Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-11-13

dren are, however. from the best stock of
the highlands of Scotland. Their ancestors
are among the thriftiest people OF the
world. Indeed. many of the shepherds save
money. and not a few have taken their saw
ings to Patagonia and have there become
sheep farmers themselves. There is to-day
Still, the chances for the poor man here
are not great. All of the good lands are
row taken up, and nothing is for sale OF
twenty-one year leases from the Engilsn
government. The lands are leased in
blocks of 5000 acres at the rate of 500 a
year. 1t Will be years before such leases
Will run out. and the value of the land Is
now so we'll known that the renewal OF the
leases will be at such prices as to leave lit
tie profit TO the outsider. There is a very
limited labor market in the Falkiands.
Those who are employed get good pay. but
the coming in of a hundred new hands
would necessarily result in the discharge of
that many men who now have work. The
shepherds themselves have large families.
and some of their children will have TO go
elsewhere to find work.
The Capital of the FaIkInnds.
But let us take Il look at Port Stanley,
the capital of these Stands. 1t has only
100 citizens, including the governor ana
all his officials. but it has more thrift ana
business than many towns of five times its
size. 1t Is perhaps the richest capital or
mas all he can eat and to spare Por.
Stanley is situated on Stanley harbor just
beyond Cape Pembroke, at the eastern enn
of East Falkland. It's harbor is Il safe
land locked bay, about a half mile wide
and five miles long, with an entrance SO
narrow that a large ship could hardlyssturn
about in it, Upon the south side of the
harbor, running up d gently slopinS NIL
are a hundred or so neat one and two
stone with ridge roofs of corrugated iron.
This is Port Stanley. AS you look at it
from the steamer it make you think of a
German village. and as you come closer to
Ii YOU find tina every little house has Its
front yard and garden, and that the front
doors of even the poorest of the cottages
have VeStibuleS. This is to shield the visit
Ors and the families from the cold wind.
In nearly every window you see ported
plants and flowers. Such things, will not
grow out of doors, and L venture that there
is not n town OF this size in the world
which has so many greenhouses and con-
servatOrieS.
Beside each house is a pile of what looks
like cubes of well rotted manure. This is
peat. Peat forms the fuel of the town, and
1t comes from the bog on the top Of the hill,
at the foot of which Port Stanley lies.
Everyone here can get his own fuel for the
digging, and nearly every householder in
Port Stanley goes to the moor and chops
out his own peat blocks for the winter.
Some of the houses are quite pretentious.
The manager of the Falklands Company
has q house containing d dozen rooms,
and the cottages of the governor cover
perhaps one-quarter of an acre of ground,
all of his rooms being on the ground floor.
| There are three churches, one of which is
called the cathedral. This is presided over
by the bishop of the Falklands. Another
church is Roman Catholic and a third is a
Baptist. There are two hotels or public
houses where you can get a bed or Il drink.
If you want the latter you may nave good
Scotch whisky for 6 cents a glass and Bass
ale for 4 cents. There is a butcher shop
which sells delicious mutton at 4 cents a
pound and fairly good beef for s cents a
pound, SO you see the necessities of life are
cheap.
Port Stanley has n postofice at which
the monthly newspaper mail averages five
pounds per family. 1t has a postal savings
bank in which the deposits now amount to
$4,000. There are only 1000 people in the
Falk!anGS and the depositors in the postal
savings bank number $50. The town mas a
governor appointed by the queen of En-
gland, who gets a salary of 5000 "A year.
1t has other officials whose salaries foot up
$4,000 annually 1t has an American consul.
a k~entuckian named Miller. who seems to
be hand and glove with the governor and
who is trying hard TO earn his salary on
these far-away islands where there is nc
American trade and where there are not a
dozen. Vessels in a century. The consulate
is u little cottage of three rooms and a
lean-to such as could be built for 500 in
the United States. 1t is one of the most
useless consulates in our service, and there
is no earthly reason for its existence except
to give some politician a place. BY the time
this letter is published the preseht ap-
pointee VIII probably be back home, as an
Iowa man has been chosen to succeed him,
FRANK G.. CARPENTER.