Department of San Miguel--Postless coast--Indigo
plantations--City of San Miguel--Cathedral--Water-
supply--Archæological interests--Projected railway
connections 306-310
Department of Morazán--City of Gotéra--Mountains and
fertile plains--Agricultural produce 310-311
Department of La Unión--Boundaries--Scenery--Guascorán
River--Industries--Commerce 311-313
Department of Usulután--Physical characteristics--Volcanic
curiosities--Surrounding villages--Populations--El
Triunfo--Santiago de Maria 313-316
CONCLUSION 317-320
INDEX 321-328
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
"The Colours" _Frontispiece_
Views on New National Road, between San Vicente
and Ilopango 8
H. E. Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Republic
of Salvador 1911-1915 18
The 3rd Company, Sergeants' School, in Review Order 28
Company in Line, Sergeants' School 28
Section of Riflemen kneeling, Sergeants' School 28
General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic of
Salvador 1907-1911 38
Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila, Consul-General for the Republic of
Salvador to Great Britain, appointed May, 1911 46
Artillery on Parade-Ground, San Salvador Barracks 60
Colonel's Quarters, School of Sergeants 70
Officers' Club-Room, School of Sergeants 70
Penitentiary at San Salvador 78
Officers' Club-Room, Military Polytechnic School 78
Colonel, Adjutant, and Captains of Company 86
Cadet Corps, School of Sergeants 86
Mr. Lionel Edward Gresley Carden, C.M.G., H.B.M.
Minister-Resident at Salvador (as well as at Guatemala,
Nicaragua, and Honduras) 98
Front of Sergeants' School, San Salvador 108
Typical Street in San Salvador, showing Style of
One-Storey Houses 108
Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., for Fifteen Years
Consul-General in Great Britain for Salvador (retired
June, 1911), and Chairman of the Salvador Railway
Company, Limited 114
Side-view of "El Rotulo" Bridge 118
The National Road leading to La Libertad, showing "El
Rotulo" Bridge 118
Entrance to Avenida La Ceiba at San Salvador 130
The Famous Avenida under Construction 130
View of the New Avenida leading to San Salvador, taken
from the North 140
View of the Picturesque Town of Marcala 150
El Parque Barríos, one of the most Beautiful Public Resorts
in Central America 162
Government Building ("Casa Blanca"), San Salvador 178
Campo de Marte (Racecourse), San Salvador 178
1. View of Butters' Divisadero Mines, Department of
Morazán, Salvador 188
2. Butters' Salvador Mines, Santa Rosa, Department of La
Unión, Salvador 188
Map of the Salvador Railway 198
Deck Bridge on Salvador Railway 206
Station Building at Santa Ana on the Salvador Railway 206
Mr. Charles T. Spencer, General Manager of the Salvador
Railway, appointed May, 1911 222
Don Juan Amaya, Governor of the Department of Cuscutlán 222
Native Habitation in the Hot Country 232
Native making Sugar from a Primitive Wooden Mill 232
A Street in Sonsonate (Calle de Mercado) 242
Type of "Quinta" or Country-House in Santa Tecla (New San
Salvador) 242
Public Park in San Salvador, where Throngs of Well-dressed
People assemble in the Evening to listen to an Excellent
Military Band 258
New National Palace at San Salvador 268
Theatre at Santa Ana, Department of Santa Ana 268
Cathedral of Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate 274
Public Park at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlán 284
Barracks at Cojutepeque, Department of Cuscutlán 284
Municipal Palace at Sonsonate, Department of Sonsonate 294
Group of Salvadoreans of the Superior Working-Class 314
The "Stately" Offices of His Britannic Majesty's Vice-Consul
at La Unión, one of the Principal Ports in Salvador 306
Barracks at Santa Tecla (New San Salvador) 306
Map of the Republic of Salvador _At end_
SALVADOR OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
CHAPTER I
Discovery of Salvador--Scenery--Volcanoes--Topographical
features--Mountain ranges--Natural fertility--Lake
Ilopango--Earthquake results--Remarkable phenomena--
Disappearance of islands--Public roads improvement
and construction under Figueroa government.
It was in the year 1502 that Christopher Columbus, that remarkable
and noble-minded Genoese, undeterred by the shameful treatment meted
out to him by his adopted countrymen in Spain, sailed away to the
East Indies in search of a new passage; and it was in consequence
of the mutiny among his ruffianly followers that, putting into
Hispaniola, Salvador was discovered. For something over 300 years
Spain ruled, and ruled brutally; the history of her government
here--as elsewhere through Latin America--being one long series of
oppressions, cruelties and injustices practised upon the unfortunate
natives and the Spanish residents alike. The ill-treatment extended
to Columbus is but a case in point.
Lying on the Pacific Ocean, between the parallels of 13° and 14°
10' N. latitude, and the meridians of 87° and 90° W. longitude,
Salvador has a coast-line of about 160 miles, extending from the Bay
of Fonseca to the River Paz, which is one of the boundaries between
this Republic and the neighbouring State of Guatemala. While
Salvador is the smallest of the five different countries forming the
Central American group, boasting of but 9,600 square miles, it not
alone possesses some of the richest and most beautiful territory,
but has the densest population as well as the most considerable
industry and the most important commerce.
Very remarkable are the topographical features of Salvador, and
very profound is the impression created upon the traveller's mind
as he approaches it for the first time through the beautiful Bay of
Fonseca, with its wealth of tropical scenery, the romantic islands
and the background of noble mountains, afforested to the tops of
their numerous peaks, and filling the mind with awe at the memory of
their numerous destructive eruptions through the centuries.
The coast here presents, for the greater part, a belt of low-lying,
richly wooded alluvial land, varying in width from ten to twenty
miles. Behind this, and displaying an abrupt face seawards, rises a
noble range of coast mountains--or rather a broad plateau--having an
average elevation of 2,000 feet, and relieved by numerous volcanic
peaks. It is not the height of these mountains that lends so much
dignity and beauty, for, as mountains go, they would be considered
as anything but remarkable. It is their extraordinary formation,
their almost terrible proximity, and their long and terrifying
history, which challenge the attention of the individual who gazes
upon them for the first time.
Between the range and the great primitive chain of the Cordilleras
beyond, lies a broad valley varying in width from twenty to thirty
miles, and being over 100 miles in length. Very gently the coastal
plateau subsides towards this magnificent valley, which is drained
and abundantly watered by the River Lempa, and is unsurpassed for
natural beauty and fertility by any equal extent of country in the
tropics.
The northern border of this terrestrial paradise--so far as the eye
can judge it--rests upon the flank of the mountains of Honduras,
which tower skywards about it to the height of 6,000 to 8,000 feet,
broken and rugged to the very summits. To the south of the Lempa,
however, the country rises from the immediate and proper valley of
the river, first in the form of a terrace with a very abrupt face,
and afterward by a gradual slope to the summit of the plateau.
Then comes another curious physical feature--a deep, green, and
wooded basin of altogether unique scenic beauty and fertility,
formed by the system of numerous small rivers which rise in the
western part of the country around the feet of the volcano Santa
Ana, falling finally into the sea near Sonsonate. This formation is
in the shape of a triangle, the base resting on the sea, and the
apex defined by the volcano. A second and even a larger basin is
that of the River San Miguel, lying transversely to the valley of
the River Lempa, in the eastern division of the State, and separated
only by a number of smaller detached mountains from the Bay of
Fonseca.
Approaching the Salvadorean coast upon any of the steamers which run
there, one is confronted with no fewer than eleven great volcanoes,
which literally bristle along the east of the plateau which has been
mentioned as intervening between the valley of the Lempa and the
sea. As a boy and a keen philatelist, I always wondered why Salvador
postage-stamps had a group of three active and terrible-looking
volcanoes upon their faces. When I visited that country for the
first time I understood. The long row of sentinels, grim, yet
extraordinarily beautiful, form a right line from north-west to
south-east, accurately coinciding with the great line of volcanic
action which is clearly defined from Mexico to Peru. Commencing on
the side of Guatemala their order is as follows: Apaneca, Santa Ana,
Izalco, San Salvador, San Vicente, Usulután, Tecapa, Zacatecoluca,
Chinameca, San Miguel, and Conchagua. There are others of lesser
note, besides a family of extinct volcanoes, whose craters are
sometimes filled with water, as well as numerous volcanic vents or
"blow-holes," which the natives not inaptly call _infiernillos_,
_i.e._, "little hells!" Even the apparently harmless and beautiful
island of Tigre, which occupies the centre of the Bay of Fonseca,
and a veritable picture of scenic grandeur, is a slumbering volcano,
and has a history at once interesting and terrifying. The memorable
Cosieguina, El Viejo, Felica, and Momotombo, in Nicaragua, face El
Tigre on the other side.
The most beautiful of the Republic's many volcanic lakes is that of
Ilopango, on the borders of which is situated the village of the
same name, with a scattered population of between 1,400 and 1,500
people. The lake is some 6·85 miles long from west to east, about
5·11 miles wide, with an area of 25·1 square miles and a developed
shore-line of 28·8 miles. The late President of the Republic,
General Fernando Figueroa, was kind enough to place a steam-launch
at my disposal, which enabled me to see the lake under the most
favourable auspices, and in company with his nephew, Señor Angulo, I
spent several interesting hours upon its calm, deep green surface.
This lake has been the scene of numerous remarkable volcanic
phenomena, the most recent of which took place a few weeks after my
visit, and resulted in the centre islands, which were one of its
most charming features, completely disappearing beneath the surface
of its waters.
In January, 1880, the lake had also been the scene of a severe
earthquake, which shook the entire surrounding country. Upon this
occasion the waters suddenly rose about 4 feet above their usual
level, and, flowing into the bed of the Jibóa--a stream which forms
the usual outlet from the lake--increased it to the proportions of
a broad and raging river, which soon made for itself a channel from
30 to 35 feet in depth. A rapid subsidence in the level of the lake
was thus produced, and by March 6 in the same year the surface was
34 feet below its maximum. It was then that the rugged and stony
island, about 500 feet in diameter, and which I have mentioned
above, suddenly rose over the waters, reaching to a height of 150
feet above the level of the lake and being surrounded by several
smaller islands, the waters all around becoming intensely hot.
Previous to this extraordinary phenomenon, the bottom of the lake,
so I was informed, had been gradually rising, and so violent was the
flood when it occurred, that the small village of Atuscatla, near
the outlet, was entirely destroyed.
Some years afterwards--namely, in February, 1892--while some severe
earthquakes were taking place in Guatemala, their reflex was felt
in the same spot--Atuscatla, on Lake Ilopango--Lieutenant Hill, who
was then making investigations in Salvador on behalf of the United
States Government, declaring that a shock was felt lasting fifteen
seconds, and then continued with gradually decreasing force for a
further one minute and five seconds.
When I was a visitor to Ilopango, there were two extremely
comfortable hotels to be found on the banks, both having some very
convenient bathing facilities to offer, and each having a beautiful
garden attached. During the hot season, and upon Sundays and all
holidays, these hotels are crowded with visitors from San Salvador,
who ride out in parties, there being no other mode of reaching
the lake. The road is a truly beautiful one, travellers crossing
numerous streams and passing through shady, blossom-covered woods,
containing many magnificent trees. By moonlight this route appears
remarkably picturesque, and many people prefer to make the journey
thus. Ilopango is some four hours' ride from the capital, and the
journey across the lake usually occupies another two or three
hours in an electric or naphtha launch. The hotels and bathing
establishments, however, are located upon the side of the lake
nearest to San Salvador.
The outline of the beautiful Ilopango Lake, when last surveyed,
was quite accurately determined by means of intersections from the
various topographical stations. Its surface in January, 1893, was
found to be 1,370 feet (417·6 metres) above the sea. Its actual
depth the surveyors had no means of ascertaining; its basin,
however, is far below the general level of the surrounding ridges,
which are all volcanic. Those to the north and east are formed of
layers of sand and ashes partially compacted, yellowish in colour,
and throwing out spurs towards the lake, terminating in steep
bluffs. West of the lake the ground rises to the San Jacinto Hills;
but the soft material composing it has been eroded into a maze of
sharp ridges and deep gulches. The eastern hills are also broken
into a succession of knife-like ridges.
