SALVADOR 



SALVADOR 



Epsom Salts 

 Glauber's Salt 



Medicine and Drugs 

 Seldlltz Powders 



LOCATION MAP 



For colored map, see 



SALVADOR, sahlvadohr', a wildly pic- 

 turesque, tropical count ry, the smallest but 

 most progressive and most densely-populated 

 of Central American republics. With an area 

 of 7,225 square miles, Salvador is one-fifth the 



of the state 

 of Indiana, but 

 its population of 

 1,225,800 in 1914 

 was almost half 

 that of the state 

 named, and aver- 

 aged about 170 to 

 the square mile. 

 Salvador received 

 its name from the 

 Spanish adven- 

 turer, Pedro de 

 Alvarado, who 

 conquered it in 1524. 

 NORTH AMERICA. 



Climate, Land and Products. Along the coast 

 of the republic there is a low plain about fifteen 

 miles wide. This region is known as the hot 

 lands, and is a place subject to fevers. The 

 vegetation there is richly tropical, and balsam 

 from the Balsam Coast, at the west, is an im- 

 portant article of export. 



The interior of the country is rugged a 

 plateau about 2,000 feet above sea level, broken 

 by mountains and volcanic cones, some reach- 

 ing heights of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet. Izalco 

 10 most noted of the volcanoes, and it has 

 been active almost continuously for more than 

 a hundred years. The south-central region 

 around the capital, San Salvador, is especially 

 subject to earthquakes, and that city has been 

 destroyed eleven times by such disturb.! 

 since the middle of the sixteenth century. On 

 tin- table-lands and mountain slopes, however. 

 12 north of the equator, the climate is tem- 

 perate, even and healthful. From May to Oc- 

 tober is the wet season, called winter. From 

 November to April is the dry season or sum- 

 The rainfall is abundant for agricultural 

 purposes, and most of the land is under culti- 

 vation, though primitive methods arc still 

 larg' principal crop is c< 



about $6,500,000 worth is exported yearly. 

 Other important crops are cacao, rubber, to- 

 bacco and sugar. Cotton growing is encouraged 

 by the government through granting bounties 

 on exports. Attempts are being made at wheat 

 cul M\;I firm, and tree planting is encouraged. 



The most fertile and most populous region of 

 Salvador is the magnificent valley of tho 

 Lempa, the chief river of the republic. This 

 river is the largest on the Pacific coast of 

 Central America, and is navigable by small 

 steamers for 100 miles of its 200-mile course. 

 Most of the lakes are of volcanic origin. The 

 principal ones are Guija, which belongs partly 

 to Guatemala, and Ilopango, in south-central 

 Salvador. 



Gold, silver, copper, iron and quicksilver are 

 found, and mining industries are increasing in 

 importance. Flour, indigo, sugar, balsam and 

 rum are manufactured, but there is opportunity 

 for much development. Considering the natu- 

 ral resources, manufacturing industries should 

 in time be very profitable. 



Transportation and Commerce. There are 

 about 2,000 miles of good road in Salvador, and 

 in 1914 there were over 190 miles of narrow- 

 gauge railway. These railways connect the 

 chief ports, Acajutla, La Libertad and La 

 Union, with the chief cities, Santa Ana, San 

 Salvador and San Miguel. La Union, at the 

 southeast, is considered the best harbor in 

 Central America. Trade is chiefly with the 

 United States, Germany and France. Yearly 

 exports in 1913 were valued at over $9,700,000 

 and imports at almost $6,400,000. The opening 

 of the Panama Canal will in all probability ma- 

 terially increase these yearly figures. 



People and Government. Over 770,000 of the 

 inhabitants of Salvador are of mixed white and 

 Indian blood, and are called Ladinos, or Mes- 

 tizos. One-third that number are of pure In- 

 dian blood. So over 1,000,000, or the bulk of 

 the population, are Ladinos and pure Indians, 

 only about 250,000 of the people being foreign- 

 ers. Yet the economic development and sta- 

 bility of the republic are markedly in advance 

 of those of its larger neighbors, with popula- 

 tions very similarly proportioned. 



Education is free and compulsory. In 1913 

 there were over 700 primary schools with an 

 enrolment of over 44,000. There were also 

 twenty-seven higher schools and a national 

 university. Most of the people are Roman 

 Catholics, and Roman Catholicism is the .- 



:.m. hut ether creeds are tolerated. Span- 

 i-li is the official language. 



Under a Constitution adopted in 1824 and 

 frequently modified since that time, executive 

 power is in the hands of a President, elected 

 for four years. Legislative power is in a Con- 

 gress of forty-two Deputies, elected for one 

 year by universal suffrage. The governors of 



