The money of Honduras is on a silver basis and is subject to all the fluctuations of that metal. Guatemalan and Chilean silver coins are the principal currency in circulation although one bank is authorized to issue paper currency which passes at par with the silver. The silver peso or dollar is the standard. As exchange varies from 215 to 250 per cent it will be seen that its value ranges from about forty to forty-five cents in gold. Even this is better than the paper money of Guatemala.
What shall be done with this great unimproved country? That question is reserved for the future to decide. I believe that the influence of America and Americans will do far more toward the settlement of the turmoil which has been so general in that country and the development of the natural resources than any other one influence. The number of Americans residing in Honduras is increasing each year, and their influence is already being felt wherever they reside. Sometime the people themselves may awaken to the fact that they have been living in poverty with wealth at their very doors. The eastern coast is developing more rapidly than the western because of the nearness to the markets of the United States. Good steamship service is now maintained so that it is only a four or five days’ journey to New Orleans and Mobile. Let Americans waken up to the great possibilities of trade and development that lie at their very door. Let American merchants and manufacturers exploit their goods and secure the trade of this country that is now controlled by British and German merchants. The people generally prefer American goods, but the merchants of this country have never learned the art of dealing with the Spanish-American. It is a situation that must be studied, but success is worth the effort.
“_Adios_,” with the Spaniard means “how do you do,” “good-bye,” and “a pleasant journey to you.”
I close this narrative with this one word to the reader which is greeting, benediction and farewell, all three combined, trusting that our acquaintance has been mutually beneficial.
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THE following table gives the names of the departments in Guatemala, the name of the chief town, or capital, and the number of inhabitants and elevation of that city, the compilation being made from the latest and most reliable statistics available:—