El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-01-11
Guatemala. Leader Of
the Republics.
By
Frederic
7. Haskin
STUDY OF ENGLISH IS COMPULSORY
Turbulent Central America.

I bottles of cane rum and $4,000 gallons
| of milk. The regular force on this
| plantation varies from 900 TO 1900
| hands. Coffee is the principal crop
| OF the country and amounts TO about
| 100000 pounds annually
| The government is trying to encour-
! age the growing of hennequen. va
| riety of sisal hemp, and is offering
| bounty on all that is exported. AT the
same time all machinery for the grow
| ing Of hennequen and the manufacture
of its fiber is allowed to enter the
! country free of duty. The growers are
also given military exemption in pro-
| portion to the number of acres OF this
( crop they cultivate. There are nearly
$50 medicinal plants which grow in
| Guatemala, besides 40 hinds Of COM
mercialIy valuable wood. Altogether 1T
| has 400 species Of trees.
Settled In 1922.
| Guatemala was settled in 1922, and
| since that time there have been some
! so important volcanic eruptions within
| its boundaries. Fully half of these
were eruptiOns by Fuego, one OF the
| most remarkable volcanoes on the
globe. 1t is noted for the regularity
of its minor eruptions and for its rum
blings. Some 800 important earth
quakes have also occurred in Guate-
mala during the same period.
In the centuries before the Spaniards
came to Central America, 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
! received them into the church. But
even Santa Maria. for centuries regard
ed as extinct, had a case Of backsliding
|, that caused the death of many poor
souls
Yellow fever epidemics have seldom
affected Guatemala. and deaths from
other tropical diseases are more infre-
quent than would be supposed. The
greater part of the country has con-
siderable elevation. and it is said that
an ascent of one mile is equivalent, in
climatic change, to travelling northward
1000 miles from the equator. Hence il
IS that one may find on the high p1a-
teaus some of the most pleasant re-
gions in the world
Railroads Improved.
The railroads Of Guatemala have been
greatly improved in recent years For
merly. when ii became necessary TO
supply the engine with water the crew
and passengers 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 that they have
little of their wages at the end OF the
month.
One of them told a traveller not long
ago that he had been trying for three
years to save enough money 10 pay his
transportation back 10 the states, but
that he was still broke Next day he
was seen at the bull fight tossing dollar
bills to the small boys.
Dollar Worth Eight Cents
The Guatemalan dollar is worth only
about s cents In other words S.
gold piece in American money is worth
upwards of $50 in Guatema1an money.
The Gambia de moneda," or money ex-
change. occurs almost as frequently as
the -cantina," or drinking saloon. and
even the bootblacks keep as close watch
on the fluctuations of the money mar
kets as Wall street brokers when things
are doing on the street
The president of Guatemala was ask
ed by an American why gold and silver
were discontinued as money, and ne
replied that it was on account OF the
poor classes. to whom $50 looked
larger, even if il were GuatemaIan pa
per. than SIS in American gold.
Every Day n Holiday.
No other country is more famous
for its holidays. 1t has been jocularly
stated that each year the people there
have 365 holidays. exclusive of Sundays
One of the most beautiful of Guate-
malan holidays is the fiesta OF Minerva
when the children of the republic ceIe-
brate in honor Of the public school sys-
tenn Near the temple of Minerva,
where these celebrations occur, is a re-
lief map Of the republic, done in brick
and cement. 1t is of so square meters.
and is a graphic study Of the geography
of Guatemala
That Guatemala is progressive is
shown by the fact that it has estab-
lished a PaSteur institute, and that vac
cinatiOn has been made compulsory by
the national congress. One begins TO
realize that this little country has a
history when II is recounted that its
first capital had 100000 inhabitants
when Boston was but a village and
New York little more than a Dutch
trading post In the 18th century its
capital was the third city on the west
ern hemisphere, only the City of Mexico
and Lima. Peru, outranklng Ii.
Tomorrow: VI-Debt Ridden Hon
duraS.