davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

banana estate are Jamaica negroes, who
were brought here for the purpose. They
live In little shacks scattered here and there
along the railroad and they go out from
them to their labor The officials and fore
man are whites, and the responsible parts of
the work are done by Americans sent
here from the United States. These men
are the best of their kind and they re-
ceive excellent wages The negroes are
paid about the same that the Jamaicans
receive on the Panama Canal. and their
labor is about as efficient.
A great deal of the work is done by the
zee, and the man gets SO much for clear
,ag, SO much for planting and cleaning
and so much for picking the fruit AS It
Is now, 1t cost. about $40 per acre
to clear the land, and the managers can
tell you just how much every plant costs.
They have cost sheets like those of a
great factory and can tell to the tenth
OF a cent the outlay spent on each bunch
of bananas and where every cent goes.
1t is only by such methods that bananas
can be sold at the prices they bring in
the states and still give a profit. The
whole business Is one Of petty economies.
which in the aggregate mean a saving
of hundreds of thousands Of dollars
AS 1 walked through the fields and
watched the great green punches being
cut by the hundreds and carried off to the
cars I asked one of the foremen il there
would not be big money for an American
to come here and start rival fruit trust.
and whether a man with a small amount
of money could not engage in the business
at profit. He replied:
ut might seem SO If you did not know
the facts. The truth is this is no whiting
business. You have got to have a big
capital, and enough to take care of all
kinds OF accidents. Sometimes a disease
will wipe out a plantation, and again a
storm blows up and we lose the whole
crop Just a few months ago we had
a hurricane here which destroyed 10000
punches of bananas in the space of five
minutes. That happens every now and
then, and IL the property was that of a
small farmer it would mean total ruin.
A big concern like this can stand it on
account of the profit 1T receives from its
other plantations. AS it is now, there are
many small plantations. but they sell
their bananas to us. We pay them %
cents a bunch, and at that they can do
very well. Nevertheless the total product
of such men about here is only 1900
punches week, which is bagatelle in
comparison with the 100000 punches we
ship during that time, AS to a rival
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08
TIE BANANAS Go TRor1 The CARS -
TO NE STEAMER ONENDlLsS bELrS

trust, that might succeed. hut IL needs
good lands and a fleet of ships. and aise
good marketing facilities In the United
States"
One hundred thousand punches Q
week. The men utter these words a.
though they meant nothing Never
theless, they were astounding to me-
Have you any idea what 100000 bunch
es a week means? Ii means 100000
punches of bananas year, for the
banana business goes on all the year
through A single bunch contains $50
bananas, and from this place alone
they are sending forth something like
750,0o0,000 per annum. We have i00.-
100000 people in the United states. In
GLIDING Alaska and the Philippine Is
lands These plantations could give
every one Of US seven bananas and
have 5O.000.000 to spare. 1t could give
thirty five to every family.
But this is only one OF the estates OF
the banana company. The banana trust
has scores of others. and IL ships from
Costa Rica almost double as many ba-
nanas as from here.
II ships a vast deal from Cartagena.
and 1t is Building up in Guatemala big
plantations, which / hope to visit with.
in the next few months. The business
is increasing and the demand for ba-
nanas is increasing as well.
The United States lis now using &C.,
100000 punches of bananas every
twelve months. or about 500, 900. 900
fingers per annum. You can now get
a good banana for a cent or two almost
anywhere in our country. and the busi-
ness has to be big in order to pay.
/ am told that 1t pays WELL II pays
not only the capitalists who handle L.
but also the countries where the ba.
nanas are grown. 1t Is one OF the
chief sources Of revenue of the treas
uries of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras
and Guatemala, and 1t Is giving the
working men of the West India Islands
wages beyond what they can obtain
anywhere else. Indeed. much OF the
development which is now going on In
this part of the world comes from the
banana, and the future of these coun.
tries Is bright through the increase OF
the consumption of bananas abroad.
Their use is growing by leaps and
bounds in the United States. and they
are now making their way into the
thickly populated countries of Europe
as well. FRANK. q. CARPENTER
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

