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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1913)
inr umaua oi-nljai ocau: jajhvas&i ft, ztu. 5 B The New Railroads of Central America G 55 (CoprriBht, 1912, bj- Frank 0. Carpenter.) .I'ATEMAUA CITY-The Pan- American railway will oon bo connected with tho Guatemala system. It already comes to the boundary of the republic and only twenty-five or thirty miles of track are yet to be laid to con nect with tho Guatemala Central, which comprises the lines running from hero tj the port of San Jose, on tho l'aclflc, and those, which cover the western slope of this countr. indeed, travelers can now Ko to MujeIo. City by rail, piecing out the short distance of a day's rldo on mules. Moreover, oxtenslve plans ore luide'r way to extend the-luntemalan rail ways Into Salvador and Costa fllcq, and within a comparatively short tlmo we shall bo ablo to reach tho Panama canal by ra'lway. By Trnlu to (iu'nteninln. In this way Guatemala City is only within about four days from Mexico City. When the break Is complpted it will be only three days, - and the time to St. I.ouls will be' less than six days, whlio that to New York will bo Just about one week. From Guatemala City to St. Louis the distance Is 2.S24 miles. To New York it Is 9,(8i miles, or about "Op miles less than from Jew York to San Francisco. It needs only an extension of a llttl more than fifty miles to connect tho roods hero with those of Salvador, and ,tho day sesms to bo fast coming when 'the Pan-American railway from New York to Buenos Aires will bo In operation. The distance between these two points by rail will bo only a little over 10,00 miles. , and of this between 6,000 and 7,000 miles have already been built. Add to that an extension equal to tho distance between here and Now York, and we shall havo this great Intercontinental railway with several hundred miles to spare' JTerr Railroads of Central America. . Everywhere I go in Central America I hear the people talking of new railroads. Ono of the projects of Panama Is to build lino from Panama. City jto'tho town of David, the largest place In the northern part of that republic Costa, Rica will eventually be connected with Panama, i Nicaragua and Honduras, and the conces sions for the extension of the roods here have already been granted. Both tho old and new lines are practically owned by 1 Americans, and from New York to Panama the indications are that the lhs will be under American control. Tho president of the Pan-American extension to Guatemala Is D. O. Thompson; who ' was formerly'our minister toyoxlpo. The J railroads of Costa luca are ownea uy the Keith syndicate, and tho .same Is true of tho railroads of Guatemala. All of the lines have been planned by Ameri cans and built by Americans, and there will probably be one American company operating the whole. Prom Ooenn to Ocean. Guatemala has now m Intercontinental line from the Caribbean sea to the Pa cific. This Is, with tho exception of the Panama railroad, which Is about forty miles long, and the Tehuautepcc lino whlth Is 1S mile long, the shortest of all the roads which connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its total mlleago Is less Than 170 and it runs from Puerto Unrrlos on the Caribbean sea to Guate mala City on tho top. of the pass, thence on over tho mountains and thence to San Jose d Guatemaln, tho -port on tho Pacific. Tho distance from Barrios to the capital Is 195 miles, and from hero to San Jose it is Just under seventy-five miles. Resilar trains are. ..running over both tlieso roads, and" when Secretary ICnox was here ho crossed tho continent that . way. Ho was taken from one ocean to li nihxr nn srxrlnl earn with nllot en- nines running along In front t foreetuTf any danger of accident, and the unkind say to bo suro that no dynamite mines hml been planted to blow up the train. Tl road was decorated for the occasion n ml was lined wUh palm branches, flags and school children processions-from , ono end to the other. There weroTTands at all of the stutlons. nnd when the cars passed nliiiig the shores pf Iakq Amttltlan a fleet of canoes manned liy Indians went through certain maneuvers In his honor. The fjiintemnln Hnlltvny. Tho road froni Guatemala City to the Atlantic Is now largily'eownrd by Minor t. Keith Wild jthcr cnnJtollstN, supposed to' bo ufflodarvd with the Vnltcd Fruit company, and I nm told I hat thoy Iiumi made arrangements to' acquire the other roads' Of Gutemala. This is tJicSGuatf. tnilu ioa"d which was formerly callcd',lho Northern tall way. Its first sectton was luia out alid' hullt Uy an American