The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-09

not to call already, so what customs duties |
there will be for Captain Trench to collect
don't quite see.p
tBut the threatened bombardment 2"-
"But there's nothing to lombard. If you
wanted to knock the place over you
wouldn't lombard, youd Just Shove"
sBut Admiral Stephenson intended my |
ships to fire on the principal building Pr
But there are no principal buildings.
Yes, that's what they refer to-this row of
Graphic before us,] rather prettily stu
ated, aren't they, among the palm trees |
That principal building with the flagstaff |
-'over which the union jack now proudly |
foats'-well, the union jack surmounts |
walls of wood and mud and tin roof
'tAnd the Government pier?''-"Isn't |
half bad place to sit out on and chat, |
with an occasional bath-only the sharks !
are rather bore. But the coffee is rather |
good"
1t is easy to talk in leading articles of
further and sterner measures" But Mr.. |
Somerset could not help us to give any
precise meaning to such grand words. We
ings and "shove" them over certainly. |
And if it wasn't that no dutiable goods are
likely to be landed we could collect the
customs. Also, We could march, if we
liked. to Leon-the principal town" ;,,only
that's half in ruins already. However,
NJ +. somerset udIeS i've NOlCduOS
may have spared something for our blue
Jackets to lean against and topple over.
Managua 1.-THE seat of government" has
more of an air ABOUT 1t, Mr.. Somerset ad-
mits; they have rather clever way of
whitewashing the mud and wood there
until it looks quite like stone. But then
by the time we got to Managua there
would be certain to be revolution on.
''There was good deal OF talk about one
already" said Mr.. Somerset, 'swhen was
there, and as the present President must
either show some fight or none, and as
some other would-be President is sure in
either case to rise against him, things are
likely to become great deal mixed before
long.
said to be 1000 men strong. But Mr.. Somer-
set demurred a little to the Strong"
Some of the officers who are about the
President look smart enough, but he
wouldn't like to answer for the stuff of the
| rest. "You hear everywhere in those parts
the same story of the way troops are
pressed: 4 send you fifty volunteers
writes the imaginary commandant to the
Governor, please return the ropes.'" Mic
aragua it should be emembered, contains
about $4,000 square miles, is therefore as
big as England, but has not more than six
inhabitants to every square mile. The
population is mostly Indian and mixed.
1t has very little commerce. The inhabi-
| tants rear good many cattle and grow
bananas (the leaves of which come in use.
fully for ,wadding) and coffee.
On one point Mr.. Somerset was very
emphatic. 1t is, as we have seen, not easy
to say what more this country must do to
assert it's rights; but that it was high time
to do something Mr.. Somerset was con-
WINGED. 'You have no idea," he said,
chow contemptuous of England and Eng
lishmen they have become in these little
I w ,oft ,ir o%n T.
plain of, it is true. But then we were only
passing through, and, besides, we were
fortunate in having good introductions.
was presented to President Zelaya, and he
seemed to me very intelligent man. But
the English traders and others who live
out there have pretty bad time of it. ooh,
England doesn't count the people say.
England won't do anything. Besides, she
couldn't do anything if she wanted. Amer
lea wouldn't let her.
''That" said Mr.. Somerset, sis the kind
of talk you hear eyerywhere-that and the
Monroe doctrine. The phrase is a sort of
fetish with them. oh, it's all SAFE they
men; we're all right; we've got the Mon
roe doetrinep And how I used to ask,
do you interpret the Monroe doctrinep'
Sometimes my informants hadn't the
least idea of who Monroe was or what was
his doctrine. But they all found the
whenever an American squadron cruising
around in the ordinary course is sighted
the belief is universal that it is coming to
blow the foreigners off the water.o What,
we wonder, would they make of it if they
knew that the Monroe doctrine was warmly
espoused by this country itself?
Mr.. Somerset is now at home for a. while,
but hopes to be off on his travels again be-
fore long. 81 like these out-of-the-way
places" he says, land in Central America
you can always count on revolution or
two, which gives one good deal of fun.'
And that led Mr.. Somerset to say good
word for the Central American politicians.
"They are terribly despotic when they get
into power; / should think there's no such
despotism-not in autocratic Russia or
anywhere-as in these republics; but then
every body, pretty nearly, has his turn, and
you can't help having some sort OF respect
for politicians who don't mind carry
Ing their lives in their hands. Indeed,
suppose every politician out there has
either potted at his neighbor or been
potted at by him, or both.'5
Among other places where Mr.. Somerset
came in for little revolution during his
last travels was Panama. He firmly be-
lieves, by the way, in the possibility of
the completion of the canal. BIT the pres
ent time only just enough work 70 keep
the contract from lapsing is being done
But the engineer in charge was proud of
the excellent condition in which all the
machinery is kept. He told Mr.. Somerset
to pay a surprise visit and test some of
the machinery for himself. Mr.. Somerset,
as will be seen by this rough summary OF
half an hours chat. has much that is in
teresting to tell and we hope he will soon
publish some of it in book. He was &C
companied on his last journey by that
vivacious American writer, Mr.. Richard
Harding Davis-"And such a splendid fell
low to travel with!'' Mr.. Somerset says en-
Enthusiastically.
He WAS PREPARED