Part 9

The country is retrograding and there is no inducement to capital to revive its exhausted financial condition.

The monetary system is in a hopeless tangle, and is on an inconvertible paper basis, a _gourde_ the unit of value, fluctuating from 20 to 24 cents, U. S. Gold. There has been some talk of placing its finances on a gold basis, but this is visionary. There is one bank—Banque Nationale de la Republique d’Haiti, financed by American money, but it has been closed by the government. No one can authoritatively state with certainty as to the outcome in consequence of this condition of affairs. Credits should be closely watched. Owing to the heavy national debt and the inability of the government to administer its affairs, it is quite possible that the United States will sooner or later be forced to play the rôle it is at present doing in Santo Domingo.

There is a tax for travellers but by arrangement with some of the petty municipal authorities the full sum need not be paid. Samples are supposed to be free.

Haiti may be reached from New York via the Clyde Line (American) which disembarks its passengers in Santo Domingo. Tramp steamers or coasting vessels may there be taken to Haitian ports, or one may go directly by the Royal Dutch West India Mail line sailing twice a month from New York.

The principal cities of Haiti are:

_Population_ Port au Prince 65,000 Jeremie 35,000 Cape Haitien 30,000 Aux Cayes 25,000 Mole St. Nicholas 12,000

XVII PORTO RICO

Porto Rico was discovered by Columbus in 1493, and colonized by Ponce de Leon in 1509. Because the greater percentage of the population of the island speak Spanish and have the traits, desires and inclinations of that race, it may be briefly considered despite the fact that it has been an American possession since 1898. Within another 25 years practically all of its 1,120,000 inhabitants will be able to speak or understand English, which is now taught in all the schools, education being compulsory. A large portion of the population are negroes and mulattoes. There are also many Americans and Europeans.

The island is 100 miles long and 35 wide, containing 2,300,000 acres of which but 24 per cent. is under cultivation. It is extremely mountainous toward the interior, one peak reaching a height of 3700 feet, the lowland on which sugar is cultivated being along the coast. The climate is warm but equable and comfortable, the trade winds moderating any tendency toward excessive heat. Porto Rico is a land of continual summer, and maintains its extreme verdure owing to its rainfall which has an annual average of 77.30 inches.

Porto Rico has about 500 miles of steam railways, and nearly 1000 miles of excellent roads. There are no navigable rivers, but many good harbors.

Its government is under the control of the Insular Board of the United States War Department, a governor being appointed by the President of the United States. The Governor has as Council, six resident American officials, and six natives, who with a House of Delegates of 35 members, constitute the Legislative Assembly, the veto power being held by the Executive; legislation is subject to the final revision of the Congress of the United States. A Resident Commissioner to the United States having a seat in Congress is elected by the people every two years.

Since the yoke of Spain was cast off the island has progressed wonderfully under American management. In 1904 its exports amounted to $16,250,000 and had grown to the enormous sum of $43,000,000 in 1914, while its imports in 1904 were $13,000,000; they had increased in 10 years to $35,500,000. Its development and prosperity have been steadily upward. Owing to the fact that it has free trade with the United States, we do most of its business, last year taking $34,400,000 of its exports and sending it $31,750,000 of its imports.

Its chief exports are:

Sugar (400,000 tons) $28,000,000 Tobacco (170,000,000 cigars, 12,000,000 packs cigarettes) 5,000,000 Coffee (20,000 tons) 7,000,000 Fruits (oranges, pineapples, grape-fruit, cocoanuts) 3,000,000

Porto Rico is essentially an agricultural country and will remain so. Cattle can be raised. There are no mineral resources.

Its requirements are for foodstuffs, flour, meats, tools, fertilizer, oil, machinery, cement, structural iron, vegetables, dried fruits, and fish, cotton goods, shoes, wines and liquors, confectionery, butter, and toilet articles.

United States money is used exclusively, as are also our systems of weights and measures. Direct banking is done with the United States through nine banks in the island.

English is the official tongue, Spanish the popular language.

There are no travelers’ taxes and samples pay no duty.

The following cities are the most important:

_Cities_ _Population_ San Juan 50,000 Ponce 35,000 Mayaguez 17,000 Caguas 11,000 Arecibo 10,000 Fajardo 9,000 Yauco 8,500 Guayama 8,500 Humacao 7,000 Aguadilla 6,000 Cayey 5,000 Coamo 4,000

Thirteen lines of vessels connect this island with the United States, four going direct to New York and providing a semi-weekly mail service. There are also ships to Europe as well as the nearby islands.

XVIII THE GUIANAS: BRITISH, DUTCH AND FRENCH

Most travelers ignore British, Dutch and French Guiana, assuming that climatic conditions are unfavorable and the small size of the population means no demand for goods. The fact is that they are not unhealthful, that their credit is good, their merchants reliable, their purchasing power in proportion to their inhabitants is excellent and especially the Dutch and British colonies are friendly to us and what we produce. They are well worth a visit, and spend annually in the United States jointly about $3,000,000. Furthermore, they are easily accessible from either Trinidad or Barbados.

