Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-07

lSSSsSSYSTsE=SlITH the greatest canal on
EsyEyG ri the globe almost ready to
lk M M M become u reality, Nicara-
tA u " hi qua thought it was des-
lkA N&I tined to be one of the IA
lasstssaMeas2u vored spots of the world.
1t thought itself the
western BOsphorus,' and considered
that it was only a question of time
until the commerce of the oceans
would pass through its borders via
the Ntcaraguan canal. The United
states had decided upon an inter-
oceanic canal, all parties were pledged
to it, and indeed both houses of con
Sress had at one time or another voted
for it. Nicaragua was in high hopes,
and Hannibal selling the public places
in Rome while yet without its walls
found a counterpart in the spirit of
speculation that POSSESSED the Nicara-
guans. But~in a moment all was
changed. Senator Hanna took up the
cuGgelS for Panama, the senate turned
to that route, the house followed and
Nicaragua became the land of blasted
hopes Down there they still believe
that the monumental mistake of his
tory was made when Panama was
chosen.
Nominally Nicaragua is a republic,
where the win of the people should be
supreme. Its constitution reads as
our own, but only the letter and not
the spirit prevails. Every man is sup
posed to have the right OF suffrage,
yet there is another provision which
sets forth that no soldier in the army
shall vote, And the president has the
right to enlist whom he will Result
When there is a close election thou
sands of the opp 1sition are temporarily
enlisted in the army 1t is said that in
one election more than 1000 oponents
of Zelaya were enlisted, while all his
friends were omitted from the recruits.
This is the way the laws and consti-
tutions of Central America are inter-
preted, and it is such abuses that are
largely responsible for the constant tur-
moil there.
Nicaragua has a most unique plan of
presidential succession in times of
peace. The names of five senators are
written upon slips of paper placed in
as many enVelops, shuffled, and three
OF the envelopes are drawn out and
filed away in the state archives. The
other two are destroyed without their
contents being known When there is
vacancy in the presidency the duly
constituted authorities open the first
envelope and the senator whose name
is written thereon becomes president
Here we see how the people distrust
their own associates. The name of the
heir apparent must be kept a pro-
found secret lest he or his friends seek
to hasten the succe-y.on.
Nicaragua is not noted for a high
average OF intelligence among its peo-
PIE. Those at the head of affairs are
usually well educated, and there is
also culture among the welI-to-do
classes of the country but the rank
and file are merely ignorant, unlettered
tropical people. They are dumb
driven cattle" who lend themselves
readily to the purposes of the dema-
gogue. They are nearly always against
the government because they so often
feel the laws restraining hand. Some
idea OF the prevalence of ignorance
may be had from report made by the
head of the department of education
who states that in Granada and Leon,
the most highly civilized cities of the
country, only 80 per cent of the chill
dren are enrolled in the schools. He
concludes that only one-seventh of the
children of Nicaragua learn to read
and write.
The majority of the people live in
adobe houses covered with tiles or with
thatched roofs. Usually there is no
floor in the rural home, and if there
is a ceiling it is only a sheet of white
cloth tackled up to hide the ugliness of
the under-roOf. Beds without mat
tresses, rooms without windows, cook
ing without stoves and grinding with
Indian millstones are
still the rule rather than the excep-
ton.
The clothing of the average Mica
raguan is extremely simple. Among the
poorer classes the boys run in the
Adamic garb worn before Eve in
vented her palm-leaf apron. The girls
wear little slips made from a single
piece of muslin. The ordinary cloth
ing OF the men consists of a palm-leaf
hat, a shirt and a pair Of trousers. All
go barefooted except the Indians. who
wear sandals. The women wear a
a cotton skirt and a kind of
light shawl. Those of high caste imi-
tate European ways. Labor is plenti-
ful in numbers, but short in quality. 1t is
said that the average laborer wants
to be treated as a nabob or hidalgo.
Among the poorer classes baptism is
considered a more sacred rite than
AS a rule the Nicaraguans are polite,
honest and fun-loving. Their speech