wheedling a title out of King Edward.
but from what the writer has been told
by a man closely in touch with court
circles the story must have been ca
nard. This official declared that the Sc
cret Of Mrs. Keppel's special "solidity"
was the fact that she never used her pull
for political ends. Besides. as a general
rule. the sovereign's part in peer-making
il small indeed. Probably IL the tituar
head OF the state particularly wanted "A
personal friend ennobled and the thing
didn't interfere with ministerial policy
the deal would go through. but as a gem
eral rule the king doesn't know whom he
is going to be delighted TO honor until
he gets A little list. actually drawn up by
the hand of the prime minister, but
framed, you may be sure, by that potent
person, the chief ministerial whip.
Then there are the jobs. As patronage
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

through this vast banana plantation.
We have special cars and can stop where
we please. We pass for miles through
nothing but bananas. The trees sprout
from the ground and rise to the height
of two-story house Each is composed
of broad ribbonlike leave eight or nine
inches wide. The leaves sprout from the
base of the plant, around which they form
a short trunk and then go out In most
graceful curve. bending over SO that
their ends rustic and wave in the breeze.
Now we have left the cars and are
walking through the fruit forest How
so many that they keep out the sun. On
every side of us the view is the same.
There are stalks and trunks of bananas
as far as we can see. and we wonder
what We should do If we should get lost:
and whether we should not go round and
round in circle, as men have been
known to act when lost in the wilder
ness.
-
Now take close look at the plants.
This is near Bocas del Toro, and the
banana grows nowhere more luxuriantly
than here. The trees at the base are as
big around as the thigh Of President
Taft and the topmost leaves are twenty
or thirty feet from the ground. The
bananas are of great size, and the
of other parts of the world. Each stem
is known as a hand, and the individual
bananas are called fingers. In many
places bunch of eight or nine hands is
fairly good yield but here the average
is eleven or twelve. and some OF the
punches have as many as seventeen
hands, each containing ten or twelve
fingers as the bananas are called.
The lunches range all the way from
go to 800 bananas and this means the
yield Of one plant. The banana plant
yields only one crop Of fruit. AS soon
as the bunch is cut off. the stem is cut
down and other plants sprout up from
the roots. There is no such thing as
planting the banana from the seed. II
bananas ever had seeds they have long
since disappeared from the lack of use.
All the plants now grow from suckers
or sprouts. and they come up so readily
that an estate will yield continuous
harvest from year to year without re-
planting. On some spots banana trees
have reproduced their kind for fifty
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

DETIREMENT of Master
IN of Elibank, Who Was
Chief Dispenser of Graft"
in the Present Government,
Would Have Caused a Scan
dial in the United States
Accepts a Partnership With
the Man Whom He Raised
to a Peerage, and Who Is
Said to Run the Liberal Party
Official Title of New "Chief
Whip" Is Patronage Secre-
tary to the Treasury" His
Unofficial One Being a Relic
of the Days When England
Had a Fox-hunting Prime
Minister-Chief Whip of the
bad Old Days" Used to Slip
Banknotes Under the Dinner
Plates of "Wobbly" Members
of the Party, Whereas the
Patronage Secretary" of To-
day Woos Them With Prom
Uses of Peerages.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

of this countrys boosted civil service"
system, and practically the lot of them
are controlled by the chief whip.
The chief whip is the man who runs
the party machine in every part of the
kingdom-a machine. too, that day by
day is being more dominated by clique.
to the scandal of those in this country
who had fondly believed In the purity OF
British politics. When member of par
lament dies, resigns or is promoted to a
berth in the house of lords it is the chief
whip of his party who decides who shall
stand as his successor, and likewise Ii
is the chief whip of the opposite party
who picks his opponent.
With the countless other things that
a chief whip has to have at his fingers
ends is the exact situation in every con-
stituency, together with all the political
tides and eddies that characterize 1T
knowledge which enables him to PICK
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

ftobAbL1 not one
person In a thou
sand, even in this
country, has real
lied the signifi-
canoe of the retire
ment Of the mighty
parsonage known as
the chief whip Of
the liberal party.
To those on the in
side Of English poll
tics 1t stands OUT as
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