engi neer named Miller. It was begun ill 18S1 ns a government project, and It was -then were some hours passing through tho plantations. v Leaving Port Barrios, tho cars Ed right Into the Jungle. They wind' their WHy through the Montagua valley, whero Ui soil Is a rich, sandy loam abput fifteen feet deep. Here tho rainfall Is abun dant, and nature has on her seven-leogue boots. Palm trees a hundred feet high wall the railway, and the vegetation la the most luxuriant to be found In the tropics. After a few miles of much scenery you enter tho great banana estates, and tho cars fan tho leaves of banana plants from thirty to forty feet high, many of them being loaded wlfli fruit There Is perhaps forty7 miles of such riding, and then you come to the mountains, where tho vegetation is dryer and with mariyherda of cattle are feeding upon It. Like ArUonn. The scenery now suddenly ' changes. It Is almost like crossing ' from "the valley of the Nile Into tho desert. In tho valley, tho rainfall Is over 100 Inches per ycar.J On tho highlands there 1b alnist no rain. and ns you ascend the mountains you pass tnrough a region Ilka the desert lands of NoiMexlco or Arizona. The ground so1 dry 'and cacti abound. Tho trees or sliver gray. -There docs not seem to jse enough moisture to color tho leaves. Tho oniy green Spots anor along the beds if the streams. We can still see tho Mota gua river, hut beyond Its banks Is tho desert. In Its upper course the river looks not urhlke tho Jordan, and tho vegeta tion, is 'no more luxuriant than that which lines' the famed river of Palestine. Stilt farther Inland tho mountains malto ono think .of- the Rockies. They nro bare, ragged and torn by ravines and -canons. There aro thirsty trees upon which hang thirsty air plants, the-orchlds of the des ert, Now and then .you pass llttlo vol leys vylth Irrigated patches along the stream running through It. lilcro are thatched' KutB, the homes of the In dians. Such "valleys are but a few hun dred feet wide and the population :s scanty. , A Ten-Dollnr Ilrrnkfnnt. My train stopped for breakfast at Zacapa, and my meal cost mo, $10. When I left I look a bottlo of appollonarls with me, for which, I was charged Jl, and also a package of cigarettes which cost me $5. I gave a fee to the parlor car rortor at tho close of tho trip, and- once luiu it uuy u. uuiiur iu ui ms mo u- uriiin All of these flguri':i however, rcpromint Guatemalan money, of which It takes seventeen dollars -to inako ono of ours, so that a to bill equals Just about SO cents, Zacapn,'-la tho biggest city between the Carrlbbcan and the capital. It Is 100 miles Inland, lying at the foot of tho mountains nnd only 000 feet abovo tho sea. During the next ninety miles wo went upwnrd over 4,000 foot, and hero nt Guatemala City wo nro Jijst about a mllo high. nnllrond Sccuri, The scenes on tho Gautcmalan railroad arc Interesting. Tho passengers cpn slst of Indians, half-breeds, or ludlnos, 'and whites, who aro fow and fur be tween. Tho cars nro flrwt and second clans, and wo hod at tho end of the train a llttlo parlor cur, tho cxtru charge for which wOH iabout $08 por duy. I spent part of tho Journey In tho second class car. The seats woro much like provided uiai every uunicin.imu bjiuwu those of n rtroet car. consisting or long pay $1 a year to old In Its building. Tho ! ocnci,cs running under tno windows and work was started, but a wnr broke out j a back-to-back bench In the center. Hero and tho funds for tho tallroad had to be.ni0fit of tll0 pagacngcrs were Indians or me! to support the president. negroes. They wcro dressed In 'cottoiv The year following anotner couirnci was , the Im,,ung iaa high straw hats made, nnd along In 1S93 the work was '., ,. s.in.fK.i in,- . mnr innf again under way. At that tlmo 10 P",Th0 wftr0 na,y bare-headed IndlanJ cent os tnosaiarics oi me puouo "-" Women. Both men and women were and 0 per cent of all tho town revenues' . f ciKar.ltp ThelP baK. were ordered to bo set asldo for railroad construction. The contracts wero let. and 1 . " - x .