British Guiana is by far the largest and most prosperous. This entire tract was at one time in the possession of Spain and was under its control until 1624. The Dutch in 1648, after the close of their war with Spain, and through one of their mercantile companies, obtained a trading port in what afterwards became known as Dutch Guiana. Following their move, the English under Sir Walter Raleigh, acquired their present possession, establishing a town now known as Surinam, the English afterwards giving a portion of this territory to the Dutch in exchange for their holdings in North America. About the same time the French established a colony at Cayenne, and later on came near being embroiled in a war with Brazil over the boundary line, which was finally amicably adjusted.

These three European colonies, the only ones by the way, in South America, British Guiana being the most westerly, French Guiana the eastern and Dutch Guiana between the others, have for their northern boundary the Atlantic Ocean. Venezuela is the western neighbor of British Guiana. Brazil touches each of these colonies as their southern border, also forming the western boundary of French Guiana.

The topography of all of these possessions is similar. Toward the interior are mountains whose watershed forms many small rivers and creeks flowing toward the Atlantic. Between the mountains and the ocean are broad fields or savannahs, millions of acres in extent, which gradually terminate in the low lands near the sea. In the highlands and toward the mountains of the interior the climate is spring-like, but it is always very warm along the coast, the temperature being about 80° Fahrenheit, the entire year. There is much rainfall—100 inches being the annual average.

British Guiana covers an area of 90,277 square miles, with a population of about 300,000, composed of about 160,000 coolies, imported by contract from India and under the supervision of the British government, the remainder being white, black and mixed breeds. The native Indians have never been counted owing to the inaccessible location of their settlements. The East Indians were brought for the purpose of working sugar plantations, labor being very scarce. There are also about 5000 Chinese.

Georgetown with 55,000 inhabitants is the capital, the other settlements being Essequibo and Berbice.

The exports which represent the country’s products were in 1913:

Sugar $5,250,000 Rum 1,000,000 Gold 1,400,000 Balata 800,000 Rice 500,000 Diamonds 80,000

Of this the United Kingdom took goods worth $9,300,000 and the United States but $125,000.

During the same period, the imports amounted to $7,750,000, England and her colonies supplying $5,545,000 and the United States $1,800,000.

This colony has about 100 miles of railway, its many rivers and creeks sufficing for its interior transportation.

No traveler’s license is required.

Banking is done through Canada and London; banks in these places having branches in Georgetown and selling exchange on New York. English or American money is used.

Sugar is the great crop here and rum, a byproduct from the sugar cane, the next largest. Cattle might be raised extensively. The forests are rich in cabinet woods. Cocoa, rice, bananas, rubber and cocoanuts could be more extensively grown. There are some gold and a few diamond mines in operation. This colony could be much more highly developed.

The business is almost entirely in the hands of the British, England selling about 65 per cent. of its requirements and the United States 25 per cent.

They import bags and sacks, boots and shoes, flour, corn meal, coal, drugs and medicines, vegetables, hardware, machinery, clothes, textiles, oils, wines and liquors, tobacco, cigars and cigarettes.

Georgetown is the only town to visit, and is best reached by either one of the several steamers sailing from Trinidad or Barbados.

Dutch Guiana, sometimes called Surinam, is 46,060 square miles in area, with a population of 87,500, mostly Indians, negroes and Javanese, who are brought out to work the canefields. The proportion of white is small and they are mostly merchants and government employes.

This country is susceptible of agricultural development, its products and requirements being the same as British Guiana. Paramaribo, with 40,000 inhabitants, is the capital and only town that will repay a visit. This colony is not very progressive, and its trade is decreasing. In 1912 its exports were $3,500,000, mostly sugar, with some cocoa, coffee, balata, gold, bananas and rum, of which Holland took $1,500,000 worth and the United States $900,000.

It imported goods to the value of $3,000,000, Holland supplying $1,700,000 and the United States $700,000.

There are opportunities here but for some reason the colony has been neglected, the capital, Paramaribo, having no modern conveniences, not even a water supply, although it is ideally located for sewerage and aqueducts.

Dutch money is in use, although American and English is accepted. Merchants maintain accounts in New York or Europe for their requirements. Credits are good. English is spoken by all business men.

The Royal Dutch West Indies Mail direct from New York has two sailings a month for this colony. It is also accessible from Trinidad, Curaçao, and Barbados.

French Guiana has 49,000 square miles of territory, with a population of about 13,500, some 8,500 of which are convicts, as this is a penal settlement. Capt. Dreyfus was confined here on Devil’s Island. This is the least developed and less promising of these colonies. There is little agriculture and less cattle raising. Whatever trade there is is controlled by France.

