The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-09-14

after five years, by planting 200 acres in
grain and "A acres in timber. They also
have free transportation from Buenos Ayres
TO the place of location, exemption from all
taxation for ten years, and the government
viii loan them money, not exceeding s 600,
at per cent. per annum, upon the cultl-
vation of a certain area of land, and the
erection of improvements of a certain value.
As a result of these liberal laws over a
million acres year are added to the agri-
cultural area I'd like for some Of our
Texas mozsbaeks to chew on that fact.
There are It, 200, 900 sheepin the United
States, and 100, 1000 900 in the Argentine
Republic. There are 50,000,000 cattle,
about the same number as in the United
States. More than s50,000,O00 has been
paid for wire fences.
"What becomes of all their cattle 2 |
asked. Have they packing houses 2
Yes" he replied, THE largest in exis
tence The establishment of the Liebig
Beef Extract Co., one of the finest of its
kind in the world, is in the Argentine Re
public. 1t employs capital of $1,000,
900, and for its beef extract alone $500
head of stock day are slaughtered. Then
there is the Great River Platte Company,
besides other biz concerns. Eight thousand
carcasses of frozen beef are shipped every
week to London
Central America is enormously y rich in
natural resources. The principal natural
source of her wealth is her minerals.
/ These are not mined because of lack of
capital and transportation. Gold, silver,
I copper, iron, zinc, opals and coal are plen-
/ tiful The rare woods occupy the second
! place as a source of wealth. There is not
a saw mill in the whole country, and all
sawed lumber now comes from the United
States, although pine forests abound on the
Aguan river The mahogany trees, for
height and thickness, have no rival. An
idea Of the enormous size they sometimes
attain may be had from the statement that
at the lowest part Of a mahogany tree
trunk of IL feet in length had butt meas
urement of 81 square feet. equal to $50
cubic feet, and the piece weighed Il tons
Besides mahogany, Central America con
tains great variety Of all the woods pc
culiar To the tropics They are The rose
wood. lignum vitae, pomegranate, rubber,
sandal wood, cedar, pine, all manner and
kind Of valuable dye woods gum arabic,
the copaiba, liquid amber and many others.
The republic Of Honduras alone places a
value Of $500, ,000, 600 on lis timbers.
The merchants Of the United States
send 10 Brazil and the East Indies for
coffee aud sugar, while on the hillsides Of
Honduras, Gaaicmala, Costa Rica and San
Salvador. many Of the localities less than
weeks travel from st Louis, coffee, ehoc-
olalc and vanilla, no, needed for home con
sumption. are allowed to rot on the ground.
Il vas Genital America sugar cane that
received the irs, prize at the New Orleans
exposition This cane IS 50 prolific that 1t
: cut twice year. and when cultivated Is
only planted about once in twelve years.
And al only a cent and half pound tor
the product. will net sl00 an acre. Cotton
Is there a large tree, growing and bearing
for more than % years.
Saraparilla, quinine, coca, quassia,
liquid amber. castor beans, guaeO, alocs,
belladonna and uumberless medicinal plants,
many Of them unknown in botanical class
iheaiion. abound in the mountains To-
hacca. the cultivation OF which Is only cir
cumscribed by government laws, and which
Is the source Of largest revenue, Is sold
altogether in Europe and being in many
respects superior TO the HAVANA tobacco,
shc demand i always greater than the
supply, aud Il is so cheap that good cigars,
manufactured under the auspices Of the
government, sell Tor a dollar a hundred in
Spanish money equal to about seventy tve
cents Of our currency Mahogany and
India rubber trees abound in all the val
leys. English merchants take rabber IN
exchange for merchandise, allowing 30 10
~ cents Spanish money, for what they sell
in England for - cents, making big profits
at bsth ends :
What docs Central America buy from
usg"
Principally -four, pork, beans, canned
goods, some dry goods, hardware, boots and
shoes aud lager beer. Mos, Of the manu-
factnred articles used ia Central America
are imported from Europe, although the
difference in distance in favor Of the United
States i some 1900 miles American
llour is worth on the Atlantic coast ia Cen
trail America about Sl2 barrel; pork and
hams % to 50 cents a pound, beans, rice
aud Indian corn 10 cents a pound, and
can of american butter brings dollar
pound They buy from Us Just such goods
as they cannot get elsewhere, amounting in
value 10 less than one-half Of what We take
from them. Ii is enough to make enter
prising men weep to see our next door
neighborS going to Europe for everything
they need Instead of buying from US.
Replying to questions as TO the extent
Of foreign business done, and our share OF
it. Mr. Hurley said:
1T Is estimated that the annual imports
of South and Central America are over
Sl5O, 900 600 in value. OF this enormous
amount the United States sell less than
$50 900 900, the remaining S40O 100000
going from England, France and Germany.
The imports of the Argentine Republic
amounted last year to more than $780,
OO0, 900, of which only q per cent. were
from the United States England sold 33
per cent, and France, Germany and Bel
gium the remainder The empire of Brazil
imports annually over 100000, ,OoO worth
of goods, of which the United States sells
only about per cent, while England alone
sells 45 per cent.
| asked Mr. Hurley why it is that we
have so small proportion OF this trade,
1T is due mainly, he said, "to our Yam
kee self-coneeit and hard d-headedness. Our
manufacturers, instead of making the char
acter of their goods and their methods of
packing conform to the needs and wishes
of South and Central American purchasers,
insist that purchasers shall adapt their re-
quirements to the goods as they are made
aud packed, Foreign manufacturers are
wiser. They endeayor to supply what
/ their customers want, instead of demanding
that the customers shall want what they
have got to supply TO illustrate The
custom houses down there have certain pc
culiar rules, and importers, to avoid unne-
cessary annoyance and expense, must have
their goods packed in certain ways, their
sheeting and prints put up in certain
lengths, &c Again, the method of trans
portation is by means of trains of mules.
A mule load is 200 pounds, and goods