Professor Goodyear, a famous American geologist, has said that the
southern hills consist entirely of volcanic materials, but are of a
much harder and firmer structure than those of the north and east,
being composed largely of conglomerates containing boulders well
cemented together. The lake is situated upon the volcanic axis of
the country, and has long been the seat of numerous earthquakes and
active volcanic phenomena, the most violent of recent times being
those of 1879 and 1880. According to the same Professor Goodyear,
there was a series of earthquake shocks, some of great violence,
extending from December 22 to January 12, 1880, followed by a period
of quiet until the night of January 20, when, after a series of
loud reports and explosions, followed by violent hissings and dense
clouds of steam, a mass of volcanic rock rose from the centre of
the lake to a height of 58 feet (17·7 metres). Previous to this the
bottom of the lake had been gradually rising until January 11, and
the waters had been lifted to maximum height of 5·2 feet above their
usual level. This sudden rise converted the outlet from a small
stream--not over 20 feet wide and a foot deep, and with a current
of two or three miles per hour--into a raging torrent discharging
as much water as a great river. So violent was the flood that the
small village of Atuscatla, situated near the outlet, was as stated,
destroyed, and the channel was so widened and deepened that the
waters of the lake fell 38·6 feet (11·75 metres) from the highest
point reached, or 33·4 feet (10·17 metres) below their original
level. During the time of this flood the Rio Jibóa, which carries
off the waters of the lake, was enormously swollen and became very
muddy, and in the lower portion overflowed its banks, flooding broad
tracts of the plain. By the middle of February, 1880, the lake
adjusted itself to the new conditions, and since that time, until
the visitation of last year (1910), there had been no great change
in its level; the variations at present going on are due to the
excess of precipitation during the rainy months over that which is
prevalent in the dry season.
Anyone who had seen Salvador, say, ten years ago, and who revisited
it to-day, would assuredly be impressed by the great improvement
which has taken place in, and the extension of, both the main and
sub-roads of the Republic. Whereas in former times the roads were
only passable in the dry season, and were even then very trying to
travellers on account of the dust encountered, while in the wet
season they became mere morasses, to-day they are in the majority of
cases so well built and so carefully maintained that even in the wet
season of the year it is quite possible to use them.
This great improvement has been brought about mainly by the
enterprise of the late President, General Fernando Figueroa, who
evinced a keen and consistent interest in opening up new means of
communication by making public roadways of enduring worth, his
excellent work being actively continued by his present successor.
[Illustration: VIEWS ON NEW NATIONAL ROAD, BETWEEN SAN VICENTE AND
ILOPANGO.]
The main routes of communication in Salvador run longitudinally
through the country, from Rio Paz and the city of Ahuachapán on
the west, to La Unión and the Rio Guascorán on the east. From this
central line, which connects all the important cities and towns
of the interior, other roads run out like spurs to the towns and the
cities to the northward, or to those of the coast to the southward.
Thus, from Santa Ana there is a road north to Metapán, and one south
to Sonsonate and Acajutla. Ahuachapán also has a road to Sonsonate
via Ataco and Apaneca, two towns which are located high up in the
mountains. At Sitio de Niño, on the Salvador Railway line, there is
a road northward to Opico. Here, also, the main road to the city
of San Salvador divides, one branch going north to the volcano of
that name, and the other to the south of it via the famous Guarumál
Ravine and Santa Tecla. From the city of San Salvador there are
roads north to Chalatenango via Tonacatepeque, and south to the port
of La Libertad via Santa Tecla.
Cojutepeque is connected by road to the towns of Ilobasco and
Sensuntepeque to the north-east. San Vicente has a road to the
port of La Libertad, running south-west via Zacatecoluca. At San
Vicente the main east and west road separates, one branch going
to the north of the Tecapa-San Miguel group of volcanoes, via the
cities of Jucuapa and Chinameca to San Miguel, and the other south
via the city of Usulután. San Miguel has several roads leading in
all directions. There is one north to the town of Gotera, another
north-east to the Mining District via Jocoró and Santa Rosa, which
continues to the principal crossings of the Rio Guascorán; and there
is yet another, running nearly due east to La Unión, on the Gulf of
Fonseca.
I was in the country while construction was proceeding in connection
with the Ilopango-San Vicente road improvements, and I was much
impressed with the thoroughness of the work being undertaken. The
new construction was some 40 kilometres long by 6-1/2 to 7 metres
in width (say 20 to 25 feet). It was commenced in 1906, and it will
be finished by the end of next year (1912). It is estimated to cost
not less than 350,000 pesos. It is a purely Government undertaking,
and ranks as one of the most important highways in the Republic.
At first over 250 men were employed, but as the work progressed
this number was reduced to 200. The highest part of the road is cut
through the side of the mountain at 210 metres (say 700 feet) above
the shore of Lake Ilopango. The steepest gradient is 7 per cent.,
and the minimum radius 20 feet. The most expensive part was that
between Kilometre 14 and Kilometre 13, where extremely hard rocks
have had to be cut through. At one point ten men were engaged for a
period of nine months upon the most difficult part, and they were
suspended from above by ropes, in order to reach and to cut down the
massive timber trees obstructing progress.
The Chief Engineer engaged by the Government to undertake this
contract is Señor Don Juan Luis Buerón, a German by birth, having
seen the light at Königsberg; but he is a United States citizen
by adoption. Señor Buerón is now seventy-eight years of age,
and although he is getting rather beyond active hard work, his
valuable experience and shrewd judgment are much appreciated by
the Government in all such matters as road construction. He has
built many public roads in North America, he told me, and was also
responsible for laying the track of the Havana (Cuba) tramways.
This interesting old engineer had also gained some experience in
Mexico before the days of Maximilian (1857-1869). He now occupies a
position of comfort, and enjoys the deep respect of the hundreds of
_peons_ who call him master. Señor Juan Buerón junior, the son, is
an equally capable road engineer, and assists his father in his work
for the Government of Salvador.
Another road deserving of mention is that which has been put under
the charge of the official engineer, Don Guillermo Quirós, and
one which unites the town of Santiago-de-María with the port of
Linares, on the River Lempa, passing through Alegría. The section
from Santiago-de-María to Alegría has been completed, and it was
officially inaugurated while I was in the Republic; the journey from
Berlín to the River Lempa can now be continued with much greater
celerity. Very considerable are the advantages that this highway
has brought to that part of the country, in which are situated the
most valuable coffee plantations, whose owners now find far greater
conveniences for bringing the berry to the port of El Triunfo,
since the road leading to this place has also been repaired and
widened to facilitate the transit by beasts of burden. The official
engineer, Don Manuel Aragón, has been occupied with the planning and
opening of a road from Citalá, in the department of Chalatenango,
to Metapán, in the department of Santa Ana. The road leading from
this capital to the port of La Libertad is likewise the object of
attention. The official engineer, Don Andrés Soriano, with a gang
of foremen and labourers, have been working for several months past
repairing it.
This highroad continually needs very large sums of money for
maintenance. The repairs which in former years have been carried out
have proved anything but lasting, owing to the serious mistakes in
construction of an engineer who put into practice certain untried
experiments, which completely failed.
It is necessary now to remedy this mistake, and drains and aqueducts
have had to be constructed on the road where none previously
existed, to avoid, in the rainy season, destruction by the strong
currents of water rushing over it. The official engineer, Don
Alberto Pinto, was occupied during a good part of the year 1908 upon
road works, having made many alterations, improvements and widenings
in the roads of the Departments of San Miguel, La Unión, Usulután,
Chalatenango, Santa Ana and Cabañas.
On the way from Mercedes to Jucuapa, and also upon the road to San
Miguel, it is proposed to construct a bridge of stone and mortar,
at the place called Barrancas de Jucuapa; the chief engineer, Señor
Pinto, has already made an estimate and sent in the corresponding
plans. The cost will amount to a little more or a little less than
$10,000.
CHAPTER II
Early Days of independence--"Central American Federation"--
Constitutional Presidents--Executive power--Chamber
of Congress--The Cabinet--Justice--The courts--Prisons and
prisoners--Employment and treatment--Police force--How
distributed--Education--Colleges and schools--State-aided
education--Teaching staffs--Primary education--Posts and
telegraphs--Improved interstate parcels post.
The breaking away from Spanish dominion (although the seeds of
revolution were laid as far back as 1811) did not take place until
ten years later, and coincided with the successful termination of
the struggle for liberty which occurred in Mexico under the patriot
priest Hidalgo. Salvador gained its freedom, comparatively speaking,
without bloodshed; and on September 15, 1821, it was declared a free
and independent State. In the year following an attempt was made
to annex the country to the Mexican Empire, under the rule of the
ambitious and unscrupulous Emperor Agustin Yturbide, during his very
brief reign, in 1822. As history relates, this presumptuous Mexican
was born in Valladolid (now known as Morelia) on September 27, 1783,
and he was sentenced to death and shot on July 19, 1824.
It is to the credit of Salvador that it was the one Central
American State which firmly resisted the invasion of the Mexican
troops; but in the end it had to submit to a far superior force,
commanded by General Filisola, and was then formally incorporated
into the Mexican Empire. This humiliation endured, however, for
a very brief time, since in the following year Yturbide met his
violent death, after which a Constitutional Convention was called,
and in 1824 a Federal Republic was declared bearing the name of
the "Central American Federation." This was composed of the five
States--Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica--the
first President being General Manuel José Arce.
Party jealousies and personal ambitions, however, soon brought about
disintegration, and in spite of the efforts of some far-seeing
patriots, who considered that in union alone lay the hope of peace,
security and prosperity for their country, the form of government
proved wholly impracticable. Nevertheless it continued for a few
years to struggle along, General Francisco Morazán, doing his
best to maintain order and to save the union from disruption.
Notwithstanding all his efforts, the Federation was dissolved
in 1839, and the five States again became independent Sovereign
Republics. Three years later General Morazán unwisely made another
effort to reunite the countries; but his attempt was treacherously
rewarded by a conspiracy against his life, followed by his execution
in San José, Costa Rica, in the month of September, 1842.
Since his death various attempts have been made from time to
time, to reunite the several Republics, the last effort of this
kind having been prosecuted by General Zelaya, perhaps one of the
most unscrupulous and dishonest, as well as one of the cruellest,
Spanish-Americans who has ever attained supreme power. Whatever
chances of success a United Central America might have had, under
the auspices of a Zelaya it could have never met with anything but
failure. General Zelaya, in spite of frantic efforts to maintain
his position, was himself chased from Nicaragua in 1909, and is now
said to be living in Europe upon the proceeds of the money which he
is declared to have filched from his country during his long and
oppressive reign.
In the year 1885, General Justo Rufino Barríos, President of
Guatemala, had sought to accomplish what Morazán had failed to do;
but his efforts ended equally in disaster. On August 13, 1886,
the Constitution which is at present in force was promulgated,
and General Menéndez was elected as first President under that
Constitution by popular vote in 1887, for the term ending in 1890.
He was succeeded by General Carlos Ezeta, who was inaugurated on
March 1, 1891. The third President was General Rafael Gutierrez.
Then followed General Tomás Regaládo; Don Pedro José Escalón;
General Fernando Figueroa; and the ruling President, Doctor Manuel
Enrique Araujo.
The form of government in vogue is that of a free, sovereign and
independent Republic--that is to say, democratic, elective, and
representative. The Constitution now in existence is contained in
a code of articles. The Government is divided into Legislative,
Executive, and Judicial sections. The Legislative power is vested in
the National Assembly, which is composed of one Chamber, and having
the title of the National Chamber of Deputies. This consists of 42
members, three Deputies being elected for each Department by direct
popular vote for a term of one year, the right to vote being vested
in every male citizen who is over eighteen years of age. It is to
be observed that every Salvadorean is not only privileged, but is
compelled to vote, thus doing his duty to the State.
The Executive consists of a President and a Vice-President, who are
elected by popular vote for a term of four years. In addition to
being Chief Magistrate, the President is also Commander-in-Chief
of the Army. In the event of a failure to elect the Executive, a
President is chosen by a majority of votes in the Congress from
among the three candidates having polled the largest number of
votes in the popular election. He is not eligible for re-election
either as President or as Vice-President until four years shall
have elapsed. The date of the Executive's inauguration is on March
1 following the election, which is usually held in the month of
November.
