The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1897-11-06
SALVADOR
THE MOST INTERESTING CEN
TRIAL AMERICAN REPUBLICS.

Although the Smallest of the Central Am o
lean Republics 1t is Away Ahead Of Many
Larger Ones in Many Respects-Banking
and Currency-Production Of Indago.
nonsonate, salvaaor ~ Especial Cor.
respondence.-This smallest and most inter-
'estlng OF the Central American republics 10
away ahead Of many larger and richer com.
tries IN the matter of charitable institutions
Ihey are all maintained by the government,
under the direct control of a Cabinet official
VINO is known as the Minister of Education
PuDnc Works, and Benevolence." There are
at least dozen large, well equipped hospitals
one IN each town OF consequence--and their
q combined cost to the public treasury IS about
$l6o,000 year. The government hospital in
the capital is especially an honor to the
country, having an excellent medical staff
ana all modern appliances. The nursing and
iousehold arrangements are in charge Of sis
ters or charity, and the records show that
curing last year they cared for 3,217 patients
Besides this government institution, there
is new and very fine hospital in San Sal
Vador, named Rosales, in memory of the late
aH oehof l)od Jose ROsales, who beuueathed
S4'ooo'ooo for its establishment and main
tenance The building is mostly of iron.
manufactured in Belgium. The capital city
mas also model orphan asylum and school.
"nere both sexes not only receive a good
primary education, but the boys are taught
carpentry, hoe-making, and the various
trades, and the girls sewing, cooking embroi-
'derlng, etc. There arc also classes in music
telegraphy, bookkeeping, and shorthand, so
mat when the grownup orphans 20 out from
us walls. they are we'll equipped for the
battle of life. There is a similar asylum
at Sonsonate, Salvador's third city. and sew
eral homes for the aged poor in different
parts Of the country.
80 far as the traveller Is directly oon-
cerned, all who have visited San Salvador will
agree that its most benevolent" institution
Is tho great bathhouse (also supported bv the
.goFernment, which nature generously SUM-
pies with mineral waters. ready heated to
various degrees Of temperature, to suit all
cases. To be sure, the bath-maids are men
ana privacy and clean towels alike non con-
SslaI, Dut Inc warm, greenish- blue, SULPHUR
smelling water is grateful to the wearied
globe-t rotter that when asoak in it he be-
leVes the long-sought "fabled fountain has
at last been found.
Banking and Currency,
Before lesyng the capital city, we had No.
caslon to d. little banking business q IL
salvador, IN order to convert some American
gold into the dirty scrip of the country. for
travelling expenses The rate of exchange.
which varies considerably from time to tine
Is just now greater than over, owing to the
recent revolutionary furry, and slight change
u government in forming 1.-THE greater re-
public so that one dollar of our currency
IS equal to nearly three Of this, If taken in
paper. Here is hint to travellers in these
countries. Ely judicious management of ones
stters or credit. or drafts on New York, ones
expenses may be reduced to very much less
<than the cost of living at home. The Saliva
'toilan Dllls are badly made in London, in
imitation Of the excellent ones produced in
New York 1t requires considerable head
work to get the relative value of these queer
coins we'll fixed in the memory. The peso OF
loo centavas is the monetary unit, supposed
to equal francs, French; liras, Italian:
pesetas, Spanish; shillings, English; 1
marks. German; and 81, United States. It is
divided into tcstones, each equal to so GEN.
taVas; pesatea. Or as we should say, quar-
tels' reales; 1t medios, and 80 cuartillos
For smaller transactions, particularly in the
snNrkets, the cuartillo Is divided into 2
racions, equal to IA cents each. and the
racion Is divided Into medias worth about
n cent. The banks of Salvador are the In
ternatlonai' the Occidental, with branch in
the City OF Santa Ana, and the Salvadoreno.
There is also the private bank of Messrs.
Blanes and Tk:tgueros capital, ST. SOC, 900: a
branch Of the Bank of Nicaragua, opened in
the City o. San Salvador in 1893; and q mort
gage bank, lately established Not long ago
the Salvadorian government granted certain
concessions to firm in Barcelona, Spain, for
the establishment Of another national bank
in Salvador, with capital of 5000 900 pese-
tas. These banks are said to be all paying
= large dividends, but how they can be is quite
beyond my limited knowledge of the business
There is great deal Of manufacturing for
sSpanlsh- America going on in San Salvador
and it's suburbs; establishments for making
cigars, matches, soap and candles, artificial
stone, sawmills, flour mills; sugar retineries,
mills for cleaning rice and coffee and many
dlstlllerles. There Is also great deal of
mary elously fine and beautiful; shawls and
scarfs of silk, flax and cotton, and cotton cloth,
white and colored.
Transportation Facilities.
We came to this city. whose name reminds
us so strongly of q 9earer one in Southern
Ohio, most Of the way by Salvadors only
railroad. The line is fifty three miles long
and extends from the seaport, Acajutla, to
La Ceiba, connecting Sonsonate and several
other important towns with Santa Tecla, or
rather it will do SO when completed. At
present it comes within about eight miles of
the latter city, and twenty from San Salvador.
The horse-car line, which has existed for
some years between the, two last named
cities, Is being changed to a steam railroad Of
uniform gauge with the main line thres feeD;
so that the day is not distant revolutions per-
uniting when the capital will be brought to
within q few hours of the Pacific. The rails
were imported from England, the locomotives
and rolling stock from the United States. The
road was begun as private enterprise. D"t
was purchased by the government whenabous
half completed, for 81 100000 .-s-.,..a
We made the first days journey by car
.riage, in order to see the country to better
advantage. The Salvadorian carriage. by the
way Is a unique institution-small square,
covered with canvas or cow-hide, with stout
wheels and axles, suitable for the rough
roads. Mules are the propelling power, har-
messed three abreast. the central one In the
shafts. When a native travels In style, he
requires several moro mules to his carriage
IA Ieader, ridden by position, harnessed
ahead of the three, and as many in the rear
as he can afford mozos (men servants) to
mount them. The roads in Salvador are. as
"a rule, extremely bad, unpaved, ungraded
cuts, just wide enough to allow two carts
ito pass one another, leading sharply up hila
and down dale. The ground is very soft anc
frequently muddy, the rainfall excessive dur
ing the wet season, and bridges scarce as
,hen's teeth. Whenever traffic or rain
storm cuts deep holes and bitches in the road
bed bundles of twigs and brush, loose earth
and stones are dumped in at the expense OF the
government, and considered quite sufacien
ito remedy the imperfection. Transportation
of goods from SOnsOnate and from the Othel
Two seaports of the country to the INLAND town
is done by means of twO-Wheeled carts, draw
by oxen. The cart is of solid construction
nine feet long by three and one-half feet
wide, and the body rests directly Npon tht
wooden axle, without any springs; and as ma,
1 ring. In the dry season, when the roads are
1,1a rrrN1 Too -,