The Chief
Executive fell mortally wounded. This cool murderer was condemned to
two years' imprisonment for insulting the President.
In 1900, President Arredondo was assassinated, but the murderer was
acquitted on the ground that "he was interpreting the feelings of the
people."
Uruguay is a progressive republic, with more than a thousand miles of
railway. On these lines the coaches are very palatial. The larger
part of the coach, made to seat fifty-two passengers, is for smokers,
the smaller compartment, accommodating sixteen, is for non-smokers,
thus reversing our own practice. Outside the harbor of the capital a
great sea-wall is being erected, at tremendous cost, to facilitate
shipping, and Uruguay is certainly a country with a great future.
The capital city occupies a commanding position at the mouth of the
great estuary of the Rio de la Plata; its docks are large and modern,
and palatial steamers of the very finest types bring it in daily
communication with Buenos Ayres. The Legislative Palace is one of the
finest government buildings in the world. The great Solis Theatre,
where Patti and Bernhardt have both appeared, covers nearly two acres
of ground, seats three thousand people and cost three million dollars
to build. The sanitary conditions and water supply are so perfect
that fewer people die in this city, in proportion to its size, than
in any other large city of the world.
