The Washington herald., 1906-10-25
HEARD AT HOTELS.

III A<r7ttt '-titib@f VINO le ai Atfe ttaleiEus
was long prior 70 his appointment In the
diplomatic service one OF the most in
fuential and highly respected Republic
cans Of Kentucky. RE is a gentleman
Of culture and ability. and during his
four years service in South America has
acted to the utmost satisfaction % the
State Department at Washington Mr.
Combs went to Guatemala as the sue
cessor Of DR.. W Godfrey Hunter, whose
record while Minister was clouded with
scandals that finally put an end TO his
services
Guatemala. said Mr. Combs, IS
quite free from disturbance since the set
Element OF the troubles with Honduras
and Salvador il is the largest Of the
Central American States, and is probably
the richest Of them in natural resources.
Coffee is the principal source Of revenue,
and to 1t most Of the people look FOR
ready money. The coffee Is OF a superior
quality. and much OF il is sold abroad
under a fancy name
"One meets some odd characters IN
out -of-the-way corners Of the globe like
Guatemala. One Of the first men 7 met
down there WAS an American from New
Orleans. named Lee Christmas He had
formerly been an engineer on the Illinois
Central, but had lost his job through
falling sight. and being Of an adveo-
tur01s turn had migrated to the far
South. Christmas was, when ! met him.
"a general in rank and chief o. police Of
Guatemala CITY He had that kind u
desperate courage which made him a
stranger 10 fear. il was a picnic for him
10 get into al the local feuds. and
wherever there was any fighting. he was
earliest on deck lie had done some serg-
ice FOR the government of Honduras. and
on one occasion went to the capital and
AT the point Of Winchester dispersed
the COnduranian Congress At another
time he and two equally fearless COM
rades stood of an army from behind n
shelter Of sacks filed with sand Christ
mas knew that sooner or later his old
enernies in Honduras would take his
life, and yet the certainty Of his fate
never lost him an hour Of sleep His
predictions as TO how his end would
come were verified and not long ago he
met death Al the hands Of the men who
had sworn 70 Kill him"
Mr. Robert Ferris, a prominent bust
ness man OF Yankton, s. OAK who is 1t
the New Willard with q lovely young
bride chatted with a Herald reporter
last evening about matters in his part
OF the mighty West.
You good Eastern folks" said he.
never saw any real corn. You should
have been out to our corn festival at
Yankton lately and gazed upon the sure
enough article. Stalks Il II feet high.
and each one bearing six 20 eight ears.
This is the kind We grow in the fertile
lands OF South Dakota, and this years
bumper crop. together with a big whe3t
production. has given Us a wonderful
prosperity The magnificent climate and
agricultural possibilities Of our state
are beginning to bring in h0me-seekers
by the thousands. and the trains run
ming West are crowded with Illinois
Ohio and Missouri farmers, who have
sold out their homes to invest in new
and more productive ones in Eastern
South Dakota
Politically there is no excitement with
US, because there is no opposition TO the
Republican party that is Of any weight
The fight that resulted In the triumph Of
Senator Gamble for another term viii not
leave any sores. and ] believe that Sena-
tors Gamble and Kituedge viii work III
harmony. Both are from the eastern
part CT the State. and the people Of the
west contend that one Of the United
States Senators should be from their side
Of the Missouri River The friends Of
Gamble charged that Kittredge wanted to
displaCe his colleague SO as 20 have as bis
future associate Congressman Martin. who
is a West Dakotan. in order. that when
KittTedge's term was cut be would not
be opposed by a candidate from the west.
oil
shTeWd combination with the so-called
iHsurgent Republicans and especially with
their leader. Crawford. who viii be our
next governor. pulled himself ont in hand
some style. very much 10 the qualification
OF a vast majority Of our people
At the New Willard is Mr.. George ?.
Renton. of Honolulu. manager of big
sugar plantation situated some eighteen
miles from the Hawaiian capital The
plantation belongs 70 The estate Of the &C.
centric millionaire Campbell. whose widow
is now the wife OF Col. sam Parker. the
noted Hawaiian. who has often visited
Washington. and has many friends here.
The plantation Of which I am mana
ser" said Mr.. Reuton, was leased 10
company for fifty years at a rental Of So
600 per annUm. II consists Of 7,Gg3 acres
Of highly improved land I am on my
way TO Louisiana % examine into the
methods Of the sugar planters. and espe-
cially TO learn their plan Of transporting
the cane from the fields 10 the mills,
which Is "a difficult matter everywhere.
The growing Of sugar continues To be-
and perhaps always VIII DE, our chief in
duStry. Il is not a heavy paying business.
and If the owners get per cent on their
investments they are doing we'll Some
years they may do q little better. but the
average is about that Ii takes us two
years 20 grow crop Of sugar in Hawaii
against one year IN the United States. but
our yield per acre is the heaviest in the
world double that Of Louisiana. But We
cannot produce crops without irrigation.
and irrigation is very expensive
The labor question is a troublesome
one with Us. and we are now trying 10
get European immigrants by Offering
them free lands, with a view of making
them permanent residents Of the islands
I hear that an agent We sent to Europe
for the purpose of bringing settlers has
chartered a shipload Of people. and il
the experiment proves a success. il viii
be kept up until we VIII no longer have
10 depend on AsiaUc labor The Japanese
we now have are not bad as field hands.
but they are restless and ambitious. and
the planters had rather have class Of
labOrers who come with the intention Of
making Hawaii their permanent home"
From what I could learn during my
stay in the interior Of New York. I d.
not apprehend that air Hearst viii get
much support from the rural citizens up
the state" remarked Mr. A. L. Downing
at the Arlington
The New York farmer is pre-eminent-
" conservative. and IL viii take soma
nnMnrrllI -a--- .. NJ L. him rors.--o tho