring kingdom of Guatemala took place.
San Salvador is bounded on the north by the Departments of
Chalatenango and Cuscatlán, on the east by Cuscatlán and La Paz, on
the south by La Libertad and La Paz, and on the west by La Libertad.
A great variety of scenery is met with, and no portion of the
country can be described as anything but beautiful and romantic.
In the southern part is encountered the rugged and picturesque
coastal range of mountains; the central portion is broken up into
a number of small, fertile valleys of surprising scenic beauty
and fertility; while the northern section is covered with hills,
which, although always green, are destitute of large trees. The
Department contains two volcanoes--San Salvador, or Quezaltepeque,
as the Indians name it, and Ilopango, which is situated upon a lake
bearing the same name. Surrounding the capital are an immense number
of prosperous _fincas_, or agricultural estates, market-gardens,
and great stretches of tobacco, coffee, sugar, rice, corn and bean
plantations. The whole population are engaged in these industries,
the amount of labour necessary being abundantly supplied, and to
all appearances the people seem extremely prosperous and contented.
I failed, indeed, to observe any signs of either poverty or
disorderliness, while, on the contrary, nearly everyone encountered
appeared merry, well fed, and decently dressed. There is little
reason to suppose that these evidences were deceptive.
In spite of the fact that San Salvador has been visited by so many
different volcanic eruptions, it has really suffered less from
earthquakes or their effects than either Costa Rica or Guatemala,
its immediate neighbours. There are still living in Salvador those
who remember and speak of the great seismic catastrophe which befell
the Capital City in the month of April, 1854, by which that place
was almost completely ruined. Previous to this catastrophe, the
city, in point of size and importance, had ranked third in Central
America, Guatemala City, in the State of the same name, being first,
and Leon, in Nicaragua, second. In regard to the first named,
Guatemala City still remains the capital of its State; but Leon,
although ranking as the largest city in the Republic of Nicaragua,
has had to yield to Managua the pride of place as capital and seat
of Government.
The name of "San Salvador" was chosen by its pious but pitiless
founder, Don Jorge de Alvarado, who conquered the territory for the
Spanish Government after Columbus had located it, in commemoration
of his final decisive victory over the Indians of Cuscatlán, which
battle was gained on the eve of the festival of San Salvador. During
the long dominion of Spain in South and Central America, the city
was the seat of the Governor, or Intendente, of the province of San
Salvador, who, again, was subservient to the Captain-General of
Guatemala. After its independence San Salvador became the capital
of the new State, and it was early distinguished for its thorough
devotion to the principles of the Liberal party in Central America.
Even as far back as 1853, a notable writer of the day who was
travelling in Salvador described the city as "a very beautiful
town," and also spoke of the general intelligence, the industry,
and the enterprise of its inhabitants, who, in his opinion,
"surpassed in these respects the people of any of the other large
towns in Central America." This visitor, as are all who sojourn for
any length of time in San Salvador, became much impressed by the
picturesque position of the city, which, as already indicated, lies
in the midst of a broad but elevated plain, situated on the summit
of a high tableland or coast range of mountains, which intervene
between the valley of the River Lempa and the Pacific.
By barometrical admeasurement, San Salvador lies 2,115 feet above
the sea. As a consequence, its climate is found pleasantly cool
as compared with that of coast alluvians, although unfavourably
modified in this respect by a low range of hills on the southern
border of the plain, which shuts off the full benefit of the
sea-breeze. Were it not for this obstacle, the winds blowing from
the ocean, which is only twenty miles distant, would reach the city.
As an indication of the kind of temperature one meets with, it may
be said that in August the maximum of temperature rarely exceeds 80°
Fahrenheit, the minimum 70°, and the mean average 76.3°, which, as
will be generally recognized, constitutes a delightful climate.
The hills which surround the plain of San Salvador are covered with
verdure, which keeps its colour and freshness owing to the heavy
dews which fall and the absence of dust, while a fair amount of rain
can always be depended upon.
Not more than three miles to the westward of the Capital City, and
watching over it like a gigantic sentinel, stands the magnificent
volcano of San Salvador. In this respect one is reminded of some
other Spanish-American cities, such as La Paz in Bolivia, with the
superb Misti; and, again, of Mexico City, with its two ever-watchful
volcanic guardians--Ixtaccihuatl, which stands 16,060 feet in
height, and Popocatepetl, which towers to 17,782 feet in the air.
The cone of San Salvador volcano, which rises on the northern border
or edge of the crater, is, however, approximately but 8,000 feet in
height.
Some fifty or sixty years ago San Salvador, judging from
contemporary pictures, must have been even more charming in
appearance than it is to-day; then its population, however, scarcely
exceeded 25,000. With the exception of the central and paved part
of the city, it was eminently sylvan, being literally embowered in
masses of tropical fruit-trees. The red-roofed dwellings, closely
shut in with evergreen hedges of cactus, shadowed over by palm and
orange trees, with a dense background of broad-leaved plantains,
almost sinking beneath their heavy clusters of rich golden fruit,
must have presented a delightful scenic picture, at once romantic
and peaceful.
From contemporary reports, it is pitiful to read that this exquisite
scene was subsequently completely devastated in the brief space of
ten seconds, for precisely that period elapsed between the beginning
and the end of the awful earthquake of April 16, 1854. I have been
shown pictures of the ill-fated city which were painted a year or
two before the disaster, as well as one which showed San Salvador
as it stood in 1839, the date of a previous similar disaster. The
appearance in both cases was singularly attractive in regard to
the character of the buildings and their scenic surroundings. In
the freshness of their affliction the inhabitants determined never
again to return to the city, but, as history has proved, they did
so in exactly the same manner as the ever-faithful inhabitants of
Mount Vesuvius have returned again and again to the scene of their
numerous previous misfortunes. The people of Guatemala were somewhat
wiser. Soon after 1773 they deserted their capital, which stood
at the foot of the volcanoes Agua and Fuego (Water and Fire), and
which was overwhelmed by a volcanic eruption, for they then built
themselves a new place of abode, which is the present handsome city
and Capital of the Republic.
I have been afforded the following interesting account of the
destruction of San Salvador, a description which was published in
a small Government organ dated May 2, 1854, and which provides so
graphic a description of what occurred that I make no apology for
reproducing it in these pages.
The chronicler of that day says:
"The night of April 16, 1854, will ever be one of sad and bitter
memory to the people of Salvador. On that unfortunate night our
happy and beautiful capital was made a heap of ruins. Movements
of the earth were felt on the morning of Holy Thursday, preceded
by sounds like the rolling of heavy artillery over pavements,
and like distant thunder. The people were a little alarmed in
consequence of this phenomenon, but it did not prevent them from
meeting in the churches to celebrate the solemnities of the
day. On Saturday all was quiet, and confidence was restored.
The people of the neighbourhood assembled as usual to celebrate
the Passover. The night of Saturday was quiet, so also was the
whole of Sunday. The heat, it is true, was considerable, but
the atmosphere was calm and serene. For the first three hours
of the evening there was nothing of unusual occurrence, but
at half-past nine a severe shock of an earthquake, occurring
without the usual preliminary noises, alarmed the whole city.
Many families left their houses and made encampments in the
public squares, while others prepared to pass the night in their
respective courtyards.
"Finally, at ten minutes to eleven, without further premonition
of any kind, the earth began to heave and tremble with
such fearful force that in ten seconds the entire city was
prostrated. The crashing of houses and churches stunned the ears
of the terrified inhabitants, while a cloud of dust from the
falling ruins enveloped them in a pall of impenetrable darkness.
Not a drop of water could be got to relieve the half-choked and
the suffocating, for the wells and fountains were filled up or
made dry. The clock-tower of the cathedral carried a great part
of that edifice with it in its fall. The towers of the church of
San Francisco crashed down upon the episcopal oratory and part
of the palace. The Church of Santo Domingo was buried beneath
its towers, and the College of the Assumption was entirely
ruined. The new and beautiful edifice of the University was
demolished. The Church of the Mercéd separated in the centre,
and its walls fell outward to the ground. Of the private houses,
a few were left standing, but all were rendered uninhabitable.
It is worthy of remark that the walls left standing are old
ones; all those of modern construction have fallen. The public
edifices of the Government and the city shared in the common
destruction.
"The devastation was effected, as we have said, in the first ten
seconds; for although the succeeding shocks were tremendous,
and accompanied by fearful rumblings beneath our feet, they had
comparatively trifling results, for the reason that the first
jar left but little for their ravages.
"Solemn and terrible was the picture presented, on the dark,
funereal night, of a whole people clustering in the _plazas_,
and, on their knees, crying with loud voices to Heaven for
mercy, or in agonizing accents calling for their children and
their friends, whom they believed to be buried beneath the
ruins. A heaven opaque and ominous; a movement of the earth
rapid and unequal, causing a terror indescribable; an intense
sulphurous odour filling the atmosphere, and indicating an
approaching eruption of the volcano; streets filled with ruins
or overhung by threatening walls; a suffocating cloud of dust,
almost rendering respiration impossible--such was the spectacle
presented by the unhappy city on that memorable and awful night.
"A hundred boys were shut up in the college, many invalids
crowded the hospitals, and the barracks were full of soldiers.
The sense of the catastrophe which must have befallen them
gave poignancy to the first moments of reflection after the
earthquake was over. It was believed that at least a fourth
part of the inhabitants had been buried beneath the ruins.
The members of the Government hastened to ascertain as far as
practicable the extent of the catastrophe, and to quiet the
public mind. It was found that the loss of life had been much
less than was supposed, and it now appears that the number of
the killed will not exceed one hundred, and of wounded fifty.
Among the latter is the Bishop, who received a severe blow on
the head, the late President, Señor Dueñas, a daughter of the
President, and the wife of the Secretary of the Legislative
Chambers, the latter severely.
"Fortunately, the earthquake has not been followed by rains,
which gives an opportunity to disinter the public archives, as
also many of the valuables contained in the dwellings of the
citizens.
"The movements of the earth still continue with strong shocks,
and the people, fearing a general swallowing up of the site of
the city, or that it may be buried under some sudden eruption
of the volcano, are hastening away, taking with them their
household gods, the sweet memories of their infancy, and their
domestic animals--perhaps the only property left for the support
of their families--exclaiming with Virgil: 'Nos patriæ fines et
dulcia linquimus arva.'"
I have witnessed scenes in Valparaiso, in San Francisco, and in
Kingston, Jamaica, almost precisely similar to these so graphically
portrayed; but in all these cases the loss of life was considerably
greater than occurred in San Salvador. To-day the capital of the
Republic bears not a single trace of the disaster, nor yet of some
subsequent visitations; for the recuperative faculties of these
optimistic peoples are as astonishing as they are thorough and
instantaneous in the manner in which they assert themselves.
CHAPTER XIX
City of San Salvador--San Salvador as place of
residence--Theatres--Parks--Streets--Hotels--Domestic
servants--Hospitality of residents--Societies and
associations--Educational establishments--Government
buildings--Religion and churches--Casino--Hospitals and
institutions--Disastrous conflagrations--Public monuments.
There are few more pleasant cities as a place of residence
for all the year round than San Salvador. The climate is very
agreeable, while the situation of the city, scenically speaking, is
exceptionally beautiful, being located as it is 2,115 feet above the
level of the sea in the valley of Cuscatlán, or, as it is called in
the vernacular, "Valle de las Hamacas" (the Vale of the Hammocks).
This district has been so named, I understand, because it lies
directly in the line of the severest earthquake action, and has many
times in the past been "rocked and swung" by the waves of movement,
and which have been rendered unusually destructive by the reflex
action of the high hills which half encircle the place.
San Salvador was founded, as already observed, by Don Jorge de
Alvarado, brother of the famous Spanish conqueror, Don Pedro de
Alvarado, on April 4, 1543, and from 1834 to 1839 it was the capital
of the new Republic, a dignity which was in later years transferred
to the city of San Vicente; while Cojutepeque upon three separate
occasions, as pointed out more fully elsewhere, was also used as
the Federal Capital. In the year 1840, however, San Salvador
became the designated metropolis, and has since remained so. Here
are located all the Government Departments, as well as the Supreme
Civil and Military Courts, in addition to the headquarters of the
Ecclesiastical Government.
In the year 1854, the city having been ruined, as we have seen,
the Government as a consequence ordered the founding of Nuéva
San Salvador, or Santa Tecla, which lies some eight miles to the
south-west, and about 800 feet higher, as a city of refuge. To this
place many families transferred their homes, and it is now a very
prosperous place, with a population exceeding 11,000 inhabitants.
Many good people of San Salvador, however, were not so much
discouraged by their misfortune after all, and they very pluckily
rebuilt the city, only, however, to again see it laid low by the
even greater catastrophe of March 19, 1873. Gradually, and for the
third time, this city rose from its ruins, and there are to-day no
traces in its streets of any of the various disasters which have
visited it.
San Salvador is altogether a well-constructed and even a handsome
city, with several notable public buildings which would grace any
European capital. Among these are the Casa Blanca, the Artillery
Barracks, the National Institute, the University, the Theatre,
the Market, the Orphans' Home, the Polytechnic School, the Normal
School, the new Cathedral, and a large number of other handsome
churches.
The Government have constructed a handsome official building in the
city of San Salvador, to provide thoroughly up-to-date and modern
quarters for the various Government Departments, in addition to
which it adds considerable beauty to the Capital City. This edifice
is built in the Continental style of architecture, and has been
occupied for some two years past.
There are also many attractive private residences, consisting of one
or two stories, with handsome interiors and beautiful gardens. The
usual style of building adopted is the _adobe_ house, with tiled
roof; and what lends particular attraction to the appearance of the
city is the variety of the architecture adopted for both private and
public buildings; additionally, a large number of _plazas_, parks,
and open spaces, prevent anything approaching an appearance of
monotony. The whole city is extremely well lighted by electricity,
the roads are well paved and as well maintained, while the drainage
is excellent. The material of which the sidewalks are built consists
mostly of large slabs of the basaltic rock, which is freely and
cheaply quarried from the famous Guarumál Cañon.
This elegance and good taste are displayed almost generally in the
city of Salvador regarding the arrangement of the public parks and
gardens, as well as in connection with the private residences of
the well-to-do inhabitants. The beautiful Parque Bolívar, which was
completed and opened to the public in January, 1881, and the no less
attractive Parque Barrios, which was inaugurated in the same month
of 1901, and for a second time in 1909, are cases in point.
[Illustration: PUBLIC PARK IN SAN SALVADOR, WHERE THRONGS OF
WELL-DRESSED PEOPLE ASSEMBLE IN THE EVENING TO LISTEN TO AN
EXCELLENT MILITARY BAND.]
The Parque Dueñas is centrally situated, and is a favourite
rendezvous with all classes. In the Parque Morazán is to be seen the
handsome monument erected in 1882 to the hero of the same name. The
attractive thoroughfare known as Avenida do la Independencia was
inaugurated in December, 1901, and the Central Markets in October,
1887. The new Cathedral, commenced in June, 1881, was completed and
solemnly consecrated seven years later--namely, in June of 1888.
It is a fine edifice, and contains some handsome ecclesiastical
plate and beautiful mural decorations.
The Cathedral is altogether a fine specimen of Latin-American
ecclesiastical architecture, but is distinguished from many others
of the same period by the feature of pointed arches, instead of the
usual square or rounded arches usually prevailing in this class of
buildings. It is dedicated to the patron saint of Salvador.
The prevailing religion in the Republic, as a natural consequence of
the long ascendancy of the Spanish domination, is Roman Catholic.
Previous to the Liberal revolution of 1871 no other kind of religion
was tolerated. Since then, and to-day, the greatest freedom and
toleration prevail in all religious matters; while so far has the
hand of reform stretched that the cemeteries are freed from the
control of the clergy; civil marriages are legalized without the
addition of any religious ceremony; education is non-clerical, and
all monastic institutions have been abolished. All these changes are
embodied in the Constitution promulgated on August 13, 1886, and
under which the country is governed to-day. Nevertheless, the Church
is greatly respected by the people, and the attendances at Mass are
invariably large and representative. The bishopric of San Salvador
was created in 1842.
A very handsome thoroughfare is Santa Tecla Avenue, a broad and
beautifully laid-out thoroughfare, linking up this favourite
residential place with the City of Santa Tecla, locally known as the
"City of Flowers." Already one of the most favourite suburbs, it is
growing rapidly in favour as a residential quarter with the people
of San Salvador, being situated from it only a few miles distant.