The administration of each of the fourteen different Departments
is in the hands of a Governor, who is selected by the President
from personal knowledge of both his capacity and temperament.
Besides administering the civil affairs of the territory under his
jurisdiction, this official is usually either a military man or one
possessed of adequate military knowledge; and he is thus Commandant
of the military of his Department.
It was my pleasure to meet, and spend some considerable time in the
company of, many of the Governors of the different Departments, and
I was deeply impressed with their general thoroughness of purpose,
their keen desire in all cases to further the interests of their
Departments, and to apply to their benefit any and every advantage
which could be adapted from the governments of other countries.
The municipalities, on the other hand, are managed entirely by their
own officials, all of whom are elected by the people themselves.
The officials comprise an Alcade, or Mayor, a Syndic and several
Regidores, or Aldermen, these being numbered according to the size
of the population. A good deal of competition exists for office, and
at the time of election much amusement is derived from watching the
canvassing in progress. There is a decidedly healthy appearance of
municipal enterprise in most of the towns of Salvador, and, taking
these as a whole, they seem to be uncommonly well administered. In
the accepted sense of the word, there is no real poverty, no slums,
no crying "graft" scandal demanding redress, as in our much-vaunted
civilization, and such charities as are rendered necessary in
the form of hospital relief and medical attention are rendered
cheerfully and as a matter of course, entailing neither a favour nor
a dependence upon either party.
In Salvador, as in all the Latin-American Republics, the President
is a reality, and not a mere figure-head. He makes his presence
felt, and yet, in a perfectly constitutional manner; he associates
the form of a democracy with the reality of government. For many
years past the people have had, and have to-day, an excellent
example of a thoroughly sensible and dignified Chief Executive, who
has firmly upheld the good name of the country and piloted it with a
strong, and even masterly, hand through a maze of difficulties. Of
General Fernando Figueroa as of Doctor don Manuel Enrique Araujo,
it may truthfully be said that they have kept before them a lofty
ideal of the honour of their nation, and one which has been the one
incentive in guiding their policy. The whole demeanour of these
distinguished men has been productive of the country's esteem, while
their real qualities for administration have not been denied even
by their most determined political opponents.
The _personnel_ of the present Ministry in Salvador reflects the
best intelligence and the greatest administrative ability of that
country, the President having selected from among the former members
of the Cabinet, and added to their number, such persons as enjoy
the confidence of the majority of the Congress; and he has retained
them as his advisers and his coadjutors so long as, and not longer
than, that confidence continues. The present Cabinet consist of the
following:
MINISTERS OR SECRETARIES OF STATE.
Foreign Affairs, Justice and Beneficence: Doctor don Francisco
Dueñas. Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public Instruction and
Agriculture: Doctor don Teodosio Corranza. Finances and Public
Credit: Don Rafael Guirola, D.
SUB-SECRETARIES OF STATE.
Foreign Affairs: Doctor don Manuel Castro, R. Justice and
Beneficence: Doctor don José Antonio Castro, V. Interior:
Doctor Cecilio Bustamente. Industry ("Fomento"): Ingeniéro José
Maria Peralta Lagos. Public Instruction: Doctor Gustavo Baron.
Agriculture: Don Miguel Dueñas. Finance and Public Credit: Don
Carlos G. Prieto. War and Marine: Don Eusebio Bracamonte.
[Illustration: H. E. DR. MANUEL ENRIQUE ARAUJO;
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR 1911-1915.]
Perhaps it is the Ministry of the Interior which is charged with
the most numerous and most important sections. Upon this Department
depend the General Direction of the Post-Office; the General
Direction of the Telegraph and Telephones; the General Direction of
Police; the Direction of the National Printing Establishment; the
Direction of the Superior Council of Health; the General Direction
of Vaccination, as well as of the Municipal Treasury and many other
small offices that complete the establishments included in the
public administration.
The number of measures carried out by this one Ministry during the
years 1907 and 1908 amounted, more or less, to 3,600. The subjects
that came under the jurisdiction of the Secretaryship of State
are also many and complex; and in order to attain results they
demand both constant attention and an intimate knowledge of the
administrative laws, the many special regulations, the numerous
statutes and dispositions which exist, as well as any quantity of
minor laws.
The Judicial Power is vested in a Supreme Court, which holds its
sittings in the city of San Salvador; two District Courts, which are
also held in the city; District Courts which are held in the cities
of Santa Ana, San Miguel, and Cojutepeque, as well as periodical
Circuit Courts held in different districts; and there is a long list
of Justices of the Peace.
The Justices of the Supreme Court are elected by the National
Assembly for a term of two years, while the Judges of the First and
Second Instance are appointed by the Supreme Court for a term of two
years. The Justices of the Minor Courts are elected by popular vote.
As in most Latin-American countries, the course of justice is
not always speedy, all depositions, no matter how trivial the
case under trial may be, nor whether it be civil or criminal,
having to be laboriously written out, "examination-in-chief" and
"cross-examination" being practices little known. Naturally, an
immense amount of valuable time is thus consumed, and the results
are anything but conclusive.
To a considerable extent the administration of justice in Central
America is based upon the same principles as those in force in the
United States, and it is generally admitted, especially by those who
have suffered from them, that these are far from perfect. The theory
of Latin-American justice is excellent, such theory being that
every man is entitled to justice speedily and without delay, freely
and without price. We all know that this is not the experience
of litigants generally, and in no part of Latin America can the
administration of justice be considered entirely perfect. Salvador
is not worse off than any of its neighbours in this respect, while,
on the other hand, there is a decided amount of respect entertained
for the judiciary, and few verdicts have been given which have
called forth any protest, nor many rulings handed down which have
excited conflict among the public.
Travellers in Latin-American countries, more often than not such as
pay but a very superficial visit to those lands, are in the habit
of drawing pitiful pictures of the cruelty practised upon prisoners
and injustice shown towards litigants, and they indulge in harrowing
accounts of "nauseating filth," "poisonous stenches," "germs of
disease," "bad food," and numerous other, blood-curdling horrors.
However true such descriptions of some countries are, and I rather
imagine that most of them are the outcome of vivid imagination on
the one hand and of blind prejudice upon the other, it is certain
that nothing of this kind can be truthfully said about Salvador.
It would be ridiculous to suppose that this Republic more than any
other builds luxuriously-equipped and comfortable prison-houses, to
act as an encouragement for the committing of crime. The object of
punishment, we are told, is prevention of evil, and we all know
that under no circumstances can it be made incentive to good. The
punishments inflicted upon Salvadorean prisoners are based upon
much about the same scale as in other countries; but the physical
condition of the prisoners as a whole is infinitely better than that
which is to be met with in any other Latin-American country, with
the two exceptions of Peru and Mexico.[1] Of all three countries I
may say with every justice that the present prison system is of a
much more lenient and humane nature than that of any other country
in either the old or new world. I state this deliberately and after
having visited most of the prisons in Latin-American Republics, as
well as many of those to be found in Europe and the United States.
[1] See "Mexico of the XXth Century," vol i., pp. 79, 83, 86, and
vol. ii., pp. 101, 143, by the same Author.
It is the object of the Government of Salvador to make as much
use of prisoners' services as is legitimate, and at the same time
to find for them intelligent and useful occupations. While hard
work is not always compulsory, and is not always an accompaniment
of a sentence to imprisonment, every encouragement is offered to
prisoners to engage themselves in some kind of work; and in many
instances substantial payments are derived from some of the work
thus undertaken, all such payments being carefully preserved for
the use of the prisoners, and handed over to them at the time of
their release. Thus, for instance, in the Penitenciaría Central,
at San Salvador, which is the chief penal establishment in the
Republic, many of the prisoners are engaged in making furniture
for the public offices, as well as military and police uniforms,
boots, etc., likewise for use in the army and the police force. I
am not sure whether any payment is made to prisoners for this kind
of contribution; but in other penal establishments which I visited
I observed that the prisoners were making baskets, mats, toys, and
other small articles, which were offered to visitors for a trifling
sum, and in other cases were sent to the public market for sale.
At the Penitenciaría at Santa Ana the same method was in vogue with
regard to employing prisoners, some remarkably good furniture,
police clothing, and military boots and shoes, being turned out
here also. In this establishment, as well as in others, the utmost
cleanliness prevails. The long rows of airy and well-ventilated
cells are well lighted, the walls and ceilings being whitewashed
and the floors, built of red brick, kept scrupulously clean. No
furniture of any kind is allowed to remain in the cells during the
day, but at night mattresses with clean blankets are thrown down
side by side, and the prisoners sleep with their day-clothes folded
up and placed under their heads or deposited under the mattresses.
In other cells there are light canvas or wooden cots of an easily
detachable nature, which are folded up and put away during the
daytime, so that the cells are always free from encumbrances of any
kind. Prisoners are allowed to move about freely (unless under very
severe punishment due to violence) from the cells to the yard, and
most of them are engaged during the daytime in weaving baskets,
sewing materials, or doing some other kind of work which may be
congenial to them. They are not compelled to wear any special form
of clothing nor a degrading uniform, while some are even permitted
to smoke.
Although strictly guarded by armed soldiers, I did not, when I
visited these establishments, witness a single instance of brutality
or overbearing demeanour on the part of these guardians; on the
other hand, there seemed to be a sort of fraternity between them and
their wards, chatting and laughter proceeding, apparently, without
objection upon the part of the Governor or Superintendents.
The area of the prison cells was in no case less than 10 feet by
6 feet, and in some instances it was found to be considerably
larger. All ablutionary exercises take place in the paved yard of
the prison, and prisoners are compelled to bathe at least once a
week in the open air; those who are so inclined may take a bath
once every day. The food, which I had the opportunity of tasting,
seemed thoroughly wholesome and plentiful, meat being provided in
quantities as well as boiled maize, beans (_frijoles_), and coffee
of excellent quality.
I can only repeat that, from close personal observation, I am
unable to endorse any of the harrowing descriptions of prison
barbarities, which I have referred to above, as applying in any way
to Salvadorean penitentiaries.
Considerable attention has been paid to the establishment and
maintenance of a thoroughly efficient Police Force, by the late
Director-General, General Enrique Bará, who has studied the question
of Police administration in Europe and the United States, and has
applied most of the good points which he found existing there to the
Police organization in the Republic of Salvador.
All Police are under the control of the Minister of the
Interior--Ministerio de Gobernación--although the organization
itself is a military one. The severest discipline is maintained,
and the men are moderately well paid. They seem, moreover, to be
drawn from the better classes instead of from the worst, as is so
often, unfortunately, the case in some parts of Latin America.
All the larger towns, such as Santa Ana, San Miguel, Sonsonate,
La Unión, etc., have their own well-organized Police Force, each
placed under a responsible officer, but all of them directly
dependent upon, and subject to control from, the Capital. Especial
care is taken to organize both the day and night corps, and, as
a consequence of the strictness which is maintained, very few
robberies, and scarcely any murders, take place nowadays in the
Capital or chief towns.
The Superior Officers of the Police Force consist of the following:
1 Director-General.
1 Sub-Director.
1 Secretario de la Dirección (Secretary to the Director-General).
1 Tesorero Específico (Special Treasurer).
1 Instructor.
1 Ayudante de la Dirección (Adjutant to the Director).
1 Juez Especial de Policia (Special Police Magistrate).
1 Secretario del Juzgado de Policia (Secretary to the Police Magistrate).
1 Guarda-Almacén (Storekeeper).
1 Escribiente de la Dirección (Amanuensis to the Director).
1 Escribiente del Juzgado (Amanuensis to the Magistrate).
1 Escribiente de la Comandancia (Amanuensis to the Commandant).
1 Medico del Cuerpo (Doctor to the Corps).
1 Practicante (Assistant-Surgeon).
1 Telegrafista (Telegraphist).
3 Barberos (Barbers).
2 Asistentes (Assistants).
The present Director-General of the Police is General Gregorio
Hernández A., who was appointed in the month of May last (1911).
The Capital is divided up into seven different districts or zones,
each zone being policed as follows:
Zone 1: 1 Comandante (Chief Superintendent in Charge), 1 Sergeant,
4 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 2: Same as Zone 1.
Zone 3: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 3 Inspectors, and 60 Policemen.
Zone 4: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 5: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 64 Policemen.
Zone 6: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 56 Policemen.
Zone 7: 1 Comandante, 1 Sergeant, 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.
In this last zone the policemen are mounted.
The different Departments are also well policed, as follows:
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla), having 1 Comandante
(Superintendent and Director), 2 Inspectors, and 40 Policemen.
Sonsonate: 1 Comandante (Superintendent and Director), 1
Sub-Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 32 Policemen.
Cojutepeque: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 25 Policemen.
Atiquizaya: 1 Director, 1 Inspector Secretario, 1 Sub-Inspector
(or Second Inspector), and 15 Policemen.
San Vicente: 1 Comandante (Director), 3 Inspectors, and 21
Policemen.
Ahuachapán: 1 Director, 1 Secretario, 3 Inspectors, and 27
Policemen.
Chalchuápa has two Zones, which are policed as follows: _First_:
1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 27 Policemen. _Second_: 1
Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.
Santa Ana: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 1 Secrétario, 1
Guarda-Almacen, 2 Escribientes, 150 Policemen, 1 Comandante de
Dragones, 1 Sergeant, and 40 Mounted Men.
San Miguel: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 4 Inspectors, and 57
Policemen.
La Unión: 1 Director, 1 Sub-Director, 3 Inspectors, and 40
Policemen.
Zacatecoluca: 1 Director, 2 Inspectors, and 18 Policemen.
The total _personnel_ of the Salvadorean Police Force is as follows:
In the Capital (including the Superior Officers above
mentioned) 454 men.
New San Salvador (Santa Tecla) 43 "
Sonsonate 38 "
Cojutepeque 28 "
Atiquizaya 18 "
San Vicente 25 "
Ahuachapán 32 "
Chalchuapa 20 "
Usulután 21 "
Santa Ana 174 "
San Miguel 63 "
La Unión 51 "
Zacatecoluca 21 "
------
Total 988 men.
The Government of Salvador are of opinion, and very rightly so to my
thinking, that inasmuch as education is compulsory it ought to be
free, since the State, by depriving parents of the labour of their
children, entails some sacrifices on them. It has also relieved
them of the burden of paying any kind of school fees; and this in a
country like Salvador, which possesses naturally a great proportion
of humble inhabitants, to whom the payment of even the lightest fees
would appear an immense taxation, means a great deal. To organize
a system of collecting fees from among the people living long
distances from the Capital would also have been onerous; and the
Government saves all this, and many other outlays, while procuring
the best results from its educational system. The benefits arising,
moreover, will be reaped by future generations, since a liberal
education is a matter in which all citizens are interested; and
there is certainly no hardship in calling upon all to contribute by
means of a moderate tax towards that end.
As I have said, the happiest results have been achieved by the
Government's broad and comprehensive system of education in
Salvador. The authorities combine with the municipalities in
carrying out their arrangements, and the teachers of both sexes are
drawn from among the best and most cultured classes of the community.
There has been established since July, 1907, a Board of Education
(Junta de Educación), which is subject to the directorship of
a specially-appointed Minister and Sub-Secretario of Public
Instruction. In the month of November, 1907, an important conference
was summoned, and held meetings at the Capital, at which the
curriculum to be adopted was fully discussed, and the plans for
the carrying on of all places of private and public education was
entirely reorganized. The whole system of conducting elementary,
normal, and advanced schools, holding day and night classes,
granting scholarships and holding periodical examinations, has now
been placed upon a thoroughly sound and comprehensive basis; and it
is only just to say that in this respect the Republic of Salvador
compares most favourably with any country in Europe, or with any
educational system in the United States of America.
The education of the sexes is conducted in the same elementary
schools, and not only is this found an economy, but the feminine
mind is found here (as in Scotland and elsewhere) to become
strengthened when put through the curriculum given to boys and men.
Competition is greater between the sexes than between rivals of the
same sex, and a correspondingly higher standard of achievement is
obtained. It has been found in Latin America, where until recent
years women were kept in ignorance and were denied the attainment
of any but social positions in the community, that constant
intercourse between the sexes had led to a more perfect development
of character, and had materially diminished shyness. Marriages are
now made of a safer kind, and a new and more intelligent class
of citizen is springing up, all of which facts will tend in due
course to bring about a more complete political settlement and the
introduction of permanent order among the people. Although by no
means as yet extinct, the conventual existence for the women of
Salvador is fast diminishing, and they are commencing to realize
the advantages and pleasures of living under freer and less morbid
conditions than formerly.
Santa Ana seems to be essentially the educational centre of the
Republic; for whereas schools, colleges, and Universities are to be
found in all of the Departments, in Santa Ana there are no fewer
than thirty-three such establishments, besides several private
schools and seminaries. San Salvador has between 6 and 7 important
educational institutes, and many small private schools; Cuscutlán
has 8 or 9; La Paz, 7 or 8; Sonsonate, 5 or 6; while Ahuachapán,
Chalatenango, Cabañas, San Vicente, La Unión, Morazán, and La
Libertad, are all similarly well provided.
The teaching staff at present employed under Government control
numbers something over 1,100, and is divided up into Directors,
Sub-Directors, Auxiliary Professors, these being composed of
both the male and the female sex. These latter are in a small
minority, but, still, there are over 278 Lady Directors, over 120
Sub-Directors, and 100 Professors.
[Illustration: THE 3RD COMPANY, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL, IN REVIEW ORDER.]
[Illustration: COMPANY IN LINE, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL.]
[Illustration: SECTION OF RIFLEMEN KNEELING, SERGEANTS' SCHOOL.]
The proportion of pupils matriculating is extremely high, and in
this respect the girls come very close in point of number, as
also in the number of marks obtained, to the boys. The Government
provides all the necessary books, stationery, models, apparatus,
etc., for the use of the pupils, and these latter are not put to
one penny expenditure for anything that they may require. It is
considered absolutely proper and consistent with the dignity of
the family for a Salvadorean child to receive a Government free
education; and as this is divorced from all compulsory religious
instruction, children of all denominations, or of none, can
participate. As a matter of fact, practically all attending are of
the Roman Catholic faith, but no dogmatic teaching is resorted to
in any establishment under Government control.
Mention should be made of the very useful and successful educational
establishments which the Government has organized and supported
since 1907, such as the Medical and Surgical College, Chemistry
and Dental Schools, Commerce and Industry College, as well as
the National University, which has been entirely remodelled and
reorganized since December 15, 1907.
Upon several occasions the Government has found the necessary money
to send a particularly promising pupil to Europe or to the United
States, for the purposes of study and receiving the finest training
that the world of art and letters can offer. The last pupil to be
sent to study music at the expense of the Government was Señorita
Natalia Ramos, who left for Italy in the month of May (1911), and
is now making good progress there. In every sense of the word
the Salvadorean Government has proved a "paternal Government" in
these respects; and many a genius has been rescued from probable
obscurity, and much dormant talent has been fostered and encouraged
for the benefit of the community at large as well as to the lasting
advantage of the individual.
Attention on the part of the Government is now being given to a
further modification in the system of primary instruction; and this
is being effected gradually, it being proposed as a preliminary to
establish several high schools throughout the country. A School
of Agriculture, with all necessary elements and machinery, was
inaugurated during the year 1908. Mixed primary schools in the
country now number 132, with a total number of registered pupils
amounting to 34,752. Expenditures for 1907 under this head were
nearly $400,000, and in addition there are many private institutions
where primary instruction only is given. Academic teaching is in the
charge of the National University of San Salvador, embracing schools
of law, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, civil engineering, etc.
In no other part of the Government service has greater improvement
been manifested than in the Department of Posts. This Department is
supported out of its own revenues, and the service during the past
few years has been extended to a very considerable extent, while the
credit of the Central Office has been maintained by punctuality in
the payments of the foreign postal service. Among the more notable
Conventions celebrated have been those with the Republic of Mexico
for the exchange of parcels and money orders, and a triweekly postal
service introduced to the neighbouring Republic of Guatemala via
Jerez; a postal service has also been established with the same
country via Zacapa. It is satisfactory to be able to state that
since the inauguration of these additional services, which took
place early in 1907, scarcely any interruptions have occurred, not
even in the rainiest weather, a fact which may be attributed to
the zeal and ability of the officials and employés of the Postal
Department.
The annual expenditure of this branch of the public service has
increased from $87,084 in 1902, $102,787 in 1903, $121,756 in 1904,
$142,855 in 1905, $161,662 in 1906, to over $200,000 in 1910.
The regularity and rapidity with which the house-to-house postal
deliveries take place in the Capital and principal cities of the
Republic have frequently been noticed, and favourably commented
upon, by foreigners sojourning in Salvador. Honesty among the
employés is no less a feature of the postal arrangements in this
Republic, where all public servants are reasonably paid and are as
diplomatically handled, so that general contentment obtains among
the large class of public servants employed.
The Parcel Post Department is also exhibiting from year to year
notable increases, as the following figures will show: $44,613.55 in
1901; $58,096.27 in 1902; $68,467.30 in 1903; $88,557.60 in 1904;
$90,662.72 in 1905; $93,295.80 in 1906; and for the first six months
in 1907 the figures given are $51,654.86, or at the rate of $103,000
for the whole year.
A Postal Convention for the exchange of money orders between
Salvador and Great Britain was signed in London on June 27, 1907,
in San Salvador on the following August 27, 1907, and, after
being approved by the President, General Figueroa, took effect
on September 5, 1907, the exchange offices being situated at San
Salvador and London respectively.
The telegraph and telephone service has also increased consistently,
especially since 1903, at which time as an economic measure, and
for the convenience of the public, a considerable reduction took
place in the amounts of the charges. There has been a large increase
in telephonic connections, and several new offices have been
established, while the old ones have been considerably improved,
necessitating large outlays for this purpose, as well as for works
and materials. Many hundreds of miles of new telephone and telegraph
lines have been added to the system, of late there has been a
marked increase in the telephone and telegraph apparatus, and the
_personnel_ of the system has been proportionately augmented. There
have been two handsome towers constructed at San Salvador, and
another at Santa Ana, for the introduction of wires to the Central
Offices, and the system in vogue leaves little to be desired either
in regard to efficiency or completeness. The general budget for
telegraphs and telephones has risen steadily, from a little over
$260,000, in 1902, to over $500,000, in 1910.
During the year 1910 the number of cablegrams received in the
Republic were as follows: Cables sent from Salvador, 7,877; received
in the Republic, 8,723. In those transmitted there were used 61,727
words, and in those received 75,950. Total of cables sent and
received, 16,600 = 137,677 words. The amount represented in cost was
$96,450.47, and of this the Government received $23,994.27.
Considerable progress has been made in Salvador in connection
with wireless telegraphy, this being one of the first--if not the
first--of the Central American Republics to adopt the new system
of communication. By the time these pages are in the hands of the
reading public, the Government will have completed two additional
wireless stations, one at Planes de Renderos, near the Capital
(San Salvador), and the other at the Port of La Libertad. With the
completion of these stations, wireless communication will have been
established between the Capital and all the ports of the Republic.
The electric light service used and supported by the Government
has also increased. In 1902 the total cost was barely $25,000,
whereas to-day it amounts to over $50,000, exclusive of the value of
subventions by which several of the electric light companies have
been aided by the Government.
In connection with the recently-held Central American Conference
convened in Guatemala City, and at which representatives of all
five Central American States were present, great improvements were
resolved upon in reference to the postal arrangements between
these States. It was determined, for instance, to introduce a much
more comprehensive parcels post; and although the dimensions of
articles which may be sent were not much extended, the character of
the commerce carried through the post was considerably broadened,
with beneficial results to all of the different States. It was,
among other things, decided to prevent any libellous or indecent
publications passing through the Post-Office; and here a distinct
improvement has been made upon British Post-Office methods, which
permit of the carrying of any sort of literature so long as it is
covered from inspection. The Central American postal authorities
reserve the right--and exercise it--to open and retain anything
which they suspect to be of a dangerous or wrongful nature, and thus
they act with more intelligence than some of their European brethren.
