The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-01
COFFEE AND MACHETES,
South America Snubs San
Francisco and FavOrs
Europe.
A Visiting Planter Discusses the
Trade Of the Country Imple-
ments From Germany.

The lover of coffee, who inhales the
grateful odor of the Arabian berry and sips
the steaming beverage with a sigh of en-
ioyment, is not always quite aware of the
nature of the compound he relishes sc
much. He imagines that he is imbibine
the creme de la creme of coffee because he
gets the best in the market and his grocer
charges him a good round figure for the
same.
But he is not, through no fault of the
grocer, however, but of the grower, who,
away off on his South American planta-
ton, has poor opinion of San Francisco
and its coffee-consumers. A coffee-planter
was discussing this subject last evening
after dinner and at that stage of the repast
when the cigars and cafe noir come on.
Europe has the best of u.s." he said. $50
far as coffee goes. We have four grades in
South America, and when the coffee is
picked, or rather sorted out by the women,
the desperdicio, the worst, is sent to this
coast Sometimes little of the third grade
comes here, but Europe swallows all the first
and second grades. Have the comparative
amount of sacks raised and consumed
Yes, here we are. Now, Guatemala gives
100000 sacks, Salvador $50, 900, Honduras
100000, Nicaragua $4,000 and Costa Rica
100000 Total, 1,675000 sacks. Of this
San Francisco takes 1S5, 600, New York and
the East 100000 and Europe 1,30O, 900, dis
| tributed principally at London. Paris and
! Hamburg.
you hear, no doubt, great deal about
caracol, the round bean, the best coffee.
Now and then few pounds may get this
way, but L can assure you the genuine
article is very scarce.
| Europe has got the South American
trade. The Germans are cunning work
men and they furnish the coffee planters
with the machete, which is the universal
agricultural implement of the country.
They make them cheaper than you can.
They are of much inferior quality to the
| American article, but they sell all over the
country. There is an immense revenue
obtained from the sale of machetes in
! South America.
The planters use small safes wherein to
! keep the silver coin in which the hands
are paid. The Germans have monopoly
OF this business also. They make the safes
In sections, so they can pack them on
muleback to those regions where railways
and even stages are unknown. San Fran
cisco merchants have not exerted them
selves to secure the trade of this country.
1t is almost impossible to get them to pack
their goods properly. Every article that
comes from Europe is so packed that there
cannot be any breakage.
| we had shipment of barbed wire and
stores from San Francisco once. The wire
was dumped on top of the stores without
any dunnage, and the result was that the
stores were punched as full of holes as a
sieve. sent for some cases OF wine. /
begged the shipper to pack them well. as
tie landings are made on rough parts Of
the coast and the goods have to be dumped
into lighters. The workmen quickly dis
covered that the bottles would smash, and
as each lot of cases was hoisted banged
them good and often, and had bucket
under the hoist to catch the escaping
juice. So they got all my wine.
"A European shipper will send his
barbed wire packed in burlap, and cask
OF beer set within another cask, SO no
contents. There is a big field for an enter
prising man in South America, and wish
there was some way Of inducing these men