The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-01-29
GUATEMALA
AND WHY 1T is NOT A GO Cd
PLACEFOR IMMIGRANTS.
National Instability-When Product is
Wanted-Outrage Upon a Foreigner Ted
ious and Oppressive Fight-NIischief of
Cheap Labor.
Continued from End Col. =

Continued from End COL
most pollteness, recognized the justice of the
claim, and promised that right shoulA be done
But 1t happened quite otherwise. Weeks OF
| continued and repeated ministerial councils
with the head of the government, Dictator
Barrlos, brought about the following results
first, the Minister of Foreign Affairs was in
s W.. TO send IN his resignation. which he
1ld; second, the poor proprietor Of the jnca
Ater long Imprisonment, was Obliged to in
| stltute costly legal operations for the possess
| sion or the property Of which BY that time he
mad been entirely deprived; and laHt, but BY
no means least, the policemen, soldiers, and
| forced laborers continued, and are still con
tlnulng, to make lime for the government
without offering any recompense therefor, O,
| the land OF the unfortunate proprietor VIII.
mad thus dearly paid for the pleasure of own
ing Guatemalan plantation.
commenting upon this case, which is but :.
sample OF many others, the D&ario lie Centre
America, published in Guatemala City, saws:
! Agents OF the police, acting under superior
| ORDERS frequently take forcble aud illegal
| possession OF piece of property, ohEiging The
lawful owner to sustain a case at law TO
recover his own, and If he accomplishes it
heaven. knows when and at what cost, being
| in the meantime deprived Of his earnings"
IntOlerable Despotisnl-
Said another paper: 1.-The tribunals of the
National Legislative Assembly will either
Indefinitely postpone decision, or will finish
by sustaining the President unless there
should in the meantime come a change ct
administration. In all cases concerning clrl-
zens OF Guatemala, those injured by decree
Of the President dare not press the matter,
knowing we'll that would only be drawing
upon themselves other and greater perse-
cutions. They would rather resign every
thing than get into contest with the govern
ment"
The resident consul, who represents the
country Of the foreigner above named, I'M
burdened his mind freely, as follows: Ger
statnly in no other country in the world, how
ever uncivilized, would government dare
commit such an act of despotism, but Guate-
mala is so accustomed to tyranny that the
most petty tyrant can do what he will with
1mpunity. In fact, Reyna Barrios, whose
courage amounts to about as much as the imi-
tatlon trappings OF his regiment Of zapadores.
does not hesitate to outrage public opinion
by the PRONUNCIATION of any measure what
ever, even when done to satisfy his personal
caprice or overweening selfshness."
Another cause which works against emf
grafton to Guatemala is the scarcity of work
and occupation in the cities OF the country,
even IN the capital, the requirements of the
scanty and partially civilized population be-
ing very limited, and the public works, if
any, carried on mostly by criminal labor.
Then, too, prices paid for agricultural and
rural labor in general are lower than in the
most densely crowded countries Of Europe.
Daily wages vary in the several provinces Of
this republic from real Q2k cents) to Is
centavos, OF hundredths of dollar; and even
these. meager amounts are worth q great deal
less in gold, according to the various rates
OF exchange, by reason of the discount on
local silver money. BY the way, as there is
no loss without gain to somebody, there is
another side to this discount business, which
enables foreigners to come down here with
very small amount of money in English
golden coin or United States drafts and sub
sist a long time on the profits of exchang-
Ing the same for Guatemalan silver.
Mischief of Cheap Labor.
The latest attempt at organized European
immigration to Guatemala came to sad end
1t was made several years ago, with great
pecuniary loss, by daring promoter, who
counted upon promises of local assistance
which were never realized. There were 200
emlgrants In the company, all from che Tyrol.
able bodied, Industrious men and women,
willing to work and without lofty preten-
sions. Most of them persisted mserably al
the very gates of the promised land, the VIC
TINS of fever contracted by long waiting in
the Atlantic port for the carrying out Of
promises which were never fulfilled. The
remnant, after months of painful existence,
making long and weary journeys from town
to town and from fnca to finca in quest Of
work, without ever finding steady labor for
the assurance of the necessaries Of life, were
finally taken home at the expense of their own
government. And nowadays, since the plant
ers are allowed by law to fill their fincas and
! cafetals with Asiatics and Polynesians, Euro
peans and North Americans find themselves
more than ever secluded from the agricu!-
tural labor Of Guatemala. True, the Oriental
labobers are even inferior to the native In
dams, but they can be hired for less money
and can be treated more like slaves. After
the present exclusion of intelligent emigrants
from agricultural labor will naturally follow
that from other kinds of work, when the
Asiatics and Polynesians overflow the f1ncas
and scatter themselves through the cities and
| towns, as their countrymen have done in SO
| many parts of South America and the West
/ Indies. And everywhere they carry with
| them, together with their low grade Of work.
manship, that depreciation Of prices which
| must inevitably drive out coed workmen. AL
| ready in Guatemala City, Quetzaltenango,
| and other towns societies of artisans akin
| to our labor unions have been formed, which
are flooding the government with vain appeals
| for the suppression O. Chinese immig ration
| FANNIE BRIGHAM WARD.