The Regulation for the Control of the Postal Service, as passed by
the Government on September 26, 1893, was found wholly unfit for
this important branch; and from that date to the present, continual
reforms have been introduced into the postal service, which now
stands among the best regulated in Central America. In the Fiscal
Estimate of the year 1907, passed by the National Congress, several
notable economies were introduced, such as the suppression of some
of the too numerous employés, and reduction of the salaries of
others; while these measures seemed opportune, they did not work
well in practice, neither did they give good results. The Ministry
was obliged, therefore, to again make alterations in order to insure
permanent order in the postal department.
By a resolution of September 28 and October 24 respectively, the
Government arranged to suppress the office of Administrator of the
Post-Offices in the different Capitals of the Departments, joining
the functions of that to those of the Administrator of Revenues,
but without augmenting the pay for this additional service. From
this arrangement, however, the offices of Santa Ana, Sonsonate,
and San Miguel, were excepted, while some others were annexed
to the Department of the Fiscal Receiver and to the respective
telegraph-offices.
At present the active staff of the Postal Service of the Republic is
composed of 327 individuals, organized in the following departments:
General Direction; Departmental Administrations; Postal Contractors.
The General Direction is subdivided thus: Sub-Direction; Secretary;
Bookkeeper and Cashier; Office of Postal Statistics; Keeper of
Stores; Amanuensis; and Keeper of the Archives. The Chiefs are those
of the Foreign Department, of the Interior, of Registered Letters,
of Parcels Post, and of Poste Restante and Unclaimed Letters
Department. There are besides five Assistants, two Transmitters of
Postal Specie, twenty-two letter-carriers, and forty-eight junior
postmen.
The Exchange Offices include three Administrators, three
Superintendents, and six letter-carriers. Those of the first
class are--six Administrators, six superintendents, sixteen
letter-carriers, and twenty-five postmen. Those of the second
class are--six Administrators and eight letter-carriers. Those of
the third class are--nineteen Administrators and an equal number
of letter-carriers. Those of the fourth class are--forty-three
Administrators and forty-three letter-carriers; and these are
again sub-administered by the respective municipalities. There are
seven Postal Contractors, who have in their service some forty or
fifty subordinates. Three Postal Agencies complete the service,
namely--one in Panama (Central America), one in the Sitio del Niño
(a station on the Salvador Railway), and the other in Parras Lempa.
CHAPTER III
Biographical--The President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo--The
ex-President, General Fernando Figueroa--The Cabinet--Dr.
Francisco Dueñas--Don Rafael Guirola, D.--Dr. Teodosio
Corranza--Dr. Manuel Castro, R.--Dr. Cecilio Bustamente--Señor
José Maria Peralta Lagos--Dr. José A. Castro, V.--Dr. E.
Bracamonte--Dr. Miguel Dueñas--Señor Carlos G. Prieto--Dr.
Artúro Ramón Ávila.
Dr. Manuel Enrique Araujo, President of the Republic of Salvador,
although a comparatively young man, has long been regarded as one
of the most distinguished scholars and politicians of his time.
Born at Jucuapa, he came at a very early age to the Capital, in
order to study medicine and surgery, and very soon he secured a
wide reputation--extending, indeed, beyond the confines of his own
country--as a great authority upon special medical and surgical
cases. While still quite young, Dr. Manuel Araujo was married to
Señorita Maria Peralta, the beautiful and accomplished daughter of a
former President of the Republic, Don José Maria Peralta, a man who
enjoyed universal respect and affection.
The young politician was always a strong Liberal in politics,
but he never permitted party spirit to prejudice him in respect
to his public actions, which have, both before and since his
occupancy of the Chief Magistracy, been characterized by complete
independence of judgment and commendable broad-mindedness.
Besides being the selected occupant of the Presidential Chair by
practically all political parties alike, Dr. Araujo is regarded
as the representative of both the culture and the scientific
professionalism of the country. As already mentioned, he is a very
distinguished surgeon; he has also invented some very delicate and
useful surgical instruments, many of which may be found in the
Paris and Continental hospitals. The Chief Executive occupies the
position of President of the Salvador Branch of the Spanish-American
University. In social as well as in educational circles, Dr.
Araujo is highly respected, apart from his exalted position; and
to foreigners he is especially _persona grata_, on account of his
broad sympathies and general charm of manner. It will be entirely
contrary to general expectations and present appearances if, during
his tenancy of the Chief Magistracy, Salvador fails to enjoy a
great industrial peace and prosperity, as well as a financial
regeneration, such as has long been devised to place this State in
the fore-rank of Latin-American countries.
While politics in Salvador, as in so many other countries north and
south of the Equator, have come to be regarded as a profession, Dr.
Araujo has shown that he has considered them as accessories rather
than expedients, and has carried out in principle the axiom that
"he serves his party best who serves his country best." Inasmuch as
Dr. Araujo occupied the position of Vice-President of the Republic
in the Government of General Fernando Figueroa, it may be assumed
that he has been in thorough accord with his policy; and now that
he himself occupies the same exalted office, no great change in the
Government's projects or methods of carrying them into effect will
result. That some of the youngest men have proved the greatest
statesmen history clearly shows; and the instance maybe cited of our
own brilliant countryman, William Pitt, himself a son of the great
Earl of Chatham, who made his first speech in the House of Commons
when he was but twenty-two years of age, and became Prime Minister
at the age of twenty-three. It is the young blood and youthful
activity which are helping to mould a successful future for the
Salvador of to-day.
By authority of Article 68 of the Constitution, the National
Legislative Assembly elected, last May, Señor Carlos Melendez,
Dr. Fernando Lopez, and General Juan Amaya, First, Second and
Third Designates respectively, to succeed to the Presidency of the
Republic in case of a vacancy occurring during the present term.
[Illustration: GENERAL FERNANDO FIGUEROA, PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
OF SALVADOR 1907-1911.]
General Fernando Figueroa, President of the Republic from 1907 to
1911, was born in San Vicente. Even when a small boy his disposition
led him to a military career, and while still in his teens he
enlisted in the ranks of the Salvadorean Army, during the memorable
struggle with Guatemala of 1863. Under the command of General
Bracamonte, he became a Lieutenant, and speedily distinguished
himself in the field. He was on this occasion very severely wounded,
and also was specially mentioned in despatches. After the death
of General Gerardo Barrios, and the election of Dr. Dueñas as
President, young Fernando Figueroa was given his captaincy. He
was mainly instrumental in organizing the militia, and in 1871 he
put its capabilities to the test when the war in Honduras broke
out. Upon the overthrow of the Government of Dr. Dueñas, and the
selection of Marshal Santiago González as Provisional President,
peace was proclaimed with Honduras, General Medina being
recognized as legitimate President, and young Figueroa's services
were temporarily unneeded. In 1872, however, Captain Figueroa was
again fighting in territory belonging to Honduras, namely at Sábana
Grande and Santa Bárbara, his gallant services at the first-named
place gaining for him his lieutenant-colonelcy. In the following
year, 1873, Colonel Figueroa distinguished himself in a third
expedition against Honduras, at which time the President of the
Republic was Señor Celio Arias, but who, by Salvador's aid, was
dispossessed of the Chief Magistracy in favour of General Ponciano
Leiva. Colonel Figueroa's bravery at the Battle of Amapala, and his
gallant support of General Juan José Samayoa, have become important
facts in Salvadorean history.
This same year he was appointed Governor of his native Department,
San Vicente. In 1876, after fresh exploits in the field, the rising
young soldier became a General, and with this military advancement
he assisted the same year at the Battle of Pasaquina, in which he
was once again seriously wounded. The events of 1876 led to further
civil war, which continued with but few important intervals of peace
until 1885, and during which period Marshal Santiago González fell
from power, and Dr. Rafael Zaldívar replaced him as President. At
this time, also, General J. Rufino Barrios died on the battle-field
of Chalchuapa, and General Figueroa was given the supreme command of
the Government troops against the Revolutionists, who were headed by
General Francisco Menéndez. The latter having succeeded in attaining
position as head of the State, General Figueroa retired temporarily;
but he returned with the inauguration of the administration of
General Carlos Ezeta, and was again appointed to his former post
of Governor of San Vicente. Later on he was nominated Minister of
War, which position he resigned upon becoming candidate for the
Presidency. He was duly and constitutionally elected in November of
1906, took office on March 1, 1907, and retired automatically with
the fresh elections of 1910, to give place to Dr. Manuel Enrique
Araujo, the present Chief Magistrate.
During his long and honourable career, General Figueroa has been
distinguished as much for his brilliant soldier-like qualities as
for his personal work and high sense of probity. He has had--as have
all great men--his enemies and his detractors; but none among them
can bring--nor ever have brought--any charge against his personal
honour or integrity.
It was his keen patriotism and shrewd diplomacy which arrested the
three-cornered armed conflict in which Salvador, Honduras, and
Nicaragua, were concerned in 1907, and but for General Figueroa's
tact and good sense, coupled with his masterly grasp of the
situation, these three sister States would have exhausted themselves
over a dispute which was practically worthless, and would have
proved just as fruitless.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Dr. don Francisco Dueñas, a
barrister, and a very distinguished member of the profession. Born
in San Salvador, and forty-three years of age, Dr. Dueñas has
occupied several important positions in the legal profession, and he
is looked upon as one of the soundest authorities on commercial and
general law. The Minister is regarded as an extremely able man, who
is bound to rise to the highest position which the State can confer
upon him.
The Minister of Finance is Señor don Rafael Guirola, D., a
thoroughly sound, practical business man, with a wide knowledge
of finance and commerce in all its branches and a member of one
of the leading families. He may be depended upon to adopt a
comprehensive and intelligent view of all subjects pertaining to his
Department, and it may be accepted as certain that he will give wide
encouragement to such foreign enterprise as can be regarded as of
benefit to the State. Señor Rafael Guirola, D., is forty-five years
of age.
The Minister of the Interior, Industry ("Fomento"), Public
Instruction and Agriculture, Dr. don Teodosio Corranza, is also one
of the most prominent lawyers in the Republic. He was born in San
Salvador, and is about fifty-two years of age. He has occupied some
of the most important and responsible posts in the country, and is
considered by all alike as lending both distinction and prominence
to his high office.
Dr. don Manuel Castro, R., Sub-Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, is a barrister by profession, and a distinguished member of
the Salvador Academy. Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr.
Castro has already filled with great distinction several important
positions in the legal profession, and he is regarded as a rising
"star" in the political firmament.
The portfolio for Home Affairs has been entrusted to the capable
hands of Dr. Cecilio Bustamente, who is also a distinguished lawyer,
as well as the writer of several books of more than ordinary merit.
On several occasions Dr. Bustamente has occupied a position on
the Bench, his judgments and rulings always having commanded deep
respect, and invariably being the outcome of calm consideration and
much forensic learning. Dr. Bustamente is about thirty-eight years
of age.
Public Instruction is under the direction of Dr. Gustavo Barón,
who is three years younger than Dr. Bustamente. By profession he
is a physician and surgeon, having taken high degrees at the Paris
University. Before entering the present Cabinet, Dr. Barón served
as teacher of, and lecturer upon, several subjects in the National
University of Salvador; and there is probably no man in the Republic
who enjoys a wider respect or a deeper regard, especially among
his colleagues, than the present Sub-Secretary of Instruction and
Promotion.
The important portfolio of Public Works has been entrusted to the
hands of Señor don José Maria Peralta Lagos, a civil engineer of
great reputation in Central America, although only forty-two years
of age. For many years past Señor Peralta Lagos has been interested
in engineering undertakings, and there can be no question that he
is admirably fitted both by experience and long study of current
engineering subjects for the high and responsible position which he
occupies.
The portfolio of Justice is in the hands of Dr. don José Antonio
Castro, V., a young but very brilliant man, his age being only
twenty-eight years, and who is a barrister by profession.
War and Marine are represented by Don Eusebio Bracamonte, a counsel
of great reputation, and who for a considerable time occupied
the position of Chief Justice of the High Court of Salvador. Dr.
Bracamonte is forty-three years of age.
The portfolio of Agriculture is in the hands of Don Miguel Dueñas,
who has devoted many years to a careful study of agriculture in
all its branches, and has, from his experience and the careful
observation of the methods employed in foreign countries, intimately
acquainted himself with all modern methods, many of which he has
personally introduced upon his own country estates. Señor Dueñas,
who is forty years of age, has travelled very considerably in the
United States and in Europe, and he speaks both English and French
with considerable facility. For some years past he has been a Member
of Congress, while he is also the Founder and the President of the
Salvadorean Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, an institution
which has already conferred considerable benefits upon the State.
Señor Carlos G. Prieto, Sub-Secretary of Finance and Public Credit,
is forty-five years of age, and a sound authority upon finance and
commerce generally.
It is worthy of mention that the Ministry of Agriculture in Salvador
is an entirely new creation, and owes its existence to the ruling
President, Dr. Manuel E. Araujo. Considering the immense interest
which Salvador has in agriculture, and bearing in mind the fact
that upon its intelligent pursuit depends, to a very large extent,
the prosperity of the country, it is surprising that a Department
for Agriculture should not have been previously instituted. This
is probably due to the fact that the late Ministry was disinclined
to add further to the burden of expenditure in connection with
the government of the country; but the additional expenditure
incurred in the establishment of this Department has been abundantly
justified by results, and there is very little question that, if
for nothing else, the Presidency of Dr. Araujo will stand out
prominently in connection with a governmental creation which has
long been needed, and which is already proving thoroughly useful.
A new branch of the Government service has been established within
the past few months in the form of an Information Bureau, which
should prove of great utility to manufacturers and shippers, if they
desire to avail themselves of it. Already several North American
firms have done so, and, as I understand, with some material
advantage, the existence of the department having been brought to
the attention of United States commercial men by the very up-to-date
and shrewd American Consul-General at San Salvador, Mr. Harold D.
Clum. I have not heard that any attention has been directed to the
institution by the British Board of Trade.
The Salvador Congress authorized, and the Ministry of Agriculture
maintains, this Information Bureau, to report upon the orders which
the various departments of the Government may consider it expedient
to place abroad or upon the home market. The law provides that
Government orders shall be placed only after, and presumably upon
the basis of, a report from this Bureau; so that it is a distinct
advantage to manufacturers and others, who desire to market goods in
which the Government might be interested, to send their catalogues
(but printed in Spanish, and _not_ in English) with price lists
(but calculated in decimal measurements and coinage, and _not_
in "£ s. d."), as well as their proposals, to the Bureau. All
such communications should be addressed: "Oficina de Informacíon,
Ministerio de Agricultura, San Salvador." And let it be remembered
that the postage upon letters is 2-1/2d.!
The young and vigorous blood of which the Salvadorean Cabinet
is composed is perhaps one of its strongest and most promising
features, and the excellent impression which its formation created
last March has been confirmed in every way since it got to work and
proved the quality of its members for governing the country wisely
and economically.
It would, under ordinary circumstances, perhaps be difficult to
replace the valuable services which, for fifteen years past,
have been rendered by Mr. Mark Jamestown Kelly, F.R.G.S., as
Consul-General for the Republic of Salvador to the United Kingdom,
with residence in London, and to whom full reference has been made
in a preceding page; but it will be generally admitted that the
Government has made a very wise and a very acceptable selection in
Dr. Artúro Ramón Ávila. The new Consul-General is a native of San
Miguel, and belongs to one of the leading families of the country,
and occupying a very high social position in the Republic.
Although only twenty-seven years of age, Dr. Ávila has already
attained some celebrity in his own country, and has received the
degree of Doctor of the Faculty of Jurisprudence, a title which was
conferred upon him by the National University of Salvador. In 1907
one of Dr. Ávila's most notable achievements was the composition of
a "paper" which he read before the Tribunal of Examination, this
being a learned thesis upon the subject of "The Duel" ("El Duelo"),
consisting of 100 pages, and pronounced by literary critics as about
the most clever and most convincing essay which had been written
upon the subject.
Previous to entering upon his profession as an advocate, Dr. Ávila
served as a Justice of the Peace for one year in the Capital of
Salvador, being later on appointed Judge of the First Instance.
He occupied a similar position in the Civil and Criminal Courts of
Santa Tecla (New San Salvador), and held that post for two years.
Dr. Ávila had also for some time been advocate-in-chief for the
Banco Salvadoréno, of Salvador, and he represented legally various
other reputable houses of commerce. Dr. Ávila holds the position of
Consul-General of the Republic of Salvador for Great Britain and
Ireland, and has taken convenient offices at 8, Union Court, Old
Broad Street, London, E.C.
Señor Santiago Perez Triana, who has for some time been a resident
in London, entered the service of the Salvadorean Government
as Secretary of the Legation in 1900, under Dr. Zaldívar, and
accompanied him to the Spanish-American Congress which met in Madrid
in December of that year. Señor Perez Triana's capacity was that
of second delegate of Salvador, Dr. Zaldívar being chief of the
Mission, the third Attaché, who occupied a similar position to that
of Señor Perez Triana, being Señor M. Rodriguez. Subsequently Señor
Perez Triana was appointed Secretary of the Legation of Salvador
in Spain. Since 1901, when he went to the last-named country to
reside, he occupied the dual position of Chargé d'Affaires both in
Madrid and in London; and he still occupies a similar position in
the latter city, but not in Spain. In 1907 Señor Perez Triana was
appointed Delegate to the Hague Conference for Salvador, jointly
with Mr. P. J. Matheu. He is a quite remarkable orator and a man of
great culture, speaking English with complete accuracy and writing
it with equal facility.
[Illustration: DR. ARTÚRO RAMÓN ÁVILA;
CONSUL-GENERAL FOR THE REPUBLIC OF SALVADOR TO GREAT BRITAIN.
APPOINTED MAY, 1911.]
In connection with the Coronation of Their Majesties King George and
Queen Mary, in the month of June last, the Salvadorean Government
sent to London an Extraordinary Mission to represent the Republic,
selecting for the purpose Señor J. Miguel Dueñas who by birth and
education was well fitted to fill so important a position. Señor
Dueñas was born in the city of San Salvador on August 28, 1871, and
is a son of an ex-President of Salvador, Dr. Francisco Dueñas, and
Donna Térésa Dardano. After a brilliant college career, pursued
both in his own country, in the United States, and in Europe, Señor
Dueñas returned in 1895 to Salvador, where he was soon afterwards
elected by popular vote as Deputy to the National Congress of
the Republic. He also became an active member of the Municipal
Council, and is the Founder and President of the Salvador Chamber
of Commerce and Agriculture in Salvador. He retains his position
as Secretary of State for the Department of Agriculture, which, as
mentioned previously in this volume, was brought into existence
upon the initiative of the present President of the Republic, Dr.
Manuel Enrique Araujo, this being one of his first official acts
after assuming the Presidential chair, in the month of March last.
Accompanying Señor Dueñas was his wife, Señora Donna Maria Eugénia
Palomo.
The new Minister of Salvador in Spain and Italy, with residence
at Madrid, is Dr. don J. Gustavo Guerrero, who was for many years
Consul-General for Salvador at Genoa, and acted as First Secretary
of the Special Diplomatic Mission of Salvador to the Court of St.
James in connection with the Coronation of King George V. He is
one of the several young men of great promise in Salvador, and is
destined to go far. He is, moreover, a distinguished advocate,
having taken high degrees at the Universities of San Salvador and
Guatemala City. He has acted as Deputy Governor at the first-named
Capital, as well as Consul at Burdeos, Consul at Genoa, Secretary of
Legation at Washington, and Chargé d'Affaires at Rome and Madrid.
In the month of May last (1911) Señor don Nicolás Leiva was
appointed Consul for Salvador at Liverpool, which port carries on a
fair amount of trade with the Republic.
CHAPTER IV
Government finances--London Market appreciation of
Salvador bonds--History of foreign debt--Salvador Railway
security--Central American Public Works Company--Changing the
guarantee--Financial conditions to-day--Public debt at end of
1909--Budget for 1910-11--Small deficit may be converted into a
surplus--Summary.
The high opinion which the London Market entertains regarding
Salvadorean Government securities is shown by the price at which
they are quoted; and although judged upon their merits, these
same securities are rather too cheaply priced, they form a marked
contrast to some of the neighbouring States' foreign loans, such,
for instance, as Costa Rica and Honduras. As a matter of fact,
the Salvadorean Governments of successive years have strictly and
faithfully performed their foreign obligations; and it has been the
firm policy of past Presidents, as it is of the present Executive,
to maintain their foreign credit upon an unassailable basis. It
is possible to speak very encouragingly of the Salvador 6 per
cent. Sterling Bonds, which were issued in March, 1908, at 86 per
cent., and which are at the present time of writing quoted at or
a little above par. Their desirability as an investment depends
upon the standard of security they afford--on the probability,
that is, that Salvador will faithfully fulfil its obligations. The
Salvador Government 6 per cent. Sterling Bonds (1908), amounting to
£1,000,000, were issued to meet the cost of certain public works
and to repay certain local loans contracted at a higher rate of
interest. The loan is redeemable by an accumulative sinking fund of
2-1/2 per cent., by purchase or drawing, and is secured by a first
charge on--(_a_) the special Customs duty of $3.60 (U.S. gold) per
100 kilogrammes of imported merchandise; and (_b_) the duty of 40
cents (U.S. gold) per quintal (up to 500,000 quintals) of the annual
export of coffee, the proceeds of which are remitted fortnightly to
the London Bank of Mexico and South America, whose Chairman stated
recently that "the rapid way in which the remittances are coming
forward is very satisfactory, and will, no doubt, in time improve
the credit of this small but hard-working country." The bonds
constitute the whole External Debt of the country, previous loans
having been commuted in 1899 for debentures of the Salvador Railway
Company, to which the Government pays an annual subsidy of £24,000.
This subsidy has now been punctually remitted for over nine years.
It is on such grounds as these that the friends of Salvador maintain
that the value of the bonds should not be gauged by the financial
reputation of some of the other Central American Republics.
It may be interesting to trace the whole history of Salvador's
foreign indebtedness, which commenced as far back as 1827. The
record--by no means an unworthy one--is as follows:
1827: Of the debt of the Central American Federation--which
was composed of Salvador, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, and
Nicaragua, and amounting to £163,000--the proportion which was
assumed by Salvador was one-sixth, £27,200.
1828-1859: No interest was paid during this long period of
turbulence and strife.
1860: Salvador compromised her share of the debt for 90 per cent.
paid in cash.
1889: A loan for £300,000 was issued, bearing 6 per cent. interest
and 2 per cent. accumulative sinking fund. It was offered by the
London and South-Western Bank at 95-1/2 per cent., and was specially
secured on 10 per cent. of the Customs duties and the rights of
the Government on the railway from Acajutla to Ateos (thirty-five
miles), and in the proposed extension to San Salvador. Out of the
proceeds of the loan a mortgage of the Government's interest in the
portion of the railroad already constructed (Acajutla to Sonsonate),
amounting to £183,000, was paid off. The extension of the railway
was only continued for a distance of seven miles from Ateos to La
Ceiba.
1892: Bonds for an amount of £500,000, bearing 6 per cent. interest
and 1 per cent. accumulative sinking fund, were created by the
Government and issued by Messrs. Brown, Janson and Co. to the
contractor Mr. A. J. Scherzer, in pursuance of a contract made by
the Government with Mr. Scherzer in 1891, for the purpose of the
extension of the railway. These bonds were specially secured on 10
per cent. of the Customs duties, and also by a first mortgage on
the railway line from Ateos to Santa Ana (thirty miles) when built.
These bonds were not issued to the public, but were delivered from
time to time to the contractor, against the engineer's certificates,
as the works proceeded.
1894: A company called the Central American Public Works Company
was registered by Mr. Mark J. Kelly in London, and Mr. Kelly was
associated with Mr. Scherzer in carrying out this contract, and in
the month of April a concession was obtained from the Government
under which the contract of 1891 was cancelled. The Central American
Public Works Company undertook to complete the line to Santa Ana;
to build a branch from Sitio del Niño to San Salvador (twenty-four
miles), together with a deviation of one and a half miles at the
port of Acajutla; to give the Government £70,000 in fully-paid
ordinary shares of the company when issued; and to redeem the loans
of 1889 and 1892. The Government, on its part, agreed to hand over
to the Company the whole of the railways for a period of ninety-nine
years, and to guarantee the Company for fifty years a net annual
profit on working the railways of 6 per cent. upon the sum of
£800,000, secured by a charge of 10 per cent. on the import duties.