In 1912 the exports were:

Gold $2,000,000 Phosphate 55,000 Balata 20,000 Rosewood oil 46,000 Rosewood 19,000 Cocoa and hide 2,400,000

Most of this was shipped direct to the mother country.

Of the imports of $2,000,000, 70 per cent. came from France, our share being $300,000. It is doubtful if our trade here could be materially increased. Cayenne is the only town to visit, and may be best reached from Trinidad or from the French possession of Martinique or Guadaloupe. French money is in use and while dealers give drafts on Paris or London, most of them having business with New York, do so through some branch of the Credit Lyonnais.

No traveler’s fee is required. French is spoken.

All of these possessions are ruled by officials sent from the motherland for a term of years.

XIX EUROPEAN POSSESSIONS IN THE WEST INDIES

Four European countries, England, France, Holland and Denmark, have possessions in the West Indies. They are readily accessible, cleanly, attractive, hospitable, and will repay a visit both for business and for pleasure. All of them are dependent on the outside world for their staples and food supplies, and to-day are receiving great attention at the hands of the Canadian merchant, who has in many instances supplanted us, especially in such necessities as flour, dried fish, butter, potatoes, onions, cheese and fruits. Their trade is well worth catering to, and much of it can be diverted into American channels. With the exception of Martinique and Guadeloupe, English is spoken universally, even in the Dutch and Danish islands.

The Dutch colony of Curaçao consists of the island of that name, and the adjacent islands of Bonaire, Aruba, St. Eustache, Saba and the southern part of St. Martin, the northern portion belonging to France. These islands are small and situated about 60 miles off the coast of Venezuela to the north, having a total area of 403 square miles, Curaçao being the largest, and about 30 miles long with an area of 210 square miles. They are mostly all of coral formation and cannot raise enough food for the sustenance of their 50,000 inhabitants, 30,000 of whom reside in Curaçao.

Wilhelmstadt with 25,000 is the capital and the residence of the Dutch Governor. It is well equipped for coaling and provisioning ships, being a free port, and as it is in the beaten path of travel from Europe to the Panama Canal its future seems bright.

The inhabitants of these islands are poor whites who have intermarried and a few blacks. Curaçao, however, is the home of many wealthy Jews, whose forefathers were banished from Portugal, these islands having formerly belonged to that country. They are all merchants or traders, owning coasting vessels that ply along the Latin American shores and the other islands. Their credit is good and they are thoroughly up-to-date in their business methods.

While Dutch money is used, American, English, French, German and other currency is received at the current rate of exchange. There are no government banks, but each merchant has credits in the United States or Europe and buys and sells exchange against it.

The total exports of these islands are less than $1,000,000 yearly, $300,000 representing coal brought from the United States and resold to steamers. Many straw hats made from fibre imported from Venezuela and Colombia are exported, the yearly production being about $350,000. Aloes to the extent of $70,000 and dividivi, a dye wood, to the value of $25,000, with hides, skins, and a native lace are the chief exports. Aruba ships some phosphate rock and has one small gold mine in operation. Much smuggling is done into Latin America.

This group imports about $2,000,000, $500,000 coming from the United States, $250,000 from Holland and the remainder from the leading European nations. They require flour, rice, beans, onions, garlic, corn-meal, condensed milk, medicines, oil, candles, tinned foods, soups, hams, cottons, shoes and hardware.

No duty or fees for travelers are charged.

The “Red D” (American) Steamship Line has a ship a week from New York to Curaçao, and the other islands can be reached by coasting boats from this port.

The Danish West Indies consist of three small islands in the Caribbean sea, St. Thomas, St. Croix and St. John, their total area being 138 square miles, with a population of about 25,000, mostly negroes, a few mulattoes and some European officials. St. Thomas, the largest in the group and about 26 miles from Fajardo, Porto Rico, is used as a coaling station for Hamburg-American ships in the Latin American trade. Its imports of $1,000,000 in 1913 are chiefly accounted for by one item—coal from the United States amounting to $550,000. Much bay rum is distilled here. The Panama Canal may revive the trade of this island, owing to its location in the lane of steamship travel.

St. Croix, with 14,000 people in its 81 square miles of area, raises sugar and cotton. They also make considerable rum.

The United States in 1913 exported $600,000 of St. Thomas’s $1,000,000 imports and $550,000 of St. Croix’s $800,000 worth of imports.

No fees are charged in these islands for commercial travelers.

American money is used here as much as Danish. There are no banks, merchants maintaining credits in New York or European markets from the sale of their exports and drawing against them. English is spoken universally.

The Quebec Steamship Company sailing from New York connects with St. Thomas; the other islands being reached by coasting vessels from this point. There are many opportunities from San Juan, Porto Rico, to get to St. Thomas.