The tramway system is as yet only at the commencement of its
development, and electricity has yet to play an important part in
its equipment. There are two companies running regular services of
cars, one being the Concepción and Western Tramway Company, which
sends out its cars at intervals of ten minutes during the busiest
parts of the day, and conducts a service till fairly late at night.
Usually, however, the last cars have gone back to the garage before
theatre-goers have left their places of entertainment. Fortunately,
the fares demanded by the local Jehus are reasonable, and it is
therefore an easy matter for belated passengers to reach home.
The new theatre, which will soon adorn the city in place of that
which was burned down last year, should form a handsome addition
to the architecture of San Salvador. The Municipality very wisely
invited competition for erecting and designing the building, which
is to have a seating capacity of some 1,200. The structure is to
be equipped with the latest improvements and appliances, and will
be made as fireproof and as earthquake-proof as modern science can
effect. The cost will be between 800,000 and 1,200,000 francs,
or, say, £32,000 and £48,000. All construction materials are to
be imported free of duty, which should lessen the cost immensely.
Two prizes were offered, of 800 francs (£32) and 400 francs (£16)
respectively, for the best plans, and when the last day for sending
these, in--namely, March 15, 1911--had passed, the judges had
several handsome designs to choose from.
In the month of March last the number of competitive plans which
were sent in to the Department of Fomento for the new National
Theatre in the capital amounted to thirteen, of which three came
from Paris, one from New Orleans, one from Canada, four from San
Salvador, one from Monaco, one from Italy, and others from New York.
The whole of the designs were exhibited in a public gallery.
While one may admit freely that the hotels in Salvador are conducted
for the most part upon infinitely better lines than are those in
the neighbouring Republic of Guatemala--which, indeed, may be
pronounced, without undue harshness, as possessing about the worst
in Central America--the Salvadorean hostelries are not as yet
absolutely perfect. In this regard, however, it is only fair to
remember the extreme difficulties which the proprietors are called
upon to face. The servant problem is, perhaps, the hardest of all,
and there is hardly one, among the many hotel managers of various
nationalities with whom I discussed matters, but who confessed to me
that he was weary to death of his efforts to conduct his business
with the aid of native domestics. I have myself upon different
occasions been witness to the curiously perverse nature of some of
these servants; when, like others, I have been travelling through or
resident in the interior of the country, I have likewise observed
their spirit of robust independence.
Where the cost of living is so low, and the question of supply
and demand in regard to domestic service is so overwhelmingly in
favour of the latter, anything like efficient service is practically
impossible to find. The domestic servants in Salvador are recruited
almost entirely from among the Indians; and while these latter are
by no means lacking in intelligence, and can by kind treatment be
won to some degree of fidelity, they are naturally slow, and even
indolent, while an extreme sensitiveness and spirit of resentment
at once asserts itself should blame or abuse be offered by the
employer. Under such circumstances, or even for less provocation,
the domestic will forthwith take leave, and even forfeit the few
shillings in wages that may be due. Usually, however, the wages
question is in favour of the servant, since payment has probably
been anticipated, and the domestic is the debtor, and not the
creditor, of the master. This hold, therefore, is a somewhat feeble
one to depend upon, and in nine cases out of ten fails to apply.
There are a number of European and native families who possess
the traditional "treasure" in the person of an old and faithful
retainer; but not infrequently the history of such "treasure," when
probed, shows that the employer is over-indulgent, being fearful of
losing the much-prized services of the domestic in question, permits
all kinds of privileges, and submits to all sorts of exactions,
in order to preserve peace in the household. Perhaps it may be
good policy to do so; but I have witnessed instances of downright
tyranny upon the part of some native servants--not by any means
confined to Salvador--which, in my opinion at least, could never
have been warranted, and never should have been condoned, no matter
how valuable the services rendered may have been. The absolute
helplessness of the lady of the house may be accepted as some
excuse, but peace may be purchased at too high a price, and in the
instances which I have in mind I fancy such was the case. But, then,
I was not personally concerned in the results, and therefore my
judgment may be at fault, and even regarded as valueless.
Salvador seems to be a particularly favourite visiting-place with
itinerant theatrical companies. All the year round, practically, a
theatrical troupe of some kind may be found touring the country,
which is usually included, with Guatemala, Panama, and Costa Rica,
in the "Central American" road programme. As a general rule,
however, the companies are of a somewhat indifferent quality--poor
Italians and Spaniards, whose precarious existence often excites
commiseration from even the hard-hearted. It is pitiable to see
them upon occasions moving from State to State and from town to
town--lean, hungry, dirty, and depressed in spirits, as they well
may be; women and children, many of the latter being born on the
road, having to undergo very great physical privations and serious
personal inconveniences. The men, probably more habituated to the
roughness of life, mostly accept their hard lot with philosophy and
resignation; but it is cruelly severe upon the women and little
children. The public of Salvador are somewhat capricious in their
support of the different theatrical companies, and at times the
playhouses are practically empty, and even the cheaper portions
deserted.
It was in the month of January, 1910, that the City of San Salvador
lost its handsome Teatro Nacional through fire--a disaster which
was caused, it being charged, by incendiarism, although this has
never been proved. There is at present but one other place of
entertainment--El Teatro Moderno, belonging to the same proprietary,
and which is but a large-sized barn, capable of accommodating at
the most some 200 people. It was used originally for cinematograph
exhibitions, which, by-the-by, with all Latin-Americans would seem
to be a very popular and profitable form of entertainment. The place
is structurally fit for no other sort of performance, but is now
perforce being utilized for dramatic and musical representations.
In few cities of its size will be found a larger number of Societies
than San Salvador possesses, these associations being representative
not only of various classes of organized labour, but of literature,
music, art, religion, science, and even insurance. Among those
which have their headquarters in the Capital are--"Sociedad Unión
Nacional de Amigos," "Sociedad Estudiantil Minerva," "Sociedad
Carlos F. Dárdano," "Sociedad de Medicina Emilio Alvarez," "Academia
de Ciencias, Letras y Artes de El Salvador," "Sociedad Pedagógica
Francisco Menéndez," "Sociedad de Artesanos La Concordia," "Sociedad
de Obreros Gerado Barrios," "Sociedad La Buena Prensa," "Sociedad
de Artesanos del Salvador," "Sociedad Co-operativa El Ahorro,"
"Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura," "Logia Masónica."
The Provinces have also their respective associations, many
possessing a long and influential subscription list; among the most
prominent may be mentioned: "Sociedad de Obreros" and "Sociedad
literaria José Cecilio del Valle," both having their headquarters
in Santa Ana; "Sociedad de Obreros El Porvenir," in Santa Tecla;
"Sociedad de Obreros Rafael Campo," at Sonsonate; "Club Unionista,"
at Ahuachapán; "Sociedad de Obreros" and "Logia Masónica," at
Cojutepeque; "Sociedad de Obreros," at Sensuntapeque; and "Sociedad
La Protección," at Zacatecoluca.
Tho principal educational establishments of the Republic are
located in the Capital, and comprise the National University, of
which Dr. Hermógenes Alvarado is the Deacon and Dr. Adrián García is
the Secretary; the National Institute, of which Dr. Darío González
is the Director; the National Library, of which Don Francisco
Gavidia is the Director; and the Municipal Library, of which Dr.
Don José Dols Corpeño is the Director. There are in addition the
Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, directed by Dr.
Santiago I. Barberena, and the Museum and Botanical Gardens, both
under the direction of Dr. David J. Guzmán.
Among the many excellent charitable institutions of which the
Capital is possessed are the Orphans' Asylum, directed by Don
Francisco Escobar; the Sara Asylum, directed by Dr. Alfonso
Quiñónez; the Orphans' Hospital, which is under the same control as
the Asylum of that name; and the well-known Hospital Rosales, which
is controlled by a number of the most eminent medical men in the
Republic. It is an admirably-managed institution, and has effected a
great deal of sound charity since its inauguration some years ago.
A great amount of unobtrusive but sound charity and benevolence
are practised in Salvador. The people as a whole are, perhaps,
not very wealthy in the accepted sense of the word, and there are
probably few great family fortunes to be found there; while I was
never fortunate enough to come across a full-blown millionaire--at
all events, considered in sterling money. On the other hand, there
are many very well-to-do families, many handsome privately-owned
properties, and several highly-prosperous businesses, especially
among the coffee and sugar planters. No doubt in the halcyon days
of the indigo industry Salvador could boast of many very opulent
residents; but with the invention of the aniline dyes much of
this indigo wealth passed away. The wide diffusion of charity and
benevolence is, therefore, all the more noteworthy and all the more
commendable.
Most of the charitable institutions are not alone the creation,
but remain the special care, of the Government, and successive
Presidents have very properly devoted both their personal attention
and the country's funds to the maintenance of these institutions.
The charge of these charities is in the hands of the Minister of
Education, Public Works and Benevolence. I visited several of the
hospitals during my stay in the country, and I was pleasurably
impressed with their generally cheerful and always cleanly
appearance.
The foremost institution of this kind is the magnificent building
presented, with its entire equipment, to the nation by the late Don
José Rosáles, a distinguished and very wealthy Salvadorean, who not
only sustained the hospital during his lifetime, but bequeathed to
its funds no less than $4,000,000. The institution bears the name of
its generous founder, and it is admirably conducted in every way.
A large staff of competent physicians and a full body of male and
female nurses are always maintained, and as a rule the hospital is
very well patronized, the kindness and the skill of the authorities
having obtained a wide notoriety. The Rosáles is, however, but one
of several similar institutions, the Government having of late
years added similar necessary buildings to the towns of Santa Ana,
Sonsonate, Ahuachapán, Santa Tecla, Zacatecoluca, San Vicente, San
Miguel, Alegria, Chalatenango and La Unión. It is difficult to speak
too highly of the thoroughly efficient manner in which most of
these establishments are maintained; and among the many patients
whom I saw, and with whom I conversed, I met with not one who had
anything but praise and gratitude to express for the benefits which
had been received.
As an evidence of the use to which these institutions are put, I am
able to say that during the year of 1892 some 3,198 patients were
treated, of whom 2,798 were discharged completely cured, 203 died,
and the rest remained under treatment. The total amount expended in
this year was a little over $81,000. Including all of the hospitals
established throughout the country, there are annually admitted and
treated about 8,000 patients, of whom an average of 8 per cent. die.
This cannot be considered a high rate of mortality, considering the
climate and the many tropical diseases which have to be treated.
In the vicinity of San Salvador, upon a beautifully-situated
and very healthful spot, has been established a tuberculosis
Sanatorium. Here the open-air treatment is employed in conformity
with the latest recognized therapeutic and hygienic methods for
the alleviation and cure of consumption, which, as in Mexico, is
unfortunately a common complaint. The expenses of this Sanatorium
are met by appropriations by the Federal and Municipal authorities;
by contributions from industrial companies, which are usually
very open-handed in such matters; and by voluntary donations from
benevolent people and institutions. A library is maintained for
the use of the patients, and all possible measures are employed,
to mitigate the sad condition of resident invalids. So far,
I understand, the Sanatorium is free from debt, and it is so
excellently managed an institution, and is productive of so much
real good, that it is sincerely to be hoped that it may remain so.
How admirable have been the attempts made, and how successful the
results achieved, to overcome the ravages of tuberculosis, are
best shown by the following comparative statistics, which give the
figures for Spanish-American towns:
Mortality per
American Towns. 10,000 Inhabitants.
Lima (Peru) 62·1
Carácas (Venezuela) 60·0
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 38·0
Santiago (Chile) 38·0
Havana (Cuba) 32·7
Montevideo (Uruguay) 16·0
Buenos Aires (Argentina) 14·2
Mexico City (Mexico) 14·0
San Salvador (Salvador) 13·7
That Salvador should have the smallest number of deaths among
all these Republics is a triumph for the medical faculty and for
the Government, which have conjointly done so much towards the
improvement of conditions.
Many of the sanitary and clinical institutions in the Republic have
medical schools or classes attached, and such are naturally much
better equipped with special departments for the eye, ear, nose,
throat and skin diseases. Fever hospitals are carefully segregated,
and are most carefully controlled, with the idea of avoiding any
epidemic breaking out. Many of the attendant physicians have studied
in Europe and the United States.
[Illustration: NEW NATIONAL PALACE AT SAN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: THEATRE AT SANTA ANA, DEPARTMENT OF SANTA ANA.]
The Superior Council of Health, of which Don Tomás G. Palomo is
President, has rendered important services during the last two
years. The Government is continually encouraging authorities to
persevere with their sanitary measures and to compel the public
to follow the instructions periodically issued by the Superior
Council, and to fulfil the rules laid down by the Code of Laws
relating to health. In his report for the year 1907, the President
of the Council has said: "In proportion as the sphere of action of
the Council widens, so has its beneficial influence been remarked,
especially in some places of the Republic, where formerly only
the most rudimentary laws of hygiene were known. Already a large
majority of the municipal authorities are showing some aptitude in
ameliorating the sanitary conditions of their respective localities,
and if things continue thus we shall soon arrive at the complete
banishment of endemic maladies from certain districts of the
Republic."
In Salvador a pernicious kind of malaria is the predominating
disease, and shows itself in different phases and manifestations.
The Council has recommended several measures to minimize its
effects; but the result achieved does not altogether correspond to
the efforts of the authorities, because, besides the heavy expenses
of the sanitation works in many parts of the country, the majority
of the people are opposed to all hygienic measures, and through
poverty are condemned to live in small dwellings, which are badly
ventilated and damp, and consequently unhealthy.
In the Capital, at the beginning of the year 1907, and at the time
of the mobilization of the Army, several cases of cerebro-spinal
meningitis presented themselves. Those soldiers who were afflicted
were isolated during the march, first in a ward of the Rosalés
Hospital, and afterwards in the Military Sanatorium. This measure
and others that the Council promptly ordered prevented any
development of the epidemic. In the same manner four cases of
diphtheria presented themselves, and altogether, through different
diseases, 1,598 deaths took place in San Salvador in that year. In
the same period it recorded 2,147 births, giving as a net result an
increase in population of 549 inhabitants.
Cerebro-spinal meningitis also showed itself in Santa Ana and at
San Pedro Nonualco, but the malady did not assume the character of
a real epidemic. During the year 1908 a few cases of meningitis of
a marked epidemic character were observed, but the efforts of the
Council secured the mastery over the disease. Unfortunately, at the
end of the year 1909 smallpox broke out in the west of the Republic,
principally in the Department of Santa Ana.
The Council of Health immediately sent out the Director-General of
Vaccination to the above-named Department with the necessary means
to combat the smallpox. The disease spread, however, and continued
to show itself in different parts of the country, so that the
Council was obliged to arrange for the establishment of _lazarettos_
in Santa Ana, Candelaria, and Santiago de la Frontera, and also to
nominate various travelling vaccinators for each of the Departments,
at the same time insisting upon sanitary cordons, and, in fact,
taking all the measures that the imminent peril demanded. There have
been places quite immune, and in the Capital not more than five
cases appeared, all of which were immediately isolated.
The Supreme Council of the Red Cross has upon all occasions
collaborated in this campaign against disease, effective measures
being undertaken by the authorities against the terrible malady, and
greatly facilitating the furnishing of the necessary funds.
The General Direction of Vaccination has its seat in the Capital,
and is directed by Dr. Rodolfo B. González. In connection with the
Rosáles Hospital an Institution of Vaccination has been established,
which is under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Barón. In normal times
as many as a thousand tubes of vaccine are prepared monthly. The
Institute of Vaccination in San Salvador, I may mention, is the
first that has been established in Central America.
The Council, notwithstanding the fact that it receives a large
quantity of calf lymph, imports every fortnight further supplies of
lymph from France and Switzerland, as a provision against the home
supply becoming exhausted through any unforeseen circumstance. In
the year 1907 there were vaccinated in the Capital alone 1,597 men
and 973 women, while in the Departments there were 4,667 men and
4,295 women, or a total of 11,532 vaccinated in this one year.
If to these numbers are added 1,000 vaccinated by the Travelling
Vaccinator of the Department of La Libertad, a total of 12,532 was
reached--a figure which will be increased to at least 18,000 if is
taken into account the fact that in many of the outlying districts
the number of inoculations which were made by special vaccinators
have not been accounted for.