A change of Government took place almost immediately afterwards,
and, owing to the differences which then arose between the
Government and the Company, the concession was declared void.
But in December a supplementary contract was entered into between
the Company and the new Government, by which it was agreed that--(1)
The £70,000 of shares of the Public Works Company were to be
delivered to the Government by May 31, 1895 (this was done, and the
Company took possession of the completed portion of the line and
commenced the construction of the remainder); (2) the duration of
the concession was shortened from ninety-nine to eighty years; (3)
the guarantee was reduced from £48,000 a year to £24,000 during
the construction of the line to Santa Ana, £36,000 during the
construction to San Salvador, and the full £48,000 was not to be
paid until the railway was entirely finished.
1898: In this year a new company, called the Salvador Railway
Company, Limited, was formed to take over the concession from the
Central American Public Works Company. Proposals were laid before
the holders of the 1889 and 1892 loans to convert their bonds into
mortgage debentures of the railway company. Some of the 1889
bondholders, however, declined to signify their adherence to the
scheme, and it was thus found impossible to arrange for the release
of the mortgage on the first section of the railway. The Central
American Public Works Company had, moreover, undertaken to deliver
to the Government all the bonds by December, 1898; they therefore
approached the Government with the object of securing further
legislation in order to get over the difficulty. In this they were
not at the time successful, and the Government declined to remit to
the company the sum due under the guarantee for the half-year ending
December 31, 1898. The funds for the payment of the February and
August, 1898, coupons on the 1889 bonds were sent by the Government
direct to the London and South-Western Bank. The November 1897
drawing and May 1898 coupons on the 1892 bonds, and the July 1898
drawing and February 1899 coupons on the 1889 bonds, were not paid.
1899: On February 8 of this year a further contract was entered
into between the Government and Mr. Kelly, representing the Central
American Public Works Company, of which the following were the
principal provisions: (1) The company was to hand over to the
Government for cancellation the outstanding 1889 and 1892 bonds (in
round figures amounting to £725,000) within six months from the date
of ratification of the contract by Congress. The company might,
however, leave outstanding £60,000 of the bonds if they could not
make delivery of the whole of them, but on these they were to pay on
their own account the same interest (6 per cent.) and amortization
(2 per cent.), as the Government was under obligation to do. (2) The
Government was to pay the company for eighteen years from January
1, 1899, a fixed annual subsidy of £24,000 in lieu of the previous
guarantee, and to hand over all the railways free of charge. The
subsidy was to be secured on 15 per cent. of the import duties, in
respect of which the Government was to issue special Customs notes.
These notes were to be handed to a bank named by the company, who
were to sell them and collect the proceeds.
The railway company engaged themselves to complete the line to the
Capital by June 30, 1900. If the bonds of the external debt were not
handed over within the period stipulated, the Government was to have
the right, subject to existing hypothecations, to take possession of
the railways.
In April, 1899, an agreement was entered into between the Council
of Foreign Bondholders, acting in conjunction with the Committee of
1889 bondholders, and the Central American Public Works Company,
for the transfer to the Salvador Railway Company of the railways
and concessions held by the Works Company, including the subsidy
payable under the contract of February 8, 1899, on such terms as
might be agreed between the Works Company and the railway company.
The railway company were to issue (1) Prior lien debentures to
the amount of £163,000, forming part of a total authorized issue
of £250,000, and bearing 5 per cent. interest and 1 per cent.
accumulative sinking fund, to be applied by purchase or drawings at
par. Such issue to be for the purpose of providing the funds for the
completion of railway, repairs, working capital, and expenses; (2) 5
per cent. mortgage debentures to the amount of £660,000, to provide
for the cancellation of the outstanding bonds of the 1889 and 1892
loans, the debentures of the Public Works Company (£150,000), and
other claims.
These debentures were to be redeemable by an accumulative sinking
fund of 1 per cent. per annum, commencing from August 15, 1906, to
be applied by purchases or drawings, at the price, in the case of
drawings, of £103 for each £100 of debentures. The holders of the
1889 bonds were to receive, in respect of each £100 bond, £100 in
mortgage debentures of the railway company, bearing interest from
August 15, 1899. The 1889 bonds were deposited with the Council
against the issue of negotiable receipts, with two coupons of £2
10s. each attached, payable out of the first two instalments of the
subsidy in respect of the coupons on each bond of £100, due February
15 and August 15, 1899.
This arrangement was accepted by the holders of the bonds of the
1889 and 1892 loans, who by the necessary majorities authorized the
trustees of the loans to release the respective mortgages. It was
also approved by the holders of the debentures of the Public Works
Company, and was duly carried into effect.
STATEMENT OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Year. | Revenue. | Expenditure. | Deficit. |
---------|-----------------|------------------|-----------------|
| $ | $ | $ |
1901 | 7,556,721.56 | 7,284,264.51 | 727,542.95 |
1902 | 6,702,021.70 | 8,459,460.84 | 1,757,439.14 |
1903 | 6,792,045.69 | 7,704,756.34 | 912,710.65 |
1904 | 8,060,689.05 | 8,759,404.63 | 698,715.58 |
1905 | 8,536,443.07 | 10,045,413.03 | 1,508,969.96 |
1906 | 8,484,419.78 | 12,246,825.76 | 3,762,405.98 |
1907 | 8,669,189.12 | 11,389,642.40 | 2,720,453.28 |
1908 | 10,676,338.92 | 12,656,656.61 | 1,980,317.69 |
1909 | 10,776,028.65 | 11,856,002.21 | 1,139,903.56 |
1910 | 10,620,865.57 | 13,027,546.96 | 2,406,681.39 |
---------|-----------------|------------------|-----------------|
| $85,814,833.11 | $103,429,973.49 | $17,615,140.28 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
It will be observed that, while the general revenue of the Republic
had expanded considerably during the past decade, having, indeed,
increased about 50 per cent., the expenditure had, unfortunately,
expanded also, and to a greater degree, leaving an annually
increasing deficit to be met. The reason for this during the latter
few years is clear--the unfortunate political troubles which were
thrust upon the Republic by the acts of certain revolutionists
instigated by the evil genius of Central America, ex-President
J. Santos Zelaya, and which turned what might have been a fairly
profitable period into a disastrous one, from a financial aspect.
Nevertheless, there is no reason to adopt a despairing view of the
Salvadorean national finances, since the resources of the country
are very elastic, and their development is but in its infancy.
It is much to the credit of the Government, both the present and
that which was lately in office, that the situation should have
been so boldly and frankly met, the whole position being explained
and true reasons given. Everyone must think the better of the
authorities for their honesty in dealing with the nation, an honesty
which is, unfortunately, rare, not alone among Latin-American
States, but also among European Governments of much older growth
and wider experience. Don Manuel Lopez Mencia, the ex-Minister of
Finance, who is a thoroughly capable and experienced financier,
fully grasped the necessities of the situation, and before retiring
from office freely criticized his own Department, offering many
valuable and timely suggestions for improving it and for placing the
finances of the country upon a more satisfactory basis. I believe
that the present year (1911) is destined to afford a much more
encouraging condition, and a continuation of the present economical
and severe retrenchment policy in force; the deficit, which has made
an unwelcome appearance in each year's accounts over a period of a
whole decade, will gradually give place to a surplus. Naturally, all
depends upon internal peace being preserved and freedom from foreign
political troubles; both of which, happily, at the time of writing
seem to be well assured.
In regard to the general financial conditions of Salvador, which are
at the present time in a much more satisfactory state, the following
particulars will be of interest:
PUBLIC DEBT.
The composition of the Public Debt on December 31, 1909, stood as
follows:
GOLD LIABILITIES.
$ Gold. $ Gold.
Sundry cash creditors 906,585
Bills payable 363,545
National indemnity bonds 73,656
External loan principal 4,744,000
External loan interest and expenses 3,657,694
--------- 8,401,694
---------
$9,745,480 Gold.
= at 150 premium, $24,363,700 Silver.
SILVER LIABILITIES.
$ Silver.
Sundry creditors 930,550
Salvador bonds (principal and
interest) 3,564,207
Administrative salaries, expenses,
etc. 836,299
Deposits 2,629
Funds to be applied to special purposes 88,022
Various bonds 113,140
------- 5,534,848
----------
Total $29,898,548 Silver.
The Public Debt of the Republic of Salvador on December 31, 1901,
amounted to $10,666,584 (_gold_) = £2,133,517, and $6,207,059
(_silver_) = £517,256. Reduced to the silver unit, the total Debt
amounted to $32,873,520.
The Customs Revenues for 1910 show a small decline over those of
1909, the difference being $3,784.00.
IMPORT DUTIES. EXPORT DUTIES.
Sonsonate $3,522,875.05 $430,359.84
La Unión $1,086,766.03 $114,528.03
La Libertad $554,400.57 $125,926.49
_Import Duties_ at the General _Imports_ at El
Treasury (parcels post) $169,638.59 Triunfo $215,835.19
------------- ------------
Totals[2] $5,333,680.24 $886,649.55
[2] These figures are in Salvadorean pesos=$0.403 U.S. _gold_.
The Government's whole Revenue during the first half of 1910
amounted to $2,972,501 (_gold_), and its expenditure to $2,677,431
(_gold_).
The total import and export duties for the two years 1909 and 1910
are as follows:
1909. 1910.
Imports $4,176,931.56 | Imports $3,745,249.19
Exports $8,481,787.65 | Exports $9,122,295.09
(These figures are in U.S. _gold_ currency.)
BUDGET FOR 1910-11.
The estimates for the financial year 1910-11, approved by the
National Assembly, and published in the _Diario Oficial_ of June 6,
1910,[3] were practically identical with those for the preceding
year.
[3] This volume having to go to press a few weeks before the Return
of 1910 will have been issued, the figures for the preceding year
only are available.
The details are shown below:
ESTIMATES OF REVENUE, 1910-11.
CUSTOMS REVENUE.
_Imports_:
$ Silver.
Import duties 3,100,000
Fiscal tax of 30 per cent. 600,000
Taxes of $3.60, $2.40, and $0.50 gold per 100
kilos 1,952,500
Storage, etc. 285,000
Sundry receipts 148,500
_Exports_:
Coffee export duty of $0.40 gold per 46 kilos 600,000
Coffee export duty of $0.12-1/2 for internal
development in the Capital 75,000
Coffee transit permits 80,175
Tax of $1.50 per 100 kilos in favour of Central
Railway 4,000
Sundry receipts 66,557
INTERNAL REVENUE.
Liquor tax 2,500,000
Stamps and stamped paper 264,500
Internal Excise 126,500
Post-Offices, Telegraphs, and Telephones 270,250
National Printing-Office 25,000
Penitentiaries 30,000
Powder, saltpetre, and cartridges 65,000
Public Registry 38,000
Sundry receipts 88,800
-----------
Total $10,319,782
ESTIMATES OF EXPENDITURE, 1910-11.
$ Silver.
National Assembly 40,980
Presidency of the Republic 41,340
Department of Finance 670,256
" Internal Development 636,800
" Government 1,250,463
" Foreign Affairs 116,080
" Justice 507,192
" Public Instruction 714,652
" Beneficence 529,336
" War and Marine 2,573,510
" Public Credit 3,291,260
-----------
Total $10,371,869
SUMMARY.
Revenue $10,319,782
Expenditure 10,371,869
-----------
Estimated deficit $52,087
In regard to this Estimated Deficit, which in any case is very
small, it is to be mentioned that in November of this year (1911)
an additional export tax upon coffee, of 30 cents (_gold_) per
100 kilogrammes comes into effect, although only for two years,
and it is expected to produce $180,000 (_gold_). This additional
revenue will wipe out the small anticipated deficit, and leave a
considerable surplus, for the present year.
[Illustration: ARTILLERY ON PARADE GROUND, SAN SALVADOR BARRACKS.]
CHAPTER V
Salvador _versus_ Honduras and Nicaragua--Attitude of the
President--Proclamation to the people--Generals Rivas
and Alfaro--Invasion of Salvador--Ignominious retreat of
enemy--Conciliatory conduct of General Figueroa--Character of
Salvadorean people--Treachery of Zelaya.
