Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-25

have walls of stone and are rooted with
palm bark The larger cities have parks
or plazas. but none outside Asuncion have
paved streets or any modern Improvements.
Even Asuncion is still lighted by coal oil,
and but few of its people have ever heard
of sewer. The sanitary arrangements of
many of its houses are filthy, those of the
chief hotel, for instance, being dirty and
unhealthy to an extreme.
Although AsunciOn is older than any city
of North America, it appears delightfully."-
clean and fresh. Its streets cross one an
other at right angles, and they so SLOPE to-
ward the water that every good rain
washes them clean We have sixty inches
OF rain here every year. and when ii does
rain it pours. Only few of the streets
are paved. The most of them are of red
sand, giving the city rose-tinted founda-
ton.
Let us notice the houses They are
built close to the sidewalks in solid blocks,
forming great one-story walls with here
and there door or an iron barred window
opening into the street. You can tell the
different houses by the colors. Some are
painted rose pink, others sky blue, some
DlCod red and others of all the tnts of yell
low and green. We are now going toward
the post office. 1t is a light lavender. On
rose pink. and a little further on there is a
cathedral the color of rich Jersey cream
Even the public buildings ara painted The
presidents palace has a tinted exterior
mac, while the official newspaper is print
ed in monastery-like structure of Indian
red.
Newspapers and Schools
1t seems funny to think of newspapers in
PARAGUAY But there are newsboys every
where poking their dailies under your nose.
Ihe papers are printed in Spanish and they
sell for 10 cents copy, or about cents
OF our money. They are folios of the old
bianket sheet shape. containing little news
but big advertisements. Here is one that
mas teieSraphlc dispatches. including cables
IRON Washington and Rome. Asuncion has
a telegraph line connecting it with Ruenos
Ayres, from where dispatches can be sent
to all parts of the world. There are also
one or two wires to the interior of the
country. and these are patronized to such
an extent that Is 600 messages We're re-
ceiyed last year
Asuncion has telephones. They are own
ed by stock company, which pays div
idends of "a per cent every year notwith-
standing it's telephone rates are lower
than any in the United States. The COM
pany charges business houses 81 gold per
month and for telephones in residences the
monthly charge is only 81 80 in gold
We can visit the central station 1t is an in
teresting sight. The hello girls of Para
quay nave even sweeter voices than our
own hello girls, and some of them are
quite pretty. Most of them are in their
bare feet, and their low-neck dresses are
as white as the orange blossoms that some
OF the girls wear in their hair. There are
orange trees just back of the office so that
the flowers are ready at hand The girls
stand up TO their work, making the con-
nections by putting pegs in and out of a
wall of numbered holes thereby bringing
together the various customers. I ask the
manager some question as to salaries and
am told that each girl receives about Sc
gold month, or $50 a week.
Street Cars and RofBroadS
We see tram cars on the principal streets
The cars are open at the side and
are so rudeIy made that they seem to
have been chopped out with a Ratchet
Each is drawn by three mules, which go
on the dead gailop, and the cars run so far
apart that You often have to wait a half
hour for ride. The different lines con-
meet the Wharves with the railroad depot,
and they go out to the suburban towns
They are well patrOniZed, but are not pay
ing investments
It is the same with the Paraguays'
only steam railroad This was built
under guarantee from the govern
ment by English constructors. The Eng
lish made money by building it. but the
road has paid dividends since it was
opened. 1t goes about 1856 miles into the
interior 1t connects Villa Rica with Asun-
ciOn, and will be extended. it is said down
to the Parana river. Another line which is
talked Of, but which ! fear will not soon
ASunciOn
the port OF Santos, Brazil, on the Atlantic.
Such road. while very expensive to build.
would open much good country and would
probably have large traffic.
Banks Which Beat 4 Per Cent.
One of the queerest things about Asun-
cion is the money. That in circulation is a
paper currency, poorly printed and of poor
material. 1t now comes from Germany, and
is not nearly so good as the old paper
money which was made in the United
States. The bank notes are in all denomi.
nations, from cents to 800, and the paper
is at such a discount that a Paraguayan
dollar is now worth about Is cents of our
money. The banks of AsunciOn handle this
stuff by the basketful- They cord it up like
paper. and they are making a lot of money
out of their. business.
Indeed, 1t seems to me there is a
chance for some of our idle American
funds TO be used in banking in Par
aSuay. The usual rate of interest out
side the banks is IL per cent and in the
banks you cannot borrow money for less
than 1 per cent per month The usual dis
count rate is II per cent, and bank gives
no favors without receiving a money COM
pensatiOn. AS a result the banks pay big
dividends. Take the Mercantile Bank of
Paraguay upon which l have letters of
credit This bank paid a dividend of 16 per
cent last year, and its president tells me
II has never paid less than 10 per cent. Its
capita! is only $4,000 in gold and still its
business last year amounted to 81 900 900.
The Territorial Bank, which has capital
of $4,000, paid a dividend of II per cent
last year, and other private banks do, it is
said even better.
From these figures it will be seen that it
takes a good deal of money to do the BUSH
ness of Paraguay. There is now between
SS,0OO000 and $4,000 900 of ParaglIayan
money in circulation, and the government
Is trying to Increase the value of the cur
rency by Withdrawing a certain amount
every year. 1t takes about $4,000 600
annually To run the government and the
exports and imports amount TO about $14.-
100000 gold year.
Paraguay Tea.
Considerable money is made in the rails
ing of cattle. There is a great deal in
vested in shipping hides and large amount
In preparing and shipping mate or Para
guayan tea Paraguayan tea comes from
the leaves of bush which grows wild in
some parts of Paraguay. The leaves are
gathered. roasted over fire and ground to
powder. They are then put into skin bags.
being packed so tightly that the bags are
as hard as stones. In this shape the tea Is
shipped to all parts of South America
There are millions who use it In the Arsen-
tine. Uruguay and Brazil and you will find
II for sale in Chile and in the lands further