Evening star., 1921-09-28
NEWEST CAPITAL
!! IS RA|LROADLESS
TegucigaIpa Selected by Gen.
trail American Federation
on High Level.

IF the United States, according
to criticisms in 1871. selected a site
for its capital far from the beaten
path. the newly formed Federation
of Central America has selected one
that Is even more remote and mac
cessible,'' says bulletin issued by
the National Geographic Society.
'Tegucigalpa "a name which when
properly pronounced brings to mind
the sey-goosey-gander' of nursery
rhymes) Is now the capital of Hon.
duras, one of the members Of the
TT might be termed the Lhasa of
the West but not because it Is
forbidden city by the edict of man.
Its citizens have their share OF the
hospitality for which Latin America
is noted. but nature has placed
rough country between the city and
the two oceans that battle the shores
Of Honduras, and man has done little
to overcome the handicap. 1t is the
only capital on the North American
continent that has never echoed to
the more or less musical blast OF
railroad locomotive. and one Of the
few railroadless capitals in the
western hemisphere. Nor may one
yet travel to the new national capi-
tai by automobile.
Eighty Miles From Port. =.
"Tegucigalpa is some eighty miles
inland from its Pacific port, San
Lorenzo, on highlands more than 5000
feet above sea level. A road, which
is more than trail but less than
highway. connects the two points.
The most ambitious name that it can
lay claim to is cart road Travellers
do the eighty miles in three days by
mule back, and if they are travelling
along by pack mule. Trunks must
follow even more slowly by ox-cart.
In the interior of the country, with
it's fianks in the air. as military
man might describe it, is fifty-mile
highway in good condition extending
between Tegucigalpa and the second
most important town of Honduras,
Comayagua. Over this road automo-
biles operate regularly.
'Tegucigalpa is more than 100
miles from the Atlantic. or rather,
the Caribbean sea. but Americans
from the Atlantic than from the Pa
cific side. due to the fast steamer
service from New Orleans and Mo-
bile. Puerto Cortez isN the north
shore port. From there a railroad
extends for a short distance toward
the interior, and from the rail head
the journey by mule back to Teguci-
galpa occupies five or six days.
Capital Quiet PLACE.
1.-THE capital is as quiet q place as
it's inaccessibility would indicate. Its
population is variously estimated at
10000 to $1,000. Most of it's build
ings are of one story with walls of
adobe or masonry and roofs Of tile.
Though it is isolated now, Teguci-
galpa does not mean to remain so
and perhaps it's choice as capital of
the new Central American Fedora
ton is an earnest that it will soon
have rail connections with the out
side world The government Of the
state adopted an ambitious rail-
building program a generation ago,
but financial ruin overlook the en-
terprise. In recent years a number
of railroads have been built from the
north coast by large banana COM
panies, and some of these are being
slowly extended toward the capital.
1.-The Federation of Central Amer
ica consisting now of Guatemala. San
Salvador and Honduras, hopes in the
near future to enroll Nicaragua and
Costa Rica among it's members. If
these two countries to the south join,
Tegucigalpa will be almost exactly at
the geographical center of the new
federation's territory"