El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-06-29

had government ownership OF
most of its public utilities. Principal
among these is the railroad system Of
the country, which consists of one rail-
road having $50 miles of main line and
II miles Of branch line. The rails on
the main division are of 40 pounds to
the yard weight, while on the other d.
vision they are 80 pounds to the yard
The maximum grade on the road is %
feet per mile. The line is built upon
bed of volcanic ash, and globe trotters
concede it is the dustiest railroad in
the world.
American Equipment
The rolling stock is American built
and reminds one of the pictures Of
railroad trains of rs years ago. There
are about Is engines. all of them wood
burners, and none weighing more than
20 tons. The smokestacks apparently
are as large as the boilers. The en-
gines are not designated by numbers
as they are in the United States, but
each has its own name. Sometimes
they are christened with as much GER
emony as might be expected at the
launching of a modern American
Dreadnaught.
The road has 10 firstclass cars, Is
second class, Y box cars and 40 flat
cars The coaches are not more than
80 feet long, and seem not to have en-
joyed a coat of paint since they were
first put in commission, SOME of them
more than 20 years ago. The construc-
ton of the railway was begun in 1873.
and that section from Corinto to the
shores of Lake Managua was COM
pleted In 1884. and extended TO Mana
qua in 1885, and to Granada in 1886.
Cheapest OF Fares.
$685.
are said to be the cheapest in the
world. Owing to the fluctuation in the
currency of the country, the first class
passenger rate has dropped below one
cent per mile. The distance from Co
rinto to Mana qua is IS miles. The fare
is $3.50, Nicaraguan money At the
prevailing rate Of exchange this is less
than 81 cents, American money 1t
costs much more to check ones bag
gage than to buy ticket. There Is no
free checking and bagga ge is sent just
as Americans send express matter. The
distance between COrinto and Leon Is
less than 40 miles. yet an ordinary
travellers baggage for this distance
will cost him about $40 in Nicaraguan
money. His passage does not cost as
much by half
For years the national railways Of
Nicaragua were operated directly by
the government .
were so liberal however, with free
transportation for passengers, bag
gage and freight that each year showed
a large deficit and the abuse grew as
the years went by Finally a German
named West who had resided for some
wears in the United States. and who
had enjoyed some practical railroad ex-
perienee, entered into an agreement
with the Nicaraguan government to
rent the railroad from the government
at a fixed annual rental BY abolishing
the free transportation abuse to a
large extent, he was able to put the
road upon a paying basis and to pay
the rental called for in the agree
ment
ZeIaya,s Organization.
Later. president Zelaya connived at
the organization Of a company which
took over the lease from West. the
president becoming a large share hold
er in this company. Stories differ as
brought 1t about. West declares
that in rehabilitating the road he be-
came financially embarrassed and went
to Zelaya for some money to carry on
the work He says that zelaya agreed
TO put up half of the amount required.
provided he could raise the other half
somewhere else This West was able
TO do. and in order to secure Zelaya
and the bankers to furnish the money.
he organized the operating company
and gave them each a certain share in
the stock. Others declare that when
Zelaya saw that West was making
profit out Of the railroad he was in
formed that Zeiaya was entitled to
share in these profits and must be
taken care Of in some way However
this may be, everybody concerned
agreed that during the operation OF
the road by West it was a profitable
investment to the government, some
thing that 1t never was before and
never has been since.
When the Estrada government came
into power it Immediately took the
road cut of the hands OF the operating
company and began to operate 1t d.
rectly Since then the old abuse OF
free transportation has erept in and
the road is going in debt every day 1t
opera ties.
Heavy Customs Receipts
Nicaragua levies heavy burdens upon
imports. and those encountered at the
customs houses are not the greatest, for
the railroad assists materially in levy
ing tribute against import All freight
made up of imported goods is charged
for at higher rate than domestic pro-
ducts Where the freight charges on
a consignment of domestic products
would amount to $3.50. on imported ar
ticles it would amount to s6.
Considering the poverty stricken
condition of the people of Nicaragua
thew are a much travelled people Dur
ing the last year for which data IS
available the road carried $4,000 pas
sengers, and $1,000 tons of cargo. the
receipts from passenger traffic were
s79S. 600, Nicaraguan, and from freight
s1.294.000 When the railroad rates
under which this traffic was handled
were made, 81 gold would buy IS Nj
caraguan. Today it will buy S12, so
that in Nicaragua there is system or
rate reduction which no court can en-
join.
The Steamship Lines.
In addition to the railroad, steam
shin service is maintained on lakes
Managua and Nicaragua and the San
Juan river. The latter river extends
from Lake Nicaragua to the Atlantic
ocean at San Juan del Norte, known In
canal days as Greytown. Although the
trip from Granada to Greytown is only
about 40 miles, one can travel from
New York to Liverpool in almost as
short a. time and with much less dis
comfort than between these two points