The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-09-22
CHILE IN 1914
A BId's-Eye View of the LONGEST
Country On Earth

streets. making the whole look like a !
maze OF great fireflies moving about
over the black walls of the hills.
The we came into the mort
today our ship was boarded by fieteros
or Doatman. who demanded to take
ourselves and trunks TO the shore. 1
mad already been posted as to the
prices n arranged with one at a cost
OF *25 In Chilean money to AXE me
tnFCuen n cuStOmnOuSe and to the
notei. This just about equals SIS
American. A moment later my trunks
mad been lowered over the sides and
! was moving IN a boat through the
busy harbor. We mad to watch out
Tor the launches. of which there were
scores flying this way and that: we
passed great barses of goods being
tOwed to and fro me wound our way
tnrOuSh many great sailing craft,
some OF which were loaded with lum-
Der from California and Puget Sound.
We passed one Chilean man-of-war
went under the hacow Of a dry dock
containing a steamer and finally came
TO the wharf just opposite the In
tendencia or governors palace 1t
took but a short time to go through
! the customs and a little later we were
driving through the city over streets
paved with asphalt and lined with
stores that would not have been out
Of place in New York or Boston.
The thing thai most interested me
at first sight was the street cars. These
are of two stories, with a second tier
Of seats on the roof. There is an
iron stairway at the back end of the
car that Leads to the second story,
and one can ride through the town as
though on an elevated railway. There
is no roof to this story, and it forms
the best place for a view of the city
besides the fares are cheaper on toy
than in the closed car below. / paiC
only | cent Of our money per trip
The rates below are only 2 cents, an(
Notwithstanding this l am told tha
the cars pay big dividends. The lin
here and that at Santiago, over tn
mountains about three or four hour.
off by train, belong to a German com
pany, which has a monopoly Of tn,
transit They operate the Santiag'
cars by hydro-electric power, and tina
SO cheaply that their profits from tina
line alone are about $500, 900 a month
The Valparaiso line is said to clea
about $~1,000.OOO a year.
But there is one attractive featur
: $1,000 I'm AAS oAA>NA =
mention. This is the conductors. The
are women and a very few of them ar
pretty young girls, although tn
!. great majority will / venture see thirt
: or forty again. The woman condut
tors were brought into the cars MOI
: than a generation ago. 1t vas at tn
time of the war with Peru, when all {
the men, including the street car col
ductois, were sent north to engage i
a the fighting. At that time the wome
= took the mems places, and they haV
: held them to his day. | am tol
!, that they make very good servant
and that, although they have to /
- watched as to turning in all the fare
D they are more honest tina
places. AS is is the con
pany keeps a check upon it's condu
tors by making them give each pa
- senger a ticket which is collected lat
% on by an inspector, who gees throug
e the a for the purpose. The comp;
MES have also detectives whom IL
~ girls nickname JudaSes, to watch az
10 see that all pay their fare and hat /
n fares are knocked down. These co
ductresses wear black sailor hats al
dark dresses. They have on viii
aprons, in the pockets of which tn
"a carry their money and tickets, al
&C strapped round their waists are lit
n boxes Tor the cncckS tney give the pd
sengers. They make reports at a /
re- tie kiosk in one part Of the city
~ the end of each trip. Another go
= feature of the car lines is the use
black numbers, which indicate tn
routes. This is in accordance with
&c custom that prevails all over German
~ and it is far better than our way
marking only the names Of the rout
or on the cars.
70 Where l ended my ride | was ne
ed one of the cog railroads that lead
he the upper part of the city. When
~ entered the station had another s,
LIE prise. 1t was a woman who open
act the turnstile and gave me my fare, a
he she did her job quite we'll as a m;
a. She took my money and then SHUT
he inside a cage like that Of an elevat
he She next rang a bell. and a mon'
nc later l was high above the roofs
lit the buildings along the shore, WITT
magnificent view of the ocean bel
- MO 7 could see the harbOr with