(,. .cm -I. -.a i neau. aiOng aOOUl JOVO OF Wl UVO Piiwun been built.' extending from the seacoast 130 miles up ihe mountains. At that place tho road stopped. It be gan at the ocean and Its terminus, was a Jungle. Many of the ties rotted ond tho rails ruBted, until 1901, when Sir William Van Home, Minor C. Keith and General Tom Hubbard got a now gago was hung up "on hooks over their n. An Indian newsboy In his shirt sleeves passed through tho car selling candy and beer. At one of tho stations a company of soldiers camo In. They were barefooted and their uniform was of calico, while their hats woro of straw. Each rrlun carried-a gun, but this Was the only sign 'concession for r warfare about him. I am told they It and pushed It on to its completion. It was finished in January, 1908, and It Is now ono of the best roads in Central America. This Northern railway Is well built. The gauge la three feot, and, with the ex ception of one 'place, the greatest grade Is 3vjw cent. For a short distance It Is more, than i per cent. Tho road has over 300 stoel bridges, one of which Is more than 000 feet long, and another U3 feet Jong. Tho latter bridge Is 229 feet high. This road has a guaranteed Income of $200,000 a year, the concession providing that the government will Insure the E per cent dividend on the $4,000,000 Invested In It In adMltlpn to this, last year- It made more than $100,000, and the traffic is, steadily growlnr, l'ort Barrloa to Guatemala City. It was over this road that I came Into Guatemala. I landed at Port Barrios oa one of the regular steamers which coll there on their way from Panama to New Orleans. The port has a wide and deep harbor and vessels of the heaviest draft ran come to Its docks. The railroad pass for thirty or forty mJJ ca through the rich banana plantations of the United Fruit company and carry their freight right to the steamers. While I stayed at X'ort Barrloa about 13,060,090 benanis were loaded, ana en my war over the rot w receive, from 10 to -15 cents dally and that the government is always behind In Its pay. The most of the-'soldlers aro In diana who are forced Into tho army. American Rnllvrnr Mt-n. The train had an American engineer Sanatorium This Institution Is the only one In the central west with separate buildings situated In their own ample grounds, yet entirely dis tinct, and rendering It possible to cllsslf cases. The ono building being fitted for and deroted to the treatment of non-contagious and non-mental diseases, no others be ing admitted; the other Rest Cot tage being detlgaed for and do Yoted to the caelBatTd trettaeat of select mental cases requiring for a time watefeful ear and spe cial nursing. and an American conductor, nnd this Is tho" case with the other railways of Gautemala, Tho natives havo no expert ence and they cannot lie trusted to han dle the trains. The conductors receive $100 gold per month, and tho engineers hnve similar salaries. Tho conductors tell me that the Giiitcmalans .ore great travelers and that both tho first nnd second-class passenger traffic Is good. First-class fares are In the neighborhood of 3 cents gold per mile nnd the second class are about half the ftrst-cthss. Tho Indians patronize the roads and the con ductors say that they havo to watch them carefully lo collect all the fares. They arc smart and , will try to cheat their way from station to station. A man will buy n ttckct for a short distance and then 1 change his ticket whllo en route, (taking thnt of a passenger who has a tlckot for a longer ride, slipping the tlcketa back and forth, so that he gets a good part of hts rldo without pay. Many men buy ticket short of tho sta tion where they expect to get off, trust ing that tho conductor will forget them. I wonder If this Is not sometimes the same In our country. The Guatemala Cputrnl Itnllnay. The mJtrnAil from nnntnmnln r-l- n the Pacific ocean Is known as the Guate mala Central, and connected with It are the extensions which run northward almost to the boundnry of Mexico. This syatHtn has thiro or four porta on the Pacific, tho most of which aro open roadtteadii, o that paaoeugers havo to be frequently lanilod In baskets. It oa at ssnn Joso that Secretary Knox was let clown out of 'our war vessel, aa St. I'aul was let down from the walla of Damaa iiis. In a basket. Thla la the only alml l.irlty I have evr observed between 8t. Paul and tho secretary. The Guatemala Central uaa the first railroad built In Guatemala. It was be gun about 1S77. when nn American, Wil liam Nanne, who had been general man njjer of the Costa Rica n rail way. cant" litre nnd built the lino front the eAcont ns far as tho town of TCaqulntla. This was comnleted about 1SS0 and a llttlo later ho received a concession to extend It to the capital. Thla mad Is well built and well ballasted. I took a run down over It a 'few daya ago. Ha steepest grade Is about 3U per cent, but the aver age grade la not more than IH. Never theless, n going from hero to Ksqulntla, n distance at twenty-jevrn miles, the fall la nearly, 4,000 feet. The rldo down to tho coast abound In flue scenery. There are numerous horse ahoo curvca which equal those of the Pennsylvania railroad, and you faro al ways In