The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-01-25
GUATEMALA MORE
 PROSPEROUS THAN
 EVER IN HISTORY
But Present Good Times Were Preceded By Pe- riOd of Distress and
 Suffering
By GuELEMo vALLENsUELLA

and pulled around, but she is not "oht," as you people say here in America.
 Drouths have hit Guatemala in 1915 band 1914. The grasshoppers ate every thing green in 1915. The war stoped her exports in 1916. Earthquakes wrecked her capital city and numerous other towns in 1916. But Guatemala still lives, and is today enjoying prosperity which
 has never been equalled in the history of the country.
 To begin with, Guatemala was visited by drouths in the years of 1913 and 1914.
 This kept the country busy supplying 1 foods for it's own inhabitants and there i would have been but little exports as the war in the latter year closed most of | the trade routes to Europe. In the fol- lowing year along came the grasshoppers, who left nothing that was green stand i
 ng. Next the price of coffee the prn- cipal export of the country, went down. 1 The sea lanes to Germanysywhich took 60 per cent of the crop before the war, were blockaded by the warships of the | allies.
 Then came the earthquakes of 1917 and 1918. The capital city of Guatemala was | nearly destroyed other towns were razed, | homes, public buildings, schools and hos pita1s the famous churches, among which ] were numbered the most famous in Cen tral America, went down in ruins. What France and Belgium went through during the war, of which the world has learned much, was nothing, | comparatively speaking, to the destrac- ton suffered by little Guatemala. one hundred and twenty-five thousand per sons were left without food, shelter, water or light after the dreadful quakes. In the highest attitudes, some Of ths towns being more than 5000 feet above the | sea level there was great suffering De- cause of the cold. Panic was every where. | Then came the dreaded yellow feVer. | Imported from somewhere, the autnorl- l ties; have never been able to ascertain, | tb plaeue visited the coastal towns of the i Pacific, Fever had not been heard or | in Guatemala since the early eightlp, ], yet it descended on the srrrcxened country when it could least afford it's ravages. ] It was followed by influenza, which vls- | tied every corner of the little republic scattering death among the inhabitants with a terrible hand. The country was lbroken distressed and disheartened The people were ready to gfve up and dle ol starvation on the ruins of their little l farms which they had handed down from | generation to generation.
 Then the man whom the people had 1 made President came forward and dem. onstrated that their selection had been | a wise one. Dr. Manuel Estrada Cabrera | had always handled the government we'll 1 His diplomacy had made him friend l every country with which he had dealt His lovable character had made his peo- pie worship him. They thought Cabrera could do nightingale did everything.
 Through his own efforts Guaremalial exporters succeeded in marketing the cof' l fee which had been going to large Ger man interests in Europe in the markeh of the United States. Using the gold re- serves he patiently and honestly aecumu- lated credit for the financial transforma- ton of the country, saved the banks painful situation due to the stoppage of credits because of the war, bought grains and kept high the credit of the country. Interests on the public debt were paid without interruption despite the broken
 condition of the little nation.
 In the days of ruins, surrounded by
 few friends andss the members of his } cabinet. among them he numbers som,
 of the better known men of Central America, he estarted the movement which has resulted in the people declaring him
 the savior of the republic. Without rof himself and without appealing to the
 aid of the outside world, Caberera attend ed al 1of the needs of the moment. Those parts of the country which and not been
 struck by the earthquake brought food and supplies to the stricken communi- ties The system established proved to , be a big-brother scheme wnerepy the people who were rich with supplies and | foods helped those who were poor. The city of Guatemala, being the hard est stricken of the several cities and vil- , lages which had been visited by the quake was the center of efforts at recon
 struction. It was there that President Caberera spent most of his energies in
 re-establishing business. Things soon lafr and Pointing to the Temple of Minerva, the President proclaimed it's inscription to ! the people. It read: Labor Omnia Vim
 cet" which in English is. Work Van 1 quishes Everywhere"
 Reconstruction has made admirable , progress during the two years which elapsed since the catastrophe. The pub
 lic schools, which were the first build- 1 ing to be reconstructed soon, reached the : humber of 9, and were reopened to re- ceive the children in August, 1918. High , schools and universities were .no. long
 following. and soon the nation was on ! the efficient educational basis which II
 had always maintained
 :, The country now finds itself on the 2 road to complete restoration, health,
 wealth and happiness. Crops have betn 1 bcuntiful The price of coffee. of which
 the country produces more than foooVV :, l150-pound sacks annually, is finding ready P sale in the United states ana other inai
 kets at prices which had not been heard S Ibf before. Export and import trade IS Irecovering and it's total in 1870 Will reacn I the highest mark in the history Of the ? country Public works go on withoutfin-
 terrupton. Improvements are uncon- S fined. New railroads are already in the
 course of construction, and will soon I lopen up new districts to the betterment of P the agricultural and industrial resources
 of the republic. New foreign capital 3 much of it from the United states IS
 going into Guatemala, and with the es- i, tahlishment of the National Bank. whicn 2 will have a capitalization of slo.ooo'oVo
 Guatemala will take her place as one oi 1 the most prosperous of the Latin-Amer-
 ican countries.
 I Perhaps this good fortune following on ? the heels of calamity is Guatemala's re- ward for her faithfulness to democratic B principles in the late world war. Qua
 tomala was one of the first allies of the I new world to the United States. She p proclaimed war on Germany soon after it had been proclaimed here. The time will A come when. in writing the history o'
 the great struggle. Guatemala Will be a given a place of honor in the list of vic Y torious nations.