A howl of Indignation. it may be remem-
bered, went up at this conferment of a
lofty title on man whose services to the
nation consisted of getting rich out of
newspapers and magazines that were at
that time considered yellow.
Gossip declared at the time that Harms
worth had paid Mrs. George Keppel $780,
600 in cold cash to use her influence in
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

AM writing this in
the center of one
of the biggest
banana plantations
on earth. The hill
on which I am sit
ting Is 300 feet
high and 1t COM
mands a view of
more than $4,000
acres of the green
est of green. The
green is all made
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

secretary to the treasury. the chief whip
has the disposition of no end of graft
in the way of secretaryships to different
government officials, clerkships in the
houses of commons and lords, and sine
cures in the way of clerkships and secre-
taryships to various royal commissions
that sit for months and sometimes years
on end. These berths are quite outside
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

LORD COWDRAY,
EngIish OIL MaGnate who Has just Pre-
sented . Partnership I'm His Immense
Business to the Master Of Elibank,
Who Engineered His Peerage.
he is earnestly requested to be in his
place the following days.
The peremptoriness of whip is indi-
Gated by the number of times that the
word earnestly" is underlined. The late
Sir Wilfrid Lawson declared that IL the
earnestly in his whip was underlined
once. he knew II meant he ought to be
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

Commenting on the activities Of the new
chief whips predecessor. the Saturday
Review Of this week remarks: HE coaxed
the shekels from the pockets OF Jew and
gentle desiring 0or a consideration to
be enrolled among the gentlemen Of Eng
land" A glazing instance Of payment
by peerage" was the elevation to the err
mine by liberal government of William.
now Lord, Pirrie Of the firm of Hafland
& Wolff. who turned his political coat
just when the radicals wanted a promi
nent Ulster Protestant on their side; but
perhaps the most generally resented case
of this kind in recent years was the Bal
four governments Transformation Of Al
fred Harmsworth into Lord NorthcIiffe
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

statesman. who could have given points
in bribery to any ward heller. was an
ardent hunter of the fox. The business of
the whips" employed to keep the MEM
bers of his canine pack together was so
like the business of the men employed to
prevent similar defections from the ranks
of his none-too-large majority in the
house of commons. that the parliamentary
underlings likewise were scornfully dub
bed whips by the crafty premier's
political opponents.
The leader Of these minions. like the
foremost of the men who whipped in
the foxhounds, became known as the
chief whip, and his job was a long way
from being esteemed as honorable Is it
is today. Yet the fundamental duty of
the chief whip now is the same as 1t
was then. Walpole's ''chief whip wooed
recalcitrant members OF parliament by
whispers OF peerages, and frequently by
means of bank notes of high denOmina-
lions slipped under their plates at din
ner: the chief whip of these days deftly
bangles a title or other preferment before
the eyes Of whomsoever he would cajole
either to contribute to, the party pork
barrel or to vote straight" on di-
vision, and he also distributes patron
age" So completely is he recognized. in
fact. as the man who hands out the
''jobs" for political services rendered that
his actual official title for the past decade
or SO has been patronage secretary to
the treasury" and as such he occupies
offices at No. II Downing street, which
are ABOUT tHe uIcSt III lOHuOH.
The practical "sale" of peerages and
lesser titles in this country amounts to a
scandal Every "honors list that is
published is nearly monopolized by the
names Of men who are notable for moth
ing on earth but the money they have
got. Some of them are made barons
other baronets. others knights, and the
English newspapers have a hard time to
discover the notable services on their
part which Ibis majesty" (who has al
most nothing to do with 1T reallys has
been pleased to recompense. OF course
these are the rewards for long and un-
fiinching contribution to the party funds
and the man who takes the dough" and
eventually hands out the honors is the
chief ministerial whip.
That is, 1t is he who reminds the prime
minister. when the kings birthday or the
New Year. the two chief dates on which
honors are distributed, is beginning to
heave In sight, that 1t is time that stanch
radical and dissenter, Elias Snuggs, or.
Gf tory government be in power) that
renowned imperialist and tariff reformer
Hiram Stiggins, who has "sweetened"
the campaign funds whenever requested,
should be turned into q peer of the realm
or. at least, made a Knight Commander
Of the Bath-a distinction which does not,
you might think, entitle its holder to
the privilege Of witnessing the royal
additions.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

