The Washington herald., 1916-03-31
SEEN AND HEARD
BY GEORGE MINER
Special Correspondent Of The Washington Herald
Copyright. 1915 Newspaper Syndicate,

Mexico City, March 23.-Yucatan is en-
tirely sclf-contained 50 far as railroads
go. None runs out of it. So the only
way to leave YuCatan in an expeditions
manner is by steamer And that is not
so expeditions that il makes one dizzy.
The passenger traffic from YuCatan to
tine outside world is practically mOnopO-
ltzed by single line. which has steam
er leaving New York once every two
weeks and touching at Havana, Pro-
gresO, Vera Cruz and Tampico. Then
back again over the same route. They
used to run weekly boat. but this win
ter the traffic to Cuba was so heavy they
cut the two biggest boats of the long
run and set them to pl! ing between New
York and cuba.
1t was good business for the steamship
line, but it was tough on Yucatan.
To be sure. there is 4 Mexican line of
steamers that runs between Mexican
ports, but they are very small and very
irregular in their sailings. and there arc
lots of worse things than that about
them, too. No self-respcCting Mexican
ever takes them if he can help it, while
an American would as soon go to a pest
house as book passage on one.
Wait or Go by Freight.
So it gets down to the oncc-in-two-
weeks boats unless you take fTeish ter
across the Gulf from ProGreso to New
Orleans, and l know by bitter experience
that travelling on that sort OF water
wagon is an experience to he classed
with Nightmares, fever and acue, the
measles and toothaChes. The only good
thing | know about them is that they
sail every two or three days and carry
the mail.
Once in two weeks can by no stretch
of the ina sination he called quick dis
patch for city OF nearly 10000 inhab-
itants. as has Merida. and Of which Pro-
greso is merely the port. But that's not
the worst of it. You are very lucky in
deed to be able to get away after wait
ing the two weeks. for boats are unable
to accommodate half of the passengers
who want to so from ProgresO to Vera
Cruz.
No matter how early You put your APP
plication in, the agent in Merida or Pro-
greso is unable to tell YOU until the day
before sailing whether YOU will be able
to 90 or not for he can sell no tickets
until he gets a wireless from the boat
telling the number of vacant berths.
The congestion of traffic caused by the
long intervals between boats is really
great hardship on the travelling public.
and it has no redress. OF course, the
steamship company has a perfect right
to conduct its business as it pleascs and
run as many or as few boats as it deems
best. but | can assure YOU that it gets
some pretty strenuous abuse from would
be passengers left behind.
The boat | sailed on was a fair exam
pie of this condition of insufficient ac-
Commodations. Eighty-fve people made
application for frst-class passage on her
from ProgreSso to Vera Cruz. There
were accommodations for just twenty.
two, so SiXty-three persons were turned
away to be left behind and wait two
weeks for another boat Some of them
might get turned away from that, too.
First Class Camping Out
As a matter of fact, we did not leave
all the sixty-three disconsolate ones on
the dock. There were accommodations in
the second-class for some half dozen or
so, who put their pride in their pocket
and took them. A dozen more elected to
sleep on the seats in the smoking room
or wherever they could rather than be
left behind.
That was expensive travelling for
them, for it was no cheap trip for
the two days run from Progreso to
Vera Cruz. 1t costs $25 in gold and
that's a little singular. too, as it only
costs IS when you buy the ticket in
New York. That is to say the fare is
$50 from New York to Progreso and
only S65 from New York to Vera
Cruz, with privilege of stop-over in
Progreso if you like. That is certainly
discriminating against the short-haul
passengers with a vengeance.
Even IL you are lucky enough to
get a berth on the boat. it is no easy