In the year 1908 the number of cases was doubled, so it appears
that in all the Republic more than 40,000 persons were vaccinated
in one year. In the first months of 1910, in which vaccination was
enforced with some severity, even in the most remote hamlets, the
majority of the inhabitants were vaccinated and revaccinated. In
the ports, into which epidemic diseases are more easily introduced
by foreign vessels arriving from different infected ports, the
Council has under its control several competent medical officers,
who examine with the most scrupulous exactness all the steamers, and
even the small boats, which arrive. By this means, up till now the
much-dreaded yellow fever and bubonic plague, which have attacked
many ports of South America, have not reached Salvador.
Apart from the Hospitals, there are several Asylums for the
Insane, the Blind and Orphans of both sexes. The inmates receive
a thoroughly sound normal or primary education, being taught also
carpentry, shoemaking, needlework, and many other useful occupations
and trades. Those who desire to study music or electric telegraphy
as a profession are permitted, and even encouraged, to do so. These
institutions in some cases are under the management of Sisters of
Charity, and very well they seem to carry out their merciful duties.
The Government supports also an Asylum for the Aged Poor, and a
similar institution for orphans, in addition to those which already
exist.
One of the most prominent members of the Salvadorean medical
profession is Dr. Federico Yúdice, who enjoys an unusually large
surgical practice. Dr. Yúdice has studied in Germany, and holds
the highest diplomas of the German Faculty of Medicine, as well
as in the United States, from which country he also received the
most coveted diplomas in the profession. His consulting-rooms
are frequently well filled, and his surgery and operating-room
are replete with the latest improved surgical apparatus and
equipment--in some cases more replete in the possession of such
scientific inventions than some of the hospitals of Europe. Although
quite a young man, Dr. Yúdice is considered one of the leading
physicians of San Salvador, and undoubtedly he has an exceptionally
brilliant career before him.
Due to the initiative of Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, the President,
an important and representative Congress of Medical Scientists
will assemble in San Salvador in November of this year. Dr. Tomás
G. Palomo will be the President of the Congress, Dr. Benjamin
Orozco the Vice-President. Among others who will take part in
the deliberations are--Dr. José Llerena, Jerónimo Puente, J. Max
Olano, Estanislao Van Severen, Enrique Gonzalez S., an eminent
surgeon-dentist, and Gustavo S. Barón, who will act as treasurer.
Dr. Pedro A. Villacorta, Dr. Miguel Peralta L., and Dr. Rafael V.
Castro, will act as joint secretaries.
The ready hospitality which is extended to the stranger sojourning
for no matter how short a while in Salvador renders existence there
exceptionally agreeable. While, like most Latin-Americans, far from
being effusive or indiscriminate in either their friendship or their
offers of social entertainment, the Salvadoreans are always pleased
to show courtesy and hospitality to those who are recommended or
presented to them, and to these fortunate individuals nothing is
denied in the way of attention and consideration. San Salvador
is especially kind to its foreign visitors, and to all who bear
introductions, or who make friends upon their own account, the doors
of the Casino Salvadoreño are readily open, this being a club which
is well provided with most of the current literature, some of which
is in English, and possesses many pleasant reading and writing
rooms, as well as the usual complement of French billiard-tables.
It is an orderly and well-managed establishment, and most of the
better-class Salvadoreans belong to it. A good, although small,
library is attached, and this contains some valuable collections of
statistical volumes and several works of reference.
San Salvador has been peculiarly unfortunate in regard to the number
of serious conflagrations which have at various times afflicted
that city, and within the last ten or eleven years no fewer than
five such disasters have overtaken it. In the month of November,
1889, the Palacio Nacional was completely destroyed by fire, and,
unfortunately, many valuable archives, dating back into the early
times of the Spaniards, when Salvador was still a colony, as well as
a large number of documents relating to the Federation, were lost.
In 1900 a second fire destroyed a large area in the city, wherein
were situated many of the principal mercantile houses. In September,
1901, a third visitation of this kind destroyed the handsome
building of La Mansión de la Presidencia, as well as the barracks
of La Guardia de Honor. In 1903 fire destroyed the entire building
of the Casino Salvadoreño; and in March, 1908, the handsome Zapote
Barracks were seriously burned; while, as recorded elsewhere, in
1910 the Teatro Nacional, and nearly the whole block of buildings of
which it formed part, was entirely gutted.
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF SONSONATE, DEPARTMENT OF SONSONATE.]
Like most of the Latin-American cities, San Salvador contains many
very handsome and appropriate monuments erected to the memory of
its brave sons and distinguished citizens. Among these are the
tasteful statues dedicated to the memory of Dr. Emilio Alvarez, a
Colombian physician who rendered eminent services to his adopted
country; another forms a tribute to General Gerardo Barrios, one of
Salvador's greatest soldiers and patriots, and a third, a very
fine work, is an equestrian statue of General Morazán, in the park
which bears his name. The monument of General Barrios is also an
equestrian statue, the General being shown seated upon a magnificent
granite column of heroic proportions.
CHAPTER XX
Department of Chalatenango--Rich agricultural territories--Annual
fair--Generally prosperous conditions--Department of
Cuscatlán--City of Cojutepeque--Industries--Cigar factories--
Volcanoes--Lake of Cojutepeque--Department of Cabañas--Scenic
features--Feast of Santa Barbara--Department of San Vicente--
Public buildings and roads.
DEPARTMENT OF CHALATENANGO.
_City._--Chalatenango (1).
_Towns._--Tejutla, San Ignacio, San Francisco, Morazán, San Rafael,
and Citalá (6).
Fully two-thirds of this portion of the country consist of mountain
ranges, with long timber-covered spurs, very beautiful to the eye,
running from their bases in every direction. The Department is
bounded on the north by the Republic of Honduras; on the east by the
same Republic and the Department of Cabañas; on the south by the
Departments of Cabañas, Cuscatlán, San Salvador, and La Libertad;
and on the west by Santa Ana. The rich agricultural valley of the
Lempa runs partly through this section, and many of the tributaries
of that river water its ground. Immense tracts of agricultural
territory are seen, upon which are grown successive crops of indigo,
corn, rice, wheat, and beans. The several lofty chimneys which are
observed to be dotting the country for miles around point to the
active manufacturing that goes on. These establishments comprise
distilleries, potteries, candle, cheese, and turpentine factories;
while a large commerce is also done by treating a kind of wax
obtained from boiling the fruit of a certain shrub which grows
wild in this country and in great abundance. Here, as in most of
the parts of Salvador, general prosperity prevails; one encounters
hardly any very poor persons, either in the streets or begging upon
the roadsides.
The chief city of this Department bears the same name, and it lies
to the south-east of the lofty mountains of La Peña and on the
rivers Tamulasca and Colco. The elevation above sea-level is about
1,660 feet, while the distance from the Capital is a little over
forty-five miles north-east. I should say that Chalatenango is about
the oldest native town in Salvador, and only in 1791 did foreigners
and white natives commence to frequent it to any extent--these,
it would seem, being sent there by the then Spanish Governor as a
sort of punishment or exile. It would certainly be no punishment
to abide there nowadays for a short while, since the surrounding
country is remarkably beautiful, the people are very friendly and
hospitable, and living there is absurdly cheap, judged from European
standards. The population scarcely exceeds 6,000, and the whole of
the Department probably boasts of no more than 54,000 or 55,000
inhabitants.
It is at Chalatenango that is held annually on June 24, St. John
the Baptist's Day, the most important and most popular Fair of the
year. Upon this occasion the true native life of Salvadoreans, the
quaint and picturesque costumes, and many articles of barter which
never see the light at any other time, may be met with. Anyone
travelling in Salvador at this period may be recommended to visit
Chalatenango, if only to witness this annual gathering, which is
attended by people of every class from all parts of the Republic.
A more orderly or a happier crowd it would be difficult to meet
with, and, what is more to the point, they form a particularly
clean-looking crowd. The fact is that St. John the Baptist's Day
is the one day upon which every devout Catholic makes a point of
having a bath--if at no other period of the year--and this may
possibly have something to do with it. If it were of Mexico that I
was writing instead of Salvador, I should say that this circumstance
might possibly have _everything_ to do with it.
DEPARTMENT OF CUSCATLÁN.
_Cities._--Cojutepeque, Suchitoto (2).
_Towns._--San Pedro Perulapán, Tenancingo, San Rafael, and Guyabal
(4).
At one time this Department was the largest, or one of the largest,
in Salvador; but successive rearrangements of the area of the
Department for political purposes have robbed it of much of its
original territory. It was established as a separate entity in May,
1855, before which it was made up of a great deal of land which now
belongs to Chalatenango. Again, in 1875 it was forced to contribute
a portion of its diminished possessions in order to form the new
Department of Cabañas. However, Cuscatlán did not part with either
of its two pet volcanoes--Cojutepeque and Guazapa--nor was it ever
asked to do so.
Bordering this section are the Departments of Cabañas and
Chalatenango on the north, Cabañas and San Vicente on the east, San
Vicente and La Paz on the south, and San Salvador on the west. Most
of its territory is richly productive, agriculture being carried
on by practically the whole population in some form or other, and
fine crops of coffee, sugar, indigo, rice, tobacco, cereals, and
such products as starch and cheese, come out of Cuscatlán, and find
their diverse ways about the country. A great gathering is held
annually in the chief city, Cojutepeque, on St. John's Day (_not_
the Baptist), August 29, while the other city, Suchitoto, has its
own particular gala-day on the Feast of the Conception, December
8, a good deal of friendly rivalry existing between the merchants
and traders of each town. Buyers and manufacturers come to these
meetings from all over the Republic, and very extensive are the
transactions carried out in cattle, cheese, indigo, native products,
and many kinds of foreign merchandise.
Cojutepeque, which is connected by road to Ilobasco and
Sensuntepeque, is an extremely romantic-looking, and as
picturesquely-situated, city, with a population of between 8,000
and 9,000 inhabitants. It lies upon the northern slope of the
volcano of the same name, not very far from the summit. Although
the situation is from a climatic point of view very agreeable, it
somewhat interferes with the success of the water-supply to the
town. The surrounding country is agricultural, and the markets bear
sufficient testimony to the great variety and high-class character
of the produce which is raised. Cigar-making is one of the most
important trades carried on in the town, and the excellent quality
and the delightful aroma of Cojutepeque cigars are known and
appreciated all through Central America. One of the factories which
I visited was managed and owned entirely by a lady and her family,
all of good birth and sound education. Their factory was a model of
cleanliness and orderliness, and many of the employés had been with
the proprietors for a great number of years.
An exceedingly comfortable and well-maintained hotel at Cojutepeque
is that known as La América, kept by Señor Diaz, and whereat the
guests are made to feel completely "at home." Señor Diaz is one
of the good old-fashioned "Boniface" type of landlord, for, in
conjunction with his charming wife and daughter and his young son,
Cayetano, he personally looks after each individual who patronizes
his establishment, consulting each taste and idiosyncrasy, and
carefully pandering thereto. The rooms in the Hotel América are
exceptionally large and airy, while all meals are served to the
guests in a delightful open _patio_, completely surrounded by
masses of tropical bloom--great clustering rose-bushes, clematis,
and honeysuckle, towering palms and sweet-scented orange-blossom--a
veritable fairyland of colour and perfume.
The town is not only well built, but is conveniently arranged in
spite of the decided irregularity of the streets, caused by the
slope of the volcano upon which they are built. On three different
occasions Cojutepeque has been made the Capital of the Republic, and
upon one occasion--viz., November 6, 1857--it was very seriously
damaged by earthquake. The three active volcanoes of San Salvador,
San Jacinto, and Cojutepeque, have all contributed in their time to
alarming and damaging the city. The last-named volcano is 3,351 feet
in height, and is located in latitude 13° 42' 22" N., and longitude
88° 56' 26" W.
Lake Cojutepeque ranks second in importance as to size and scenic
beauty to Lake Ilopango; it lies north-east of the volcano of Santa
Ana, and is of a roughly elliptical shape, about four miles long and
three miles wide, the major axis having a direction about north-east
and south-west. This lake has no visible outlet, and its waters,
although somewhat impregnated with salts, can be used for drinking
without any danger. To every outward appearance the lake gives
the impression that it had once been the crater of the attendant
volcano, lying as it does upon its northern slope. This is more
apparent from a distant view of the entire mass of the Santa Ana
volcano, such as can be obtained from the summit of the neighbouring
volcano, San Salvador. The present peak of Santa Ana from this
position seems to have been built up from the rim of the ancient
crater, which is now occupied by the lake.
General Juan Amaya, Governor of the State of Cuscatlán, has worked
very zealously, and with conspicuous success, to make it one of
the most progressive of the various political Departments of the
Republic. Under his direction, and with the active support of
General Figueroa while President, new and handsome roadways have
been made, pure water and free public baths have been introduced;
the whole Department now presents the appearance of being under a
highly intelligent and enterprising Government. General Juan Amaya
was elected last May (1911), under the authority of Article 68 of
the Constitution, Third Designate to succeed to the Presidency in
case of a vacancy occurring during the present term (_see_ p. 38).
DEPARTMENT OF CABAÑAS.
_Cities._--Sensuntepeque, Ilobasco (2).
_Towns._--Victoria, Dolores, San Isidro, Jutiapa, Tejutepeque (5).
This Department is principally of interest on account of the gold
(see Chapter on Mining) which has been found, as well as the
prosperous industry in indigo which is carried on there. It is
bounded on the north and north-east by the Republic of Honduras,
on the east by the Department of San Miguel, on the south by the
Departments of San Vicente and Cuscatlán, and on the west by the
last named only. The greater portion of the territory consists of
mountains, which take the form of lofty ranges and chains, giving
a wild and picturesque character to the country, and in parts
even a somewhat forlorn appearance. Particularly desolate are the
eastern and northern parts of the Department, which, however, can
boast in other directions of many beautiful and fertile valleys,
which produce in abundance such crops as indigo, rice, corn, and
several other kinds of grain. In regard to manufactures, there are
earthenware, lime, cheese, and other factories, as well as one or
two distilleries. A very active commerce is carried on; and here, as
elsewhere in the Republic, the greatest day out of the twelve months
is the one kept for the annual Fair, whereat one meets a veritable
"gathering of the clans," the number of Indians who attend, for
instance, lending great interest to the meeting. The rendezvous is
at Sensuntepeque, and the date selected is the day devoted to Santa
Barbara--namely, December 4. The Saint, as may be remembered, was a
Christian Martyr of the third century, and the patron of artillery.
She was beheaded by her father, who is said to have been struck
dead by lightning immediately after the act, which was but poetic
justice. Why the misfortunes of this young lady, however, should
particularly appeal to the good people of Sensuntepeque I could not
find out. But she always has been and remains their patron Saint.
Sensuntepeque is joined up with Cojutepeque by a well-constructed
cart-road, which likewise serves Ilobasco. Another equally good
road runs from Sensuntepeque to Apastepeque, in the Department
of San Vicente; and these thoroughfares are kept in a good state
of maintenance, especially in preparation for the heavy rainy
season, when otherwise they would become impassable, and internal
communication would be practically at a standstill.
The city of Sensuntepeque is situated, as are so many other
Salvadorean towns, on a mountain slope, in this case the location
being on the southern declivity of the mountain Pelón, and at
an elevation of some 2,310 feet above the level of the sea. It
is located about fifty-seven miles distant north-east from the
Capital. A decidedly picturesque little place it is, but one which
contains, all the same, over 10,000 inhabitants, the majority of
whom are concerned in the cultivation or treatment of indigo. The
city has many handsome edifices--such, for instance, as the fine
Town Hall, several Government school buildings, a prison (which, is
a model institution of its kind), and several handsome churches.
Additionally there are a very attractive _parque_, beautifully
laid out with plants and green grass-plots; a capital public
bathing-place; and a number of attractive private residences,
solidly built, and faced with either stucco or tiles.
Very few foreigners seem to find their way to this place, which
is to be regretted; for not alone would they be made to feel very
welcome, the people being particularly friendly and hospitably
inclined, but the climate has a most exhilarating effect, and for
the greater portion of the year it is nothing less than delightful.
Very little poverty seems to exist here, and, from what I heard
and saw, it seems that practically every member of a family in
Sensuntepeque is employed regularly and remuneratively in some kind
of manner.
DEPARTMENT OF SAN VICENTE.
