The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-04-21

zine which has the same editor. These
English journals are devoted to open
ing up Peru to English and Ameri-
can capital and to the pushing OF
NaVasoor Noel. was for a long time
a newspaper man in the United states
and he has held important political
ana Official positions. He speaks and
writes Spanish n Italian as iuentty
as English, and his papers deserve
the support OF our American firms
who wish TO get trade in this country.
There is a big opening here for a
chain OF American banks and this
may be the outcome OF the wedge
that j. G. White & Co, Of New York
have put into Ecuador. They nave
taken the contract to clean up Quay
aQuil at a cost of s19. 600, 900. which
may lead to their investing in rail-
roads and other public works in that
country with extensions on into Peru.
AT the present time the chief
American firm on the west coast is
Messrs. w. r. Grace & Co. 1t has
been operating here for more than
a generation and it now has great
houses in LOndon and New York. with
branches in Peru. Bolivia and Chile.
The business was established by Mi
chael p. and W. r. Grace and it is
said to have resulted in very large
profits. 1t now does all kinds of
business from the individual pack
age OF goods to the rolling stock for
a railroad, and it deals in big CON
tracts involving millions of capital.
The Graces have long run a line
of steamers from New York to wes-
tern South America and they are now
taking over the management of the
Peruvian passenger line which be-
longs to the government, but so far
has been run at a loss. The firm has.
| Understand n n nifo1 az cnroothipo
like $1O,0O0,00O 1t is known every
where for the ability and probity of
It's officials and members and is an
institution Of which the United States
should be proud.
Another opportunity for American
capital down here is in the establish
nent Of a good line of American no.
tells along the west coast. There
should be an AmeriCan-kept hotel at
~Guayaquil and another at Quito, in
Ecuador. There should be a third
at Lima, a fourth at Arequipa and a
J fifth n sixth at Valparaiso and San
tlaSO de Chile. With the opening OF
the Panama canal, there is bound to
be an enormous tourist travel to this
] part of the world, and at present the
g., hotel accommodations are beyond
description abominable. 1 have been
| stopping here at one of a half dozen
r hotels owned by a monopoly which
charges from five to six dollars a day
n gold. My hotel is the Maury. Its
room are generally flied, and I I'm
: derstand that it is paying enormou.
dividends. Everything is done in tn
slowest, most grudging and insani
tary way. The rooms are withou
baths, and the meals are OF Spanish
a cooking such as would not be tolerat
9 ed in any first-class American hotel
The monopoly knows that there i
n practically no competition. and if on
fhA n1nr{y to to I fa q H.
his house does not are for American
Il customers.
= To show the antiauated methods o
II these hotels L hav just paid my bill
le J. a been at the Maury for eleve.
'e days with myself and st~enographel
and the bill as it lies before me
d 1928. OF this $22 consists of extra
/ and I find that in addition to tn
s, regular charge I have been paying 2
N cents per dish for two poached egg
every morning and little rake-offs o
every sort of pretense. The meal
~ given me for 50 or $40 a day hav
"a been ~desayuno. or coffee and brea
upon rising, and almuerzo, a tab1
a table d'hote dinner in the evenin!
~ I have pieced out the bill of fare b
" buying butter and jam o the sid
of and bringing it to the table.
40 But I started to write Of how til
bill was paid. I spoke the night bt
III fore to the clerk, telling him I e.
!. pected to leave early this nlornin
and to please have the bill read
When I came to the office he ha
nc done nothing; but he set two bool
~ keepers to work and they We
through three different cash bool
and ledgers and figured and figure
n,0 making enough calculations to ha,
- involved the buying Of Il railroad. Z
II they figured, they made memora
dums. and when they had complete
~ the head bookheeper took the shee
on to a typewriter and in Spanish, vii
81 one finger of one hand, clicked c
the items. He then tool the typ
written copy to an old-fashione
re copying press and sponged the leav
re until they were tripping With moi
tn ture. He copied the bill. in the boo