There is no question that but for the prompt and conciliatory action
of General Figueroa the events which took place in the last months
of 1907 might well have involved the whole of the States of Central
America in a long, serious, and sanguinary conflict. As it was,
sufficient provocation was given to Salvador, whose territory was
invaded, and many of whose citizens were either injured or robbed.
In this month, the invaders who came from Honduras were largely
composed of Honduraneans, Nicaraguans, Salvadorean revolutionists,
and American filibusters, who actually seized the port of Acajutla,
and taking forcible possession of engines and cars belonging to the
Salvador Railway Company, reached as far as the city of Sonsonate.
The invading forces were led by Generals Manuel Rivas and Prudencio
Alfaro, the latter being General Santos Zelaya's candidate for the
Presidency of Salvador.
It was at this time that General Figueroa issued a fervent and
eloquent appeal to the loyalty of his troops and his countrymen.
In exhorting them to deeds of valour, he declared that he himself
would lead his army in defence of the national honour even to
death, and his previous military experience would certainly have
enabled him to have carried them to success. General Figueroa's
"Proclamation to the Salvadorean People" is worth quotation in these
pages, and I therefore give it in full as follows:
"Compatriots: General J. Santos Zelaya, in violation of the
faith imposed in international agreements, has broken his
solemn obligations contracted through the intervention of the
Governments of the United States and Mexico. At daybreak this
morning he surprised the small military force at Acajutla,
and has landed Nicaraguan forces with the object of conquest.
Before this brutal offence which the Nicaraguan Government has
committed against us, we should all, as one man, gather round
the flag of our country and defend it, letting our blood flow
rather than allow it to be stained by the adventurers who,
in an evil hour, seek to defile it. The national honour, the
deeds of our forefathers, the future of our children, and the
lofty legends of our people, cry to us to arise and punish the
insolence of the Nicaraguan President, and to preserve, not only
our military glory and our interests, which recent events in
Honduras have shown to be in danger, but the respect that our
heroic army has inspired whenever it has been called upon in
defence of our country.
"Soldiers: Do not permit the consummation of this insolent
attempt in the annals of an enlightened people which would fill
us with shame and opprobrium, rendering us unworthy to preserve
intact the sacred treasure of our autonomy, the honour of our
victorious banner and our sovereignty. Before permitting the
arms of an audacious adventurer to violate the soil of our
beloved country, whose safeguard is entrusted to the national
army and to your undoubted patriotism, prefer yes, a thousand
times, death with honour on the battle-field, where I will
accompany you even to death.
"I have full confidence in your loyalty and in your military
honour, and I therefore place in your hands the sacred trust of
the national defence.
"Free and heroic peoples never retreat before the enemy, for
they carry in their hearts the conscience of doing their duties
and confidence in the right, which assist all worthy and
independent peoples to repel aggression against their autonomy.
"Salvadoreans: In this movement be assured that I shall save,
untarnished, the honour of the country and the security of your
homes, which are now threatened by the mercenary soldiery of the
Nicaraguan ruler.
"Your chief and friend,
"F. FIGUEROA.
"SAN SALVADOR,
"_June 11, 1907_."
It is satisfactory to know that the Presidential call to arms, in
addition to the strong personal influence which General Figueroa
wielded, shortly afterwards put an end to the trouble that had
threatened at one time to assume the most serious aspects, and to
have involved the whole of the five States in a fierce struggle. Now
that the threatening cloud has been dispersed--it may be hoped for
all time--it is possible to smile at some of the incidents which
have been related in connection with the embroilment. It is, for
instance, related that the invasion of Salvadorean territory, the
first step of which took place in the month of June, 1907, failed of
achievement principally on account of a personal dispute which broke
out between the two Revolutionary Generals, Rivas and Alfaro.
It is alleged that the former, on reaching the town of Sonsonate,
after landing successfully at Acajutla, proceeded to the National
Bank in that town, where he overawed the cashier (not a very
brilliant achievement, since he was only a boy) and raised what is
known as "a forced loan," departing heroically with the sum of
$20,000 in silver, and nobly handing over to the bewildered and
trembling bank official a receipt for that amount signed by himself
as the "General of the new Salvadorean Army." On learning what his
brother-commander had done, Alfaro, it is said, strongly objected
to raising--"stealing," he described it--money in this manner; and
so emphatic was his language, and so indomitable his decision to
have none of it, that General Rivas refused on his part any longer
to act with him, and the two leaders parted there and then, Rivas
proceeding on his way to the Capital at the head of his following,
and Alfaro marching with his to Santa Ana.
Before leaving one another, it was arranged, however, that the
Republic of Salvador should be divided in half, General Rivas to
rule the Eastern zone, with headquarters at San Salvador, and
General Alfaro to rule the Western zone, with headquarters at
Sonsonate. To this proposition General Alfaro also strongly objected
at first, but consented reluctantly later; and while the two future
victors were quarrelling as to what they would do with the territory
which was not yet theirs, a messenger arrived hot-haste from the
Capital with the unpleasant tidings that General Figueroa was coming
in person with a train-load of troops to Sonsonate.
Thereupon followed a hasty and most undignified retreat to Acajutla,
and an eyewitness has left a humorous description of how the
brave invaders, in their desire to get out as soon as possible,
precipitated themselves into small boats, barges, and lighters, or
any kind of thing that floated, making their way to the gunboat
_Momotombo_, up the sides of which they scrambled helter-skelter,
glad enough to be safely off Salvadorean territory and once more on
their way to the refuge of the Nicaraguan port of Corinto.
The gunboat was obliged, as all vessels are, to anchor a half-mile
from the Acajutla pier, men, arms, and ammunition having to be
conveyed over that distance in any kind of boat of which they could
command the use.
At an early period of the invasion it is certain that General
Figueroa had the situation well in hand. He was always popular with
the army, and he likewise possessed the complete confidence of the
Salvadorean people, who felt that in his strong hands the safety of
the Republic lay. Moreover, by his excellent system of organizing
the Intelligence Department of his army, and the care with which he
had selected his officers, General Figueroa was always in complete
possession of the plans and actions of the opposing force; and even
when these latter fatuously supposed that he knew nothing, and
was doing nothing, to check their advance, General Figueroa was
laying his plans with consummate ability, and, as we now know, he
ultimately executed them with complete success.
Dr. Alfaro, who for the nonce had become a "General," was never
an opponent worth much consideration; while General Rivas only
displayed any marked ability when conspiring and organizing foreign
troops, destined to be led to battle, when led at all, by others
than himself. The only man who had any chance of making serious
difficulty, and who might have fostered formidable trouble, was
Barahona, of whose actions and intentions the President was always
fully aware, and who at the psychological moment consigned him to
the security of a prison. And there he kept him until the worst
trouble was over.
The conciliatory measures which were adopted at the beginning by
General Figueroa and his Government were adhered to throughout the
upheaval, and it is only right that impartial history should record
the dignified and sane proceedings which characterized the attitude
of the Republic of Salvador at this period. The views which General
Figueroa entertained and acted upon throughout are clearly reflected
in an official communication addressed to a well-known American,
the then Consul-General for Salvador in the United States. General
Figueroa said:
"Untiring enemies of the peace and repose of our people have
once more endeavoured to create disturbances; for some time past
my Government has received notices of what was transpiring, and
of the progress of the conspiracy, together with considerable
data. This Government did not, however, act hastily, assuming,
rather, an expectative attitude, but nevertheless following
closely the trend of affairs, until the moment had arrived when
active work was to be begun.
"This Government early received advices from various parts of
the country, notifying it of suspicious movements on the part
of the enemies of the Republic. It was also noted that many
of these left the Capital two or three days before for other
towns, and all of them were closely followed. The Government
was prepared for all emergencies; barracks were ready, and
the proper orders given to crush any movements on their part.
Consequently, when numbers of these conspirators formed in
groups around such towns as Sonsonate and Ahuachapán, many were
captured. The Government is now in possession of the persons of
most of the authors of the conspiracy, and the guilty ones are
being proceeded against legally. Fortunately, the trouble has
not interfered with the progress of the country, nor with the
gathering of the coffee crop which is now in progress; while
the Government has received assurances of sympathy and support
from the great majority of law-abiding citizens throughout the
country."
In this reference to the trifling effect occasioned to the coffee
crop by the political disturbances, the President was a little
premature. The subsequent depression which was experienced in
commercial circles generally was undoubtedly occasioned by these
disturbances, although the consequence only proved transient.
All travellers, foreigners and natives alike, who happened to be in
Central America at this time, were well aware of the provocative
part which President Santos Zelaya of Nicaragua was playing; for
many years he had been acting as the evil genius of this Republic,
and his misgovernment and brutalities to his own people met with
general condemnation.
There can be no question that the revolution which was started in
Salvador, but which was so promptly and effectually suppressed, was
promoted by Zelaya, who, rightly or wrongly, imagined that at the
psychological moment he would meet with support, not alone from
Honduras, but from the United States, either directly or indirectly.
There is sufficient evidence on record to prove that Dr. Prudencio
Alfaro, who, since the death of General Regalado during the war with
Guatemala in 1906, had attained some slight popularity in Salvador,
was the instrument through whom General Zelaya hoped, and indeed
endeavoured, to carry out his plans. The conquest of Salvador was
only one of them, since, as I have mentioned in another part of
this volume, it was the ambition of Santos Zelaya to reconstitute a
Federation of the five Central American States, and then to elect
himself first President.
It was with the financial and physical assistance of Zelaya that
Dr. Alfaro engaged the Nicaraguan gunboat to convey him and other
conspirators from Corinto to Acajutla in order to spy out the land,
and to industriously lay the seeds of revolution. It was nothing
to Zelaya that he should allow one of the Government gunboats to
be employed in making warfare against a friendly power, with which
he had signed a treaty of peace only a very few weeks before, or
to supply from the national treasury the funds for letting loose a
horde of armed ruffians upon a neighbour's territory.
I have been shown documentary proofs of the arrangements upon
which Zelaya had been employed for many months previous, and which
provided for the invasion of Salvador at four different points. From
time to time changes were made in the _personnel_ of the Nicaraguan
commanders, but the names upon the lists which were shown to me were
not in all cases the same as those of the men who actually took part
in the abortive invasion.
I remember, for instance, observing the name of General Salvador
Toledo, who had previously been deputed to command the invading
army which was to enter Salvador from Honduras, near the Guatemalan
frontier; and also that of General Estrada, who had been nominated
to strike at the enemy with the Northern forces at the proper time.
This General Estrada had been in command of the Honduranean forces
between Puerto Cortes and the Salvadorean line, and he it was who
numbered among his followers all the scum of the population, mostly
consisting of ex-prisoners and exiles, who were willing enough
to fight against their own country's soldiers, side by side with
Honduraneans.
Another name which was on the officers' list was that of General
Cierra, who was to have entered the Republic of Salvador from the
south, with the intention of capturing the port of La Unión, and of
meeting the forces of Generals Cristales and Presa. According to
the calculations which were then made, it was believed that General
Cierra had only 3,000 men with him.
General Figueroa at this time wisely declared the City of Salvador
"in a state of siege," which is the equivalent of suspension of
political guarantees, to enable summary action to be taken against
political offenders or even suspects; a condition afterwards
extended to the whole country; and his instructions to the Governors
of the several Departments no doubt saved the Central Government
from considerable embarrassment as the result of the rising. Those
who led the insurrection had counted upon receiving support from
the public, which, however, they did not realize, and the lack of
this made the capture of the leaders by the Government troops a
matter of comparative facility. Secondly, much of the inconvenience
which would have followed a general disturbance of the affairs of
the country at that time, and which would have caused both the
Government and the people losses upon coffee shipments, was spared
them, but not altogether obviated.
As we have seen, it was altogether a clumsy attack which had been
planned, and had better local knowledge prevailed it would have been
ascertained that the prestige of the existing Government stood too
high, and the personal popularity of General Figueroa was too great,
to have ever endowed this rising with any great chances of success.
In this connection I think I may well quote an extract from an
official statement which was made in _El Diario de Salvador_, one
of the most powerful papers in the Republic, of which I attach the
following translation:
"In our edition of yesterday we published the decree of the
Supreme Executive power declaring the Republic to be in a state
of siege. According to the terms of this decree, the Government
has been obliged to take extreme measures, owing to the attempt
of its enemies to create a revolutionary movement calculated to
cause a radical change in this Government.