It would be no exaggeration to describe this Department as
scenically the most beautiful in the Republic of Salvador. It
affords almost every style of scenery--high mountains, towering
volcanoes, delightful valleys, and a perfectly astounding collection
of hot springs, or _infiernillos_. The Department is bounded on the
north by the Department of Cabañas, on the east by the Departments
of San Miguel and Usulután, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and
on the west by the Departments of La Paz and Cuscatlán. One of the
highest mountains--needless to say it is a volcano--is situated
here, and bears the name of the Saint who founded the Society of
the Lazarists and the Sisterhood of Charity. This most imposing
mountain has a double cone, which towers very gracefully above the
numerous attendant hills. It was last known to erupt in 1643, but it
looks capable of a repetition of the performance in all its grandeur
at any time. In height it stands 7,131 feet, and its approximate
position is given at 13° 35' 24" N. latitude, and 88° 50' 31" W.
longitude.
[Illustration: PUBLIC PARK AT COJUTEPEQUE, DEPARTMENT OF CUSCATLÁN.]
[Illustration: BARRACKS AT COJUTEPEQUE, DEPARTMENT OF CUSCATLÁN.]
I first caught a glimpse of the majestic mountain while staying at
Cojutepeque, but it was then a long way distant. There are two other
volcanoes, Chichontepec and Siguatepeque--the former the highest
mountain in the Republic--but they are pronounced to be extinct.
The summit of this monster is 8,661 feet above the level of the
sea, and it is notable for the number of active geysers which exist
on the northern slope, and which continually send out volumes of
steam accompanied by terrifying but apparently harmless terrestrial
rumblings, which can be distinctly heard as far away as three or
four miles. But the mountain is quite unoffending, I understand, the
said geysers proving the safety-valves for its occasional internal
disturbances.
San Vicente was created a Department in 1836, and its territory
embraces a portion of what formerly formed one of the "territorial
divisions" of the country existing under Spanish rule, while
the eastern portion was originally part of Cabañas. The amount
of commerce which is carried on is considerable, and during the
past few years has made decided strides in actual volume. Besides
supplying a large amount of agricultural produce, such as indigo,
coffee, sugar, tobacco, timber, cereals, and all kinds of fruits,
there are several manufactories which turn out silk shawls, shoes,
hats, starch, salt, and cigars, as well as sundry distilleries.
The annual Fair is held here on All Saints' Day--namely, November
1--and the city is then very gay from morning to night. Upon
this occasion the transactions carried out between the permanent
residents and the visitors run into high figures, quantities of
local produce and merchandise being bought and sold, the articles
of trade consisting mainly of indigo, cheese, cattle, grain, and the
retailing of certain foreign goods.
The principal city, San Vicente, is a very picturesque and
romantic-looking town, one of the oldest, if not quite the most
ancient, in this part of the country, dating as a city as far
back as 1658, while it was founded as a town in 1634. To-day,
however, the streets have been straightened-out and well paved,
while a number of very pleasant suburbs, each with its gardens and
avenues of trees, lend additional attractiveness as one approaches
the place from the main-road. There are a number of excellent
buildings already erected, and several others of altogether imposing
dimensions and structural pretensions were going up when I visited
the town.
It has long been the desire of the Government to unite San Vicente
with San Salvador by railroad, and the line would run via San
Miguel, the second city in the Republic, and La Unión, its finest
seaport, thus securing also an all-rail route between Acajutla,
the most important western port, and La Unión, on the extreme east
of the Gulf of Fonseca. The survey was made many years ago, and
the line has been proved to be a practicable one, although the
work would no doubt be heavy and costly, since much grading, heavy
protective masonry, and many bridges, would have to be undertaken.
The distance would be about 67·9 kilometres (42·2 miles) between
San Salvador and San Vicente by this line of railway, and the cost
of the line has been estimated at not less than $2,157,433 (say
£431,486), or an average of $51,124 (=£10,225) per mile. The maximum
grade in this location would be 2·8 per cent., and the sharpest
curves 41 degrees (radius 410·3 feet or 125·1 millimetres).
CHAPTER XXI
Department of La Libertad--Physical characteristics--Balsam
Coast--Santa Tecla--Department of Sonsonate--Life and
hotels--Department of Ahuachapán--City of Ahuachapán--Public
buildings and baths--Projected railway extension--Department of
Santa Ana--Chief city--Generally prosperous conditions.
DEPARTMENT OF LA LIBERTAD.
_Cities._--Santa Tecla, Opico (2).
_Towns._---La Libertad, Teotepeque, Quezaltepeque (3).
This Department, ranks second in importance to San Salvador,
although its population is less than that of either the Departments,
of Santa Ana, of Cuscatlán, or of San Miguel. It is joined by
excellently-made cart-roads to both the Capital and to San Vicente.
As far back as 1896, Mr. J. Imbrie Miller, an American engineer,
formerly a member of the Intercontinental Railway Commission, was
engaged in surveying a light line of railway from La Libertad
to Santa Tecla. Some years later another American, Lieutenant
Kennon, proceeded there to take observations for connecting the
triangulation with the astronomical monument established there by
the United States Hydrographic Office.
The boundaries of this Department are as follows: On the north, the
Department of Chalatenango; on the east, San Salvador and La Paz;
on the south, the Pacific Ocean; on the west, the Departments of
Sonsonate and Santa Ana. The physical features of this part of the
Republic are remarkable. The central portion of the Department is
very mountainous, being crossed from east to west by the coastal
range of mountains and the system of the volcano of Quezaltepeque.
The surface of the ground is considerably broken up by a great
number of well-defined spurs, which extend from the mountain range
to the very borders of the ocean itself. To the west of the volcano
is situated an immense basin known as Sapotitau. The northern
portion is traversed by lofty ridges between which are found a
number of beautifully fertile plains.
Fortunately for the good people of La Libertad, the giant volcano
Quezaltepeque has long ceased to trouble them, and, indeed, it
is said to be extinct; it is, however, never safe to speak too
confidently upon this matter, since Nature has a rude manner of
disillusioning us at times. This particular volcano, it may be said,
has been quiescent so long that for many years it has been regarded
as quite harmless. It stands nearly 7,400 feet high above sea-level,
the upper part forming a cone occupied by a crater which is between
seven and eight miles in circumference, and 1,100 feet deep; at the
bottom lies a small lake.
It is in this Department that is located the famous Balsam Coast,
and as I speak very fully elsewhere (see Chapter XVII.) of the
valuable tree which grows there, with its usefulness to the country
as a means of substantial revenue, it is unnecessary to do more than
mention that the valleys where the trees are found are extremely
fertile; and besides yielding the particular spice in question,
they produce rich harvests of coffee, sugar, indigo, corn, rice,
and timber. Here are to be found additionally several successful
sugar refineries and distilleries, as well as some sawmills and many
prosperous coffee estates with their rather antiquated machinery
installations. In fact, the commerce of La Libertad is of prime
importance, and is increasing in volume and value year by year.
The capital of the Department is Santa Tecla (New San Salvador), a
town which is most agreeably situated at the foot of the volcano of
San Salvador, where it nestles snugly, absolutely indifferent to
the violent reputation of its gigantic guardian. The height above
sea-level of this charming little place is 2,643 feet, and it is
only ten miles distant from the Capital City. It really owes its
existence to the misfortunes which overtook the former some half a
century ago, and to-day it is one of the most favourite places of
residence in the Republic. Wide and handsome streets and many fine
residences are the principal features of Santa Tecla, which likewise
boasts of a large and well-laid-out _parque_, several handsome
drives, and its own pleasant little suburbs. Notable among its
buildings are the Hospital, the Town Hall, the Government Offices,
the Hospicio Guirola, built at his own expense by the late Don Angel
Guirola, one of Salvador's most esteemed and wealthiest citizens,
and two fine churches. The population amounts to between 11,000 and
11,500, and easy connection is made with San Salvador by regular
trains, which have now taken the place of an old horse-railroad. The
street lighting in the town of Santa Tecla is carried out by private
enterprise, and it is very well done. In the month of March, 1907,
an agreement was entered into between the Government and La Compañia
de Alumbrado Eléctrico, of San Salvador, for the installation
in the city of Nueva San Salvador for the street lighting by
thirty-seven arc lamps of 1,200 candle-power and ninety-three
incandescent lamps of 16 candle-power. This agreement is for ten
years, and so far it has afforded general satisfaction.
THE DEPARTMENT OF SONSONATE.
_Cities._--Sonsonate, Izalco (2).
_Towns._--Nahuizalco, El Progreso, Armenia (3).
This Department gains importance from two circumstances: Firstly,
it contains the principal port of the Republic--Acajutla--of which
a full description will be found under Chapter XVI., "Ports and
Harbours"; and, secondly, because its main city, bearing the same
name, has already attained great commercial significance, and is
rapidly rivalling the Capital itself in the volume of its trade.
The boundaries of the Department are as follows: On the north, by
the Department of Santa Ana; on the east, by La Libertad; on the
south, by the Pacific Ocean; and on the west, by the Department of
Ahuachapán. The northern portion of the ground surface is a mass
of mountains, of many varied heights and shapes; on the coast,
however, it is very level for a certain distance, from which point
it rises gradually in a series of gentle slopes and rolling hills,
until these lose themselves in the spurs of the surrounding mountain
ranges. It is a truly enchanting country, as fair and as fertile as
the eye could wish to dwell upon; and away from the seacoast, where
it is marshy and damp, the climate is found to be delightful for the
greater part of the year.
Here also some stretches of the famous Balsam Coast are to be met
with, the trees being more numerous and even higher, than those in
the La Libertad Department.
Acajutla must always serve to bring prosperity to Sonsonate, which,
as a department, was created in 1855. Its principal agricultural
productions comprise coffee, cocoanuts, sugar, cacao, balsam,
tobacco, cereals of almost all kinds, fruits of endless variety, and
an immense number of different cabinet woods and fibres. There are
a considerable number of factories erected in this same Department,
employing many hundreds of hands, and turning out refined sugar,
cigars, cotton, cloth, pottery, mats, baskets, distilled liqueurs,
and salt. The principal city, Sonsonate, is situated some fifty
miles from San Salvador, and stands picturesquely upon the banks of
the River Sensunapán. Comparatively speaking, this is but a small
stream; nevertheless, from a scenic point of view, it is decidedly
worthy of mention. It is crossed by a handsome bridge, and its banks
are often used as a pleasant promenade and bathing-place by the
inhabitants of this agreeable town.
At Sonsonate, which, with Santa Ana, is one of the several towns
in Salvador on the route of the itinerant theatrical companies,
there is a small wooden-built room, which forms part of the Hotel
Blanco y Negro, kept by a very courteous and obliging Spaniard,
one Señor Arturo de Soto, who, with the profits derived from the
_cantina_ adjoining, finds in this undertaking the investment of
his capital to be fairly profitable. The stage of the unambitious
little playhouse is exactly 18 feet wide by 9 feet deep, so that the
precise limit of the mounting of dramatic representations presented
thereon may be fairly accurately gauged.
The climate of Sonsonate is decidedly warm for the greater part
of the year, and not at all unpleasant in the dry season, except
for the fearful wind-storms to which it is at times subjected. Upon
these occasions the whole town is temporarily hidden in the clouds
of gritty dust, which, moreover, penetrate every crack and crevice
of the tightly-closed house shutters, cover the merchants' goods
exposed for sale in the shops with a thick layer of dirt, and render
life generally, for the time being, something of a burden. So strong
is the wind that it whirls around in a sort of wild maëlstrom every
stray piece of paper, stick, or any loose rubbish which it can
gather, and then deposits them impartially in the _patios_ and upon
the roofs of the houses, at the same time making complete havoc of
gardens and parks.
The market at Sonsonate, an important weekly function, is held on
Sundays. The building, completely roofed over, as are all similar
constructions in Latin-America, is crowded to excess with sellers,
the numbers of buyers, however, being considerably fewer. Every kind
of article is exposed for sale, from stuffed and roasted monkeys
to the cheapest kind of Manchester cotton goods and cheaper German
imitations. The stalls are separated into sections, and practically
all of them are presided over by women. It cannot be said that the
majority of the edibles look very tempting from a European point of
view, being for the most part covered with grease or floating in a
thick and sticky compound of fat of a bilious-yellow colour. To the
local taste these articles of diet no doubt appeal strongly, since a
brisk trade is a carried on in them. Cheap and tawdry fancy goods,
highly-coloured and cheaply-framed religious pictures, toys, flimsy
dress material, tinselly embroideries, parrots, pencils, pastry,
and other curiously diverse articles, are to be found displayed in
immediate proximity to dried fish--emitting a powerful and pungent
odour--live iguanas (a large species of edible lizard), squawking
fowls, and repulsive-looking chunks of bleeding, freshly-killed
beef. Altogether an active, if not exactly an attractive,
market-place, and one which offers a continually shifting scene of
life and colour, enduring from sunrise to sunset.
In regard to hotel accommodation, Sonsonate is decidedly better off
than many towns outside the Capital. There are at least three houses
from among which the traveller may make his choice.
The Grand Hotel is situated immediately facing the railway-station,
and although far from attractive externally, it is quite comfortable
and clean within. The rooms, if small, are fairly well-furnished;
the dining-room is kept scrupulously clean, and the domestic service
generally is prompt and willing. The baths which are found here are
not at all bad, and are likewise kept very clean. A good business is
carried on, apparently, by the proprietors, Messrs. Brando y Emeldi,
since every train on the Salvador Railway stops at Sonsonate,
whether proceeding north or south, or, more strictly speaking, east
or west. Before its journey from the port of Acajutla to the capital
of San Salvador, the train remains for one hour, and the down-train
remains for two hours. Inasmuch as the hotel maintains quite a
respectable cellar, and there is plenty of time for the passengers
to test its contents, the proprietors find this part of the hotel
business a remarkably profitable one.
The hotel in this town of second importance is El Blanco y Negro
(Black and White). The situation is decidedly preferable to that of
the Grand, being in a side but wide street, out of hearing range of
the inevitable noise proceeding at the railway-station, but in other
respects it is less attractive to the many.
DEPARTMENT OF AHUACHAPÁN.
_Cities._--Ahauchapán, Atiquizaya (2).
Being the immediate neighbour of the sister Republic of Guatemala,
this Department was once destined to become the route for the
railway which was to--and may yet--connect up the two States by an
iron link. It is bounded on the north and the west by this Republic,
and on the east by the Departments of Sonsonate and Santa Ana. Very
rugged and very wild is the northern part of the country, but there
are several level plains north of the coastal range of mountains
which crosses the country from east to west. Here are also several
active volcanoes; the number of hot springs and sulphur baths
should one day draw considerable visitors, more especially since
the waters, medicinally speaking, are said to rank among the most
wonderfully curative in the world. If these springs and baths were
located anywhere but in little-known Salvador, they would probably
be thronged with patients from all over the globe, seeking their
beneficent and speedy aid against the ravages of blood complaints,
rheumatism, and skin diseases.
[Illustration: MUNICIPAL PALACE AT SONSONATE, DEPARTMENT OF
SONSONATE.]
As a Department, Ahuachapán was "created" in 1869, having formerly
been considered as parts of the Departments of Santa Ana and
Sonsonate. It possesses the unmatched Valley of Chalchuapa, which
for extreme fertility and magnificent climate will compare with
any similar country in Latin-America. Agriculture in all of its
different aspects is carried on, and prosperity uninterrupted dwells
in this small earthly paradise. Coffee, sugar, tobacco, cotton,
cereals, fine fruits and vegetables, grow here practically without
any attention; while an active commerce is carried on, through the
port of Acajutla, with other ports of the Republic, to which it
sends large consignments of cereals and sugar. It likewise imports
woollen goods and mercury from Guatemala, and cattle and mules
from Honduras. Altogether, a thriving trade and a valuable natural
production are carried on during all the year in this prosperous
Department.
Ahuachapán Town has always possessed, and must always retain, some
value as a commercial centre, since it is the starting-place for the
export of coffee to the coast, the route having formerly been over
very precipitous and wretched trails, which, however, have latterly
been much improved. One of the fords over the Rio Paz, known as Los
Organos, on the trail from the _aldea_ of Cofradias, in Guatemala,
leads by a very beautiful route to the town of Ahuachapán. It has a
population of between 11,000 and 12,000 inhabitants, the Department
which bears the same name having a complement of some 37,000 people.
There is a good cart-road leading to Sonsonate via Otaco and
Apaneca, which are two mountain towns.
