The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-09-30
GOOD PLACE ID Farm
And That's About All Porto
Rico Is Good For.
MINE AND FOREST RICHES
Are Hardly to be Reckoned as
Resources.
WINE AND FOREST RICHES

able to find very little foundation for
n. What foundation there is seems to
lie in two directions. One of these ap-
pears IN the old tails OF nearly four hun
dred years ago when the discoveries OF
rhhe island and It's early settlers claimed
the new possessions as a land Of gold
The other appears in the Old saying that
the wish OF the father of the thoughnt. ;"
II there be gold here, il seems very
strange that four hundred years OF hun
ger for the yellow metal should not have
established the fact Of it's presence be-
yond all doubt. Iron is here. and also
copper and galena But until these metals
become less rapidly and less eoonomi-
cally available in scores OF other places
there is little 70 encourage any investment
in their development IN Porto Rico
Still, mining possibilities are always ques-
tons for determination by mining ex-
perts, and valuable properties may even
yet be found to exist on the island
There is little encouragement in timber
There are some fine woods here, but the
commercial supply is very limited. The
area throughout which sucsh woods are
to be found is of comparatively small
acter moderate amount of highly val
liable timebr might be gotten out at
reasonable cost, but the greater portion
of what there is is of mountain growth
and its removal would involve the con-
struction Of roads or logways through a
country which is even rougher than our
southern mountains. Some logs can and
will be taken out at profitable prices.
but there is hadrly enough of timber land
to make any very extensive business.
1t is chiefly to the cultivation Of the
rich and fertile soil of the island that
we must look for its industrial wealth.
There we enter a promising field Sugar,
coffee, and tobacco are now it's principal
products with rum and Porto Rico mo-
lasses as important by-products. At
present sugar-raising is somewhat doubt
full enterprise. The low price of raw sugar
during recent years has caused the sus-
pense of operations on large number
Of plantations in different parts OF the
island The possibility of cane-raising at
profit under the conditions likely 70
be presented by the market for some time
TO come is an open question. How much
might be accomplished by the application
Of thoroughly systematic business meth
DDS upon the plantation, 1 am unable to
say. That does not seem to be a COM
mon practice. It may be that Porto
Rican sugar has seen its best days
There are other lands in which the cane
Is produced with les OF labor and less of
risk than in Porto Rico Here it must be
planted yearly in ground ploughed and
prepared for it. Weather conditions some
times interfere to the serious injury or
loss Of crops Different conditions during
the same year may be presented in diff
ferent parts of the island. There may
be excessive rains or excessive drought in
certain portions, while in other portions
the conditions may be entirely favorable
Many acres of sugar land OF excellent
quality can be bought. Out of some of
them good money could doubtless be made
by the application of good business meth
DDS and the adoption of the best of mod
ern machinery. But the investment is
too speculative for any save those VINO
fully understand the work and who are
possessed Of capital enough for it's sue
cesSful PROSECUTION. The bushes requires
considerable capital, as each plantation
operates its own mill. and an area of
land must be cultivated which will war
rant the erection and operation Of the mill
An economy for all sugar plantations
will be effected by the construction OF an
improved highway system and the intro
ductiOn OF belt-line railroad around the
island, by which the present expensive
system OF hauling the sugar to export
points on the coast would be greatly modi-
fed. There are lines Of business that will
warrant the hauling of product on slow
moving bullock teams over miles of rocks
or through miles of mud. An improve
ment IN transportation facilities may
mean the salvation of many acres of
sugar land.
The Tobacco industry could undoubtedly
be very greatly extended. and I can Sc no
reason why tobacco culture should not
become a very profitable business. The
people Of the island claim that their best
tobacco now goes 20 Cuba where It IS
manufactured and shipped to the United
States a sa high grade Of Cuban pro-
duct. I can see no reason TO believe that
any special effort has been made toward
IN development Of The Porto Rican weed
20 its highest stage OF perfection. and I
can see no reason to doubt that business
and manufacture or this island will some
day make Porto Rican cigars choice
article for the American smoker As Z
IS now We buy here Tor two and a hall
or three dollars a hundred cigars which
average on an equality with those which
retail IN the states at tree for q quarter.
But they are not we'll made OF WE'LL fn-
ished, and the tobacco Itself is but poorly
cultivated an wei satisfied that tslous-
ands Of acres or this rich soil could be
made immensely profitable by the cult
walton OF tobacco for high-grade cigars
Porto Rico now produces some twenty
FIVE 20 thirty thousand tons OF coffee an
uually. Very little % this goes 70 the
United States and fsw % Us have any
idea OF the excellence Of the Porto Rican
product The finest grade il consume
on ne European continent Most OF the
inferior grades are sent % Cuba Euro
pesa prices are about thu same as the
price on the Java article. Tue great ma
jority % the coffee drinkers are content
with the cheaper article whi-1 IS Oh
calnad chiefly from the lowla1ds % South
America Those who are more particular
about their paia-es sip from tbs fragrant
cup a dec0ctlou vaica they firmly believe
has come from the Persian tias OF from
<sr-fanea Java But Mocha" and
lava" ara now ll:.e more .bzn trade
terms for coffee q certain kia5s rather
tnaa to- coffee "a certain l5ealI-les
Most q INA, which v-e drink under .o5ss
very resp~ctab,a Old aides comes % Is
from The mountain districts @. So1ch
America Those vf5 may De al9posaG
% question tbs statement are referred %
e1e castou-hogss reports .5- recez.
years. where thev viii aBd statements 10 I
saox tas quantity vs.ch we have 5ouest