Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1892-02-11
GILLIAN CITIES.
A GLANCE AT SANTIAGO AND
VALPARAISO.
The Former is the Capital and the
Paris of South America. Lat
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NUMEROUS. ne iarSesI center Oh popu-
lation is found at Santiago, the capital
of Chill. The population is some co.
ooo. The next in size is Valparaiso, the
great commercial port of the State, and
near the capital, with population of
100000. The other places of import
ance, Talca, Conception, Iquique, Chill
Ian, Serena, Copiapo, San Felipe, Curico,
have population of from 10000 to 100,-
0oO. Many of the smaller towns are
centers OF mining industries, where the
peon laborers make up the bulk of the
population,
Santiago, which is distance of some
four hours by express train from Valpa-
raiso, has all the appearance of CAPT
tai. 1t is wealthy city, and the hand
soonest one south of the equator. 1t is
the Paris of South America. Santiago
has many fine public and private build
lngs, and handsome equipages are num-
erous. 1t is situated in broad plain,
hemmed in by mountains. The climate
is superb, the mean summer temperature
being seventy degrees Fahrenheit,
and in winter tifty-two degrees
Fahrenheit. The city is laid out
in chessboard style, and the
blocks are known as cuad,as.
The great centre of life in the Chilian
capital is the plaza. Here the tramways
start and the hackney coaches are
stationed. OF evenings, when the band
plays, it is the fashionable promenade.
AS in all South American cities having
any pretensions, around the Santiago
plaza are groped the cathedral, the town
hall and the Gov ernor's palace. The
proportions of this plaza are good, and
shade trees numerous. What are called
the baratillos are the great feature of
this place. These are booths built under
one side of a long arcade, and here are
sold oil those indispensable trifes which
delight the Santiago men and women.
Sign-boards over shops show the cosmo-
politan character of the city. aud you
can read names which you have spelled
out before on Bond street or oil the
Boulevard. Englishmen, Frenchmen
and German shopmen busily engaged
dispensing their goods are common in
Santiago.
If there are many fine houses occupied
by aristocratic and wealthy families,
much of Santiago is built up with struc-
lures made of adobe or sun dried brick.
Ornamentations of the outside of houses
are not in good taste, stucco being in
too common use. 1t must be borne in
mind, however, that Chill is an earth
quake country, and in lightness there is
safety. The genuine Chilian city houses
of the past, following the plans of those
in Seville, still existing in Santiago, are
gloomy and coistral.
The Alameda of Santiago is a superb |
avenue, shaded by trees, and bears q
faint resemblance to the Champs Ely
sees. Along the Alameda have been
reared the statues of Chilian heroes.
General San Martin, Bernardo O'Hig-
gins, Carrera, Bello and Freire.
As the centre of education, the capital |
OF Chill possesses numerous schools. If |
the late President Balmaceda had faults, |
he believed most in the general education |
of the Chilians. There is museum of |
natural history, of fine arts, and a yearly |
Salon is held. There is conservatory |
of music, and fair public library. San
tiago may be said to be a city with q |
great future before it, but where matters
are still in somewhat of an inchoate con-
dition. Progress is marked in some d-
rections, and there is retrogression in
others.
Valparaiso is the city which, after all,
plays the great role in Chilian matters.
The commercial entrepot of this South
American State is situated on bay, ex-
posed to the high winds which sweep
down it from the north. The quays on
the water side are numerous, there are
many streets running parallel with the
dhays, and back rise the hills, dotted
with houses. From these residences
fine view of the bay Can be had. These
spurs of hilly ridges are known rs cerros,
The wealthior people Of Valparaiso have
selected the greener or more fertile por-
tions of these hills, leaving to the poorer
the more arid cerros. Valparaiso is es-
sentially business town, and as thor
oughly ehgrossed in commerce as is
Liver pool. There are certain streets well
provided with shops, but offices, banks,
Warehouses, and merchants quarters are
of greater Importance. There is mole,
the Muelle Fiscal, some little of n pro-
lection for shipping, built to facilitate the
landing of goods and passengers, but it is
inadequate for the increasing commercial
wants of the city.
Near the Muelle Fiscal stand the huge |
custom house and bonded warehouses. |
From the top of hill on which stands
military school may be seen the fleet of
steamers, sailing ships, the lighters thnt |
carry on the business Of Valparaiso, and |
the floating defences of Chili-her war
ships and ironclads-and far, fur beyond |
stretch the Jagged promontores, which |
slope toward the blue waters of the |
ocean.
Valparaiso, if literally translated. |
means "The Vale of Paradise" but the |
pootical conception is quite lost as far as
the city is concerned, for within it there
is nothing which is pleasing to the eye.
The business town is Indifferent to archi-
tectural display. What strikes the
American most is the constant sound OF
English. In all the more important
South American cities you will find
abundance of German, French and
Italian, but the English in Valparaiso
rule the roast, and have for their share |
the largest interests in Chilian commerce. |
1t is the foreign element which, in
a large measure, controls the organ
ization and management of all great
Chilian enterprises. 1t is from the CITY, |
or moneyed London, that the plans have
originated, and the capital subscribed
to work the copper or the nitrates. Chi-
lians may have originally owned the
sources of mineral wealth, or be still IN
tcrested in them, but it is the manager
who halls from Great Britain whose word
or will is law. The Chilian temperament
;nol;,es towards "passiye endowment"