CURRENT LITERATURE.

Hokitika Guardian, 28 March 1925, Page 4

CURRENT LITERATURE.

CKXTIUI, AMERICA. .Mr .Worley Roberts, tho well-known novelist, has published little of late years, but be has broken his silence witli “ On the Earthquake Line,” an account of his wanderings in the Central American Republics of Honduras, Guatemala, Salvador, and Nicaragua. .Mr Roberts had friends in the States, who showed hint round, and arranged that ho should see much more than tails to the lot of the ordinary tourist. Consequently, although his sojourn uas only in the space of a winter he travelled far from the beaten track, and bad a great variety of experiences. One always associates Central Emeriea with miasmatic swamps and unpenetrable tropical jungle. .Much of it answers to that description, but the terrain is very diversified. There are towering mountain ranges, desert plains, and bleak uplands, open champaign and rolling Savannah. -Mr Roberts

spent some time on a Nicaraguan estancia: and as lie is familiar villi life on Australian cattle stations and American ranches, lie is able to diau

an interesting comparison. The carrying capacity of the country is decidedly lower than that of the average Australian run. and methods of working much more primitive. In compensation the costs arc exceedingly low. The hands are industrious and tractable, provided that they arc kept away from the “ aguariente,” or white spirit shops. In writing of the Central Americans .Mr Roberts shows a genuine appreciation for their amiable and a goodhumoured toleration for their less admiral.le qualities. "Manana” is the national watchword. An expression he frequently heard during his travels was:—"Everything is ready except the mules.” Exactly. Tho essential was lacking. The phrase applied with equal truth to all forms of transport, whether by train, steamer, launch, or ear. The 'indispensable was always to seek. Even the energetic Anglo-Sax-ons become infected with the prevailing indifference to time. The standard of^niornlity— to use the term in its conventional sense—is not nearly so low as statistics might suggest. Many couples live out of wedlock, and the illigitimacy rate is high. Hut the explanation is simple. The lormnl marriage ceremony is an expensive lux-

ury, to which few peasants can aspire. Life-long alliances are contractoil without its assistance. Political and business morality is very low indeed. Corruption is rampant. The officials are quite inadequately paid, and supplement their miserable pittances bv graft. It is impossible to get anything done save by the greasing of palms. This [Hits the Englishman at a disadvantage. Allrouted at the idea of having to bribe, lie either does so with ill grace or not at all. and suffers accordingly. Rut the American is less unaccustomed to such a state of affairs, and lias fewer scruples. In cun.sequence lie scores. The administration of justice leaves much to be desired. Should a neighbour be robbed lie will be well advised to say nothing about it. If be lays a charge lie is made to feel almost as if lie were the culprit, and is subjected to intolerable expense and inconvenience. Tho longer his pocket, the greater these will bo. A rich gringo is too lucrative a proposition to be let go. A friend ol Mr Roberts bad a r, 11 of cloth stolen from him by an cmplnveo. but. knowing the < omitry, took no notion. Soon, however, the police oniiie to him with the delinquent, whereupon he said tlint he had given the man the cloth. It was quite untrue, but was the easiest way out. The

police were vastly incensed, but were helpless. In these Republics the Government is nominally democratic, but is actually a dictatorship. They copitd their constitutions frdm the 1 uit-ed States, but they "borrowed an engine they cannot work.” In the larger l.'iiii American republics, revolutions arc obsolete: in Ceiilrii! America they are cominen. One occurred indeed in Salvador when the author was there.

Periodically an ambitious citizen with a band of more or less dependable lollowers, seizes the reins oi power by a coup, and bolds them until dispossessed by similar means. The more stable elements in the population ac-

quiesce in his regime, for there is no guarantee 11 1 :it nnviinc else would be better. Jinny of these despots nr.? nhle rulers, but they must be rnreful not to be too good. One who indulges in more oppression than custom allows received a short shrift. Itqually, one j who is animated by excessive reforming zeal, or who attacks vested interests will be displaced. Hut one who avoids either extreme is reasonably secure until with the lapse of time the 1 pendulum swings and the “outs” feel that their turn has com.?. Between the “ins” and the ‘‘(bits” there is no difference in political principle ; the only question is who is to have the spoils of office. The political instability of these regions reflects their natural conditions. The title of the book indicates the physical characterisation of Central America. At any moment the inhabitants may be involved in some terrible cataclysm. a volcanic eruption, or a seismic disturbance. The backbone of the land-bridgo between North and South America is a chain of volcnios, which throws out spurs to either sea. Some of the peaks are active, some quiescent, “smoking their pipe,” and some extinct as far as is known. But who can tell? The eruptions cover the surrounding country with a carpet of cl list or ash, several inches, often several feet, thick. Hventually this improves the soil, hut causes great loss at the time. Karthquakes are common. In 1!)1S (tautemaia city, capital of the Stats'" of that name, and the self-styled Parts of the south, was razed to the ground by one. It has been rebuilt with one-storey houses, and now crunches there with an air of suspense, as though waiting for a repetition of the experience. Scientists affirm that there is no direct connection between volcanic eruptions and earthquakes hut Mr Roberts advances an interesting theory, lie makes a rough estimate of the volume of the dust deposited by a “blow-out” of f'osigujna such and such a depth within such and such a radius of the mountain, and so on. The total is colossal, running into many thousand million tons. He puts it at anything between two and a

half and five cubic miles. AH this matter was thrown up by the volcano, its ejection must have left a huge subterranean chasm. Nature abhors a vacuum. Is it not. possible that the process of adjustment caused some of the subsidences and tremors which are so frequent in this part of the world? To the layman the idea seems plausible.

'Wherever Mr Roberts went lie was impressed with the grip which .America has on Central America. Her influence is great and increasing. Thus, almost the whole coast line, from Honduras to Colombia, is held by an American fruit company, which grows bananas. The Americans are doing excellent work. They have lniilt railroads and hospitals: they are banishing malaria and yellow fever; they brought money into the country, and

lire “cleaning up” generally. The author forsces only one end to this peaceful penetration—lannexatioii, in however disguised a form. Amenta has to he protected. Loans to imimprovident semi-bankrupt States lead to the control of their finances by American offices. This has happened in Cuba, iu Costa Rica, in San Domingo. History is repeating itself elsewhere. The American Minister to one of these Republics said to a friend of 1 author: “I rule this State,” and though the remark was highly indiscreet for a diplomatist to make, there was much truth in it. American marines are permanently stationed m the Nicaraguan capital. In Salvador an American official “supervises the Customs with tact and discretion but also with determination. Mr Roheits mentions a significant incident which occurred while he was in Honduras. Tl, c periodical revolution was in Pi<>„ress. The “Blues” (the “Outs ) had come down in strength and proposed to attack the army ol the "Reds” the on hither side the river at no great distance from the premises „f an American company. One might have imagined that inasmuch as it was their own country they could tight where they pleased as long as they <hd not trespass upon private property, lint the Americans thought differently. Bv a coincidence an American cruiser of the latest type dropped anchor m the roadstead. By a further coincidence several American gunboats suddenly appeared on the scene . Armed detachments were landed. The riva leaders were told, in effect, that .1 they wanted to fight they must do so on the other side of the river. Otherwise and that was all. Obediently, and aponrontly without seeing anything unusual in the situation, the two armies crossed the bridge and set to Ihe ‘“Blues” won, hut asks. Air Roberts pertinently, was not the real victor the United States!-