Being situated at an agreeable altitude above sea-level--2,620 feet,
which is some 500 feet higher than Santa Ana--the town is more
open to the winds, so that the air is generally fresh and cool,
especially at nights. Ahuachapán overlooks the valleys of the Rivers
Paz and Chalchuapa, while beyond them are seen the many peaks of
the Guatemalian mountains, as well as the outstanding volcano of
San Salvador. There are but few foreigners in this town, but the
courtesy and friendliness of the people render a stay there more
than usually pleasant. The people as a whole seemed to me to be very
well-to-do, and evidences of refinement and solid comfort were to be
met with upon all sides. This prosperity emanated, I was informed,
from the many rich and productive _fincas_ in the neighbourhood,
which are engaged in growing coffee. The majority of these _fincas_
seem to belong to quite small and humble proprietors. I was also
impressed with the absence of the usual number of _estancos_, or
public drinking shops, of which I counted scarcely more than six in
the whole town.
There is a good social club here, which is "teetotal," and there
are the usual number of churches, one of them being an extremely
handsome edifice. The Government buildings and the residence of the
Governor are sufficiently imposing; the streets are both well paved
and well drained. The majority of the houses are built of _adobe_,
but some are of brick, and one or two are of stone, or at least they
are stone-faced. Most of the better-class residences, however, are
stuccoed with either brown, white, or coloured plaster on the side
which faces the street. There seemed to be an abundant supply of
good water available, free baths being provided and also apparently
well patronized. I had noticed the same thing in Cojutepeque and
other Salvadorean towns, proving that the inhabitants pay strict
regard to cleanliness. The Ahuachapán public baths have a continuous
supply of warm water, which is received from the neighbouring hot
springs.
An efficient police force keeps the town in perfect order; but
there are still lacking a good hotel, a livery stable, and a
theatre. The latter is not essential, but it is a luxury which is
usually found in Central and South American towns which cannot
even boast of a single drainpipe. The same thing was noticeable in
Johannesburg, South Africa, some twenty years after the town had the
electric light and the telephone. The town of Ahuachapán is a quiet,
sleepy, and eminently peaceful place of residence, where one might
dream away one's life contentedly enough if one were prepared to do
without driving, without amusements, and without either dentists,
doctors, or daily papers.
There was once some talk of bringing the railway line through
Ahuachapán from Montufar (Guatemala) to Sonsonate; but the
construction, although perfectly practicable, would be so heavy
and so costly that I am doubtful whether the peaceful solitude of
this district--for some time at least--will be broken by the shrill
scream of the locomotive whistle.
DEPARTMENT OF SANTA ANA.
_Cities._--Santa Ana, Chalchuapa, Metapán (3).
_Towns._--Texistepeque, Coatepeque (2).
The boundaries of this Department bring it into immediate contact
with Honduras and Guatemala on the north, while on the east are the
Departments of La Libertad and Chalatenango. Sonsonate is on the
south, and Guatemala and the Department of Ahuachapán are on the
west.
Two extensive ranges of mountains cover this territory, one on the
north, and the other from east to west, two imposing mountains,
Santa Ana and Mala Cara, both of which are active, rearing their
shapely heads in this Department. In addition there are three
extinct volcanoes--Masatepeque, San Diego, and La Isla. Where
there are no mountains, magnificent valleys--fertile from end to
end--stretch away for many leagues, watered by two rivers, one of
which is the Malino, and the other the Lempa, which latter, with
its many affluents, curves through this favoured country. As a
Department, Santa Ana came into existence in February, 1855, having
previously formed first a part of the ancient province of Sonsonate,
and after that comprising the two districts of Ahuachapán and
Atiquizaya.
The chief city, which bears the same name, is the largest--outside
San Salvador--in the Republic, and, indeed, is ranked as one of the
most important in Central America. The location is a pleasant one,
being on the west side of the valley of the Malino. The elevation is
about 2,100 feet above sea-level, and softly undulating green hills
almost entirely surround it. The city is well laid out and solidly
built, with many notable structures, while the streets are lighted
by electricity and are well paved. Owing, however, to the steepness
of some of the thoroughfares, this city being also constructed upon
the sloping side of the valley, torrents of water come tumbling
down in rainy weather, converting the crossings for the time being
into miniature cataracts. On the other hand, the natural drainage
is excellent, and as a consequence Santa Ana ranks as one of the
cleanest and most healthful towns in the country. This is all the
more notable because the Municipality at the time that I visited the
place had not completed the drainage system, which I understood was
then about to be introduced, while the public water-supply was not
yet perfect. I noticed several public bathing-places which were
completely open to the air; these were not, however, provided with
hot water.
The number of prosperous-looking business houses and handsome
private residences in Santa Ana at once arrest the attention of
a visitor, as does the general air of prosperity which reigns
throughout the place. The commercial and financial houses do about
as much business in this town in a day as they carry through in all
the other parts of the Republic--the capital excepted--in a week.
The market-house, a building of considerable magnitude, is usually
very well attended, and almost any kind of fruit and vegetable can
be purchased there.
Santa Ana contains, perhaps, a greater proportion of resident
foreigners than any other town or city in Salvador. It is partly due
to this that so much commerce is carried on. The town is but fifty
miles distant from the Capital, and it is easily reached by the
Salvador Railway, which naturally carries considerable traffic both
to and from the town. From Santa Ana there is a first-rate cart-road
conducting north to Metapán, and another leading south to Sonsonate
and to the port of Acajutla.
The temperature, as a rule, in this city renders life very pleasant.
During the rainy months of August, September, and October it varies
between 67° and 69° F., the maximum being between 72° and 78° F.
CHAPTER XXII
Department of La Paz--Characteristics--Zacatecoluca--Population--
Former proportions--Districts--Towns--Principal estates--
Santiago Nonualco--San Juan Nonualco--Climate--Water-supply--
Santa Maria Astuma--Mercedes la Ceiba--San Pedro Mazahuat--Some
minor estates--Small property holdings.
DEPARTMENT OF LA PAZ.
_City._--Zacatecoluca.
_Towns._--Santiago Nonualco, San Pedro Mazahuat, San Pedro Nonualco,
Olocuilta (4).
The Department of La Paz belongs to the group of central and coast
(or maritime) Departments. It has a decidedly quadrangular form,
and is bounded on the east by the Department of San Vicente; on the
north by the same with that of Cuscatlán and of San Salvador; on the
west by the Department of San Salvador and by that of La Libertad;
and on the south by the Pacific.
It lies between the parallels 13° 40" and 13° 18" N. latitude, and
between the meridians 91° 4" and 91° 31" W. longitude, relatively to
the meridian of Paris. The most northerly point is a small peninsula
of the Lake of Ilopango, on the coast of the Tepezontes, and the
most southerly is on the Pacific coast, at the watering-place called
Los Blancos y los Negros. The most easterly point is at the River
of San Jerónimo, to the north of the highroad which runs from
Zacatecoluca to Usulután, and the most westerly is at the mouth
of the River Lindero. The area of this Department is 2,354 square
kilometres, or, say, about 69/1000 of the area of Salvador.
The surface is fairly level towards the coast, and hilly towards
the interior, but it is always accessible for transit. The
low-lying land is found to be excellent for the cultivation of the
sugar-cane, tobacco, cotton, indigo, and forage; while the high land
is eminently suited for the cultivation of coffee, wheat, rice,
etc. The forests of the Department enjoy a high reputation for the
excellence of the timber which they produce.
The population of the Department of La Paz has increased with
astonishing rapidity. In 1858 it possessed scarcely 24,000
inhabitants, while to-day it is almost three times as large, which
is equal to an increase of 3 per cent, annually. The density of the
population is thirty-one inhabitants per square kilometre, and the
number of individuals of native race is nearly equal to that of the
Spanish-speaking inhabitants.
Previous to the Independence, the greater part of the present
Department of La Paz belonged to the Department of San Vicente.
Towards 1835 the Governor of this State ceded the district of
Zacatecoluca to the Central Government, so that it might form part
of the special territory of that authority, a cession which not
unnaturally displeased the inhabitants of the district. On the
disunion, the Federation was established, and joined-up with that of
Olocuilta the new Department of La Paz. In the year 1843, in direct
consequence of the revolt of the Indians of Santiago Nonualco, and
under pretext of a defect in the government, the new Department
was suppressed and reincorporated in that of San Vicente. In 1845
it again separated; but in the following year, 1846, it was joined
once more to that of San Vicente, remaining thus until, by the
Legislative Decree of February 21, 1852, it was definitely separated.
At present the Department of La Paz is divided into three districts,
which comprehend one city, four large towns, and about fifteen
smaller ones, as shown by the following table:
District of Zacatecoluca: Santiago Nonualco, San Pedro Nonualco,
San Juan Nonualco, Santa María Ostuma, San Rafael, La Ceiba,
Jerusalén.
District of San Pedro Mazahuat: San Pedro Mazahuat, El Rosario,
San Miguel Tepezontes, San Juan Tepezontes, Paraíso de Osorio,
San Emigdio.
District of Olocuilta: Talpa, Cuyultitán, San Luis, Tapalhuaca,
San Francisco Chinameca.
In the lowlands or near the coast there are a number of old estates
of unquestionable merit, and which in former times were famous for
the indigo which they produced. To-day the principal agricultural
industry of Zacatecoluca is coffee-growing, and the inhabitants
possess upon the Volcán some magnificent plantations, the principal
being the following, with the number of hundredweights of produce
that they yield annually:
Those of Señor J. Rengifo Núñez, 3,500 cwts.; Señor José Molina,
2,000; Señora Doña Amalia Molina, 2,000; Señora Doña Teresa O.
de Alfaro, 1,000; Dr. Don Fernando Gómez, 1,500; Don Mariano A.
Molina, 1,000; Don Fernando Gómez, 1,500; Dr. Peña Fernández,
1,500; Don Pedro Rodríguez, 800; Doña Josefa Buiza, 600; Don
Atanasio Pineda, 500; the Señorita Dolores Rodríguez, 500; Doña
Teresa de Rodríguez, 500; Don Atanasio Pineda, 500; Don Atanasio
Pineda (_h_), 500; the Lopez family, 500; Dr. Don Pío Romero
Bosque, 500; Doña Josefa Molina, 600; Doña Mercedes Rubio,
400; Don Francisco Orantes, 300; Don Lisandro Torres, 300; the
issue of Don Samuel Jiménez, 300; Doña Mercedes Rodríguez, 300;
Don Octavio Miranda, 200; Don Catarino Ortiz, 200; Doña Elodia
Jandres, 200; Don Justo Quintanilla, 200; General Don José María
Estupinián, 300.
The town of Santiago Nonualco, which has the title of "Villa,"
a name usually given to a large and important town, is also an
ancient one. It is situated on high land, on the brow of a hill, 10
kilometres to the west of Zacatecoluca--the said highland measuring
from north to south some 36 kilometres, and from east to west about
7. It is situated on a large tract of level ground, upon which,
towards the north, are two hills--La Chorrera and El Tacuazín; in
the former is situated the cave in which the celebrated Indian,
Aquino, took refuge.
Numbers of excellent stock and grain farms exist here, upon which
are cultivated large quantities of cereals, and which formerly
produced a remarkable quantity of very good indigo. Such are El
Pedregal, La Vandería, Tegüistocoyo, Novillos, Ojo, Troncones,
and Santa Teresa. A very ancient town also is San Juan Nonualco,
situated to the west, 4 kilometres from Zacatecoluca, and about
100 metres above the level of the sea. The highroad leading from
Zacatecoluca to the Capital of the Republic passes by here, and at
San Juan it throws off a branch which runs directly to the port of
La Libertad.
Among its best-known coffee plantations are--Las Nubes, San Pedro,
El Consuelo, and Las Granadillas. There is also carried on a great
deal of timber-felling, and there are some sawmills erected among
the hills of Pilon and Caballito. In this district there are no
natural springs of water, which element has been supplied by sinking
wells near the pool of La Laguneta, formed at the time of the rains.
San Rafael is a town which was founded in the year 1882 on lands
which were the property of the Obrajuelos, the portion belonging to
the town being marked off by boundaries and landmarks. The only
hill worthy of mention in the district of San Rafael is that of the
Carao.
The little town of San Pedro Nonualco is situated in the hollow of
a hill and upon the slopes of a small volcano, 20 kilometres to the
north of Zacatecoluca. It enjoys a mild and salubrious climate,
especially in the dry season; whilst during the rainy season there
is sufficient humidity for agricultural purposes. The principal
sources are--El Pringadero, El Pataiste, El Hiscanal, El Chinte, La
Gotera (which last is that from which is drawn the water used by
the town), La Montañita, Los Naranjos, and a number of other small
streams which supply the country with an abundance of water.
Santa María Ostuma is a town situated on the slope of a hill
which springs from the loins of the volcano of San Vicente on the
north-west, and is 24 kilometres from Zacatecoluca. Its situation
is very picturesque, the town being surrounded by beautiful
perspectives, while its climate is fresh and healthy. It is divided
into four districts--Delicias, Candelaria, Mercedes and Calvario.
The principal annual festival is that of the patron saint, on
February 2, the day of the Presentation, or Candlemas. The place has
to-day about 3,400 inhabitants, and its prominent source of revenue
is derived from agriculture, principally coffee and the pineapple,
the pineapples produced in Ostuma being considered the best in the
Republic. These are of the most choice types--the Castilian, water
and sugar pineapples.
The town, or rather village, of Mercedes La Ceiba is bounded on the
west by that of Jerusalén, the middle course of the River Chilate,
and on the remaining sides by the district of Santa Maria Ostuma.
It has not more than 650 inhabitants.
Jerusalén is another small place of recent foundation, situated
about 25 kilometres from the chief town. Its lands are fertile,
and largely intersected by streams of some importance. San Pedro
Mazahuat is one of the large towns of the Department, and is the
capital of the district. In the course of a few years it has
attained a state of progress quite remarkable, due alike to the
industrious character of its inhabitants and the fertility of its
lands. It is situated upon rather broken ground, having on the east
the River Tilapa, on the west the Sepaquiapa, and on the south the
Jiboa, all of which contribute an abundant supply of fish. There are
also several springs of fresh water, such as Apacinto, La Pina, and
Amatitán. Two kilometres to the north of the town is the spring of
Plata, where a dam has been constructed and whence water is conveyed
to the town.
There are several notable estates, such as those of San Antonio,
El Pimental, San José and Mira-Flores, upon which are cultivated
various cereals, and a serious attempt at cattle-breeding is carried
on. This last-named estate, which was widely known under the name
of Rancho de Teja, was formerly, with that of Chanrayo, one of the
most flourishing, and engaged largely in the cultivation of indigo.
It is the place which was at one time known as Hacienda Nueva
(the New Estate), and for the last fifty years it has been in the
possession of the family of Aycinena, of Guatemala, as is also that
of San Josécito. The lands of both these properties have to-day been
converted into a number of small plantations.
CHAPTER XXIII
Department of San Miguel--Portless coast--Indigo plantations--
City of San Miguel--Cathedral--Water-supply--Archæological
interests--Projected railway connections. Department
of Morazán--City of Gotera--Mountains and fertile
plains--Agricultural produce. Department of Usulután--Physical
characteristics--Volcanic curiosities--Surrounding
villages--Populations--El Triunfo--Santiago de Maria.
Department of La Unión--Boundaries--Scenery--Guascorán
River--Industries--Commerce.
DEPARTMENT OF SAN MIGUEL.
_Cities._--San Miguel and Chinameca (2).
_Towns._--Uluazapa, Moncagua, Chapeltique, Cacaguatique, Sesorí (5).
One of the most diversified of the Departments of the Republic is
San Miguel, since it offers almost every kind of scenery to be
found in Central America: wild and rugged coastline, steep and
craggy mountains, beautiful verdant valleys and at least one active
volcano--active, that is to say, in emitting much smoke and more
noise, but otherwise, for the time being, unobjectionable. The
Department is bounded on the north by the Republic of Honduras
and the Department of Morazán, on the east by the latter and the
Department of La Unión, on the south by the Pacific Ocean, and on
the west by the Departments of Usulután and Cabañas.
[Illustration: THE "STATELY" OFFICES OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S
VICE-CONSUL AT LA UNIÓN, ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL PORTS IN SALVADOR.]
[Illustration: BARRACKS AT SANTA TECLA (NEW SAN SALVADOR).]
There is no port in this section of the Republic, and the whole
coastline is considered dangerous, and certainly looks inhospitable,
being formed of numerous spurs running down into the sea from the
mountains which guard it for practically all of its length. There
are two volcanoes located here, one of which, Chinameca, is, and for
years past has been, quiescent; the other is the ever-grumbling San
Miguel.
In the peaceful valleys below are grown indigo, coffee, and sugar;
timber is cut for building purposes; grains and any amount of fruits
and vegetables are cultivated. There are likewise several important
manufactures, such as saddlery and harness, boots and shoes,
articles of tortoiseshells, pickles, lime-juice, cheese, and rum.
The annual fair is held on November 21, in the city of San Miguel,
and on this occasion the amount of business transacted runs into
many thousands of dollars. The visitors include those from some of
the neighbouring Republics, besides the people from all parts of
Salvador.
An old and a remarkably interesting city is that of San Miguel,
which was founded in 1530. Perhaps its early days were more
prosperous than those which are at present enjoyed; for history
shows that here, in times long passed away, great trade and industry
were carried on, and much activity of commercial life prevailed.
To-day a kind of peaceful stagnation would appear to reign for the
greater part of the year, but still the people seem to be quite
contented and fairly well-to-do.
The great wealth of the place formerly reposed in the indigo trade
which was carried on, and which the invention of aniline dyes
greatly helped to kill. One can easily trace where and how the
superabundant wealth of the community was spent. It is to be seen in
the magnificently wide thoroughfares, the well-paved streets, and
the many yet handsome _plazas_ and public buildings. It is possible
still to pause and admire the proportions and the decorations of the
Municipal Palace, of the Court House, the Hospital and the Market;
while many are the imposing churches to be seen, those of San
Francisco, Calvario and Santo Domingo among them.
For some years a massive brick-built Cathedral has been in course
of erection; but it is still incomplete. The water-supply, which
is abundant, is taken from the San Miguel River. I have been told
that this water was not safe to drink; but I venture to assert that
the statement is incorrect, provided the liquid be taken from that
portion of the river which is not immediately adjoining the town and
certain residences.
That the town otherwise is up-to-date may be gauged from the
fact that it possesses both an ice-plant and an electric light
installation. I am afraid, however, that neither are particularly
well patronized by the majority of the people, who are very simple
and unpretentious in their method of living, as in their dress.
Around the city of San Miguel are located well-maintained _fincas_,
nearly all of which belong to native proprietors. Indigo and cacao
are the most common products raised, and both thrive here amazingly
well.
Antiquaries and archæologists will find an extremely interesting
field for their investigations around San Miguel, where exist
numerous remains of a primitive and an industrious people. Already
many examples of their domestic utensils have been found and methods
of living have been traced; and at a private house belonging to an
enthusiastic but discriminating collector of such articles may be
seen flint knives, grinding-mills of hard stone more durable even
than granite, and _ollas_ of clay, presenting many interesting
features of workmanship, far superior, indeed, to anything of the
kind which is met with to-day. It is supposed that the ancient city
of Chaparrastique was located in this neighbourhood, not more than a
mile or so from the present site of San Miguel.
The city of San Miguel lies some three-quarters of a mile from
the volcano and the river of the same name, the latter also being
called sometimes the Rio Grande. It stands but some 360 feet above
the level of the sea, and the climate is undoubtedly hot--sometimes
unpleasantly so. San Miguel is about 107 miles east of the Capital,
and is approached by a good cart-road. It claims some 23,000
inhabitants, most of whom are engaged in agriculture of some kind,
while they form an orderly community very little given to troubling
the authorities, yet somewhat opposed to innovations or reforms of
any kind. The native women of San Miguel are considered to be about
the best-looking in the Republic.
The Government have, as related elsewhere, long had the desire to
unite San Miguel, which claims with Santa Ana to be the "second"
most important city in the Republic (it certainly is justified from
a population point of view) with La Unión, its finest seaport, and
to extend the line to the cities of San Vicente and San Salvador,
thus securing an all-rail route from Acajutla, the most important
western port, to La Unión in the extreme east, on the Gulf of
Fonseca.[6]
[6] These figures will, no doubt, be recognized by some of my more
critical readers as a "repetition," having already been presented by
me in previous chapters. But since I have, for the purpose of more
ready reference, divided this volume into Departments, it has been
deemed desirable to repeat the statistics of railway construction
and road-building under each separate Department to which the
figures bear any relation.--AUTHOR.
It was sufficiently proved by Mr. Charles T. Spencer (now the
Manager of the Salvador Railway Company) that such a line of railway
was quite feasible from an engineering point of view, and that it
could be constructed at a reasonable outlay. The kilometric distance
from San Miguel to San Vicente would be (main-line) 102·2 (= 63·5
miles).
DEPARTMENT OF MORAZÁN.
_City._--Gotera.
_Towns._--Sociedad, San Carlos, Jocoro, Osicala, El Rosario (5).
This is one of the most recently created of the various Departments,
having come into official existence in 1875. Formerly much of its
territory was comprised in San Miguel. Even its name has been
altered, since until 1887 it was known as "Gotera," which is now the
title of its one city. In this year the name was altered to Morazán
by decree of Congress, in memory of the last President of the
Central American Federation, and who lost his life in his well-meant
but fruitless efforts to bring about its resuscitation.
The Department is bounded on the north by the Republic of Honduras,
on the east by the Department of La Unión, on the south by La Unión
and San Miguel, and on the west by the latter also. Lofty mountains
cover a great deal of the surface, more especially towards the
north, the various chains crossing the Department from east to west.
Towards the Honduranean border--that is to say, in the direction
of the south--a number of fertile plains are to be met with, and
these are mostly well watered by the Rivers Tocola and Rio Grande.
All kinds of agricultural products are cultivated here, such as
indigo, rice, coffee, sugar, corn, and a variety of fruits. It is
also an industrial centre, there being established cordage, mat,
hat, lime, and earthenware factories, the greater part of which,
at least, seem to carry on a thriving trade. Labour is abundant,
if not particularly well skilled; and the greater portion of the
inhabitants are industriously occupied all the year round in
following either agriculture or some kind of manufacturing.
Although a decidedly small place, containing something less than
2,000 people, Gotera is picturesque, and as clean as it is romantic
in appearance. It is connected by a good cart-road with the city of
San Miguel. There is likewise a volcano of moderate proportions,
raising its crest 3,089 feet in height, and being located 13°
42' 54" latitude, and 88° 0' 30" longitude. Its history is not
especially remarkable.
DEPARTMENT OF LA UNIÓN.
_Cities._--La Unión, San Alejo, Santa Rosa (3).
It was to form this Department that San Miguel had once again to
give up a goodly portion of its original territory. It is now one of
the most important of the Republic's various political Divisions, by
reason of containing the port of La Unión, of which I give a fuller
description elsewhere under the title of "Ports and Harbours" (see
Chapter XIV.). Its boundaries are as follows: North, by the Republic
of Honduras; east, by that Republic also and the Bay of Fonseca;
south, by the Pacific Ocean; and west, by the Departments of San
Miguel and Morazán. A great diversity of scenery may be met with,
the mountains alternating with valleys, volcanoes with large open
plains, and the ocean lending a blue setting to the whole picture.
For true tropical scenery the Bay of Fonseca would be hard to beat,
and its most beautiful portion skirts the shore of this Department.
Unfortunately, however, there is usually a great deal of unhealthy
miasma arising from the low, marshy shore, and from the mouth of the
Guascorán River to the Honduranean boundary the whole district may
be said to be unhealthy. Here and again one comes across dry and
rugged spots, but for the most part the country lies very low, and
it is extremely hot at almost all times of the year.
Located upon the picturesque peninsula which separates the Bay of
Fonseca from the Pacific Ocean is the enormous volcano of Conchagua,
towering up to a height of over 4,000 feet above sea-level, and
measuring some twenty miles in circumference around its base. There
are two magnificent peaks, one measuring 3,800 feet, and the other
4,101 feet. The situation is 13° 16' 28" latitude, and 87° 51' 46"
longitude. This mountain was last in eruption in the year 1868, but
to all appearances it is now perfectly quiescent.
Both industrially and commercially La Unión is of importance, much
of the fine timber employed in various parts of the Republic for
both building operations and cabinet-making coming from its forests,
which nevertheless as yet have hardly been touched. Great potential
wealth is contained here, and, in view of the proximity of the port,
its forests should one day be intelligently and profitably exploited.
As to manufactures, the Department possesses lime, hat (palm-leaf
variety), mat, soap, candle, steel, and other establishments; while
considerable trade goes on in fish, and especially in oyster-curing.
La Unión oysters are very delicious, and are much relished as
a rule by foreigners, who declare them to be equal to the best
Whitstable in flavour. The variety of fish caught off these coasts
is not particularly large, but the quality is very fine. The cost of
living in this Department, even at the port of La Unión, is cheap,
and on the whole one may dwell there very comfortably, if climatic
conditions be accepted philosophically.
DEPARTMENT OF USULUTÁN.
_Cities._--Usulután, Jucuapa, Alegría (3).
_Towns._--Santa Elena, Jiquilisco (2).
This Department belongs to the eastern section of the Republic,
and formerly its territory was embraced in the Department--or,
as it was then called, the Province--of San Miguel (ó Provincia)
de Chaparrastique, now known simply as "San Miguel." It became a
separate Department in 1865. It is bounded on the north and east by
the Department of San Miguel, on the south by the Pacific Ocean,
and on the west by the Department of San Vicente. Its area is 3,344
square kilometres which represents a 98/1000 part of the superficial
area of the Republic.
The central portion of the Department is very mountainous, the
country here being crossed by a lofty range, north of which it is
relatively level, but decidedly broken-up. In the south are found
lowlands and a swampy coast, which during the rainy season becomes
somewhat unhealthy. Within the borders of this Department are
found three separate volcanoes--Usulután, Jucuapa and Taburete.
From a geological point of view the two last named are the most
interesting, having small lakes of sulphurous water in their ancient
craters. Roundabout, and especially in a deep and dry ravine which
extends from the south-east of the village of Tecapa towards the
River Lempa, are a number of active geysers which emit dense volumes
of sulphurous vapours and columns of smoke, reminding one forcibly
of some of the beautiful geysers in New Zealand, in the Roturua
district.
The largest of the geysers at Tecapa is called "El Tronador" (The
Thunderer), and this has formed a small crater of its own, from
out of which is thrown a high and thick column of steam saturated
with sulphuretted hydrogen and other gases, while the noise which
accompanies the emission of this steam is deafening, and can be
heard for many miles away.
The Department is divided up into three districts--namely, Usulután,
which contains seven villages or small towns; Jucuapa, containing
four; and Santiago de Maria, containing seven. The first-named
district has a population of some 12,000 inhabitants, more than half
of whom reside in the city of Usulután, a pleasant place enough,
situated upon the right bank of a stream called Juano, but only at
the moderate elevation of 420 feet above sea-level. It is also some
ninety-five miles distant from the Capital. The number of buildings
of an ornate character is considerable, for Usulután was formerly
a place of some pretensions, being the residential quarters of the
authorities of the ancient Division of San Miguel ó Provincia de
Chaparrastique. It was classed as a "town" in 1827, and was given
the rank of a "city" in 1860. Among the more notable buildings are
a handsome town-hall, a school-house, and a minor University, where
the higher education is imparted to a large number of pupils and
students. A prison of some dimensions, and a handsome but small
church, should also be mentioned.
[Illustration: GROUP OF SALVADOREANS OF THE SUPERIOR WORKING
CLASS.]
According to some old Spanish MSS., which I was shown, this town was
known to the Indians of 1574 as "Uceluclán," and a large number of
people at one time apparently resided there. Another very old place
is Santa Eléna, which dates from 1661; to-day it has about 3,275
inhabitants, the surrounding district and many smaller villages
bringing up the total of inhabitants for the district to nearly
6,000.
There are over a dozen notable _fincas_ round about, where maize,
tobacco, rice and black beans are cultivated. Jiquilisco boasts
of between 4,500 and 4,600 inhabitants, and even more important
_fincas_, so far as size and amount of produce are concerned.
Santa Maria de Los Remedios is also an old town, possessing some
1,750 inhabitants. Two important _fincas_ are located in the
neighbourhood, and engage the services of many of the labourers
available. Ereguaiquín, which is some 7 kilometres distant, has
2,100 inhabitants; Ozatlán, another small town of very recent
origin, being founded as late as 1890, having 2,000 inhabitants.
The district of Jucuapa, with its four towns and villages, is
somewhat deficient in water, having only the San Francisco River to
depend upon. Nevertheless the country is very fertile, especially
in the immediate district around the volcano of Jucuapa, which
towers up into the air some 5,000 feet above the level of the sea.
The chief town has two schools of importance, a private college
for the children of wealthier parents, a casino, a club, and a
well-maintained hospital.
Estanzuelas, which was established as a village in 1815, has over
10,000 inhabitants, most of whom are engaged in the pursuit of
agriculture. San Buenaventura, another village, stands much higher,
and is possessed of a more pleasant climate and outlook over
mountains and valleys. It has but 1,600 inhabitants, and among
several distinguished Salvadoreans who have been born in this
district is Dr. Máximo Araujo, who has rendered great political
services to his country.
The small town known as El Triunfo (also described as "San Juan del
Triunfo") is an old-established place, and was formerly known as
"La Labor." This is in a well-watered district, and many prosperous
_fincas_ are to be found scattered around. A fuller account of the
port will be found under Chapter XVI., "Ports and Harbours."
The Santiago de Maria district is moderately well inhabited, but the
town of the same name is small, and is little over forty years old.
The neighbourhood, which has always been known as fertile, and which
is abundantly watered by several rivers and streams, produces large
quantities of maize, beans, sugar, tobacco and vegetables.
Other small towns in this Department are San Agustin, Tecapán,
Alegría, Berlín and California. The total population of the
Department was put in 1909 at 89,175, the district of Usulután
having the largest number, estimated at 32,275; Jucuapa came next,
with 25,700; and Santiago de Maria third, with 24,600. The remaining
8 per cent. of the population were dispersed throughout the
Department.
CONCLUSION
"_In every work regard the writer's End,
Since none can compass more than they intend;
And if the means be just, the conduct true,
Applause, in spite of trivial faults, is due._"
I make no claim in this volume to having written anything
startlingly new, nor yet to have made any particularly valuable
contribution to the history of the world; but what I have
endeavoured to effect, and what I trust I have accomplished at
least in part, is to put before my readers what I know to be facts
concerning a very interesting country which has hitherto received
but scant attention at the hands of financial writers. Bulwer
Lytton has said that no author ever drew a character, consistent
to human nature, but what he was forced to ascribe to it many
inconsistencies. So it is with a book which purports to be a true
description of a country; for in portraying its attractions one must
of a necessity expose its drawbacks and deficiencies.
It must be remembered that the Republic of Salvador has yet
to celebrate its centenary, being one of the youngest of the
Latin-American States; but considering the different troubles
and tribulations which this country--in common with all of the
Latin-American Republics without exception--has gone through, the
present condition of her civilization, of her arts and her commerce,
is eminently encouraging. The great advance made by this State
has been achieved in spite of the many obstacles which it has
encountered. If the permanency of a Republic mainly depends upon
the general intelligence and morality of the people constituting
it, I look for a continued and even an increased prosperity for the
Salvadoreans, since they are indubitably among the Central American
nations the most developed and the most intellectual.
No longer subject to and borne down by an immoral and corrupt
Government, and freed from the exactions of hungry office-seekers,
this naturally richly-endowed little State should pursue an even and
enviable road to prosperity, upon which foreigners will be heartily
welcome to journey.
* * * * *
In 1895, when Mr. Joseph Chamberlain was Colonial Secretary, a
circular letter was addressed to all British Consuls of the British
Empire, asking for information regarding the effect of foreign
competition upon British trade abroad. In the answers received,
and subsequently published in the form of a bulky Blue Book, some
critics professed to see much comfort; but to the minds of others,
who looked more deeply into matters and judged more from what was
likely to occur than what had actually happened, the future appeared
gloomy in the extreme. To enact the role of Cassandra is never an
agreeable nor a profitable occupation; but upon occasions it becomes
necessary to sound the alarum, if only to awaken the slumberer from
his too-long repose, and remind him that the world is marching
onwards and ever onwards. At no time has this been more imperative
than the present, when British trade and commerce, British influence
and British prestige, in Central America, at one time predominant,
are threatened, not alone with supersession, but with practical
extinction. This is no phantom of the imagination, nor yet any
unfair exaggeration of existing conditions. It is a plain and
incontrovertible fact, which anyone travelling through the smaller
Latin-American Republics may ascertain for himself.
