The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-10-24


 of foreigners. One of the newest, set up on the site of the old custom house, is of Mir. Arthur Pratt, an Irishman, who figured conspieuously in the most notable conflict between Peru and Chili. Pratt seems to have been endowed with an unusual heritage of the reckless dar- ing common to Emerald Islanders. He was the Lafayette of Chili, and the people admired him so much that now every town has statue of him, while streets, shops, saloons, opera houses, mines and lotteries are named in his honor, and in this city a fine building was demolished in order to erect his monument in the most conspicuous place.
 The principal streets of Valparaiso are traVersed by tranways, and the cars are all two-storied-"d double deckers," so to speak-second-class pas sengers climbing up some narrow out side stairs to seats on top, where the
 fare is just half the amount that is charged inside. One pleasant innova- tiOn is that when the seats are all taken
 no more passengers are admitted, mo-
 body being permitted to stand. How
 ever the clouds may pour, or whatever
 the exigencies of the occasion, you may
 stand on the street and signal in vain,
 if the seating capacity is filled, for not car will take you on. The conse-
 quenee is that in times of unusual
 crowds, such as festival days, every
 body hies him to the starting point and
 r11o lyac I,af ics
 in him for the empty cars as they
 emerge from the stable, greatly to the detriment of dignity and good clothes.
 Another innovation is the universal em-
 ployment of female conductors. The
 experiment of allowing women to serve
 in this capacity was first tried by the
 street-car managers about twenty years
 ago, when the le-bodied men had all
 gone north to whip the Peruvians; and
 it proved so successful that their reten-
 tion has become permanent, not only in
 this city, but all over Chili wherever
 tramways are in use At first sight, a
 young woman with bell-punch does not produce a pleasant impression bur one gets used to it in time, as to most other novelties, and soon wonders why
 the idea has not been adopted in other
 countries. The petticoated conductors
 wear uniform, consisting of a plain blue flannel dress, mans felt hat and a big white apron, with bib attached,
 and capacious pockets for holding change and tickets. Each has small leather handbag slung over her should CT, in which she carries the overflow of her pocket, lunch, handkerchief, per haps surreptitious powder-puff and other distinctly feminine belongings The salary of each female conductor is twenty-five dollars per month. Passen- gers, after paying their fare, are given i tickets of yellow paper, which they are expected to destroy. The conductress Is charged with certain number of tick cts, and when she reports again al
 headquarters must return the money fol all that are missing out of that number l or make up the deficit from her own salary. This plan naturally tends to make them attentive to their duty, and also prevents free riding on the part of
 their relatives and favorites. Though
 these women are generally young and often extremely pretty, it should be 1 mentioned to the credit of the Chilians
 that they are seldom insulted or other wise annoyed in the discharge of their
 daily and nightly task. When they are
 disturbed the rule Is to call on the near est policeman. The last named gentry stand at every corner and would mol hesitate to eject troublesome passen- ger, without listening to his side of the story, or to march him off to jail under suspicion of drunkenness. 5sr No more spacious or beautiful harbor can be found anywhere than this of Val paraiso, and throughout most of the year 1t is safe for shipping except dur ing the two months when northern gales prevail. Then vessels are some times driven from their anchorage and compelled to cruise about in the open sea to avoid being dashed in pieces
 upon the rocks of the Vale of Paradise One day from our hotel window we
 watched the progress of fierce north
 err that set all the ships a-rocking till their mast-tips nearly touched the wa ter, and sent mountain-high pillows rolling over the esplanade, away up to the doors of business houses on the l Calle Victoria. Several pedestrians were washed off into the bowling surf and a hugh steamer was driven high UT on the rocks, where she yet remains The crescent-shaped harbor has a mile- | wide entrance facing the north. Could a breakwater be built across the en- trance 1t would give perfect protection to shipping throughout the entire year | whatever storms might rage outside; but here the sea is so unusually deer Cover one hundred fathoms), that such
 a work is not considered practicable
 According to local regulations, the yes sells in Valparaiso harbor are drawr
 up in lines, with the precision of men, | of-war ready for review; and very
 beautiful they look, either from the es.
 planade or the hill tops, all swinging te I and rio with uniform motion as the bil. | lows rise and fall. ,.-.
 lE @ss FANNIE B. WARD. ..s ------------------------------- s.g 1t