Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-11
Some Things You Want to Know
Turbulent Central AmeriOa-euatemala Leader of Republics

The government is trying to encourage
the growing Of hennequen, a variety Of
slsal hemp, and Is offering a bounty on all
that is exported. At the same time all
machinery for the growing OF hennequen
and the manufacture Of its fibre is allowed
to enter the country free. OF duty. The
growers are also given military exemption
in proportion TO the number OF acres OF
this crop they cultivate. There are nearly
$50 medicinal plants which grow In Guate-
mala. besides 140 kinds of commercially
valuable wood Altogether 1t has 400 species
Of trees.
Guatemala was settled in 1922, and since
that time there have been some fifty i'm
porlant volcanic eruptions within its bound
aries. Fully half OF these were eruptions
By Fuego, one Of the most remarkable vol
canoes on the globe. II is noted Tor the
regularity Of It's minor eruptions and for
it's rumbilngs. Some 800 important earth
quakes have also occurred in Guatemala
curing the sane period. In the centuries
before the Spaniards came to Central Amer
Tea the Indians sought to appease the wrath
Of the volcanoes by throwing maidens into
the fiery craters. After the Spaniards came
the priests blessed the volcanoes and re-
ceived them into the church. But even
Santa Maria, for centuries regarded as eX-
tinct. had a case OF backsllding that caused
the death of many poor souls.
yellow fever epidenlics have seldom af-
fected Guatemala, and deaths from other
tropical diseases are more %infrequent than
hip. Most Of the men have a mecapaI and
would be supposed. The greater part of
the country has considerable elevation,
and 1t is said that an ascent of one mile
is equivalent, in climatic chang, to travel
ling northWard loo miles from the equa-
tor. Hence it Is that one may find on the
high plateaus some Of the most pleasant
regions in the world.
The railroads of Guatemala have been
greatly improved in recent years. Formerly
when it became necessary to supply the
engine with water the crew and passen-
gers had to form a bucket brigade from
an adjacent stream to the tender. Many
Of the railroad men are from the states
They are well paid, but there are so many
drinking places and other attractions thai
} they have little Of their wages at the enc
, of the month. One of them told a travel,
Ter not long ago that he had been tryinl
; for three years to save enough to pay his
= transportation back to the states, but thai
! he was still broke. Next day he was seer
! at the bull fight tossing dollar bills tt
l the small boys.
The Guatemalan dollar is worth only
, about 8 cents. In other words, a five
, dollar gold piece in American money il
: worth upwards of 800 In Guatemalar
money. The Gambia de moneda," OIL
money exchange, occurs almost as fire
quently as the "cantina,' or drinking
saloon, and even the bootblacks keep al
close watch on the fluctuations of tn,
!, money market as Wall Street brokers
|, when things are doing on the street. TIL,
q president of Guatemala was asked by al
a American why gold and silver were dis
g continued as money, and he replied tina
4 1t was on account Of the poor classes
i to whom $50 looked larger even II 1t wer,
Il. Guatemala paper, han IS in American
Z gold. 1Fe
e No other country is more famous TO
it's holidays. 1t has been PECULIARLY stated
n that each year the people there have SO
( holidays exclusive of sundays. One o
b the most beautiful of Gpatemalan holi
{ days is the fiesta of Minerva, when tn,
: children of the republic celebrate In homo
t Of the public school system. Near tn,
9 Temple of Minerve, where these oelebra
tons occur, is a relief map of the re
e public. done in brick and cement. 1t IL
d Of eighty square metres, and is a graph,
n study Of the geography of Guatemala.
a That Guatemala is progressive is shown
by the fact that 1t has established a Pas.
a teur institute, and the vaccination hal
T been made compulsory by the nationa
8 congress. One begins to realize that thin
: little country has a history when il is re
| counted that its first capital had 10O,0 90
, inhabitants when Boston was but a vii
: lage, and New York little more than 6
= Dutch trading post. In the eighteenth
century it's capital was the third city OF
! the Western hemisphere, only the CITY
of Mexico and Lima, Peru, o%utranklng 1t
! BIZ FREDERIC J. HAsKXN.
I Tomorrow-Turbulsnt Central America
Debt-ridden Honduras.