St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-11-03
A Country Which Is Awaiting
the Hand OF Genius for
Development.
The Railway Leading to Ca
racaS Is Remarkable for
Its Curves.
Twenty-Five Thousand Rails
Of Which Eighteen Thou
sand Are Bent.
Senator Sabin Building a
Road Which Will Revolu-
tioniZe Traffic.
Special Correspondenoe Of the Globe.

| Special Correspondence OF the Globe.
CARACAS. Venezuela, Sept. 22.-As
per my promise before leaving Fargo,
will try and tell your numerous readers
something about this land of perpetual
summer. First. how to get here, and
the expenses of attempting trip to this
part of South America. At Pier Sc, East
river, New York city, one of the Red
'D" line of steamships leaves about
every eleven days. These steamers are
new. built of iron, with all the latest
Improvements, including electric lights,
etc. and are equal in accommodations
tn the majority of transatlantic steam
trS. After leaving Sandy Hook they take
nearly due southerly course, and pass
between San Domingo and Puerto Rico
| and make the first port at Curacao
tCurasol. in the Dutch West Indies.
From Curacao the steamer goes -
Puerto CabellO, Venezuela, and from
there to La Guayra. The time from
La Guayra to New York is nine days.
out of which about thirty-siX hours are
spent at Curacao and twelve hours at
Puerto Cabello; while if you transfer to
another steamer at Curacao and go direct
to La Guayra it takes little less than
seven days. The prices are: FIRST
cabin, one way. $50; round trip, good
for six months, $l44. Second cabin, one
way. $50: round trip, good for same
time. SO. The distance from New York
to La Guavra. direct, as shown by the
log of the steamship Venezuela, the one
1000 yards. while land mile is 1850
yaIds. Landing at La Guayra, you are
met by Col. w. S. Bird, United States
consul, and everything that can be done
TOr your comfort and pleasure is done
by Col. Bird. At La Guayra you board
the cars and start for Caracas OH per-
hapS the croOkedest railroad in the
world. The distance by this road is
twenty-tnree miles, while directly
Across the Mountains
1t is but six miles. The first three miles
of the road are nearly straight along
the shores of the Caribbean sea. In the
next fifteen it aScends about 1000 feet,
and the last five it deScendS about 700
feet, to the valley Caracas is located in.
The road has 346 curves that are notice
able while riding in the cars. | have
been informed there are $4,000 rails laid
out OF which there are $4,000 more or
less bent. The road belongs to an
English company and was completed
about five years ago. with the expecta-
ton that could carry all the freight and
passenger traffic between the capital
and the principal seaports. While
at first it was able to do
SO, it cannot begin to do so
now. You can see daily hundreds of
donKeys with loads Oh their backs. and
mules hauling carts loaded with mer-
chandise. going in both directions, that
the merchants here and at La Guayra
cannot wait for the railroad company to
transport. The charges for freight and
passengers are simply terrific. Freight
runs from So Fer ton on coal to $50 on
some classes of merchandise, and pas
spnger fares are $3.50 first-class and
SLIGO secund-class, with cars that emf
grants in the United States would not
ride in. even the sO-called "firSt-class."
The field for new corporation to do
the carrying trade is more than ripe and
about to be taken advantage of by an
American company, of which Hon. ID.
Al. Sabin, of Saltwater, is president.
They have already begun grading at the
Caracas end. This company propose to
Tunnel the Mountains
between here and La Guayra and short
ell the distance from twenty-three miles
to six miles, and construct a double
track and use either cable, or, If prac-
ticable, electricity as motive power.
When this is completed it will reduce
the time from two and half hours to
half hour, and the passenger and
freight rates from what they are now to
One-Ialf less. At. the latter figure the
new company will get all the business;
it will be able TO run its trains night
and day, while the present company
cannot afford to carry at the figures
named nor run its trail S at night. 1t is
subject at all times to landslides that
will delay it from few hours to
two weeks at time. The new road
will BIZ exempt from all that and will be
practically without competition, being
able to run its trains night and day,
having no heavy locomotives to haul
up and down. and the distance being
only One-fourth of what it is at present,
and will be able to do all the work nee
eSsary some time to come. The 5
per cent debenture stock of the present
company was quoted last May in Lon
don above par; in short time after the
Caracas 81 La Guayra Cable company
begun grading the stock dropped per
cent. Some idea of the traffic between
the capital and La Gnayra can be
formed when you consider that there
are six regular lines of steamers plying
between La Guayra and European
ports, and between La Guayra and New
York; VIZ: The Red up Line, the Eng
fish. French, German, Dutch and Spanish
lines. to which are to be added the coast
apd West India trade and transient
steamers and sailerS from various cOun-
tries. The Red "D'' line has three
steamers plying between New York
and La Guayra about every thirty-five
days that carry on ali average $500 tons
per round trip. The other lines and
coasting and West India trade will
carry about two or three times as much
in the same length of time, while the
passenger traffic is constantly on the
increase. and, when rapid transit and
reasonable rates are established. will
increase many hundred per cent. The
custom house at La Guayra collects
more revenue in the way of customs du-
ties than all the other ports in the re-
public of Venezuela combined. For the
information of your readers, send you
the latest report published by the gov
eminent of the imports and exports. In
doing so, use the Venezuelan unit of
money, viz: the bolivar. equal to 20
cents of our money: