THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA.
[Illustration: Arms of Guatemala.]
For almost three centuries Spain governed Central America (1524-1821)
by the Audiencia Real. Every act of oppression that could be exercised
upon the Indios was invented by the foreign rulers, and the native
population was greatly reduced by this mismanagement; but such a course
always reacts most terribly upon the perpetrators. The thirst for wealth
that brought the foreigners to these shores pursued them still, and the
brave resistance to wrongs unlimited, that the Spaniards themselves
chronicle, does not seem to have awakened that respect in the bosoms of
the Conquistadores that it now rouses in the heart of every generous
student of the past. The Indios were lawful prey, it was “spoiling the
Egyptians;” and although Las Casas and some of the missionaries tried
faithfully to protect their flock, and although the King of Spain made
decrees, the powers of evil seemed to have their own way in this distant
colony. We cannot but admire the undoubted courage and indifference to
personal hardship exhibited by the Conquistadores; but that must not
blind us to the fact that they were little better than freebooters in
their treatment of the American nations they subdued, and that their
policy, so far as they had any, was of the most selfish and narrow kind.
Jealousy of other nations, especially of England, who was now beginning
to try her hand in ruling the sea, although in a rather irregular way,
led to the establishment of all the important cities in the mountain
region of the interior, where they might well escape the notice of other
nations. The natural walls that Nature had provided were made very
useful to their utmost extent; the ports were but conveniences to help
the invaders to supplies from the mother-country and afford a necessary
means for the exportation of their ill-gotten gains, and general commerce
was discouraged in every way. The buccaneers helped to discourage the
growth of ports, but the Home Government did quite as much in this
direction. The atrocious system of _encomiendas_, by which the native
population was reduced to an almost hopeless slavery, was permitted, if
not encouraged, by the Church, and no attempt was ever made to develop
the country on a basis of improvement in the Indian population; and the
animal, vegetable, and mineral wealth of Guatemala were treated much in
the same way,—a prey for the present robber. The Indios were all subdued,
except the Lacandones far on the northern frontier, who were too poor to
pay for subjugation; and the iniquitous policy of selfishness began to
bear fruit. Unlimited power and immunity in the hands of the clergy begot
intolerance. The shepherds became the wolves, and not only devoured their
own flocks, but the entire country as well. Monopolies, corruption,
oppression grew like true tropical vegetation, until the air became too
close for healthful life; and then came the fermentation. Uprisings
of the Indios had occurred before the death of Alvarado (1541),—for
example, the brave attempt of the Cacique Lempira in Honduras; but these
rebellions were all crushed by the iron hand of the Adelantado and by his
generals. Now came the low murmur of a rising tempest over the land, and
the winds were blowing from a different quarter of the heavens. Now the
ruling caste was uneasy, and it was about to reap the inevitable harvest
of the wind it had sowed.
Not in the province of Guatemala, not at the seat of the Audiencia Real,
but on that disturbed strip of land along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua
and San Salvador, where earthquakes are on the most terrific scale,
and volcanic vents bristle threateningly, appeared the first forcible
remonstrances against this aged and encrusted tyranny. In 1811 there
were risings, little _pronunciamentos_; but there was no combination
to insure success. The false system of government taught a distrust of
others; selfishness permeated individual character as well as the nation
at large; and no man could put confidence in his neighbor. No leader
appeared to unite the discordant elements, the evolution of a free state
was very slow, and at last was as much owing to the supineness of Spain
as to any forceful act on the part of the provinces. We have here no
war of freedom, no Washington, no Bolivar. Sporadic murmurs were heard
now and again; they came to the ears of the people and set a few men
to thinking; the number of these thinkers grew, until in 1821 the then
representative of Spain, Gavino Gainza, joined the rebels,—much as a
disappointed politician of the present day leaves his party for the camp
of its opponents,—and independence was solemnly proclaimed, September 15,
in Guatemala. Spain seems to have acquiesced in an act which deprived
her of her fair American colonies; but it may be supposed that her
mismanagement had left little value in the possession.
Three centuries of abasement had been a most inopportune school for the
freedom of a republic, and one cannot be surprised that the change was
no easy one, or that the results have not, even after two generations,
been all that the patriots among these first rebels may have wished.
Subjectively, “Be thou fed” is very easy; but objectively the result
seldom meets the command. Slavery was abolished forty years before the
great Republic of the North dared to do that right; but this eminently
proper step was very embarrassing, for not only were there no means left
for the forced repair of roads, bridges, and other means of intercourse,
that in a tropical country need constant vigilance, but the commerce
between town and town fell off, and the little traffic that had led
a struggling existence for some years with Spain and other European
countries now died out entirely, and the revenues of the State were
affected with an atrophy that crippled every attempt of the Government
to improve the internal communications of the country. The clergy,
who had perhaps made the freest use of forced labor, in covering the
land with elaborate churches and convents that all the revenues of the
Government of the present day could hardly keep in repair, felt aggrieved
and uneasy. All was in transition, and there were few wise men to guide
the counsels. The stream was turbulent, and not easily kept within its
proper channel. Is it wonderful that round blocks should be found in
square holes under such circumstances; or that the political equilibrium,
all unstable, should turn to this signal disturbance or that, without
much reason?
There were two parties, around which rallied opposing elements,—the
Conservative, Central, or Servile, as it was variously called, and the
Federal, Liberal, or Democratic. To the former belonged the leading
families, who possessed certain monopolies and feared to lose them; the
clergy, who with these few families held themselves for an aristocracy;
and a few of the lower classes, who from personal or religious feelings
were satisfied with the existing order of things: and all these bitterly
resisted any innovation, especially any attack upon the privileges of the
Church. To the Liberals flocked all those who did not enjoy monopolies,
and who could not be worse off under any change; but there came to this
standard also men of intellect, who saw the dangers which threatened
their country, and who rejected the superstition into which the local
Church had fallen, but who in their eagerness to hold up the example of
the United States of the North to their newly emancipated countrymen,
forgot the radical difference between the Anglo-Saxon and Spanish stock
and training. Then came in the feeling of race-prejudice; and when one
remembers that three quarters of the population was Indian, and that of
the other quarter was composed the entire ruling class, it will perhaps
be a matter of surprise that more evil did not come from this threatening
condition of affairs. If the Indios of Guatemala had not been the most
peaceable and law-abiding of their kind known to history, they might
have improved the opportunity to repay all the miseries inflicted upon
their ancestors. As it happened, they could at least be conscious of
their power.
With no fixed policy, the ancient States of the kingdom of Guatemala cut
adrift from Spain. At one time all, except San Salvador, entertained the
idea of union with the new Empire of Mexico under Iturbide, but they
escaped that complication by the early collapse of the Mexican throne;
and at last, on the 1st of April, 1823, representatives of the States met
in the City of Guatemala, and the Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, after
long debates and many propositions, in which, as might be supposed, the
Church party had no unimportant influence, a Federal Constitution was
proclaimed on Nov. 24, 1824.
Three years later the Vice-President, Flores, was murdered in
Quezaltenango by a mob of female furies instigated, it is claimed,
by the Church party, and his body was stripped and mutilated by the
fiend-like women. This was done in the church as the wretched man clung
to the altar, and it was done in the name of religion. The consequence
immediately following was an absolute reign of religious fanaticism. San
Salvador, however, sent an army to restore order, and on March 16, 1827,
attacked the capital; but these troops of the Liberal party were driven
back, and for two years a barren warfare was kept up. In 1829 General
Francisco Morazan led the Salvadoreñan army to Guatemala; and now success
attended the Liberals. After a battle lasting three days they entered
Guatemala City in triumph, banished the leaders of the Central party, and
suppressed the convents. In 1831 Morazan was elected President of the
Republic or Confederacy, and for ten years his party held the government.
It is not easy for a foreigner to get trustworthy information of the true
value of Morazan’s administration; but while the man seems to have been
patriotic and of excellent private character, he was not strong enough to
control the warring elements around him. The Church was his bitter enemy;
and while it long endured the low estate to which the party in power
had reduced it, there was no lack of grumbling, nor of even more active
endeavors to find a champion.
In the mean time an Indio of low birth[44] and wholly uneducated, but
of great courage, had come into prominence as a leader of bands of
marauding Indios. Rafael Carrera, young as he was, saw his advantage in
the disturbed condition of his country, and after various defeats at the
hands of the President, at last drove Morazan from Guatemala, and the
Confederation came to an end (1839).
Carrera favored the Church party, but had not the slightest intention
of letting the Church rule him. He knew how to use it, and the clergy
generally submitted gracefully. In all previous revolutions the defeated
party had been banished, and so the State was kept unanimous—a condition
that could not obtain now, because neither party had much real power
left after the constant struggles of the past few years. It was while
our countryman John L. Stephens, whose fascinating account of his
travels will always be a classic, was on a diplomatic mission to Central
America that young Carrera was gathering his power, and it is to this
distinguished traveller that most of the information about Carrera is
due. Carrera, _Fundador de la República de Guatemala_ (Founder of the
Republic), is the title he claimed on the coinage of Guatemala during his
administration; and after a long reign—the word is used intentionally—he
was able to designate his successor and die in his bed, while his chief
antagonist, Morazan, after a most persevering struggle for the union
of Central America, was shot by his ungrateful countrymen. The tomb of
Carrera is in the metropolitan church in Guatemala City.
[Illustration: Rafael Carrera.]
On the death of Carrera, in 1865, Don Vincente Cerna succeeded to the
Presidency; but he did not possess the power over the Indios that Carrera
held, and before his term of office had half passed, disturbances broke
out on the northern frontier, where a man named Barrios had collected
a gang of outlaws. This insurrection was suppressed, and Barrios
executed; he however left a successor in the person of Serapio Cruz, a
very corpulent man, but for all that a typical brigand, who for some
time waged a guerilla war from his mountain retreats, capturing the
distilleries of aguardiente (then a Government monopoly), and destroying
what he could not carry away. Joined to this enemy on the outskirts of
the republic was a no-less disturbing element in the legislature in the
person of Don Miguel Garcia Granados, who was most active in attacking
the Government. As the Presidential term of Cerna ended, a rival in the
political field, General Victor Zavala, seemed likely to be elected; but
by a close vote Cerna was re-elected. In 1869 a loan was negotiated in
London which enabled the Government to pay its most pressing debts, and
quiet was apparently secured. All this time, however, the insurgent Cruz
was strengthening his band in the mountains, where he was joined by a man
destined to hold the chief place in Guatemala, General J. Rufino Barrios;
and in December, 1869, the rebel army approached the capital. The city
was in a most excited state, expecting pillage if not destruction, when
the unexpected news came that the _head_ of Cruz would soon be in the
city. It was true; a party of Indios had attacked and defeated the chief,
and now brought his bleeding head to the President. This disagreeable
trophy was photographed, and prints were sold in the shops for fifty
cents. The rebellion was over for the time, and Barrios fled to Mexico.
President Cerna was very lenient to his enemies, and Granados was merely
banished, and put under ten thousand dollars’ bond not to return to
Guatemala.
Banished men are always dangerous, and Granados was no exception. Seeing
his opportunity in some dissatisfaction with the governmental policy, he
invaded Guatemala, and was at once joined by General Barrios. The march
from Mexican territory was almost a triumphal procession, and on the
plain between Quezaltenango and Totonicapan (the Esdraelon of Guatemala)
the decisive battle was fought. Cerna could not trust his generals, and
so took the field in person. For a time the battle was with him; but
Barrios brought up his troops in good time, and the national army had to
give way. President Cerna rallied his forces at Chimaltenango, only to
be again defeated; and after making a final stand at San Lucas, a small
village between Antigua and Mixco, fled to Chiquimula, where he advised
his followers to submit to the conquerors, while he went over into
Honduras.
On the 30th of June the “Army of Liberators” entered the capital, and
Granados was proclaimed President _pro tempore_. The new President
found an empty treasury, and called upon the merchants for a loan. The
authorities were very careful to say that this was not a forced loan;
but the method was very much of that character, for a list was made
out of all the merchants in the city, and the proportion each one was
thought capable of paying set against his name. The “subscription paper”
was then sent around, and few dared to refuse. No wonder that Central
Americans do not wish to be thought rich or prosperous! Granados was
nominally President; but no one doubted that the man soon to become his
successor was in reality acting in that capacity even then, although it
was convenient for him to have Granados arrange the finances as well as
the disturbed politics. Several reforms were proclaimed, as freedom of
the press, and the abolition of the monopoly of distilling aguardiente.
Before three months had passed, the clergy began to make trouble, and
in September, 1872, the Archbishop and the entire Order of Jesuits were
banished the republic for inciting insurrection at Santa Rosa. The San
Franciscans, Capucins, and Dominicans were expelled the following year.
This was briefly the story of the beginning of the reign of Barrios.
On June 30, 1871, General J. Rufino Barrios was elected President of the
independent republic that Carrera claimed to have founded; and from that
date Guatemala began to make real progress. His iron will determined that
Guatemala should indeed be chief of all the Central American States, so
that when the time came to renew the union of all the States,—a cherished
scheme of Barrios,—there could be no question of her leadership. He
so far succeeded that his country has undoubtedly made more material
progress in the ten years of his administration than the other Central
American Republics have made in half a century.
Without going into even a brief history of the politics of the republic
under Barrios, certain important acts must be mentioned, such as the
adoption of a Constitution, Dec. 9, 1879, the expulsion of the Jesuits,
the confiscation of much Church property and its appropriation to
the uses of public education, as well as for hotels and government
offices,—acts which have greatly advanced this once priest-ridden
country. I would not have it thought that in speaking of the
sequestration of the churches and monasteries I undervalue the offices
of religion, or am at variance with the particular branch of the Church
whose property was so treated. Guatemala needs more religion, not less;
and could some of those pure and devoted priests of the Church of Rome
whom I have rejoiced to meet in many a remote region, turn their energies
to Central America, it would be well. It cannot, however, be too clearly
stated that what was called the Church in these lands was a church for
any other purpose than those truly religious men could approve. The
evidences of corruption are too clear to admit a doubt that the clergy
had ceased to do the people any good: they failed to do their duty, in
their eager struggle for temporal power; and to-day the splendid churches
they built are in ruins, or left to the ministrations of some itinerant
priest. There are in Guatemala church edifices enough to contain the
entire population, not a tenth part of which ever enters for worship,
since the majority has been repelled rather than attracted by the
unfaithful padres.
The legislative power is in the Asamblea Nacional of Guatemala, which
convenes on the 1st of March annually; and its ordinary sessions last
only two months, although it may continue in session another month if
necessary. Owing to the adoption of a code, the republic is generally
saved the “hayseed” law of the Northern legislatures and the “judge-made”
law of the courts; and the work of the Asamblea is greatly lightened.
The deputies who compose the Asamblea are elected on the basis of one
for every twenty thousand inhabitants, or for a fraction exceeding one
half of that number. Each is elected for a term of four years; but the
terms are so arranged that one half of the deputies is changed every two
years. To these deputies the various Secretaries of State make formal
reports regarding the matters usually contained in the President’s
Message to the Congress of the United States.
The President of Guatemala is elected by direct popular vote for the term
of six years; and the Asamblea elects two persons to succeed him in turn,
should he die or cease to act during the term for which he was elected.
Profiting by the example of the older republic, Guatemala has rejected
the farcical election still used in the North, where the people are
supposed to elect electors to elect a President. The President appoints
the following Secretaries of State:—
Relaciones Exteriores Foreign Affairs.
Gobernacion i Justicia Government and Justice.
Hacienda y Credito Publico Treasury.
Guerra War.
Fomento Interior.
Instruccion Publica Public Instruction.
These officials, with nine Counsellors, form the Council of State. For
the purposes of government the republic is divided into twenty-three
Departments, which are subdivided into sixty-one Districts. In these
Districts are eleven cities (_ciudades_), thirty-two towns (_villas_),
two hundred and ninety-nine villages (_pueblos_), fourteen hundred
and six settlements (_aldeas_), fifty-nine shore hamlets (_caserios
litorales_), and three thousand seven hundred and forty-two interior
hamlets (_caserios rurales_). The Departments, with their chief towns,
are as follows:
Departments. Chief Towns.
Guatemala Guatemala (ciudad)
Amatitlan Amatitlan ”
Escuintla Escuintla ”
Sacatepequez Antigua ”
Chimaltenango Chimaltenango (villa)
Sololà Sololà ”
Totonicapan Totonicapan (ciudad)
Suchitepequez Mazatenango (villa)
Retalhuleu Retalhuleu ”
Quezaltenango Quezaltenango (ciudad)
San Marcos San Marcos ”
Huehuetenango Huehuetenango ”
Quiché Santa Cruz del Quiché (villa)
Santa Rosa Cuajinicuilapa ”
Jutiapa Jutiapa ”
Jalapa Jalapa ”
Chiquimula Chiquimula (ciudad)
Zacapa Zacapa (villa)
Izabal Izabal (puerto)
Livingston Livingston ”
Baja Verapaz Salamà (ciudad)
Alta Verapaz Coban ”
Peten Sacluk (pueblo)
The Executive appoints over each of these Departments a Jefe politico, or
civil governor; and, like the Secretaries of State, they must be men in
whom he has implicit confidence. I may add that I met fifteen of these
Jefes in the course of my journey, and found them, with two exceptions,
men of character and intelligence, who would compare favorably with the
governors of any of the Northern States; nor is this surprising, since
they are appointed for their fitness, and not elected, as the United
States governors often are, by a handful of irresponsible politicians
who use popular votes simply to forward their private ends.
The organic law of Guatemala is the Civil, or Roman. The code is the
result of careful study and adaptation to the needs of the country, and
not the result of the tinkering of village Solons and the decisions of
wiseacre judges, as is that heterogeneous mass, amorphous and illogical,
the common law. Wherever especial needs have arisen, the code has been
supplemented by _decretos_ conforming to the system. The judiciary is
appointed, and the members hold office for four years. It cannot be
denied that some of the lower judges are not always men of considerable
legal attainments; but it will be remembered that they do not usurp the
legislative function, as is too often the case with judges under the
common law.
Although the country is of the Roman Catholic form of religion, the
Constitution allows full liberty of worship to other sects, within
their respective churches, but forbids acts subversive of public order,
or which might invalidate any civil or political obligations.[45]
Notwithstanding this liberty, there is, I believe, but one Protestant
congregation worshipping in the republic. It seems that the offices of
religion are used most by women and by the dying. Guatemala certainly
cannot be called a religious community. The ruined churches, crumbling
to dust and serving only as cemeteries of the dead, are monuments of a
departed worship. Perhaps some day a purer religion may rebuild these
fair temples and call within their walls all the Guatemaltecan children
of the Great Father, to be refreshed with new life and courage.
In sad contrast with the religious life of Guatemala is the military
vigor. It is difficult to obtain the exact statistics of the army,
even in a time of peace; but it is said that the standing army numbers
twenty-five hundred rank and file, with eighty jefes and two hundred and
fifty-three other officers, while the militia, including all males not
physically exempt, between the ages of eighteen and fifty, amounted in
1883 to 49,835 men. Under control of the War Department are the police,
street-lighting, and the Polytechnic School. While it is possible that
the army does not cost so much in proportion to the population as in some
of the other Central American republics, it is nevertheless a terrible
drain upon the resources of the people, apart from the bad moral effect
of a military life, as seen in all history. May the time soon come when
this beautiful republic shall throw off the incubus and devote all her
energies to the development of her vast resources!
I pass to a more agreeable theme, the foundation-stone of a
republic,—public instruction. On Dec. 13, 1879, President Barrios by
decree established the present excellent system of compulsory and
gratuitous elementary education. Under this in the primary schools
are taught reading, Spanish, knowledge of objects, writing and linear
drawing, geography, history, morals, and politeness.[46] For those who
wish to go beyond these elements, equally gratuitous facilities are
afforded for learning Spanish grammar, book-keeping, elementary natural
history, geography, and history of Central America, and some other
branches (complementary).
In 1883 there were in Guatemala eight hundred and fifty primary schools,
divided thus,—for boys, five hundred and forty; for girls, two hundred
and thirty-six; mixed, sixteen; artisans’ evening-schools, forty-seven;
a Sunday-school for workmen, one also for women, and nine complementary
schools. The attendance at these schools was 39,642 pupils, 27,974
males and 11,668 females; there were 735 male teachers, and 302 female
teachers, while the cost was $241,499.14, or $6.09 each pupil. These
schools, scattered all over the republic, meeting sometimes in old
convents or other confiscated church buildings, sometimes in the cabildo
or in buildings especially provided, are visited and inspected frequently
by suitable persons appointed by Government, who do the duty laid upon
them far more intelligently than most of the New England school-committee
men,—I have had experience of both.
Teachers’ institutes are held in three places each year in November,
and the teachers are expected to attend and gather what new matter
or interest may be provided for them. As the Government appoints the
teachers, it is responsible; and I believe there is a general care among
these teachers to keep well up to the requirements. Wisely, the schools
are not overloaded, as are those in many Northern cities, with every
conceivable subject; but the aim is to give every child the beginning of
an elementary education, which he can, if circumstances permit, greatly
expand.
There are also fifty-five private schools, with 1,870 pupils costing
$84,154, of which the Government pays $4,944.
The secondary instruction is given in several high schools or academies,
of which the most important is the Instituto Nacional, Central de
Hombres, in the City of Guatemala. The spacious buildings, formerly
church property, well accommodate the physical and chemical laboratories,
the meteorological observatory (the most complete in Central America),
the zoölogical museum, mineral cabinet, and lecture-rooms, while within
the courts is a good zoölogical garden. Besides the numerous class-rooms
and offices are commodious dormitories provided with iron bedsteads
and kept in very neat order. The corps of instruction consists of a
director and twenty-seven professors, and in 1883 there were two hundred
and fifty-three boarders, and one hundred and thirty day pupils, with
twenty-three pupils in the normal department, and eleven free pupils.
The day-pupils pay a matriculation fee of $10 annually, and $3 for an
examination in each course. The institute costs $19,839.00, or $180.75
for each boarder, and $105.30 for each day-pupil. I have examined the
work of the pupils, and found it very creditable, quite equal in many
respects to that of the boys in the Latin and high schools of Boston.
The girls are not neglected, although their instruction does not proceed
to the extravagant lengths common in the eastern United States and in
England, where the endeavor is made to train the female intellect to the
standard of the male, and so wholly unfit for the privileges of matrimony
and maternity the unfortunate girls who are subjected to such training.
The Instituto de Belen, Central de Señoritas, has a faculty of one
preceptress and ten female teachers in charge of one hundred and twelve
pupils, costing the nation $78,000. This school occupies an extensive
building, with suitable cabinets and a gymnasium. A kindergarten is
attached to this school.
In Chiquimula is the Instituto de Oriente, with one director, six
professors, and thirty-three boys, nine boarders, and fourteen
day-pupils. More important than this is the Instituto de Occidente, in
Quezaltenango, with a director, twenty-two professors, and two hundred
and twenty-one pupils. Cabinets of minerals and other natural objects,
a chemical laboratory and a meteorological observatory, help in the
instruction. In the same city is a similar school for girls, with a
preceptress (_directora_), eleven _professoras_, and eighty-two pupils.
Professional instruction, which in the United States of the North is
not deemed a part of the system of free public education, is here
undertaken by the Government; and four faculties are established to
teach law (_derecho y notariado_), medicine and pharmacy, engineering,
and philosophy and literature. Each of these faculties elects a dean,
secretary, and four _vocales_ who have charge of the courses of study
and other matters peculiar to their branch, while the four directories
(_juntas directivas_) form a council charged with the sole administration
of the professional schools. Forty professors teach one hundred and
thirty-three pupils at a cost of $24,903.96 to the nation. The law claims
forty-two pupils; medicine, seventy; engineering, eleven; and literature,
ten. Special instruction does not stop here, for there are also in the
capital seven schools, costing $21,762.24, and teaching two hundred and
forty-two pupils in the following branches:—
Music and Oratory 66 pupils.
Commerce 50 ”
Design 62 ”
Arts and Occupations 55 ”
A school for deaf-mutes has nine pupils. The Polytechnic School is under
the direction of the Minister of War, and has eighty pupils. It is
interesting to note that the system of marks in use in this institution
has recently been adopted in Harvard University.
While I am aware that a mere table of numbers, a census of pupils
and teachers, even if illustrated with the courses pursued and the
instruments for instruction, cannot convey to my readers a fair
understanding of the results accomplished by the system of public
education in Guatemala, I may be permitted to say that I have for six
years performed with attention my duties on the school-board of one
of the largest cities in the North, and my interest in the subject
of education led me to examine the schools of this Southern city,
with constant comparisons with the type most familiar to me; and the
conclusion to which I arrived was that the system in Guatemala was
excellently suited to the country and people, that the Government had
done better than my own Government in the North, and if the results
were not in every case all that could be desired, it was not the
fault of schools or teachers. I have examined both public and private
schools, containing both ladino and Indian children, and have found
many well-instructed boys and girls, but never the execrable system
of cramming so much in vogue at the North. I did not see the sallow,
pimply, stooping, weak-eyed boys that form so large a minority of the
public-school children at home. I am sure that if fewer “branches” are
taught here, less ill-health results; and I am quite ready to honor good
health before mere book-learning.
With some hesitation, I add to the means of education the modern
newspaper. Before the election of Barrios there were but two official
publications of this class,—“La Gaceta” and “La Semana,” both proceeding
from one pen, and the journal of the Sociedad Económica. Now there are in
the capital four printing establishments, and the list of publications
is a very respectable one. The official “El Guatemalteco” presents four
times a week all official announcements, including the text of all public
grants or contracts,—a plan which must place a check on extravagance or
improper favoritism. “La Estrella de Guatemala,” an independent daily;
“Diario de Centro-América,” “La Gaceta de los Tribunales,” twice a
month; “La Gaceta de los Hospitales,” monthly; “El Horizonte” and “El
Ensayo,” weekly, are published in the capital. In Quezaltenango “El Bien
Publico” is a well-written twice-a-week publication. In Mazatenango “El
Eco de los Altos,” twice a month; in Antigua “El Eco del Valle,” daily;
in Chiquimula “El Oriental,” weekly; in Salamà “La Voz del Norte,” in
Coban “El Quetzal,” both weekly, have a considerable local circulation;
and during the session of the Asamblea full stenographic reports of the
proceedings are published in the “Diario de las Sesiones.”
I cannot say much about the Guatemaltecan libraries, although not for
the reason that made the chapter “On Serpents” in the History of Norway
so famous. The national library is very small, and the treasures of
manuscript which survived the ungentle hands of the early rulers have
been so carelessly guarded that the choicest are now in foreign hands
(French and German); and the printed volumes relating to the history of
Central America, or the publications of the native Press, are difficult
to find. There are no important bookstores in Guatemala, and I had the
greatest difficulty in obtaining a sight of Fuentes and Juarros, both of
which I found only in private libraries. In an old curiosity shop a copy
of Villagutierre Soto Mayor’s “Historia de la Conquista de la Provincia
de el Itza” was held at $50, or twice the price the old folio fetches in
London.
With no Coast or Interior Survey (except the temporary work of the
Commission on the Northern Boundary), there are few scientific or
historical publications issued by the Government.
The debt of Guatemala is reported at a total (1885) of $5,817,947.19,
drawing interest at six per cent. It is made up of the following items:—
An English loan for which Guatemala became
responsible in the days of the Confederation $554,268.83
An English loan of 1869 (by President Cerna) 3,599,771.75
Government bonds in circulation (Interior debt) 1,663,906.61
-------------
$5,817,947.19
For the payment of the bonds of the Interior, a sinking-fund is provided,
consisting of fifteen per cent of the duties on imports, the sums
received for exemption from military service, etc. The average duties on
imports are between fifty-five and sixty per cent _ad valorem_.
The income of the republic during the year 1882 was:
DIRECT TAXES.
3% on real estate $103,886.05
Road tax 34,830.85
Military tax 13,925.17
Abated taxes 4,132.56
---------- $156,224.63
INDIRECT TAXES.
Duties on imports $1,698,469.93
Duties on exports 66,685.36
Harbor dues 3,960.22
Stamped paper and stamps 114,221.57
Impost on native flour 47,198.19
Impost on salt 27.454.58
Impost on legacies 11,514.06
Beneficio de Reses 99,964.59
5% on transfers of real estate 53,530.42
------------- 2,122,998.92
Tax for higher education $10,127.87
Tax for municipios 10,678.62
Tax for police in the capital 113,296.13
Tax for hospitals 119,507.26
Telegraphs 55,575.96
Mails 25,687.95
Mint 19,518.51
Fondos judiciales 6,513.19
----------- 360,905.49
Excise on liquors $1,266,042.43
Excise on tobacco 346,263.15
Excise on gunpowder and saltpetre 23,994.31
------------- 1,636,299.89
Various income 135,457.44
Contracts, etc. (anticipation of taxes) 2,030,033.01
-------------
$6,441,919.38
Of the expenses of the Government for the same fiscal period, it will be
seen from the following abstract that the army expenses form more than a
sixth of the entire sum, even in a time of peace.
EXPENSES OF ADMINISTRATION.
Department of the Interior $167,349.25
” Treasury 208,872.45
” War 1,164,521.37
” Justice 723,746.93
” Public Instruction 252,891.62
” Foreign Affairs 80,850.11
------------ $2,598,231.73
GENERAL EXPENSES.
Collecting direct taxes $6,962.01
” indirect taxes 32,410.52
Excise on liquors 126,031.04
” tobacco 96,289.65
Higher instruction 25,418.55
Municipios 15,704.77
Pawnshops and pensions 45,053.54
Mails 42,725.16
Telegraphs 101,288.61
Mint 20,539.59
Mobiliario 2,986.76
Hospitals 136,794.20
Police 148,128.12
Confiscations 581.52
Judiciary 6,033.37
Extraordinary 6,606.92
Gunpowder and saltpetre 2,960.64
---------- 816,514.97
Interest $200,325.81
Purchase of tobacco 99,342.05
” gunpowder and saltpetre 5,795.70
Repayments (_Devolutiones_) 14,373.07
Public property 6,197.09
Accounts 2,010.24
----------- 328,043.96
Funding bonds and obligations 2,554,076.94
Subsidy to street-railroad 833.33
Various payments 205,721.45
------------
$6,503,422.38
However dry long columns of figures may be, they tell the story in
the shortest way, and will give to those interested in the work of a
Government some insight into its methods. Like many other Governments,
that of Guatemala anticipates taxes, borrows, and issues paper
obligations. Its chief income is from the sale of liquor and from import
duties. I have in another place described the method of taxing the sale
of liquors, and I may say here that the tax seems to be collected with
fairness; but the heavy import duties offer a premium on smuggling, and
I was told some very ingenious and amusing methods that had been used to
evade the customs. If the ports of Guatemala were not just what they are,
it would be a very difficult matter to collect the revenue from imports.
The currency of Guatemala is silver, with the exception of about $50,000
of Government paper, and, like the silver currency of the United States,
is worth only about seventy per cent of its face in gold; but, unlike
the Northern Republic, Guatemala has not the power to float her debased
coin, and the standard is therefore American gold. To meet its needs the
Government sometimes mortgages to money-lenders its revenues in part,
or even puts a custom-house in pawn; and cases have occurred where its
subsidies have been suspended by arbitrary decree for a year, or even
longer. Hence the unwillingness to embark in any enterprise that is
largely dependent on Government aid. Even the mail-subsidies when paid
are paid with orders on the customs. This, together with the very heavy
import duties, certainly checks the investment of foreign capital; though
to those within the country, and informed as to methods, the duties are
much lightened by purchasing Government bonds at fifty per cent and
paying them for duties at par. By this and similar practices, which I
do not think it best to describe, large mercantile establishments derive
great profit at the expense of the revenues.
To meet the needs of commerce there are but three banks; two, “El Banco
Internacional” and “El Banco Columbiano,” are in the City of Guatemala,
while the third is in Quezaltenango. These have between them a capital
of perhaps $5,000,000, and they do the business of banks of circulation,
deposit, and exchange. The usual rate on deposits subject to sight drafts
is three per cent per annum, and on current accounts and discounts twelve
per cent; while they pay their stockholders from twelve per cent to
twenty per cent in dividends. The Banco Internacional has called in but
seventy per cent of its capital stock. These banks date only from 1875,
and their notes are hardly current outside the larger cities. Many of
the principal mercantile houses do a larger banking business, and hold
extensive private deposits.
Of large corporations Guatemala has but few. That of the Piers (Compañia
de los Muelles de San José y Champerico) has a capital of $250,000; its
profits are said to be immense, as it holds the monopoly of all the
landing facilities on the Pacific coast. The railroads between Guatemala
and San José, and between Champerico and Retalhuleu, are capitalized at
about $5,000,000. The proposed railroad from Puerto Barrios (Santo Tomas)
to the capital, at present mostly owned by natives, will, it is supposed,
cost from twelve to fifteen millions. The street railway in Guatemala has
a capital of $200,000.
The Government owns the entire telegraphic system of the republic,
and all the towns of any importance are connected by more than three
thousand miles of wire, with seventy offices. The expenditures of this
bureau seem to be nearly twice the amount of the receipts, and from the
nature of the country the cost of maintenance must be very great, owing
to the rapid growth of tropical vegetation and the destruction wrought by
insects, especially the _comajen_; yet the tariff is reasonable, and one
can, while paying for a message, pay also for the answer (_contestacion
pagado_). Both the designs on the telegraph blanks and the paper used
are much better than the companies in the United States supply to their
customers. By cable Guatemala has communication with South America,
Mexico, the United States, and Europe.
The mail service is excellent between the principal towns and foreign
ports; but owing to the nature of the country the time consumed over
the less-frequented roads is very great. As a fair indication of the
development of the country since 1871 under the administration of
President Barrios, the great increase in the amount of matter sent
through the mails may be cited; for in that year the total number of
letters, papers, and circulars did not reach fifty thousand, while in
1884 it exceeded three millions. Guatemala has joined the Postal Union,
but demands ten cents per rate on letters leaving her ports. While so
many of the great nations put upon their postage-stamps the portraits of
their rulers or most distinguished men to be spit upon and defaced, this
republic, with better taste, submits only the national bird (quetzal) to
this rough treatment.[47]
What a people imports is always a matter of no slight moment in studying
their social condition; and on examining the classified list which I have
taken from the official publications, one will see several very curious
facts. First a large amount of cinnamon is imported, chiefly to flavor
chocolate, when it might readily be raised at home,—indicating that
the enormous duty of one hundred per cent does not prevent importation
or stimulate home production. The same may be predicated of white wax,
wheat, and flour, for bees flourish in the uplands, and the wheat is
of the best quality; but mills are scarce, and private enterprise is
wanting. Few printed books are imported; and as the domestic publications
are unimportant, we must infer that the Guatemaltecans are not a reading
people. The table also gives an idea of the duties levied, and is worthy
of attention. That the reader may see how little the commerce of the
United States brings to Guatemala, I have given a table of imports by
countries. Nearer than England or France, it is still cheaper to pass her
by and go to the distant markets.
CLASSIFICATION OF IMPORTS BY SEA IN 1884.
Values. Duties.
Oils (vegetable) $14,839.45 $14,128.30
Aguardiente 35,124.70 43,694.75
Cotton thread and cloth 1,607,362.34 1,594,756.48
Firearms 1,758.00 2,435.00
Shoes 3,697.42 3,926.28
Cinnamon 20,845.00 20,194.45
Carriages 2,600.00 1,575.00
Barley 4,386.20 438.62
White wax 3,122.50 2,982.20
Beer 29,856.20 30,267.96
Preserves 47,539.87 41,851.68
Glass 10,725.63 8,397.56
Money 82,932.00 free
Sundry articles 11,375.40 11,594.34
Drugs 21,462.94 22,794.77
Stearine, crude, and candles 14,798.15 11,563.22
Matches 7,235.76 7,359.43
Flour 118,490.00 139,082.10
Iron in bars, etc. 85,852.25 99,637.37
Instruments,—agriculture,
arts, and sciences 2,728.80 272.88
Wool, thread, and cloth 146,294.34 159,381.69
Printed books 12,627.50 1,252.75
Sweet liquors 5,386.65 5,893.49
Linen cloth 11,743.17 11,236.54
Earthenware 15,490.86 14,129.36
Timber for building 35,594.00 free
Machinery 48,475.70 4,847.57
Medicines 52,952.85 54,326.68
Hardware 23,738.46 21,954.95
Wooden furniture 1,143.50 1,865.46
Articles for institutions of
charity or public education 10,837.94 free
Paper 41,694.37 29,358.39
Perfumery 5,873.65 6,034.26
Petroleum and naphtha 14,764.00 8,439.30
Pianos 10,950.00 6,470.00
Tanned leather 56,863.84 31,263.10
Prenderia fina 19,145.00 1,914.50
Utensils of tin, iron, etc. 24,678.26 21,245.84
Clocks 3,956.00 786.55
Empty bags 25,384.83 free
Salt 4,122.30 12,778.56
Silk thread and cloth 102,835.72 116,936.29
Saddles 946.25 1,082.00
Hats of all kinds 23,751.68 24,369.35
Corrugated iron, barbed wire,
carts, pumps 18,462.70 1,536.91
Wheat 60,128.51 28,362.68
Railroad supplies 328,426.37 free
Wine 48,697.40 52,165.24
------------- -------------
$3,281,698.46 $2,674,583.85
IMPORTED IN 1884 FROM
England $1,735,954.87
France 450,365.75
CALIFORNIA =391,782.50=
Germany 170,824.35
NEW ORLEANS =103,548.24=
NEW YORK =98,296.18=
Switzerland 75,173.61
Spain 69,387.49
Italy 51,632.60
China 48,594.32
Belgium 29,781.25
Belize (British Honduras) 28,937.48
Central America 14,569.77
United Slates of Columbia 10,314.05
Chile 2,536.00
------------
$3,281,698.46
California furnishes most of the flour and wheat, but New Orleans most
of the timber for building, while New York contributes printed books,
canned goods, clocks, firearms, and patent medicines. From the three
ports of the United States which are in direct steam communication with
the ports of Guatemala goods valued at $593,626.92 were imported,—less
than came from France and Germany, and not a third part of what England
sends. Yankee traders are certainly left entirely behind in Guatemaltecan
commerce. Without going deeply into the causes which drive the United
States from a natural market, I will state several facts which an
intelligent reader may interpret for himself.
The largest mercantile houses in Guatemala are German; Americans of
the North are absent. When it was suggested to the agent of one of the
largest cotton-mills in New England that the cases in which its cloths
were usually packed for market could not be handled in a country provided
only with mule transportation, the Yankee agent thought it not worth
the trouble to pack in smaller bales, as did the English and French
manufacturers. Ready-made clothes are cheaper in France, and shoes in
Germany and France. If I want barbed wire for my fences, corrugated iron
for my warehouses, or rails for my tramways, my English correspondent can
deliver all these to me on my wharf at Livingston much cheaper than I can
buy any of these manufactures of iron in protected New York. England,
from her experience in her tropical colonies, knows how to prepare
merchandise, and what sorts are needed for the trade with tropical
America; she buys the crop of mahogany, logwood, and coffee, and saves
exchange by selling her own products, and at the same time supports her
own vessels in the carrying trade. If it were not for the fresh fruit
which the United States needs, there would probably not be a single line
of steamers between these countries; for on the Pacific side Guatemala
is merely a way-station. Finally, the sarsaparilla goes to England, and
is there manufactured into extract or syrup for the use of the immense
establishments of patent medicines in the United States.
Now let us see what Guatemala contributes to the needs of foreign
nations; and I give a table of exports for two years, that the changes
may be noted. Of the former staples, such as indigo and cochineal, the
amount now exported is insignificant; the exportation of coffee fell off,
owing to a short crop; sugar was influenced by the low prices ruling in
foreign markets.
TABLE OF EXPORTS.
+--------------------+------------------------------+
| | 1883. |
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
| | Cwt. |Price| Value |
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
|Indigo | 135.02|$1.25| $16.881.25|
|Sugar and muscovado | 44,927.27| .05| 223,136.35|
|Bananas (bunches) | 29,699.00| .40| 11,876.60|
|Ores | 160.80| .20| 3,216.00|
|Cacao | 97.66| .40| 3.905.40|
|Coffee |404,069.39| .12| 4,848,832.68|
|Cochineal | 184.01| .50| 9,200.50|
|Ox-hides | 7,577.41| .20| 151,548.20|
|Deer-skins | 230.83| .40| 9,233.20|
|White wax | 22.34| .50| 1,117.00|
|India-rubber | 3,454.14| .65| 224.519.10|
|Timber (feet) |253,504.00| .04| 10,140.16|
|Heifers | 230.00|25.00| 5,750.00|
|Cows | 89.00|15.00| 1,355.00|
|Woollen cloth | 211.54| 1.50| 31,731.00|
|Sarsaparilla | 332.12| .10| 3,321.20|
|Suelos | 96.06| .40| 3,682.40|
|Various articles | | | 13,375.43|
|Current money | | | 145,515.60|
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
| Totals |744,720.59| |$5,718,341.07|
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
+--------------------+------------------------------+
| | 1884. |
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
| | Cwt. |Price| Value |
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
|Indigo | 62.67|$1.25| $7,833.75|
|Sugar and muscovado | 37,956.95| .04| 151,827.80|
|Bananas (bunches) | 54,633.00| .55| 30,048.15|
|Ores | 26.60| .20| 532.00|
|Cacao | 14.92| .40| 596.80|
|Coffee |371,306.44| .12| 4,455,677.28|
|Cochineal | 8.12| .50| 406.00|
|Ox-hides | 7,888.79| .20| 157,775.80|
|Deer-skins | 248.12| .40| 9,924.80|
|White wax | | | |
|India-rubber | 1,485.80| .35| 52,003.00|
|Timber (feet) |352,006.00| .04| 14,082.64|
|Heifers | | | |
|Cows | | | |
|Woollen cloth | 61.69| 1.50| 9,253.60|
|Sarsaparilla | 632.30| .10| 6,323.00|
|Suelos | 63.31| .40| 2,532.40|
|Various articles | | | 6,272.21|
|Current money | | | 32,852.00|
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
| Totals |826,666.26| |$4,937,941.13|
+--------------------+----------+-----+-------------+
The business is divided between the three principal ports in the
following proportion:—
San José. Champerico. Livingston.
cwt. cwt. cwt.
Imports 308,596.27 62,789.62 51,698.59
Exports 170,615.90 224,739.49 31,134.12
I have elsewhere written of the products that Guatemala might export, and
I willingly turn from the commercial features of the country to those
that affect the comfort and happiness of the inhabitants. A sufficient
government is the first necessity. To sustain this the people must be
educated; and to develop it the country must possess natural riches and
the opportunity of marketing them. But all these elements work, not
in a line, but in a circle, as it were. Without revenue, government
cannot provide for free education; without education, a people will not
establish a wise form of government; without a wise government, the
resources of the country cannot be developed to yield a proper income.
All these things are interdependent. The government must foster education
and protect property; it must encourage those occupations which increase
the material wealth of the people. Increased wealth means larger revenue,
and permits greater expenditures for public works; so government and
people grow together.
Possessed of a remarkably fine climate, a favorable geographical
situation, and great variety in its fertile soil, Guatemala has a
population poor and unable to undertake important works which require
capital. Money must therefore be sought abroad to develop the riches
of the land, which are in agricultural products rather than in mines;
and the Government offers to any industrious, respectable colonists
suitable tracts of public land (_terrenos baldíos_), together with
exemption from duties and taxes for ten years. That this offer may
not seem too attractive, it must be added that the best public lands
remaining undisposed of are remote from ports, with no adequate means
of communication. They are also covered for the most part with dense
forests, to be cleared away only at great expense. Besides, it is well
known that whenever virgin soil is broken up, mysterious fevers and
malarial emanations are liberated from the soil; and although these
are not dangerous to men of good constitution, they certainly are not
pleasant. Not only enterprise and perseverance are needful for the
planter, but a respectable capital as well; for the colonist has to build
his own houses, wharves, and bridges, make his own roads, and own his
tools, animals, boats, and carts.
Labor is both by the day and by the task, and wages are very low. A day’s
labor—from six o’clock in the morning to six at night, with an hour from
ten o’clock to eleven for breakfast (almuerzo), and another from one
o’clock to two for rest—is paid from twenty-five to fifty cents. Laborers
are also hired by the month, with allowance for rations. On the Atlantic
coast the Carib is a good, strong workman when properly managed, while in
the interior the Indios and ladinos supply fully the present demand.
Articles of food are cheap, and some of the prices, as given by the
Minister of the Interior, are as follows: beef, pork, and mutton, eight
cents per pound; fowls of good size, thirty-seven and a half to sixty-two
cents; rice, a dollar and a half to two dollars per arroba (twenty-five
pounds); flour, eight to nine dollars per quintal (one hundred pounds);
maiz, a dollar and a half to three dollars a fanega (four hundred
ears); beans, white, black, or red, four to six dollars a quintal;
eggs, a dollar and a half a hundred; milk, six cents a bottle; cheese,
twelve to twenty-five cents a pound; butter, sixty-two cents per pound.
Guatemaltecan cookery, although simplicity itself in its instalment,
is excellent and wholesome,—none of the vile saleratus-bread, tough
doughnuts, and clammy pies (I have great respect for a good tart) which
are the curse of the country cooking of New England. But let the comida
consist of only tortillas, frijoles, and huevos; these staples are
always well cooked.
Of the industrial and mechanical arts Guatemala has very little to show,
apart from the woven fabrics and pottery already alluded to. Tailors and
shoemakers abound,—and this in a climate where the former might almost
be dispensed with, and where the latter work for not a moiety of the
population. On the other hand, there are few cabinet-makers, although
the native woods offer the choicest material for the skilled workman.
There are no foundries or forges worthy the name, and all machinery is
imported, and repairs must be made in San Francisco or New Orleans.
Glass, porcelain, and stoneware is all imported, although the materials,
of the best quality, are found here in abundance. Fibre-plants and rags
are plentiful, and the consumption of paper is large; but every sheet
is imported,—that used for stamps being made in France. While coconuts,
sesame, cohune, castor-bean, and croton grow abundantly, there is no
commercial manufacture of the vegetable oils; and we have seen that more
than fourteen thousand dollars’ worth were imported in 1884.
While the general climate of Guatemala is remarkably healthy, the people
are exceedingly careless of all sanitary precautions, especially in the
matter of drainage and the waste products of the human body, trusting
to the intervention of vultures and dogs to remove health-endangering
filth. Yellow fever was common through the hot lowlands of the Pacific
coast in 1883, and whooping-cough, measles, and small-pox prevailed
in many parts of the country. The consumption of patent medicines and
empirical preparations, obtained from the apothecary rather than the
physician, is enormous in proportion to the population. Vital statistics
are not obtained with the greatest accuracy, and only the constant care
of the superior officer enables any result worthy of attention to be
obtained. The following table is tolerably accurate. The population is,
as estimated on December 31:—
+-----+---------+--------------------+--------------------+------+-----+
| | | Births. | Deaths. |Increase. |
| | +------+------+------+------+------+------+ | |
|Year.| Popul- |Males.| | |Males.| | | | |
| | ation. | Females. | Females. | | |
| | | | |Total.| | |Total.| Marriages.|
+-----+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+
|1881 |1,252,497|28,146|25,708|53,854|14,019|11,940|25,959|27,895|4,611|
|1882 |1,276,961|29,362|26,697|56,059|16,728|14,867|31,595|24,464|4,864|
|1883 |1,278,311|28,488|25,934|54,422|28,431|24,641|53,072| 1,350|4,287|
|1884 | | | | | | | | | |
|1885 | | | | | | | | | |
+-----+---------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-----+
Of the children born in 1883, 41,260 were legitimate, and 13,162 natural;
16,991 were ladinos, and 37,431 Indios. The legitimate children were in
the proportion of one to every one hundred and twenty-eight of the ladino
population, and one to every forty-one of the Indios. The natural births
stand one to each one hundred and eighty-three ladinos, and one to each
two hundred and seven Indios,—proportions which speak volumes for the
superior morality of the indigenous population.
No less than nine hospitals were supported by the Government in 1883,—one
each in Antigua, Amatitlan, Escuintla, Quezaltenango, Retalhuleu, and
Chiquimula, and three in Guatemala City. In these 11,998 patients were
treated during the year, with the result of one death to every thirteen
treated. Of the diseases from which patients died, the following is a
list of all numbering over ten victims:—
Consumption 75
Fever (perniciosa) 74
Dysentery 68
Entero-colitis 63
Yellow fever 52
Enteritis 42
Pneumonia 33
Alcoholism 24
Small-pox 18
Cachexia paludica 18
Typhoid fever 11
Of the consumptive patients, probably the majority were foreigners
seeking safety in the mild climate of Guatemala; and in the others the
disease was not of throat origin, but sprang from that unclean state that
wise physicians are beginning to recognize as phthisical in its tendency.
I wish I could say more of the remedies of the Indios. In a land
abounding in healing plants, it would be supposed that the inhabitants
would be expert in their qualities; and so the Indios are, if report may
be trusted (they are said to cure even hernia, by applying astringent
herbs to the tumor). But they are shy, and unwilling to display their
knowledge before strangers; and my stay among them was too short to
invite their confidence. The Caribs do not seem to possess much knowledge
of the healing art.
From the bodily ills of a people one turns naturally to the moral
diseases; and it is interesting to note what are the crimes and
misdemeanors to which punishments are most frequently allotted. Of
9,303 persons tried during the course of 1883, 6,125 were accused of
misdemeanors (_faltas_), and 3,178 of crimes (_delitos_). Of the former
class 764 were acquitted, while of those tried for crimes 1,515 were
judged not guilty,—leaving only 1,663 criminals out of a population of
a million and a quarter. The carefully prepared tables published each
year by the Government show that there is hardly one delinquent for each
thousand inhabitants; that notwithstanding the greatly inferior numbers
of the ladinos, this class claims many more convicts; and that eighty per
cent of the criminals have no education.
+--------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|Crimes or Delitos. |Males.|Females.|Ladinos.|Indios.|
+--------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|Against authority | 133 | 6 | 111 | 28 |
|Assaults | 56 | 5 | 51 | 10 |
|Wounding | 396 | 21 | 298 | 119 |
|Homicide | 188 | 15 | 117 | 86 |
|Bodily injuries | 312 | 35 | 202 | 145 |
|Adultery | 55 | 55 | 69 | 41 |
|Seduction | 38 | | 24 | 14 |
|Rape | 42 | | 41 | 1 |
|Lewdness | 68 | | 50 | 18 |
|Injurias | 80 | 50 | 106 | 24 |
|Cattle-stealing | 74 | | 40 | 34 |
|Tricks | 39 | 10 | 44 | 5 |
|Robbery | 32 | 5 | 33 | 4 |
|Larceny | 303 | 49 | 264 | 88 |
|Against liquor laws | 276 | 316 | 313 | 279 |
|Smuggling tobacco | 25 | 12 | 25 | 12 |
|Defrauding | 95 | 75 | 71 | 99 |
|Desertion | 49 | | 48 | 1 |
|All other delitos | 227 | 36 | 188 | 75 |
+--------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|Totals | 2488 | 690 | 2095 | 1083 |
+--------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
+--------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+------+
|Crimes or Delitos. |Read.|Write.|Uneducated.|Single.|Married.|Total.|
+--------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+------+
|Against authority | 8 | 48 | 83 | 56 | 83 | 139 |
|Assaults | 6 | 18 | 37 | 37 | 24 | 61 |
|Wounding | 19 | 82 | 315 | 215 | 201 | 417 |
|Homicide | 4 | 46 | 153 | 107 | 96 | 203 |
|Bodily injuries | 12 | 40 | 295 | 174 | 173 | 347 |
|Adultery | 7 | 24 | 79 | 25 | 85 | 110 |
|Seduction | 1 | 9 | 28 | 31 | 7 | 38 |
|Rape | 4 | 20 | 18 | 33 | 9 | 42 |
|Lewdness | 7 | 18 | 43 | 49 | 19 | 68 |
|Injurias | 14 | 29 | 87 | 62 | 68 | 130 |
|Cattle-stealing | | 14 | 60 | 26 | 48 | 74 |
|Tricks | 4 | 22 | 23 | 34 | 15 | 49 |
|Robbery | 2 | 12 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 37 |
|Larceny | 13 | 80 | 259 | 208 | 144 | 352 |
|Against liquor laws | 23 | 60 | 509 | 175 | 417 | 592 |
|Smuggling tobacco | 1 | 8 | 28 | 11 | 26 | 37 |
|Defrauding | 4 | 16 | 150 | 61 | 109 | 170 |
|Desertion | 1 | 7 | 41 | 28 | 21 | 49 |
|All other delitos | 18 | 84 | 161 | 126 | 137 | 236 |
+--------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+------+
|Totals | 148 | 639 | 2392 | 1489 | 1688 | 3178 |
+--------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+------+
[Illustration: A COURT SCENE AT LIVINGSTON.]
Included in the “other _delitos_” are several crimes much more common
in New England and elsewhere,—perjury, nine; libel, fifteen; arson,
thirteen; poisoning, three; infanticide, four; bribery, two; abandonment
of infants, four. In Livingston the “Court” kindly consented to sit for
its portrait; and although this abode of the blind goddess was very dark,
I got a satisfactory picture. I also photographed a man sitting in the
stocks and undergoing a whipping; but this the principal citizens prayed
me to suppress.
+---------------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|Misdemeanors or faltas. |Males.|Females.|Ladinos.|Indios.|
+---------------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
|Against public order |3,680 | 740 | 1,679 | 2,520|
| ” municipal law | 146 | 13 | 111 | 38 |
| ” persons | 933 | 393 | 832 | 387 |
| ” property | 152 | 31 | 141 | 42 |
| ” military discipline| 37 | | 21 | 16 |
+---------------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
| |4,948 | 1,177 | 2,784 | 3,003 |
+---------------------------+------+--------+--------+-------+
+---------------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+
|Misdemeanors or faltas. |Read.|Write.|Uneducated.|Single.|Married.|
+---------------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+
|Against public order | 170 | 496 | 3,466 | 1,861 | 2,276 |
| ” municipal law | 8 | 29 | 87 | 69 | 55 |
| ” persons | 34 | 157 | 879 | 620 | 453 |
| ” property | 3 | 20 | 144 | 107 | 41 |
| ” military discipline| 5 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 24 |
+---------------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+
| | 220 | 707 | 4,603 | 2,674 | 2,849 |
+---------------------------+-----+------+-----------+-------+--------+
A notable fact in regard to punishments in Guatemala is their publicity.
In New England every effort is made to conceal criminals from public
gaze; the punishment which is intended to deter others from a similar
act is, foolishly enough, merely a matter of hearsay to the bulk of the
population. A silly sentimentality hides the convicts in prisons better
and more commodious than the homes of a majority of the people, feeds
them with sufficient and wholesome food, and in general wastes more
pity on them than it vouchsafes to the honest poor,—and all this at the
expense of innocent citizens! In Guatemala I examined many prisons,
finding them all open to inspection. The passer-by can see through the
grated door of the _carcél_ all the prisoners within. When finally
sentenced, the criminals are put upon the public roads and set to work
under guard and chained, so that every one may be reminded that the
“way of transgressors is hard.” In the prisons they sleep on mats, and
receive from the Government a real (twelve and a half cents) a day, with
which to buy food. In the new prisons all the modern improvements are
introduced, and hard labor is provided in great variety. I believe also
that as large a proportion of crimes is detected and punished as in any
other country. I have been enabled to follow several cases through the
courts, and found the decisions in strict accordance with the law, both
in criminal and civil actions.
It would be unfair to pass in complete silence the darker scenes in the
life of the Guatemaltecan republic; but I confess to an ignorance as to
the exact truth of the stories that have been whispered about,—whispers
indeed that I heard myself while in the City of Guatemala. Distinguished
members of the old conservative party assured me that they lived in daily
dread of the Government. Spies and informers were ready at all times to
entrap them if in an unguarded moment they should utter their opinion
of the political situation, or condemn official corruption. Trial by
court-martial—that most odious form of injustice—might result in their
banishment or death; and I was told that the laws, however generally
wise, really depended on the caprice of the President, who could
suspend or annul them whenever he saw occasion. I am sure that these
persons believed what they told me with bated breath; but I also know
to what extreme opinions political dislikes will lead in these Southern
republics. On the death of Barrios and the accession of Barillas, it
is said that eight hundred political prisoners were released from the
prisons where they had been immured by the late President, often without
even the form of a trial. The universal rule of favoritism is too evident
to be concealed, and the _amigo del Presidente_ has certainly undue
power. To our Northern haste the tedious delay of all official work
is a marked contrast, for the officials have not the skill, wisdom,
or cunning of the members of our Northern legislatures, who remain
in session an unconscionable time, apparently overwhelmed with work,
although when they at last adjourn, the records show scant results. The
Government of Guatemala is republican in name only, the President having
actually as much irresponsible power as the Czar; but so far as actually
proved, this power is used with moderation, and is perhaps a political
necessity of the country and race, however repugnant to Anglo-Saxon
ideas. As in all small governments, there is much form and red-tape, and
the individual or company who has business with the authorities must
have an accredited agent at the seat of Government to present petitions,
press suit, or patiently await the result; no person at a distance has
any prospect of prompt attention. With the exception of some of the
higher officials, there are but few Guatemaltecans who really welcome
foreigners, and among the Indios there is little attempt to conceal the
feelings of jealousy or distrust with which outsiders are regarded. While
the future growth of the country depends on the introduction of foreign
capital, there are not many, now that Barrios is no more, who will dare
to offend popular prejudices by openly taking the part of foreigners
who either have invested capital here, or intend to do so. The popular
idea of the day is a renewed confederation of the five republics, with
Guatemala at the head; this means no extension of foreign relations,
but the impotent self-sufficiency that has always distinguished Central
America and retarded her advance.
Many indications point to an attempt in the near future to renew the
confederation of the five republics, and it is not improbable that
Mexico may be included in the Central American Estados Unidos. It was
the ambition of General Barrios to become emperor or president (the name
matters little) of all Central America; and he lost his life in the
attempt. His death will not deter the politicians of the several States
from attempting a revolution which may aggrandize their private fortunes
in the general disturbance. If Mexico—a very inferior nation both in the
character of her population and in natural resources—could be left out,
it would seem very possible to unite again the fortunes of Guatemala,
Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica; but such a confederacy
would not attract foreign capital as readily as a treaty alliance between
quite independent republics, owing to a widespread distrust of the
permanency of any confederacy. If the laws of the United States stretched
to the Isthmus of Darien, doubtless capital would eagerly enter this rich
field; but at present it is as safe under the laws of Guatemala as under
those of any Central American country.
As England and Germany always protect the interests of their subjects
wherever invested, and as the United States Government has neither the
will nor the power to guard the interests of her people in foreign lands,
it is not strange that Englishmen and Germans embark in profitable
enterprises in the Central-American Republics while Americans hesitate.
At present we have to trust for our commercial rights to the general laws
of nations and the favorable inclinations of the existing Government.