These people buy from us coal, food stuffs, flour, dried fish, candles, oil, rice, onions, beans, shoes, clothing, boots, medicines, soaps and other staples.

The French islands in the Caribbean Sea are Martinique and Guadeloupe, and they import their requirements from the mother country, owing to the fact that such goods pay no duties. The town of St. Pierre, Martinique, with its entire population of 70,000 inhabitants was totally destroyed by an eruption from the extinct volcanoe of Mt. Pelee, May 8, 1902. Josephine, the first wife of the Great Napoleon, was born at Fort de France, Martinique.

We sell these colonies some food stuffs, oils and necessities, our yearly sales to Martinique being about $700,000 and to Guadeloupe about $900,000.

Martinique raises sugar and manufactures rum, her sugar production being about $3,000,000 yearly, and her rum export equalling $2,000,000 annually. Guadeloupe exports about $3,000,000 yearly, mostly cocoa, bay leaves, and vanilla beans.

The natives all speak French, and are mostly negroes and half-breeds, with the usual admixture of French officials and soldiers. Guadeloupe has about 1200 square miles and a population of 160,000, while Martinique possesses an area of 380 square miles with about 200,000 inhabitants.

The smaller islands of Marie Galante, St. Barts and half of St. Martins also belong to France and get their supplies from either Martinique or Guadeloupe.

The Quebec Steamship Company maintains a direct service between New York and these islands, connections for the smaller ports being made by coasting vessels. France also has a line of ships from Europe direct.

The British West Indies are made up of the following islands:

Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Turks Island, with Caicos Islands and Caymans; Barbados; the Leeward Islands, consisting of Antigua, St. Kitts, Barbuda, Redonda, Virgin Islands, Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat and Dominica; the Windward Islands comprising Granada, Grenadines, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia; the Bahamas and Bermuda.

Of these islands the population perhaps numbers 1,500,000, mostly blacks, and mulattoes, with a small percentage of white officials and merchants. The larger islands of Jamaica with 900,000 people, Barbados with 200,000 and Trinidad with 300,000 are the only ones worth visiting for business purposes, as merchants in these places have trading connections with residents of the smaller localities. Kingston in Jamaica, Georgetown in Barbados, and Port of Spain in Trinidad are the only large cities, and have good hotels and prosperous business houses.

English is spoken exclusively everywhere and American money accepted at its face value as readily as English currency in all these possessions. The larger islands have branches of Canadian and English banks with direct connection in New York. Credits are good.

In 1913 the exports were as follows:

Trinidad and Tobago $26,000,000 Jamaica and her outlying islands 11,000,000 Barbados 5,000,000 Leeward Islands 2,800,000 Windward Islands 2,900,000 Bahamas 1,300,000 ——————————— $49,000,000

Trinidad, (with Tobago, twenty miles distant), 1754 square miles in area, is perhaps the most important. Of the $26,000,000 it should be noted that $11,000,000 was for coal, trans-shipped and not produced in the country, thereby reducing her actual productive power in money to $15,000,000. Her chief exports were as follows:

Cocoa $7,000,000 Sugar 2,000,000 Asphalt 1,300,000 Petroleum 400,000 Cocoanuts 500,000

in addition to copra, rum and molasses. Of these exports the United States took $7,000,000, France $2,500,000, England $2,400,000, Canada $875,000, and Germany $675,000.

Her imports in 1913 were $13,750,000, England supplying $4,500,000; the United States $4,000,000, Canada, $1,250,000, France $300,000 and Germany $200,000.

Both England and Canada are favored by a preferential tariff.

Jamaica covers an area of 4424 square miles. Its exports in 1913 were $11,000,000 as against $14,000,000 in imports. Her chief exports are:

Bananas $5,000,000 Logwood 850,000 Coffee 750,000 Cocoanuts 650,000 Rum 500,000 Sugar 260,000 Ginger 180,000 Tobacco 180,000

Of these the United States took $6,200,000, Great Britain $2,000,000, France $750,000, Canada $425,000 and Germany $425,000.

Jamaica’s chief export is bananas, almost all of which are taken by the United States, who in return sells her 50 per cent. of her imports, England, Canada and Germany following in the order named with $5,300,000, $1,300,000, and $340,000 respectively to their credit.

Jamaica has no preferential tariff with the United Kingdom and will not have so long as the United States continues to be her best customer.

Barbados’ area of 166 square miles is the most densely populated piece of land in the world, with 200,000 inhabitants. It imported $6,500,000 worth of goods in 1913 and exported $2,600,000. It is a great coaling station for ocean vessels, its trade in this line alone amounting to $2,400,000 last year.

The United States took $330,000 of its production in 1913 and sold it goods to the extent of $1,850,000. England controls most of its trade. Its chief articles of export are sugar, rum and molasses.