No. 200.
Mr. Francis to Mr. Fish.
Athens, May 24, 1873. (Received June 16.)
Sir: I inclose herewith a copy of a note addressed by me to Mr. Delegeorges, the Greek minister of foreign affairs, together with a translation of his reply to the same.
Deeming it desirable to acquaint myself by personal observation with the resources and capacities of the country outside of Athens, on [Page 438] Monday, May 12, I started upon a brief tour in the Morea and the continental provinces. I was accompanied by the Hon. Ellis H. Roberts, a distinguished representative from New York in our American Congress; by my son, Charles S. Francis, and by George Constantine, esq., late United States vice-consul at the Piræus, who served as our interpreter.
The government having been informed of our intention, provided an escort of soldiers, and, by notice to the local authorities, secured a courteous hospitality in every village through which we passed. The escort was furnished not because it was believed brigands would appear on the route, but as a precaution against possible contingencies. As no inns are found in several of the villages, we were necessarily dependent upon the courtesies of citizens, and the local authorities in every instance were gracious and lavish in their attentions. On every hand the expressions of gratitude to the American people for aid and sympathy to the Greeks in the hardships of their revolution were eloquent and heartfelt, and admiration for our institutions and for the grand progress of our country was expressed in simple language without stint. In several cases the men who “ate American bread and wore American clothing” in the Greek revolution gave utterance to their thanks and their prayers for those whose charity had saved their lives and their cause.
The plain of Argos is heavy with crops ready for the sickle of cereals well cultivated and showing good returns to the acre. Between Itea and Chryso, in the ancient Chryssean plain, the olive and the vine are carefully and extensively cultivated, and very large fields of grain invite the husbandman to a remunerative harvest. It is, however, in the extensive plains about Livadia, and thence to Thebes and the vicinity of the ancient Platæa, that the most varied agriculture is exhibited. Since the civil war began in America, cotton has been introduced, and much land is devoted to it, with handsome profits. The staple is coarse and strong, and is in part used at home, while a part is shipped raw or in thread to Marseilles and to England. At Livadia four factories using water-power prepare the thread, six establishments employ the gin, and four presses are maintained. Women, I was informed, earn from 1½ to 2½ drachma a day (26 to 43 cents) for work in the cotton-fields; and men receive 3 drachma (51 cents) a day, besides provisions, in the vineyards. These wages are higher than those paid in the factories. The shepherds are most poorly paid, some receiving only 60 drachma, ($10,) besides provisions, for their care and exposure for the long period of six months.
In this vicinity, as in other parts of Greece, tobacco is an important crop. The large extent of land planted in cereals promises fair crops, although complaint is made of drouth near Cherouea. Everywhere along our path the olive-groves and the vineyards are well advanced and indicate a prosperous season.
In all the villages included in my visit schools are maintained for boys, and the attendance is reported to be cheerful and in goodly numbers. In Livadia a separate school is provided for girls, and even the peasants favor it. In no other village did I find a girls’ school, and only in rare instances are girls, and then only when very young, admitted to the schools provided for boys. Yet a growing interest is expressed in female education, and the prejudice against it is wearing away. On the part of the peasants, objection is yet made that they lose the labor of the girls if they are allowed to attend schools, and education produces unwillingness to work in the fields and to drive the donkeys on the mountains.
[Page 439]The scantiness of population, even in fertile districts, is noteworthy, and the adherence to agricultural implements of the patterns used in the time of Homer. The resources of the country on this route are adequate with improved methods of agriculture to the support of a much greater number of inhabitants. The proposed railroad, to which a concession has already been given, to connect Athens with Lamia, near the Turkish boundary, will pass through the plain of Cheronea and will bring the cotton districts of Livadia into intimate relations with the railroad system of Europe.
The few days which I was able to devote to this investigation have impressed me deeply with the extent of the natural resources of the country, and with the desire and readiness of the people for development.
They seem to be honest and virtuous, and the mountains as well as the plains attest their patient industry. In their character is good ground for hope for the growth and prosperity of Greece.
I am, &c.,