The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-23
AN UNCIVlL OFFICER.
Mr.. Engelhardt Makes Some Severe
Criticisms Of Steamship
EMPLOYEES.

passengers on the City of Sydney was
Theodore Engelhardt, a Guatemala
planter. who bears standing commission
from President Barrios to purchase fire.
arms and ammunition for the Guatemalan
Government, and enjoys the intimate con-
fidence OF the Jefe de Politico of San
Marcos.
Mr.. Engelhardt is native of New Or
leans, educated in Europe, and about
year ago he secured three plantations in
Tumbador. He is now on his Way to Lon
don to purchase machinery for 'bene-
ticlo,' as sugar-house is called in Guate-
mala, OF 100000 pounds capacity, and. in
cldentally, he may make few bargains
for thee overnments war department with
the English and German manufacturers.
AS General Manager Name of the Qua
temala Central Railroad had sent to AGA
Julia special request to the officers of the
steamer to take good care of him when he
came aboard, and as he has shipped about
1900 quintals out of his first coffee crop,
with prospects OF being able to ship crop
OF 5000 quintalS in year or two, Mr.. En-
gelhardt naturally expected to be treated
with some consideration. But he was
doomed to a severe disappointment, as
will be seen from his own statement in the
following:
five by fifteen feet it seenIed) which six of us
had to occupy, and where we had no ventila-
ton to speak OF notwithstanding the swelter-
ing heat. Had there been any disaster there is
no telling what would have become OF U.S. for
there were not enough life-preservers. There
were only four OF them in our room, and being
away underneath the lowest berths they would
have been practically inaccessible.
When inquired of an officer whether he had
received eny word from Mr.: Name he very
bluntly said he had not. ] must say that
he nnciVjl officer and beha ,ior
on the trip was scandalous.
He was extremely uncyil to some of the
ladies. Worse still, he had the impudence
to flirt with some of them, using a show
oil hospitality in treating them to cham
payne as an excuse, and when he was politely
repulsed or received the cold shoulder he en-
deavored to get revenge by making villaiaous
accusations. He went to Captain Johnston and
tried to scandaliZe the second officer and chief
engineer because he CHANGED to see a lady
looking at the apparatus in the engineers
room one night while under the escort of the
second officer.
The fact that had a berth at all might be
taken as fortunate circumstance, because q
great many passengers were un der the neces-
sity OF sleeping on sofas and lounges where
as q number of native planters, ,Salvadorans
and Guatemalans, had come aboard at La
Libertad, Acaju and San Jose dc Guatemala
Ihere were ninety cabin passengers aboard
and do not think there were proper accom-
modations for over half that number. In con-
sequence we had to have first and second
INDlc sety anu those VINO SAT down 20 the
ond table Jared very poorly, indeed.
The food was wretched, invariably cold and
nauseating, besides being scarce and provok-
ingly monotonous. One day we had fresh fish.
but usually it was canned lobster or canned
cod that we got and no vegetables worth men,
tioning. Ii there had been oranges at the first
table. the second got none.
colored waterfall the help was colored.
including the steward himself-would put his
hand on your shoulder or back in n patronizing
way and with affected sohcitude inquire what
IN Won &c 81, I'D
stood as an ingenious suggestion upon his part
that O. tip would insure good attendance, but
sometimes even tip was OF no avail.
gave one-a Waterman or porter, think he
~as-a 20 piece to get changed for me SO that
could give q few tips around and had to wait
almost two DAYS for the change to come back
never saw anything like it, yet have tray
eIed on twenty different steamship lines. The
roughness and total lack OF. even civility dis
played by the colored help is simply incom-
parable
Yet, what can one do? am entirely at the
mercy of the company. The only way 1 can
ship my coffee or sugar is by water, and even if
1ngton the largest stockholder in the railroad
Some times considerable coffee OF Central
American planters is thrown overheard by the
company's steamers.
OF course when such coffee is subsequently
taken out OF the salt water and dried in the
sun our san Francisco agents and BUYERS do
not find 1t 10 be of the quality expected
1t is true there is good money in coffee, and
IN consideration of that one might be willing
to suffer q little unpleasant treatment by the
Pacific Mail monopoly, but it seems to me that
If the company were more considerate and its
employees more courteous it would be good
business pollcy upon its part. As it is, only
those people who are compelled by sheer ne
cessity to travel up and down the coast will do
So and San Francisco is consequently made to
suffer, for thousands and thousands of people
in the East and in Europe would gladly take a
trip around via Panama could they be assured
OF proper treatment
Mr.. Engelhardt still retains his Ameri-
can citizenship, which he finds to be good
policy in republic that is more or less
revolutionary. 1t cost him $50 to do so,
though. Down in Guatemala any man
who refuses an offer of an office or candi-
dature must pay fine. As his partner,
francisco Aguilar, is pretty we'll connected
With the powers that be, he has hosts of
friends, and there was an effort to make
Mr.: Engelhardt the alcalde of a town
called Rodeo. He positively declined the
honor and paid a fine of $50 for doing so.
Had he done otherwise he would have be-
come q Gnatemalan citizen and the next
successful revolutionary party could have
promptly confscated all his property by
forced contributions
lie has the power of little car on his
plantation, and can arrest and throw into
jan Tor any length Of time the Indians and
others employed by him. They are
pcons-hopelessly indebted to him-and
he manages to keep them in peonage.
Should one of them leave plantation
owned by him he can promptly call upon
the, jefe and compel the fugitiye.s arrest
and return.
This system of peonage Mr. Engelhardt
deplores, but the natives would not work
at all, he says, were it not for that There
fore he finds some satisfaction, or rather
reason, for it.
1T costs Mr.. Engelhardt about IS per
quintal to produce coffee. and he can sell
it for $34.
Mr.. Engelhardt was told that young J. L.
Barllias, nephew of ex-President BarilIas,
had expressed satisfaction with his treat
ment aboard the vessel. His explanation
was:
Wen, these Spanish-Americans do not know
any petter and consequently have nothing to
complain about: They live i'll adobes and sub
sist upon tortiilas, so 1t is no wonder they are
Anent the treatment of NJ Francastle.
the French Consul at San Jose de Guate-
mala, VINO is taking his wife to Europe to
improve her health, Mr.. Engelhardt said
1t was shameful The ticket allows passen-
gers 10 go aboard the steamer on the date of
neT arriyai at any way port, yet Mr. Francastle
anu MS Wlie, who is in delicate condition,