139 / 236
INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONFERENCE.
131
ele referring to the ma.tter, in which both Gt17;man aml bis sou-in-law were severely
handlod. However, as time elapsed the reactiou agaiust tbe dictatortook place, and
tho pre eut incnmbent, Dr. Rojas P<tul, succeecletl to tbc Presideocy. Congress met,
aotlruost of tbe contracta made by General Gnzruan Blanco were disapprover'l, bnt
this particular couccssion for the l\1eri<k road was llOt snbmitted, its snpporters fear–
iug, no doubt, tbat iu the exiAtiug ten11JCr of Congress and ou accouut of tho force of
pul!lic opiuiou it would rucet a lil;:c fate.
Iu the meantime De Morny had formed a eompany in Pari.·, he and bis fatber-in–
law, it is said, beiog heavy stockholders, aud this cowp:u1y contractcd
for
the con-
trnctiou of the road with the Compaguie de Fives-Lille, a French .firm whose opera–
tious exteod over tbe greater part of the ci vilized worltl. This latter cornpany, it
will be uuderstood, are merely tbe constrnctoPS, haviug en<Yaged to builcl the road
for a stipulated surn, aml have notlüng whatever t.o do witr qnestious of conce sions
or ownership.
-
It
will be noted from the foregoiug, however, that the contract is not yet approved,
and if, in February next, when the Veuezuelau Congrecs meet , it should be thrown
out, then the company formed by the Dnke de Morny will be obliged either to sus–
peml operations after haviug already expended a large amonnt of money, or to con–
tiuue at their own risk withont the Governrnent guarauty of 7 per cent, upon outlay,
which is the backbone of the coucession.
Of conr e it is impossible to prophccy what Congres may do, but
it
i certaiu that
if the contract should be approved it will be greatl_y ruodified, as tbe estimated cost
of the road,
aR
accepted by Gnzman Blanco, aud upon which tbe 7 per cent. gnaranty
musli be given by this Government, is scandalously io excess of even the most gener–
ou8 computation,
From tbe very beginning thi8 project has been viewed but coldly by the_Venezue–
lau , and with reason. As tbe traffic between Merida and Maracaibo is comparatively
!n8ignificant, the
forru1~r
city being situated in the poorest part of the Cordillera, it
18 difficult to see how a fair interest aiJove running expenses can pos ibly be obtained
upon the capital inve. ted, aucl for ruauy years, should the concession be tinally ap–
proved, the people of tbis conntry would be taxed to rnaiutain a line which really
ofi'ers but few advaotagos, and tbe whole a,ffa.ir has borne such an nomistakable odor
of a job in favor of the conLractor that the only friends of tbe project are the few who
for various reasons may be directly interested .
.It
is true that a ra.ilway from Lake Maracaibo to tbe rich coffee regions of the Cor–
dlllera i a necessity, bnL ..Merida i8 the worst possible point that could have been
electerl, and the projected road from Sa.n Cri tobal, the seat of one of onr consular
agencies, to which I will bave the honor to refer in a sub equent report, will fill all
the present neecls of the situation.
Notwith8tanding the unpopularity of the Merida contract and its lack of final ap–
prova.l by Congre s, it wa. determinecl to begiu work and trust to tbe influence of
Guzman Blanco to straighten out all difficulties, aml in January la t, as previou
ly
stated, Chief Engiueer Burr arrived as representativo of the con truction company,
antl it is to the result, or rather want of result, of the operatious of tbe past teu
months that I desire to call attention.
These details may not appear of great interest, bnt will be appreciated by railroad
meu at home who may some t.ime be engaged in similar enterpri es in tbi country,
and,_as one of the resnlts of the Pan-American Cong-ress wi.ll be to call particular at–
tenttOu to tbe Soutb American Republics and the tields there olfered for the enterprise
and capital of our people, it seems to be especi:tlly appropriate ju ·t now to explain
clearly the intlnstrial situation.
.
~he
history of the Merida roa.<l, from the beginning of the work up to the pre ent,
lS
stmply a record of mi
stakes in admioi tra.tiou and management.
. The starting-point of r.he railway is at tbe town of Santa Barbara, situated on the
nver E calente, 30 miies from its mouth, which latter is at the 8onthern extremity of
the lake, about
lOO
miles from Maricaibo.
Tbe chief engiueer established bis headquarters in this city, where he has remained
almost constantly, exercising no per onal supervision over the work.
For convenience of nrvey the line was divided into
~wo
bections, the first from
~an~a
Barbara
to
tbe foot of the mountains, and the second from this la.tter point to
rienda•.
The tirst
secti.ou,compri ing an almo t level plain, wa placed in charge of l\Ir. J.
T. McGanran, a well-known New York engineer, and the second under control of
Mr. C. Corner, with a corps of American assistants, The personnel of the staff ap–
feared to leave notbing to be desired, but neverthele s ten months ha'e elap ed a
arge
amon~t
of money has beeu expended, aorl comparatively nothing done. Want
~!
personalmspection on the part of the chief engineer may ha
\'O
been at tbe root of
be
e
~atter, ~
, without IJeing actnally present at time in the tield, it ha natura11y
en Imposs¡ble for him to keep thorooghly posted as to the necessitie of the itua-