Francisco Lainfiesta , Secretary of State in the Department of Fomento to the construction of a railroad from Santo Tomas to Guatemala City, August 4, 1883

Decree of the President of Guatemala relating to the construction of a railroad from Santo Tomas to Guatemala City.

Decree No. 297.

I, J. Rufino Barrios, general of division and constitutional President of the Republic of Guatemala, considering:

That the construction of a railway which, starting from the port of Santo Tomas, on the Atlantic, should connect with the line leading to the Pacific, is a work of the greatest importance and transcendency that could be undertaken in favor of the civilization, aggrandization, and wealth of the nation;

That on the opening of that road depend the development of agriculture in the extensive and most fertile lands of the north; the active development of the natural products of all kinds in which they abound; the augmentation of population by the current of immigration from the north, which the very execution of the work would provoke; and finally, the incomparable development of commercial business and of general traffic by way of the territory of the Republic between sea and sea;

That the Government, persuaded of the great necessity of the country for that road, has not ceased to exert itself to furnish it, granting privileges and ample concessions, which, although justified by the importance of the object, would nevertheless entail a costly sacrifice of interests and a quasi dependence of the country on the foreign company that should take charge of accomplishing it;

That, notwithstanding the concessions and privileges which to assure the future of the Republic the Government was disposed to grant, it was not possible to effect a solid and convenient arrangement concerning the construction of said railway;

That by means of the favorable situation reached by the public wealth and the most extensive distribution of it to-day, it is possible to carry into effect the patriotic idea, pleasing to all, of executing the great work of the railroad to the north tional resources; and to execute it, not only without greater burdens or for the contributors, but with positive benefit to themselves or to their inheritors and successors, who would come to enjoy the benefits of the enterprise;

That, apart from this, the Republic would obtain an immense advantage in the simple fact of freeing itself from the necessity of making an outlay four times greater, and of subjecting itself to the most onerous recourse of concessions and privileges if the work had to be done by a foreign company, which consideration should weigh heavily with the patriotism of the Guatemaltecos in support of the national work; and, finally—

That to obtain the necessary funds for the enterprise, a small contingent on the part of the generality of the Guatemalans is sufficient.

Therefore, and in virtue of the faculties with which I am invested, I decree:

• Article I. The railway which is to unite this capital with the port of Santo Tomas on the Atlantic, touching in its course the points most important for commerce and agriculture in the regions of the east and north of the Republic, shall be constructed for the account of the nation.
• Art. II. To that effect an obligatory national tax, reduced to the small amount of $4 per year, shall be levied for the term of ten years, which shall commence to be counted from the 1st of January, 1884, on and which shall be paid by all Guatemalans who by reason of business, wages, salary, or emolument, may have a monthly income of not less than $8.
• Art. III. The payment of the tax shall be made quarterly, $1 being paid in each of the months of March, June, September, and December of each year.
• Art. IV. Every subscriber shall be inscribed immediately in the character of shareholder in the Northern Railway, with a right to the benefits of the enterprise in proportion to the amount of the quota he subscribes.
• Art. V. Every individual subject to the tax, who refuses to pay the obligatory quota, shall be compelled to satisfy it, after the last day of the quarter, with a fine of equal amount, which fine shall enter the treasury of the railroad as an extraordinary receipt in benefit of the enterprise.
• Art. VI. Foreigners resident in the country are permitted to inscribe themselves in the national subscription under the general conditions of the enterprise.
• Art. VII. The rate being $4 per year, exceedingly small for all persons of better resources, who can in proportion easily subscribe larger quotas, they are solicited in the name of patriotism to do so, and to aid in this manner the prompter and better outcome of this grand enterprise.
• Art. VIII. There shall be emitted 300,000 shares to the bearer, of the value of $40 each, in representation of a nominal capital of $12,000,000, which is deemed sufficient for the cost of the work. Said shares shall be divided into ten bills, each one corresponding to one year of the subscription.
• Art. IX. To the end of giving place immediately to the commercial movement of bills becoming due, the Government reserves and destines exclusively from this time all the national lands along the railway, on both sides, and to the extent of one league in width, to be sold only in exchange for railroad bills, and in no manner for cash. In the sale of said lands the Government will receive the bills during the first five years, granting on their value a premium of 25 per cent., and one of 30 per cent, after the said five years.
• Art. X. The shares which the Government may receive by this means shall go to the benefit of the national treasury as product of lands.
• Art. XI. An independent directive committee, composed of three individuals, which shall operate under the inspection of the executive, shall take charge of all concerning the execution of the work of the railroad, with the representation of the enterprise and administration of its funds, commencing its preliminary labors as soon as the citizens forming it have been designated.
• Art. XII. The directive committee shall cause to be published for the information of the public, every four months, a detailed statement of the situation and progress of the labors of the railroad, as well as also the balance of the accounts.
• Art. XIII. The department of fomento is charged with emitting the regulations for organizing the commissions, collectors of the national, subscription, and other dispositions conducing to the execution of this decree.