PERCY ILLINGWORTH, M. r,
The New Keeper OF the liberal @Pork
Barrel.~
man Of the national committee of either
Of the two great political parties in the
United States are pretty much alike. espe-
cially as regards the delicate matter OF
patronage"
The queer title of .'chief whip dates
back to the days when Sir Robert Wal
pole was prime minister, and this willy
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

IN of bananas and the fields stretch as
far as | can see to the west. Beyond
them is another plantation OF 2O,oO acres
more. The two plantations belong to the
banana trust, and they are only part OF
the mighty estate which this company
owns in Central and South America and
in the islands of the Caribbean sea. 1t
has taken up about the best banana
lands of these sections and it annually
ships bananas by the hundreds of mil
lions From it's farms come something
like three fourths of all the bananas we
use and II is due to its good business
methods that we are able to buy this
fruit much cheaper than the apples we
raise in our own back yards. Bananas
from Panama are sold in New York.
Washington and Chicago at from fifteen
10 twenty cents dozen, whereas apples
of equal excellence from Oregon. New
York or Virginia bring cents and up
ward apiece.
But as to the extent of the banana
business and the part that this fruit has
In the American stomach. l shall write
later. Let me give you a view of the
great banana sea as IL Is spread oul pe-
low me. At my right are the mountains.
the upper end of the Andes, which at this
point are about as high as the Blue
Ridge and of much the same color.
They slope down to the green and bound
what, as l look, seems vast sea of
green bushes.
Now turn and look to the left The
sea of green extends for fifteen miles in
that direction without break. and it Is
the same at the front and the back. AL
most as far as you can see there is
green everywhere except here and there
where one of the high trees Of the jungle
was too big for cutting.
Now take your glass and look more
closely at the plantations below you.
The green is not solid. You can see that
IL is divided up into great fields or farms,
each of which contains about thousand
acres and that there are narrow lines
of railroads running through it. with
wagon roads here and there. Those roads
were built to get out the bananas. There
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08
G. CARPENTER

FRANK q. CARPENTER
! Describes One of the
Worlds Biggest Plantations
How Thirty-hve Thousand
Acres of Bananas Look
Loading the Fruit-A Ride
Through the Plantation
How the Business Is Handled
The Question of Labor
What the Banana Means to
Central America.
Copyright. 1912. by Frank G. Carpentero
Special Correspondence Of The Star.
CHANGUINOLA, Panama
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

trust, that might succeed. hut IL needs
good lands and q fleet of ships, and aiso
good marketing facilities In the United
States"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

Special Correspondence of The Star.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-09-08

LONDON. September /. 1912.
Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-08-10
new LAND And
Water COMPANY
IS INCORPORATED
COMPANY IL FORMED TO RE-
CLAIM NYE COUNTY LANDS
UNDER CAREY ACT

Articles OF Incorporation were
filed at the county clerks office
Yesterday by the Railroad Valley
Land and Water company. The
new organization has a capitaliza-
tlon OF $500. 600, with an equal
number OF shares at a par value
of 81 per share.
The company is incorporated for
the purpose OF transacting a general
ranching and livestock business. The
principal business will be the re-
clamation OF lands In eastern Nye
county under the Carey act. The
principal place OF business will be
maintained at Tonopah. The incor-
porators are S. r. Moore. Warren
v Richardson aud r. A. Keenan,
Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-08-10
FISHER HAS
PLAN To LEASE
ALL COAL LANDS
WOULD ALLOW CITIES TO
NINE COAL FOR MUNICIPAL
NEEDS

