Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1885-08-20
SAN DOMlNGO'S RAILROAD.
Proposing to CoIOnfze the Rich Lands
of the Republicans People Have
Abandoned Politics. and All is
Peace.


Peace.
Very soon, unless several gentlemen
are badly mistaken, says The New
York Sun, San Domingo will have its
FIRST railroad, and the inhabitants will
enjoy the novel sensation of being
walked by a locomotive roaring and
whistling across their land. The idea
of opening UP the resources of the
island by tais means was conceived
by American capitalists over twenty
years ago, and has been revived at va
rlous times since, but 40 energetic
action was taken until three years
ago, when the scheme was taken hold
Of by Alexander Baird, a wealthy
Scotchman, backed by few friends.
Mr.. Baird, who stopped for few days
ia this city on his way to England,
told about the enterprise and how it
was to be carried out.
1.-THE idea always was" said he, ''to
run the road from SANTANA bay up
through La Vega Real, a beautiful
wide valley containing the richest
land in San Domingo. But at the
end of the bay the land is low and
swampy, and it was necessary, first of
all, to construct the road over a vile
marsh nine miles across, over which
a cat could scarcely walk without
sinking. 1t was this difficulty, which
had to be overcome at the very outset
of the undertaking, that discouraged
those who went into it and prevented
the success of the plans. But we are
aow beyond that spot, and have got
forty miles of line graded, and see no
reason why we should not succeed
Our plans all come from America, to
which the commerce of the country
naturally belongs, the only thing that
we bring from England being the
steel rails. By spring we hope to have
Concepcione, an island town sixty five
miles up the valley. From there we
shall rush the road to Moda, and
thence to Santiago de los Cabelleros,
where the line will end. The total
length of the railroad will be about
SO miles. 1t will have a single track,
and will partly follow the course OF
the Yuma river, which flows through
the valley. When it is finished [ be-
lieve the United States will regret that
they did not annex the country, as
they started to do under Grant. The
valley which is to be oped up to cons
merce is certainly the richest in the
West Indies, and in building the road
we had no thought but for the agri-
cultural resources OF the country. All
this talk about gold and silver and i'm
mense forests of pitch pine is nonsense.
There are no such things on the ISL
and, but there is much better. Even
now that valley exports 5000 tons of
tobacco a year-very vile tobacco, it
is true-most of which goes to Ger
many. But splendid tobacco can be
raised when better facilities are afford
ed, and then great wealth will be de-
rived from the production of cocoa
and sugar cane, to the production of
which the valley is wonderfully well
adapted. The grazing land is fine,
also, and there is no part Of the West
Indies better suited to cattle raising
than the one thousand square miles of
taat valley.
"What do we get for our pains? Oh.
nothiag but the legitimate profit of
the road and whatever we can make
out of the land which we may buy.
There was no such thing as subsidy
to be lobbied for, because there was
no lobby and no government funds.
And although the government is will
ling enough to give grants Of land,
and does give them to anybody that
comes along, the grants are of no
value, as all the land is owned under
old Spanish titles dating from the
time of Charles '. Some persons
complain that there is no government
on the island, and there really is not
very much. But that's just what the
people want, for they are quiet and
peaceable, and don't have SO many
Office holders to keep alive. Property
there is perfectly safe, a great deal |
more SO than 1t is IN Ireland, and even
a few years ago, when the people had |
not yet abandoned their interest in |
politics and used to indulge in about |
two revolutions every three weeks,
the foreigners never suffered, and |
were just as we'll off as though no |
revolution had been going Oh. Just |
now a white man is president, al |
though a black man is just as likely |
to be president next time. The ne
groes vote for white men, and white
men vote for negroes, without a |
thought for the color of the candi-
date, and such a thing as race jeal>
ousy is not even thought Of. The ma
jority OF the working class consists of
a mixture of Spanish and negro blood,
but the cross is not a good one, and |
the men are lazy. The best people on |
the island are the descendants of me-
groes who came from America at the
close of the war. and who still speak |
English with slight dash of Spanish.
They are hard workers, and many of
them are employed by us.
LAS far as the question of health is
concerned, people make great mistake |!
who think of San Domingo as place
like the Isthmus Of Panama, or those
death traps. tits altogether different. |
I live there, and I look all right, don't |
1? Even the turning up of the soil,
as we have been obliged to do, has |