The decline of British trade in these countries was clearly
foreshadowed in the Blue Book above referred to; but the public,
with some few exceptions, complacently closed their eyes, the
Government as usual did nothing to avert the threatened evil, and
the results are such as were inevitable under the circumstances.
The Consular reports upon these States as they are issued (_when_
they are issued at all) tell the tale of our diminishing trade, and
of the slow but sure rise of our competitors to the position of
dominance which once was ours. There is little occasion to criticize
the figures or to call them into question; it may, perhaps, have
served some useful purpose to have examined, as I have done in these
pages, into the principal causes which have helped to bring about a
condition of things which is gradually going from bad to worse.
I shall be abundantly satisfied, and consider myself sufficiently
recompensed for the trouble to which I have put myself and the not
inconsiderable expenses which I have incurred in preparing this
volume, if I can awaken some interest among my countrymen--upon
the British Government I do not for an instant expect to make any
impression whatever--to the critical position in which our national
trade stands to-day in Latin-America generally, but in the Republic
of Salvador in particular. The time has apparently gone by when
British trade abroad could depend at least upon the countenance, if
not always the active support, of the Ministry of the day.
In the days of William Pitt the Elder it was the proud boast of
our rulers that "not a gun should be fired throughout the world
without Britain knowing why"; but to-day commercial treaties of the
utmost import to British merchants are entered into, new imposts
which seriously threaten their existing trade are levied, and
favoured-nation terms to their most dangerous commercial rivals are
granted, without the Home Government knowing or caring one pin's
head about it. Where are "the eyes and the ears" of the State that
such things can occur, and where is the patriotism which permits of
them occurring? No British Government within the past half-century
has as much as inquired about the status of British trade in
Latin-America, nor has it troubled its head to find out whether it
flourished or failed. For the despicable purpose of currying favour
with our keenest rivals in that great field--the United States--such
position as we still occupy in that portion of the world is being
recklessly and ignorantly sacrificed. How this crime--for crime it
assuredly is--is likely to be perpetrated I have shown conclusively
in the preceding pages. Let those who are accused answer to the
charges--if they can or if they dare!
_July 31, 1911._
INDEX
Academy, Salvador, 41
Acajutla, 9, 51, 52, 61, 62, 64, 65, 68, 73, 93, 115, 146, 167, 197,
198, 204, 222, 223, 226, 290, 291, 293, 295, 299, 309
Administration of Justice, 18
Administrator, Post-Office, 34
Agricultural Bank, 172
machinery and implements, 107, 147, 148
Agriculture, 164, 228-243, 276, 285, 288, 291, 303
Minister of, 18, 41, 229
School of, 29
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 42, 43, 44, 47, 164
Agronomy, 230
Aguila, Eugenio, 172
Aguila, José Astua, 81, 82
Agustin, 316
Ahuachapán, 8, 9, 25, 66, 94, 141, 179, 213, 234, 247, 266, 294-296
Department of, 28, 234, 290, 294-297
Alegría, 11, 266, 313, 316
Alfaro, Prudencio, 61, 65, 67, 71
Allison Manufacturing Company, 200
Alvarado, Dr. H., 265
Alvarado, Jorge de, 249, 256
Alvarado, Pedro de, 256
Alvarez, Dr. E., 274
Amapala, Battle of, 39
Treaty of, 72, 73, 75, 77, 81, 82
Amaya, General Juan, 38, 281
Angulo, 4
Apaneca, 9, 295
volcano, 4
Aragón, Manuel, 11
Araujo, President Manuel Enrique, 15, 17, 36, 40, 43, 47, 84, 85,
114, 246, 273
Araujo, Dr. Máximo, 316
Arca, 2
Arce, General Manuel José, 14
Argentina, 129, 154, 230
Arias Celio, 39, 74
Armenia, 290
Army, 38, 64, 86-95, 224, 269
strength of, 87
Assembly, National, 15, 19, 38
Ataco, 9
Ateos, 51
Atiquizaya, 25, 294
Atuscatla, 5
Austria, 147
Avila, Dr. Artúro Ramón, 36, 45, 46, 116
Baldwin Locomotive Works, 199
Balsalobre, Rev. Dr. E. M., 178
Balsam, 108, 147, 216, 229, 241-243, 288, 290
Banco Agrícola, 172-174
Occidental, 172
Salvadoréño, 46, 176
Bank, London, of Mexico, 50
London and South-Western, 51, 53
Mortgage, 177
Nicaragua, 177
Banks, 46, 50, 51, 53, 167, 170-177
Bará, General Enrique, 23
Barahona, 65
Barberena, Dr. S. I., 265
Baron, Dr. Gustavo, 18, 42, 271
Barracks, 87, 88, 92-95, 257, 274
Barrancas de Jucuapa, 12
Barrios, General Gerardo, 38, 274, 275
Barrios, General Justo Rufino, 15, 39
Beans, 229, 240, 248, 276, 316
Bedoya, ix
Beers and liquors, 158
Berlin, 11, 316
Bertand, President Dr., 84
Bills of exchange, 167, 168, 170, 171
Bloom, David, and Co., 172, 177
Board of Trade, British, 44, 125, 164
Bocanegra, Angel M., 81, 82
Bogen, Herr, 153
Bolivia, 131, 132, 161
Boots and shoes, 107
Bracamonte, Don Eusebio, 18, 36, 42
Bracamonte, General, 38
Brazil, 154, 235, 236, 240
Breweries, 158
Bridges, 12, 198
British Consul, 99-101, 105, 110-112, 129, 319
diplomacy, 120-126, 128, 129
Foreign Office, 96, 100, 101, 105, 122-124
Government, 98
investments, 160
Legation, 128
manufacturers, 138, 139, 141
Minister, 98, 139
retail houses, 137
trade, 98, 99, 105, 123, 125, 127, 129, 162, 164, 318, 319
tradesmen, 168, 169
Brown, Jansen, and Co., 51
Bryce, Right Hon. James, 123-126
Buerón, J. L., 10
Buerón, Juan, 11
Bureau, Information, 44
Bustamente, Dr. Cecilio, 18, 36, 41
Butters Mines, 187-195
Cabañas, Department of, 12, 28, 247, 276, 278, 282-284, 306
Cabinet, 18, 36, 42, 45
Cables, 32, 226, 227
Cacaguatique, 306
Cacao, 239, 240, 291, 308
Cafés, 158
California, 316
Campbell, C. S., 105
Canned goods, 150
Cárcamo, General Téofilo, 79
Carden, Lionel E. G., 97, 139
Carden, Mrs., 98
Carden, Rev. Lionel, 97
Casino Salvadoreño, 273, 274
Castro, R., Dr. Don Manuel, 18, 36, 41
Castro, V., Dr. Don José Antonio, 18, 36, 42
Cathedral, 257, 259
Cattle and hides, 108, 230, 231, 286, 295, 303
Central America, 13, 14, 32
United, 14
American Federation, 14, 50, 67
Peace Conference, 33
Penitenciaria, 21
Cereals, 229, 285, 291, 295
Chalatenango, 9, 11, 28, 266, 277, 278
Department of, 12, 28, 247, 248, 276-278, 287, 297
Chalchuapa, 25, 39, 179, 294, 295, 297
Chamber of Commerce (Salvador), 43, 47, 164
Chapeltique, 306
Charities, 17, 265-267, 284
Chatham, Earl of, 38
Cheese, 277, 286
Chemists, 157
Chief Magistrates, 16
Chile, 161, 202
Chilian Mission, 88
Chinameca, 9, 306, 307
volcano, 4
Choussy, Félix, 230
Churches, vii, viii, 150, 283, 308
Cierra, General, 69
Cigars and cigarettes, 158, 236, 279, 291
Citalá, 11, 276
Civil Code, 229
Clubs, 88
Clum, Harold D., 44
Coatepeque, 297
Cocoa machinery, 156
Cocoanuts, 291
Coffee, 108, 152, 216, 217, 219, 225, 229, 234, 235, 248, 285, 288,
290, 295, 302, 307, 311, 315
estates, 302-304, 308, 316
machinery, 150, 156
Cojutepeque, 9, 19, 25, 94, 179, 213, 236, 278
Lake, 280
Colleges, 28, 29
Colón, 226
Colombia, 210
Columbus, Christopher, 1
Commander-in-Chief, 16
Commerce, Chamber of (Salvador), 43, 47
Commercial travellers, 136, 141, 156, 157
treaties, 109, 112, 124, 126, 127, 320
Commission, Mexican, 97
Commissioners, rural, 229
Commons, House of, 38
Conchagua volcano, 4
Conference, Central American Peace, 33, 118, 119
Hague, 46
Conflagrations, 150, 151
Congress, National, 16, 18, 33, 34, 47, 53
Spanish-American, 46
Constitution, 15, 38, 259, 281
Constitutional Convention, 14
Consular invoices, 167
regulations, 101-105
reports, 98-100
Consul, British, 99-101, 105, 110-112, 129, 319
-General, Salvador, 45
United States, 44
Liverpool, 48
Consuls, Salvadorean, 102-105
United States, 112
Conventions, 14, 30
Cordilleras, 2
Corinto, 65, 68, 73
Corn, 240, 248, 276, 282, 288, 311
Coronation of H.M. George V., mission to, 46, 47
Corpeño, J. Dols, 177
Corranza, Dr. don Teodosio, 18, 36, 41
Cosieguina volcano, 4
Costa Rica, 14, 49, 50, 80, 98, 136, 140, 143, 152, 161, 179, 189,
212, 214, 223, 226, 249
Cost of living, 261, 262, 313
Costume, native, 244
Cotton, 107, 146, 216, 229, 232, 244, 291, 295
goods, 134
manufactures, 162
mills, 163
Council of Foreign Bondholders, 54, 55
of Health, 18, 270
Courtade, John B., 219
Court of Justice, Central America, 74, 70, 79-83
Courts, Circuit, 19
District, 19
Minor, 19
Supreme, 19, 257
Credit system, 166, 169-171
Criminal Law, 19
Cristales, General, 69
Cuba, 97, 121, 154, 237
Cuscatlán, Department of, 28, 234, 247, 248, 256, 276, 278, 279,
281, 282, 287, 300
Customs, 50, 51, 54, 58, 59, 166-169, 210, 224
duties, 159
Union, 123
Cyanide process, 187-195
Dardano, Donna Térésa, 47
Dávila, President, 74, 78, 79
Dawson, Samuel C., 178
Debt, Foreign, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55
Public, 57
Decree, Government, 70
Deficit, 59, 60
Deininger, Fédor, 153, 225
Delgado, Dr. Manuel, 73
Departments, 15, 16, 28, 235, 247, 271
Police, 25
Deputies, 15
National Chamber of, 15
Designates, Presidential, 38
Diaz, Porfirio, 75
Diaz, Señora J. B. de. 236, 280
Diplomacy, British, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 128, 129
Director-General of Police, 23
Discovery of Salvador, 1
Diseases, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272
Distilleries, 276, 289
District Courts, 19
Divisadero Mines, 193
Dolores, 282
Domestic life, 244, 245
servants, 261, 262, 263
Dreadnoughts, 128
Drews, F., 172
Drugs and medicines, 107, 157
Dueñas, Dr. Don Francisco, 18, 36, 40, 47
Dueñas, Don Miguel, 18, 36, 42, 47, 164
Dueñas, President Dr., 38
Duke, Mauricio, 172
Duke, J. Mauricio, 172
Dunlop, R. C., 182, 183
Earthquakes, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255
Ecuador, 115, 161
Education, 27, 28, 29, 30, 230, 272, 314, 315
Board of, 26
Free, 26
Minister of, 26, 42, 266
Educational establishments, 264, 265
Elections, 17
Electric light, 32
_El Diario de Salvador_, 70
El Tigre, 4
El Triunfo, 11, 167, 226, 316
El Viego volcano, 4
Ereguaiquín, 315
Eruptions, 5, 7
Escalón, Pedro José, 15
Escobar, Francisco, 265
Estanzuelas, 315
Esteves, Captain A., 224
Estrada, General, 68
Europe, 21, 29
Exchange, 169, 170, 172, 209, 210
Executive, 15, 16
Expenditures, 30, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60
War and Marine, 95
Export trade, 133
Exports and imports, 58, 59, 105, 106, 107, 108, 144, 162
Ezeta, General Carlos, 15, 40
Fairs, 278, 279, 282, 307
Fawcett, Preston and Co, Ltd., 153, 155
Federal Republic, 14
Federation, Central American, 14, 67, 301, 310
Felica volcano, 4
Figueroa, General Fernando, 4, 8, 15, 17, 31, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 61,
62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 69, 73, 78, 79, 87, 142, 151, 281
Filibusters, North American, vi, 61
Filisola, General, 13
Filter Butters, 190-194
Finance, Minister of, 18, 117
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 43
Finances, 49
railway, 55
Fire apparatus, 150, 151
brigade, 151
Fish, 312, 313
Flour, 107
Fonseca, Bay of, 1, 2, 3, 9, 286, 309, 311, 312
Forces, 16
Foreign Affairs, Minister of, 18, 76, 112
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 41
Foreigners, 284, 313
Foreign loans, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 115
Foreign Office, British, 96, 100, 101, 105, 122, 123, 124
Foreign trade, 106
France, 104, 105, 107, 108, 135, 146, 147, 151
Free Trade, 123, 132, 133
French trade, 146
Fruits, 285, 291, 295, 299, 307, 311
Gainza, ix
Gallegos, Salvador, 81, 82
García, Dr. A., 265
Gavidia, Francisco, 265
Geology, 181, 183
German trade, 108, 109, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135,
137-139, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146, 147, 152, 153, 162, 168
Germany, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 144, 147
González, Dr. D., 265
González, Dr. Rodolfo B., 271
González, Marshal Santiago, 38, 39
Goods, British, 133, 134, 135, 137, 139
Goodyear, Professor, 7
Gordon, John, and Co., 152, 156
Gotera, 310, 311
Government, 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, 26, 32
British, 98
Governors, 16
Great Britain, 31
Grey, Sir Edward, Bart., 100, 105
Guarumál, 9
Guascorán River, 8
Guatemala, viii, 4, 5, 14, 15, 30, 38, 48, 50, 67, 74, 80, 81, 82,
83, 96, 97, 98, 119, 121, 129, 131, 138, 140, 143, 145, 152,
161, 172, 179, 180, 202, 212, 214, 218, 245, 248, 249, 295,
297
Guatemala, kingdom of, viii
Guerrero, Dr. G. G., 47
Guirola, Don Angel, 289
Guirola D., Don Rafael, 18, 36, 40, 41, 172
Guthrie, C. S. S., 164
Gutierrez, General Rafael, 15
Guzmán, Dr. D. J., 265
Hague Conference, 46
Hamburg, 147, 168, 170, 219
Hardware, 135, 145
Harlan, Hollingsworth Company, 200
Havana, 10, 97
Havre, 219
Health, Council of, 18, 270
Heimké, Major W., 116, 117
Heimké, Mrs., 117
Hemmeler Guillermo, 176
Henequén, 229
Hernandes, General Gregorio, 24
Hidalgo, 13
High Court of Justice, 42
Hill, Lieutenant, 5
Hinds, John W., 203
Hispaniola, 1
Hogs, 231
Honduras, 3, 14, 38, 49, 50, 61, 62, 67, 68, 71, 72, 74, 75, 76,
77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 96, 97, 98, 118, 119, 121, 129,
161, 170, 172, 179, 181, 212, 214, 276, 282, 295, 297, 306,
310, 311
Honduras, war with, 38, 39, 40, 74
Hooper, A. H., 226, 227
Hospicio Guirola, 289
Hospitality, native, 273, 284