WASHINGTON, August 1O-S Sec
retary Fisher has a plan to alIot
government coal lands to cities
which will operate them under GER
tain regulations to supply municipal
aeeds. as well as those of citizens
As the first step of the plan, Fisher
Yesterday recommended that con-
gress pass bill granting $40 acres
of coal land to Grand Junction. In
the meantime the interior depart
ment has withdrawn the land desir-
ed.
The general bill of Fisher favoIs
and authoizes the secretary Of .he
interior to patent $40 acres of coal
land for each city and 100 acres for
each town under conditions proyid-
ing for the continuous development
Tof the coal, the prevention of any
assignment or transfer of land. the
safeguarding of health and safety.
and preventing undue waste of
mineral resources,
TIE bill provides that the title
revert to the government II any
city or town fail to fulfill The con-
6'ticEs.
Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-08-10
THREE HUNDRED
KILLED IN TURKEY
BY EARTHQUAKE
SEVERAL. TOWNS DESTROYED
AND ENTIRE VILLAGES ARE
WIPED OUT

LONDON, August 10.--Over 800
people were killed by an earth
quake in Turkey. according to an
agency message received tonight. II
is not stated whether this is the
total number of victims, or only
those In a single town. AS far as
known there were no fatalities in
Constantinople.
CONSTANTINOPLE. August l0.--
II was learned today the Turkish
towns Of Tchanak. Kaliesni and
Galipolio have been destroyed by
earthquake MANY have perished
The villages along the sea of Mar
mora were badly shaken.
Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-08-10
N 'NAMARA MILL
RESUMES AFTER
TEN DAY STOP
DAMAGE RESULTING FROM BOLT
OF LIGHTNING REPAIRED
LAST NIGHT

After having been out OF com
mission for the last ten days, the
MaeNamara mill resumed operations
at midnight last night. and was
grinding away steadily on company
ore today.
The filter plant was placed out
of commission by the recent cleo
trical storm, when a stray lightning
bolt struck the steel sheet and
warped it in such manner that ID
proved useless. New parts were
ordered by telegraph and have since
been set in place and the damage
repaired. During the time the mill
was idle no ore shipments were
sent out. Superintendent Sherwin
stated that he did not think 1t
profitable to make shipments dur
ing the short period OF idlness
and will now crowd the mill to its
capacity in an endeavor to make up
for the loss of time.
Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1912-08-10

ceived a painful cash on his face.
After making the injured as COM
Portable as possible Lee set out for
Klondyke about two miles distant,
where he endeavored to secure tele-
phone communication with Tonopah.
The Klondyke telephone is maintain
ed by the Tonopah & Goldfield
railroad and is connected with the
depots in Goldfield and this city.
Efforts to raise the Tonopah depot
proved futile, so finally after Sc
curing a connection with the Cold
field depot assistance was request
ed. II was two hours afterwards
before a relief auto arrived from
the southern city. The injured and
uninjured were then hurried to this
city and Young and Levin were
taken to the Miners Union hospital,
arriving at that institution about 9
o'clock.
Smith remained with Young and
levin while Lee was summoning as
sistance During the wait the two
Injured men suffered greatly from
the pain and several times lost con-
sciousness. Young's fractured col
lar bone protruded through the
flesh and It was impossible to re-
lieve his sufterings until the SER
vices OF a surgeon could be Sc
cured
The injured men were reported
as resting comfortably this morn
ing and are expected TO be up and
about within a weeks time.
George Jenkins brought the
wrecked car to Tonopah this morn
ing He found the machine where
it had completely righted itself and
headed in the opposite direction
than that taken when the accident
occurred. The body Of the machine
was completely wrecked, but the
running apparatus was not injured
and the car was run to this city
under It's own power