sight of voleanlij mountains. Yon wind your way out of eftte valley Into another, through hills covered with cattle, now and then seeing coffeo plantations nnd In the low lands great fields of sugar. About an hour or so from Guatemala City you rpach Lake Amttltlan. above which tho towering volcanoes of Agua and Fuego look down and the scene re mlnda ymi of Switzerland. Lake Amt tltlan la five miles In length and not inoro than two miles 'in width. Its water ia beautifully clear and here and there are hot springs which bubbte up and breathe forth ateam from tho surface. The rail road runs In and out along the shores of thla lake, and In one place It. crosses it At the time this section was built, C, P. Huntington was furnishing tho capital ond he was surprised nt the money It took. The story Is that he sent word that If the engineers could not find enough rock they had better wire New York and he would send down allver dollars enough to make tho fill. The West Const. Tho western coast li by far tho rich est part of Guatemala. It has many large coffee plantations and the coffo trafflo' forms a big Item of frleght This will fbo Increased when the Panama canal la completed. Recently many cacao or chards have been set out nnd thin Indus try la reviving. About fifty yrnra ago tho cacao waa carried northward to Mex ico on mules, nnd In some years tho amount sent was millions of pounds. An other export waa rnchlnrnl, a dye made from a bug which covered the caetua about1 l4ke Amltltlan. That dye br.Migh In something like $l.0CV,C00 a year. During my stay hero tn Guatemala I have talked with tho chief -railroad men of the country, Including F. G. William son, manager of tho Guatemala rondsi U. U. Mogadon, manager of the Central, and V. IC, Josaiip, the superintendent of the Central lines. They all speak en thusiastically of the prospects pf Gunte mnlan development. Mr. Jessup estl-. mates that there are 2,0)0 square leagues of land In thla country, which will grow sugnr cane, and that the coffeo planta tions might be enormously Increased, lie tella mc that there arc large forests In tho mountains and extensive tracts which wilt grow grain. There are nlso cotton lands and tobacco lands and Urge tracts for. the grazing of cattle. FRANK G. CARPKNTISR. I KANSAS BEER WITS IN ACTION , Liquor Joint In Iloonm with Fnlse I Clilmnry nnd Hcoret Trap doors. A hollow sound that followed the rap of a billy club on Iho side of a struc ture, which to all outward appearances was a chimney corner, led to tho dis covery In Topeka, of what tho local police term as one of tho most clever ruses for concealing beer nnd whiskey that they hava ever met. The chimney wna In reality a closet for booze and aa a reault of the dis covery. Charles F. Hecht, Who runs a poolroom In tho biilldlng whero the false chimney wns found, haa had two war rants served on him. Tho chimney contained seventy-four quart bottles of beer nnd On quart of hlskcy, when It wns found by detec tives. To glvo the chimney a bona fide oppearanco a gas stove was placed lit front of It False plumbing came up through the floor below the stove and a regulation size stove pipe connected the heater with tho chimney closet. One aide of tho structure waa hinged and served t)a a door opening Into a recess about eighteen Inches squnro and fitted with flvo shelves on which the beer wna placed. A strip of moulding such aa wna used In other porta of the room was nailed over the corner and top of tho chimney so aa to hide tho ends and sides of tho door. A small keyholo In the door was concealed bj a picture postcard, which was tacked over It so that It could bo swung to one side. The room wns fitted up with a bed. a stand, a water pitcher and chairs. An Ico chest waa kept In tho room, but was nways empty when the placo wna visited by pollen offlccra. Tho closet wa but a part of the 'equipment that tetaled to keep In the dark what hap penod on the second floor of tho build ing. The halt door leading to thla and other looms wns securely nalltd ami liarred, o that admission to the second floor vus possibly only from the pool hall below, In- tho rear of which was a concealed ladder Reading to the room above. In tho event of the discovery of this ladder the perSona who frequented the rooms of the second floor did not ex pect to be caught nnpijlng and a system of electric bells waa arranged so that notice of tho arrival of officers below could be algnnllcd to the rooms above Immediately- On tho night the raid waa mado the electric bella wcro i used. The officers broko open the street entrance door and reached the room whero the beer was kept only In time to see three men raako their exit on the roof through tho sky light by meana of a folding ladder, con cealed when not In use.