The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-01-24
SALVADOR IS sPUNkY
An Independent Republic and
It's Government
PRESIDENT LIKE A YANKEE
Chas. Pepper Writes of the
Curious Things There.
Commercial Advertiser service.o

San. Salvador, Jan. 25.-Salvador is the
Rhode Island of Central America. In
area and population it bears the relation
thai Little Rhody' does TO the rest of
New England. This is a spunky and ag-
Rressive little commonwealth. The name
Of the republic is lei Salvador" the
Saviour. while that of the capital is San
Salvador, Saint Saviour.
Geographical knowledge is not wide
spread enough in the United States to
Justify the emission to state that it is the
only one of the Central American coun-
tries which docs not border both on the
Atlantic and the Pacific Salvador's ter
ritory is all on the Pacific coast, and IT
does not extend very far inland. There
fore, the country might be called a mari
time power. though il mas no navy. 1t IS
o real power among its neighbors. due to
the number and compactness of the in
habitants, who are less than million
by ONLY a hundred thousand.
This population is spread out with such
svenness that it's fun extent does not at
first appear 1 came 10 the capital by
mule overland from the port Of La Liber-
tad. The mountain road is a very good
one AT first it did not seem to me much
Travelled or thickly settled, but after a
little while the signs of numerous pop
ulation were PLAN. There We're ham'ets,
villages and dwellings most of the way
until they began TO be continuous. This,
] was told, was the condition in the parts
of the country away from the railway,
while there are several large towns on
the railroads knowing this, it was pos
sible to understand how so small coun-
try, purely agricultural could have near
~ million inhabitants.
That Salvador is agricultural a short
Journey shows. There are a few gold
mines, and one of these-the San Sebas-
tian-after gulpfng down great sums Of
money from various corporations. is said
to be paying now handsomely. 1t is
owned by Englishmen from the Trans
vaal, and is operated by Californians
The mountain slopes are covered with
coffee fincas, and the country is one great
coffee plantation, broken somewhat by
the uncleared forests Some sugar cane
n raised, and there is also corn and the
usual tropical fruits, while high up the
volcano slopes it is cold enough for the
Droducts of the temperate zone But all
this is merely for local consumption.
There are good ranches. and hides are
exported yet SO per cent of the exports
are coffee
This is the product of the future as wei
as of the present. for the soil is volcanic,
and that is good for coffee. When the
land now in existence is worn out new
ground is assured because some of the
volcanoes which are still alive may be
relied on to extinguish themselves for the
benefit of future generations. L thought
Of this one night while watching IZalco
from the sea. 1t was active. For min
Etes at time it glared with the steadi-
tess Of lighthouse beason, then for a
longer period famed like a blood-red
torch. and afterward sputtered into dark
ness. to reappear soon as the beacon.
/ asked if this did not make the ma
tives nervous. and was told that, on the
contrary, ii had a quoting effect. They
are nervous when Izalco neither glow
ers nor grumbes. Then they begin to
feel that they may have the lava flow and
the rain storm of ashes, which is to make
the soil for the coffee plantations of the
future
Whether it is the tranquiiizing influ-
ence of the volcanoes. or whether it is due
to other causes. the country people are n
quiet and workful class. The mass OF
the population are the direct opposite of
those in Costa Rica. In that country
K is the Spanish stock almost without the
aboriginal strain. Here it is the Indian
race almost without the Spanish mix
ture Salvador has the most homogene-
Gus population of any of the Central