GUATEMALA 419 GUATEMALA coffee, cotton, tobacco, sugar, cochineal, cacao, indigo, vegetables, and tropical fruits in great variety. Fiber plants are numerous, including ramie, henequen, and others. In the altos or mountainous parts of the N. W. considerable flocks of sheep are raised, the wool of which is manufacture 1 into coarse fabrics. There were in 191 J about 1,500 coffee planta- tions under cultivation, producing about 100,000,000 pounds annually. Over 50 per cent, of the coffee plantations of the country were owned by Germans. The yield of sugar, which is next after coffee, the most important product, is about 45,000 pounds annually. Other impor- tant agricultural products are bananas, beans and wheat. The department of Peten is rich in mahogany and dye woods of which there is a considerable trade in the United States. The chicle, or gum industry, also has its center in this province. About 500,000 pounds are obtained annually. Cotton is grown in small quantities. There are deposits of silver, gold, copper, iron, and lead, but these are little developed on account of the lack of transportation. Commerce. — The total imports in 1918 amounted to £1,326,800, and the exports to £2,263,800. The most important im- ports are cotton, foodstuffs, linen, hemp and jute, paper, iron and steel, and leather. The most important exports are coffee, bananas, sugar, hides, timber, and rubber. The greater part of the trade is with the United States. The exports to the United States for the fiscal year 1920 amounted to $16,347,- 595, and the exports from the United States amounted to $10,309,233. In 1919 600 vessels, with about 700,000 tons, entered the ports of the republic. Commvnciations. — The Guatemala railway, 195 miles in length; the Guate- mala Central railway, 139 miles; the Occidental railway, 51 miles; and the Ocos railway, 22 miles, were incorpo- rated in 1912 as the International Rail- way of Central America. The main line extends from Puerto Barrios to Guate- mala City, a distance of about 194 miles, then to San Jose de Guatemala on the Pacific Ocean, a distance of about 75 miles. A further addition to the rail- road was purchased in 1914 and an ex- tension was built in the same year. Ad- ditional railway construction was under way in 1920. There are about 5,000 miles of telegraph wire and about 535 miles of telephone wire. Education. — Education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 to 14. There are about 2,000 government schools, including primary schools, training schools, night schools, and rural schools, and about 60,000 pupils in the elementary schools. The University of Guatemala was estab- lished in 1918. The total expenditure for education is about $160,000 annually. Fiimnce. — The revenue in 1919 was $110,937,325, and the expenditure $77,- 666,023. The external debt was about $7,000,000 and the internal debt $135,- 799,843. Government. — The country is governed under a constitution by which the legis- lative power is vested in a National As- sembly, consisting of representatives chosen by universal suffrage for four years, and a council of state of 13 mem- bers, partly elected by the National Assembly and partly appointed by the president. The president is elected for a term of six years. There are depart- ments of foreign affairs, government and justice, hacienda and public credit, public construction, fomento, and war. History. — Ancient Guatemala was oc- cupied by a race of Indians who had reached a high state of civilization at the time of the early Spanish invaders. It was conquered by Alvarado, a lieu- tenant of Cortez, and until 1824 was under Spanish rule, although independ- ence was declared in 1821. Guatemala was a member of the Central Ameri- can Confederation from 1824 to 1839, and several times since has attempted to bring all the Central American re- publics into a union, but without suc- cess, until 1897, when she signed a treaty of union with Costa Rica, and the Greater Republic of Central Amer- ica, which was, however, soon after dis- solved. Manuel Estrada Cabrera was elected president in 1898. During his adminis- tration much was done to improve edu- cational and economic conditions. He was re-elected in 1905, but shortly after- ward was accused of endeavoring to become dictator and a revolt was organ- ized by General Barillas. This threat- ened to involve all the Central American countries in war, but by the intervention of President Roosevelt and Diaz an armistice was arranged in 1906 which was later incorporated into a treaty be- tween the Central American countries. Guatemala in 1907 joined in the Central American peace conference which pro- vided for a Central American court of justice. Cabrera was elected for a third term in 1910. Difficulties arose with Great Britain in regard to the debt owed to British citizens by Guatemala, and in 1913 the United States undertook to ar- range matters with Great Britain and took over the supervision of the finances of the country. Guatemala broke oflp
