54 1202-60

are better clothed than the Indians or nogas
but actually live in more poorly fashioned
houses--in some cases the contrast between
nicely dressed occupant and horrible-looking
hut is ridiculous.

At Bananera a dark skinned bearer handed
me a note (include) which advised me to go
back to Barrios as the road ahead beyond
zaeapa had been covered with a land slide
and the train would not be able to continue
and there were no accommodations beyond
Bananera. This condition of slide occurs
frequently, sometimes being so inconsiderate
as to cover a train! The unfortunate sit-
uation is that on the other side of the
slide, on its way to Barrios, is $250,000
worth of bananas or 50,000 bunches. The
bananas can only remain one day before they
will be too far gone to be shipped, so it
looks as though the fruit will be checked
out as lost, as they claim it will take five
or six days to clear the track and make
repairs. The insecurity of this railway is
also hurting the United Fruit Company at
Barrios and myself. I can readily see why
prices are so high in Guatemala when 1
realize that this delay is holding up five
ships, and those ships which are discharg-
ing cargo are forced to put the freight on
‘the dock instead of into railway cars, which
means more expense in handling the cargo
twice.

My stay at Bananera was really a
pleasant one (from about 9 a.m. to 4:30
p.m.) and an informative one. I am finding
out more clearly how the United Fruit Com-
pany operates and what a big outfit it
really is. From the color pictures which Il