Hospitals, 17, 265-268, 269, 271, 272, 289
Hotels, 6, 236, 261, 280, 291, 293
House of Commons, 38
Hydrographic Office, U.S.A., 287
Ilobasco city, 282
volcano, 279
Ilopango, Lake, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 280, 300
Implements, Agricultural, 107, 147, 148
Imports and Exports, 58, 59, 105, 106, 107, 108, 144, 162, 163
Independence, 13, 249
India, 154
Industry (Fomento), Minister of, 18
Sub-Secretary, 18
Information Bureau, 44
Instruction, Military, 87, 88, 89
Minister of, 18, 26
Public, 18, 26
Sub-Secretary, 18, 26, 42
Intercontinental Railway Commission, 212
Interior, Minister of, 18, 23
Interior, Sub-Secretary, 18
Investments, United States, 159, 160, 161
British, 160
Indigo, 108, 232, 233, 237, 282, 283, 285, 288, 302, 307
Iron and Steel Trades, 135
Italy, 147
Iturbide, Agustin VIII., 13, 14
Izalco City, 290
District, 230
volcano, 4, 248
Jamaica, 235, 240, 242
Jerez, 30
Jerusalén, 305
Jibóa, River, 5, 8
Jiquilisco, Bay of, 232, 313, 315
Jocoró, 9
Jucuapa, 9, 12, 36, 313, 315
volcano, 315
Judice, Miguel, 172
Judicial, 15
Justice, Administration of, 18
Justice and Beneficence, Minister of, 18
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 42
Justices, 19
Junta, Provisional, viii, ix
Jutiapa, 282
Keilbauer, René, 213, 214
Keith, Minor C., 214, 215
Kelly, Mark Jamestown, 45, 51, 53 114, 115, 116, 151, 164, 201,
203, 207, 211
Kinnon, Lieutenant, 287
Knox, Philander, 122, 126
Kosmos Company, 219
Labour, 311
La Ceiba, 51, 304
Lagos, Ingeniero José Maria Peralta, 18, 36, 42
Laguna Finca, 153
La Libertad, 1, 9, 11, 28, 32, 58, 146, 167, 220, 223-227, 232, 234,
248, 271, 276, 287-290, 297, 300
Lamport and Holt, 219
Lancaster C. and W. Co., 200
Land Law, 228, 229
La Paz, Department of, 28, 234, 247, 248, 278, 284, 287, 300, 301, 305
Latin-American trade, 120
Latin Republics, v, vii, viii, x
La Unión, 8, 9, 24, 25, 28, 58, 69, 167, 202, 213, 216-220, 226,
266, 286, 309, 311
La Unión Department, 12, 28, 306, 311-313
Law, Criminal, 19
Lazarettos, 270
Lefferts, Miss Anne E., 98
Lefferts, John, 98
Legal procedure, 19
Legation, British, 97, 128
United States, 16, 117, 127
Legislative, 15
Leiva, Nicolás, 48
Leiva, General Ponciano, 39, 74
Lempa River, 3, 11, 232, 276, 314
Leyland Line, 219
Liberals, viii, ix
Limón, Port of, 136
Linares, 11
Liquors and beers, 158, 159
Liverpool Consul for Salvador, 48
Llanos, Colonel Armando, 88
Loans, foreign, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 115
London, 168, 170
Lopez, Dr. Fernando, 38
Lumber, 108
Machinery, 135, 151
agricultural, 107, 147, 148
mining, 182, 189, 190
Madriz, José, 81, 82
Maida, ix
Maize, 229, 232, 240, 316
Manufacturers, British, 138, 139, 141
native, 163, 276, 277, 285, 291, 307, 311, 312
Marine, War and, 18
Markets, 292, 299
Marriages, 27
Martin, Ernesto, 81, 82
Mason, Marcus, and Co., 152
Mathies, C. G., 176
Maximilian, 10
Medical College, 28
Medicines and drugs, 107, 157
Medina, General, 39, 74
Mejía, Federico, 117
Melendez, Carlos, 38
Mencia, Manuel Lopez, 56
Menéndez, General F., 15, 39
Mercedes, 12
Mercenaries, United States, vi
Mercury, 295
Metapán, 9, 11, 297, 299
Mexican Commission, 97
Mexico, vi, viii, ix, 4, 10, 13, 21, 30, 50, 62, 75, 97, 116, 132,
143, 160, 161, 231, 236, 245, 278
Michaelson, Fédor, 226, 227
Militia, 38
Miller, J. Imbrie, 287
Mine production, 186
Miners, native, 184, 195
Mines in operation, 185
Mining, 9, 181-195
Minister of Education, 26, 42, 266
of Finance, 18, 117
of War, 86
Ministry, 18
Minor courts, 19
Miranda, General, 74
Mission to Coronation, H.M. George V., 46, 47
Momotombo volcano, 4
Monarchy, Spanish, vii, viii
Moncagua, 306
Monroe Doctrine, 130
Monuments, public, 274, 275
Morales, Don Agustin, 127
Morazán Department, 28, 247, 306, 310, 311
Morazán, General Francisco, 14, 15, 275, 310
Morelia, 13
Morgan, J. Pierpont, 161
Mortality, 268
Mortgage Bank, 177
Municipalities, 16, 17
Municipal Treasury, 18
Nahuizalco, 290
National Assembly, 15, 19, 38
National Bank, 172, 174, 175, 176
National Chamber of Deputies, 15
Congress, 33, 44, 47, 53
National Institute, 265
Library, 265
Palace, 274
Theatre, 151, 257, 260, 261, 263, 264, 274
National University, 22, 30, 42, 45, 265
Native manufacturers, 163, 276, 277
types, 244
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), 9, 25, 46, 93
New York, 168, 170
Nicaragua, 4, 14, 15, 50, 61, 67, 68, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 77, 96,
140, 172, 179, 180, 212, 214, 249
war with, 40
Nicaraguan Navy, 73
North American Filibusters, vi, 61
Occidental Bank, 172
Olocuilta, 300
Opico, 9, 287
Opposition, Spanish, vi
Otaco, 295
Ottley, Miss Lucy, 97
Ozatlán, 315
Pacas, Dr. José Rosa, 117
Pacific Mail Steamship Company, 129
Steamship Navigation Company, 218, 219
Palacio Nacional, 277
Palmer, Frederick, 163
Palomo, Tomás, G., 268
Pamphlets in Spanish, 147
Panama, 136, 172, 223, 226
Canal, 159
Railroad, 136
Pan-American Bureau, 113
Railway, 136, 214
Parcels Post, 31
Parks, public, 258, 259, 283, 289
Parras Lempa, 35
Pasaquina, Battle of, 39
Paz, River, 1, 8
Peace Conference, Central American, 33, 118, 119, 214
Peasants, 243-246
Penitenciaria, Central, 21
Santa Ana, 22
Peralta, Don José Maria, 36
Peralta, Señorita Maria, 36
Perú, 4, 21, 131, 132, 202
Pharmacy Law, 157
Pinto, Alberto, 12
Pinto, Miguel, 178
Pitt, William, 38
Planters and trade, 209, 210
Police, 18, 23-25
Police, Director-General of, 23
superior officers, 23
Polytechnic, 88-90
Population, 2, 4, 217, 224, 244, 246, 257, 277, 279, 283, 289,
295, 301, 309, 311, 314, 315, 316
Portillo, A. R., 177
Port Limón, 136
Ports, 11, 32, 216, 226, 271
Postal Administrator, 35
agencies, 35
Convention, 31
service, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35
Poste Restante, 34
Post Office, 18, 30, 33-35
British, 33
Posts, Department of, 30
Potatoes, 240
Potteries, 277
Poultry, 231
Poverty, absence of, 277
Presa General, 69
Presidential Designate, 38
President M. E. Araujo, 15, 17, 36, 40, 43, 47, 84, 85, 114, 246, 273
Presidents, 14-17
Press, 177-180, 227
Association, Central American, 179
Prieto, Don Carlos G., 18, 36, 43
Printing establishment, 18
Prisons, 20
Procedure, legal, 19
Proclamation to people, 62-63
Progreso, El, 290
Prosperity, general, 277, 295, 296, 299
Protection, 132
Provisional Junta, viii, ix
Public Credit, minister of, 18
Sub-Secretary, 18
Public Debt, 57
Public Instruction, Minister of, 18, 26
Sub-Secretary of, 18, 26, 42
Parks, 258, 259, 283, 289
Works, Sub-Secretary of, 42
Puerto Cortes, 68
Quezaltepeque, 287
volcano, 288
Quinóñez, Dr. A., 265
Quirós, Guillermo, 11
Race, Spanish, v
Railways, new, 212-215, 286, 287, 309
Railway subsidy, 52, 54
finance, 55
Regoládo, General Tomás, 15, 67
Religion, 28, 259
Religious instruction, 28
Republic, Federal, 14
Republics, Latin, v, vii, viii, x
Restaurants, 158
Revenue and expenditure, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 69, 236, 237
Revolution, 63
French, viii
Rice, 108, 229, 248, 276, 282, 288
Rice machinery, 156
Rivas, Manuel, 61, 63, 64
Rivas, R. Mayorga, 177
Roads, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 299, 303, 304
Roman Catholics, 259
Roosevelt, President, 117, 118, 121
Rosales, Don José, 266
Rozenraad, C., 164
Rubber, 108, 229, 238, 239
Rum, 236
Sabana Grande, 39
Sailing vessels, 109
Salina Cruz, 204, 205, 226, 227
Salvador Chamber of Commerce (London), 115
invasion of, 61-64
Railway, 9, 35, 50, 52, 54, 61, 114, 115, 136, 164, 196-215, 223,
225, 299, 310
_Salvador_, ss., 201, 204-206, 225
Sanatoriums, 267, 268
San Alejo, 311
San Buena Ventura, 315
San Carlos, 310
San Francisco, 276
San Ignacio, 276
San Isidro, 282
San Jacinto, 6
San José, 136
San Miguel, 9, 19, 24, 25, 34, 45, 94, 176, 179, 202, 213, 232,
266, 286, 306, 309, 310
Department of, 12, 247, 282, 284, 287, 306-310, 311, 313
River, 3, 232
volcano, 4
San Pedro, 378
Mazahuat, 300, 305
Nonualco, 270, 300, 304
San Rafael, 276, 278, 301
San Salvador (capital), 9, 21, 24, 26, 28, 32, 51, 52, 141, 150-152,
176, 197, 198, 225, 249-270, 273, 274, 286, 309
Department of, 28, 234, 247, 248, 276, 278, 287, 300
volcano, 4, 248, 281
San Vicente volcano, 4
Santa Ana, 9, 11, 19, 24, 25, 28, 32, 34, 51, 52, 64, 90, 93, 95,
141, 176, 179, 197, 198, 202, 213, 215, 266, 297-299
Barbara, 39
Department of, 12, 28, 234, 247, 270, 276, 287-290, 294, 297-299
Penitenciaria, 22
volcano, 3, 4, 281
Santa Elena, 313, 315
Santa Maria Ostuma, 304
Santa Rosa, 9, 311
Santa Tecla (Nueva San Salvador), 9, 25, 46, 93, 179, 225, 257,
266, 287, 289, 289,290
Santiago de María, 11
Nonualco, 300
San Vicente, 9, 25, 28, 38, 213, 256, 266, 286, 309
Department, 29, 39, 40, 234, 240, 245, 247, 278, 300, 301, 313
Sapotitan, 288
Scenery, 1
Scherzer, A. Z., 51
Schlensz, R., 176
School for Sergeants and Corporals, 88
School of Agriculture, 29
Schools, 27, 28, 29, 283, 314
Schwerin, H. T., 129
Secretaries of State, 18
Secretary of State (British), 99, 100, 105
Sensunapán River, 291
Sensuntepeque, 9, 141, 279, 292, 283
Service, Postal, 30, 31
Sesorí, 306
Sheep, 230, 231
Sherrill, Charles H., 127
Shippers, advice to, 44
Shipping, 109, 129, 146, 167, 216, 218, 219, 220
Siege, state of, 69
Sitio del Niño, 9, 35, 51, 93, 197, 198
Smallpox, 270
Smoked meat, 158
fish, 158
Social customs, 158
Sociedad, 310
Societies, 264
Sonsonate, 3, 9, 24, 25, 28, 34, 51, 58, 61, 66, 141, 179, 197,
198, 230, 266, 290-294, 295, 297
Department of, 28, 234, 240, 245, 247, 288, 290, 294, 297
Soriano, Andres, 11
Spain, v, vi, vii, viii, 1, 13, 147
war with, v, vii
Spanish-American University, 37
Congress, 46
oppression, vii
race, v
Spencer, C. T. S., 200, 201, 212, 310
Sport, 231
Squier, E. G., 127
State, Ministers of, 18
of siege, 69
Sub-Secretaries of, 18
Statistics, Trade, 105, 106, 107, 108
Steamships, 109, 129, 216, 218, 219, 220
Stewart, Charles, 202
Sub-Secretaries of State, 18
Subsidy, railway, 52, 54
Suchitote, 279
Sugar, 108, 225, 229, 232, 235, 236, 248, 285, 288, 295, 307, 311, 316
machinery, 150, 152-155, 235
Superior officers of police, 23
Supreme Court, 18
Surgical College, 29
Swan, Hunter, and Co., 204, 205
Symons, G. T., 203
Tabanco, 181
Taxation, 236
Teaching staff, 28
Tecapa, 9
volcano, 4
Tecapán, 316
Tehuantepec Railway, 136, 204, 205, 206
Tejutepeque, 282
Tejutla, 276
Telegraph and telephones, 18, 31, 297
Telegraphy, wireless, 32
Téllez, J. M. L., 177
Temperatures, 250, 256
Teotepeque, 287
Texistepeque, 297
Textiles, 134, 145, 162
Theatre, National, 151, 257, 260, 261, 263, 264
Theatres, 291
Timber, 240, 241, 285, 288, 291, 307, 312
Tobacco, 108, 158, 236, 237, 238, 248, 279, 280, 285, 295, 316
Toledo, General Salvador, 68
Tonacatepeque, 9
Trade, British, 98, 99, 105, 123, 125, 127, 129
foreign, 106
German, 108, 109
Latin-American, 120
statistics, 105, 106, 107, 108
Trading companies, 137, 138
Tramways, 160
Transportation, 196-215
Treasury, Municipal, 18
Treaties of commerce, 109, 112, 124, 126, 127, 320
Triana, S. Perez, 46
Triunfo, 11, 167, 226, 316
Troops, 86, 87, 88
Tuberculosis, 267, 268
Types, native, 244, 245
Ucléo, Alberto, 81, 82
Uluazapa, 306
United Fruit Company, 214, 218
Central America, 14
United States vi, 5, 10, 20, 21, 23, 27, 29, 44, 62, 75, 96, 103,
104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 117, 122, 123,
124, 126, 127, 128, 144, 145, 151, 158, 159
capital, 159, 160, 161
Consul-General, 44, 116
Consuls, 112
Legation, 116, 117, 127
mercenaries, vi
steel, 135, 136
trade, 145, 146, 147
Universities, 28, 29, 314
University, National, 29, 30, 42, 45
Spanish-American, 37
Uriate, Juan R., 178
Uruguay, 230
Usulután City, 213, 301, 314, 315
Department of, 12, 25, 247, 284, 306, 313-316
volcano, 4
Vaccination, direction of, 18, 270, 271
Valladolid, 13
Vice-Presidents, 16
Viceroys, Spanish, vii, viii
Victoria, 282
Vischer, Alfred, 87
Volcanoes, 1, 2, 4, 248, 251, 252, 256, 279, 280, 281, 284, 285,
288, 294, 297, 298, 304, 307, 311, 313
Walsh, George S., 203
War and Marine Sub-Secretary, 18
with Spain, v, vii
Weavers, native, 163
Wheat, 229, 240, 276
Wines and spirits, 158, 159
Wireless telegraphy, 32
Woods, precious, 240, 241
Woollens, 145, 163, 295
Xatruch, General, 74
Yams, 240
Yarns, 135
Yellow Fever, 272
Yúdice, Dr. Federico, 272
Zacapa, 30, 215
Zacatceoluca, 9, 25, 223, 266, 300, 301, 303, 304
volcano, 4
Zaldívar, Dr. Rafael, 39, 46
Zapote Barracks, 88, 92, 274
Zaragosa, 225
Zelaya, General José Santos, 14, 15, 56, 61, 62, 67, 68, 71, 72,
73, 74, 78, 79
BILLING AND SONS LTD. PRINTERS, GUILDFORD
* * * * *
Transcriber's note:
Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note.
Irregularities and inconsistencies in the text have been retained as
printed.
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paragraphs, thus the page number of the illustration might not match
the page number in the List of Illustrations.
Mismatched quotes are not fixed if it's not sufficiently clear where
the missing quote should be placed.
The cover for the eBook version of this book was created by the
transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Pages 55, 57, 149: The numbers in the tables do not add up correctly
as written.
The two photographs that appear between pages 96 and 97 have been
moved to page 78 to match the table of contents.
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