The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-06-05
lin THE GlARKETS OF LIQlA.

" - lila AA ~
Only here and there you see a cigar shop,
a store saiitn~ cooked eatsbsss Or drug
store wEtch is open. A K grows dark the
hsrd-czge-Iike balconies above the stores
shut ur. and the city in some Of It's parts
seems almost city OF the dead IL IS far
from dead however T1ere IS lots OF fun
going on behind the closed windows, ard
the people sit up late and delight IN social
enjoyment.
viii the Americans Get IL:
Some Of the best things now offered here
in q business way are Of the eiec1ric1!
order. Lima is a ctsy Of 10000 people. anu
.t has rAmway upon @nlch the cars are
drawn By ho-zes The line OF tracks
reaches all parts OF the city. and the cars,
although they are irrssu.ariy run and
poorly nanaged are almost always fuL
I am told that the roads are now paying,
although could SEE that the conductors
are cheating the company right along. ana
that they do nothing 10 increase tne;r
custom. IL this system could be replaced
By an electric line Il would probably pay
well, ard might be as big a bonanza as
the Mexico City street railways, which
sold for S7.aooeoo. At present there are
two or three American parties who are
figuring ON the proposition OF buying the
horse car lines and extending the system
from here to callao ard Choriasos. the sea-
SIDE resort OF Lima. CaIiao has about
1900 people and X is the port for Lima.
There Is fat road between the two
cities and line connecting them could
be cheapiy built. The power for such
roads during the most of the year could
be gotten from the River Rimac, which
flows through Lima, and which has, / am
told. fail OF thirty feet between that
city and these. Among the parties who
are investigating the matter II the South
American Power and Traction Company.
This company has been formed / am told.
to build the road and its agent. Mr.. Rob
ert s. Forbes, Ia now I'm the north making
the arrangements to build. / understand
that the president OF PERI: has given them
a certain time to complete their arrange
ments. The parties interested are said TO
be Mr.. John Searles. OF New York. the
General Electric Company OF America
and an electric company of Berlin. The
German company has sent an engineer out
here to investigate the situation. The
price asked for the tramway line, which
belongs to two men, Is $4,000 sterling. II
could probably he bought for considerably
less and Is valuable only on account of
It's franchise covering the streets OF Lima
and lasting for a number OF years. An
other person who has been here looking up
the street railway proposition is Mr.. I. X.
Pierson, president OF the Painesvilie and
Cleveland Street Railway Company. He
says the receipts Of the present tramway
line could be increased 500 day by good
management and that a large amount
could be saved by putting In registers 10
prevent the conductors from cheating. In
connection with the first company an cleo
tr.c light contract has been offered by the
government OF $40, 900, silver. for q certain
number OF additional electric lights, and
good electric lighting business. IL Is
thought, can be added to that Of the car
lines. At present Lima is lighted by gas
and electricity. and ii IS one OF the best
lighted OF the South American cities The
gas lamps are upheld by old-fashioned iron
brackets which extend out from the walls
OF the houses. and there i. lamp about
every hundred feet. Gas costs here about
81. gold. thousand fest. The city has
also about twenty-five are Lights and a
number OF incandescer. lights OF the
Thomson-Houston kind.
Other cites in Peru where electricity
might be introduced are Arequipa. in the
interior OF the southern part OF the coun-
try, and In the old city of Cuzco. where
the meas had their capital Areauipa is
one or the good business cities of Peru,
IT contains $500 people, but Is still t,ghted
by gas, and lis street cars are little af-
fairs half as long as ours and drawn bv
horses Cnzco has a.ffA people, and relies
upon gas lamps The CITY OF lima oavs
sll5.eo year for light. ! am told that the
government here protects foreign Investors.
ana that even In times OF revolution for
eiSn property Is comparatively safe. All
foreign factories and plantations have
signs up over the doors OF their houses
stating that the property is English.
French or German, as the case may be.
Visit to the Lime Penttenttary.
I will close this letter with a note on the
Lima peniteatiary. ! visited Il Yesterday
and found II had been modelled after the
penitentiafy in Philadelphia. Over the
door to each workshop were the words
SAencio. Obed!encia. Tra5ajo" meaning
silence. obedience and work. There were
800 prisoners. a few In for murder. but
most OF them for stealing and minor Of
lenses As far as I could see the nriso, ia
cAean and well kept, but Judge some Of
tne puniSaments are very severe. for the
director told me how he had recently had
20 put man under the water spout al
aowing stream Of the thickness OF vour
nnger to fall for some time on a certain
Spot on the mans head This was I think
one or the punishments OF the inuuis,tion
II IA done only with watch in hand as .
continued long enough Ii causes insanity or
death. watched the prisoners at the
meals They are better fed than .ha aver
ago 81 their csass outside the prison. IN,
the way the meals are served Is 10. mr.
Vo'S'ttvs Ia appetite. Everything goes hv
whistles. The guards whistle and The me,
leave their work. They whistle again ara
they wash themselves Another whsle
anu they are NJ The table. ana a fourth
WhiSt4e brings In the bread and sour, Pc
fore eating A mass was sasd 800, -,
duced by a whistle ard. indeed. n v7s tho
magic "A.st'e that brought forth eyary~
tang FRANK q. CARPENTER