El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-05-29

! twice as wide. ] shall write again Of
them.
The transportation OF the Parana is
at its beginning. So far il has been
controlled by one man and his family.
This is the Mihanovitches, an Organi-
cation or company which has 800 YES
sells and employs something like 5000
hands. It has capital of $4,000 900,
and it carries more than fOur-fifths OF
the traffic OF this great river system.
It has vessels not only upon the Rio
de Ia Plata and the Parana, but also
upon the AltO-Parana and the Para
quay, as far as Asuncion.
Starts rs Cabin Boy.
The story of Mihanovitch shows some
OF the possibilities Of forum e-making
in South America The elder Mihano-
witch, Nicholas, started life as a cabin
boy. He was born in Austria, and
when, at the age Of Is, he landed in
MOntevideO. he had not a cent nor q
friend. He got employment on the
vessels Of the harbor, and after a time
was commanding a small river boat
sailing from Buenos Aires. Later on he
began to transport goods from ship TO
ship IN the harbOr, and to the ports,
and gradually built up a transportation
service which today is one Of the large
ones OF the world.
When he began he had to buy his
coal for cash, five tons at a time. When
he died, only short time ago, his yes
sells consumed 10000 tons every year.
=
undertakings outside his steamships.
he was the founder of the La Blanca
meat packing establishment. since
bought by the Armours. He also owned
several hundred thousand acres Of land.
Good Opening for Vessels.
It seems to me that there are great
openings for good ships on the Parana
system All have seen have been
crowded Fhe San Martin. on which 1
am travelling, has been full Of passen-
gers all the way to. COrrientes. near the
mouth Of the Paraguay. It belongs TO
the AIihanOvitches: and If IL is any in
deN Of the other ships Of the trust any
company of well managed vessels could
easily crowd it out OF the waters
The ship is long, low, three-decked
side-wheeler, with hundreds OF cabins
and a dining room at one end Of the
deck Its accommodations are filthy.
The food is not good. and but little at
tempt is made for the comfort Of the
passengers There are crawling things
in my cabin and the bathrooms and the
other sanitary arrangements are such
that they would not be tolerated on
a European or an American vessel
am told that the line has other YES
sells that are newer and better, but I
would advise all American tourists to
examine personally the steamers Of this
line before they take passage and see
what other lines have to offer. There is
now railroad connection between Bue-
nos Aires and AsunciOn, by which one
can make the trip in two days
If the boats were good the ideal way
would be to go up by rail and TO come
back south by steamer. when the cur
rent Of the river would enable the voy-
age'to be made in three days The
rates on the river are $40 to Asuncion
and S3S for return TO Buenos Aires.
There are reduced rates foT the round
trip.
Queer Passengers
1 wish 1 could show you the passen-
gers that travel on these South Amer
lean steamers They are OF all classes
and conditions OF men. We have here
q dozen nationalities, including Rus
sian colonists, Italian laborers and Jew
peddleSs. We have Germans on their
way North for work commercial travel
ers who drop off at the ports to 20 in
land and sell goods. estancieros and
their families, who own great farms
near the river, half dozen priests clad
in as many different costumes. Bra
many Paraguayans en- route TO Asun-
ciOn and beyond
Just now is the summer on this side
of the world, and the most OF the pas
seugers are going north for business
or necessity, rather than for pleasure.
In the winter the character Of the
crowd is far different It then be- (
comes comeWhat like our exodus from
the north TO Florida and other parts Of
the south Paraguay is the Florida Of Z
Argentina, and there are many fash
ionable people who go there to get
away from the cold. 1t is, I suppose, Z
much like the crowd of rich aristocrats {
7 saw e Mar del Plata, which compares
favOrably in manners with the society
Of any part Of the world.
"UnSPeakabIy Common"
As to the people we have on this YES
sell the majority Of them are unspeak- I
ably common" Three-fourths Of the
men tuck their napkins in at the col
lar. and the tOOthpick is universally
used between courses. The same fork
takes its turn in conveying food from
the plate to the mouth, and in fishing
olives and cucumbers from the mixed !
pickle bottle There are some women .
who are really expert in getting their !
food to their lips with their knives. i Z
have been watching the process, and Z
so far not a drop Of blood has been F.
drawn. Just opposite me sits a girl OF
Is, who spears at the olive dish with
her wooden toothpick, and thus trans /
fers the fruit to her mouth.
The most Of the people have better 1
than I have and sometimes L /
can hardly sit out the meal For in Z
stance. the man who sat beside me at 4
breakfast this morning ate his egg raw. Z
His first order brought two, which were
redilently bad he made a wry face and