-Tbpeka Capital. Wanted Kf flelencjr. "I shall never forget." "VanSinU stnjcsmon. "the crowd of lV01,pI',?oP,o who meerod mo for one solid hour. "Havo you over thought of your terrtWo respc nslhllltyr' naked the mntomntlctnn. hour each for 10.000 poop e repre sents 10.0C0 houra, or nearly a year and two n ontha. devoted to the exhaustive and unproduollvo occupation of cheer ing!" Washington Star. it" 1 ' 1 ' ill' '"s? ' 11 " ' "" - "" . "ft BIG JANUARY SPECIAL SALE i QUAINT FURNITURE i nnd ITEM NO. 1 liookor Chair; regular prico $18.00- January Sale Price $13.50 Made by Stickley Bros. Co., who began the manufacture of quaint and unusual furniture several years ao in a very small way. They have grown to be ono of the largest manufacturing con cer'nsn Grand Rapids, the great manufacturing center; thoy have become the leaders in style as well as quality; ljave been the greatest forco in developing quaint furniture, and leaders in tho fumed oak finish. In order to control every part of the furniture t they produce they have their own fuming plant where each article when completed in the natural wpod is placed and by tho burning of ammonia, tlio fumes color it to the required shade, making a finish that cannot wear off and does not show mars or dents. They also found it necessary to-install a modern tan nery in order to properly. treat hides to secure that soft pliable Spanish leather used on their upholstered furniture and cushions, all of which is guaranteed for Five Years. , - To introduce this fumed oak furniture, Stickley Bros., offered us three carloads last year for a January Sale at a reduction of 25rJ with tho understanding that tho ITEM NO. 6 Booker -mid Chair; regular price $30.00 --January Sale 41 Prico. &&pV ITEM NO 2 Buffet; rogular prico $00.00 January Sale Pri .$45.09 goods would ho sold exactly on thin ', . , i.s by ' us. As" soon as thobo goods wore shown on oiir floor thoy wero snapped, up by our customers ind their popularity enabled us to troble our businestfon Stickley Bros, goods during the year. From this result they have nude us tho same, offcr.agairi this year threo carloads, up more, of their most desirable fumed oak furniture to be sold only durifig January at just 25 reduction. an you afford to .miss such an opportunity? ITEM NO. 7 Buffot; rogular.prjoe .$76.00-January Salo E7,flft riy.v Price. vJ ITEM NO. 3-Table; regular price $6.50 Jm- ji , nr uary Sale Price. . . vTti 9 Bh' ITEM NO. 1 Rocker or Arm Ohair (Like illustration) Soft brown fumed -oak with Spanish leather cu'BjiIon Beat; good, goncrouH slue. Hockrsr or chair noils regularly at $18. January salo price 813.50 ITEM NO. 2 Buffet (Like illustration) -60 inches long, 22 inchos deep, 46 inches high, antique copper trimmed, fumed oak. Regular soiling price, $60. January oalo price. $45 ITEM NO. 3 Table (Like illustration) Octagon shape top, 26 inchos in diameter, i .10 inches high, fumed oak. Regular price, $0.50. January sale price $4.75 ITEM NO. 4 China Cabinet (Ljke illustration)-4.'J inches wide, 16 inches deep, 54 Inches high, fumed oak, solid beaten copper trimmings. Regular price $40. January sale prico $30 ITEM NO. 5 Davenport (Like illustration) Fumed oak, heavy design, 72 inches long, 30 inches dcop, 3S Inches high, loose cushion seat and back, In best Spanish leather. Regular price, $75,00. January sale prico r ..$56.00 ITEM NO. Gocker; or Arm Chair (Like illustration) Large and comfortable, Spanish leather cushion, Beat and back; highest grade construction and finish. Regular prico ) $::0.00. Choice chair or roqker January Bale prico , ,.$22.50 ITEM NO. 7 Buffet (Like, illustration) -Solid boa ton copper trimmings, turned oak;, has mirror back, 44x10 Indies; length 60 Inches, depth 22 inches, height C3 inches. Regu lar price, $70.00.. January salo price..... $57.00 ITEM NO. 8 Rocker or Arm Chair Like illustration) Fumed oak, Spanish lea ther; looso cushion seat, Substantial and comfortable. Regular prico $15.00. Choice chair or 'rocker, January salo price , l.... .. 811.00 ITEM NO. 9 Table (Like illustration) -Magazine onds, top is 40 inches by 26 inches, with under sholf; fumed oak. Regular prico $21.00, January sale price $15.75 rchard & Wilhelm Carpet 2o. ITEM NO. 8 Bocker and Cliiiir; regular prico $15.00 January -Sale jj , ITEM NO. 4-China Cabi net, regular price $40.Q0 -Srr7.8?'... $30.00 ITEM NO. S Davenport; regular price?P AA ' $75,00'-January Salo Price i)UVP ITEM NO. 9 Table; regular price $21 January Sale Price. . $15.75 is ii I