The silver lance., 1898-04-29
AstorE Coffee Scheme.

AstOrE Coffee Scheme.
John Jacob Astor is back from Hon
duras with fresh land holding laurels to
boast of.
His family already owns about 745
acres Of real estate in New York city,
which would apparently content the
most ambitious.
But he now adds to this 10000 acres
of the richest coffee, fruit and timber
lands in tho world. Besides this Mr.
Astor runs the custom house.
The Astor properties of Greater New
York are figured at 5l00OO00O0.
The property in Honduras is now
worth S2,0O0,O00. What it will be worth
when it is colonized is something that
| one is afraid to set down in cold figures.
| some idea may he gathered, though,
from the fact that one acre of well kept
| coffee land nets its owner $50 per year.
But it must be remembered that co..
| fee, while the safest and sureot invest
ment, gives by no means the big returns
| that fruit planting or lumber cutting do.
Nor is this all. The syndicate IN
which Mr.. Astor is SO largely interested
has the Honduras railroad in its control.
miles in length, cannot, by running night
| and day, do all the business offered to it.
In the banana business alone it keeps
| three steamships per week running to
New Orleans and two weekly to other
/ ports.
Two hundred d colonists have gone to
Honduras since the syndicate began
| operations last November and every
! steamship coming from New Orleans
now is bringing from twenty five to fifty
| settlers. Most OF them are fruit growers
from Florida. There are lot Of farm
ers from Illinois and ranchers from
| Texas, and group of twenty Cubans
have started a tobacco planting colony.
Honduras is just now the size OF New
| Yora state, and every square foot of the
country is marvelously fertile. New
| York state is not over crowded with
100000 inhabitarts. Honduras has but
/ 100000 population.
| Guatemala is next door to Honduras,
and is in no wise ahead of it in natural
advantages. All that Honduras wanted
4 sary to lift its debt burden. This done
| it will be what the great naturalist and
traveller, Humbolt, prophesied, "the rish-
est country Of its size in the world"
| Aeaia Honduras is very rich in pre-
cious stones and metals, and the 100000
600 acre possession runs through the min
ing districts. When all these things are
| considered and added together it may be
easily seen that Mr.. Astor bids fair to
be the first American billionare.
At Santa Cruz the party visited the
sixty new coffee plantations, all owned by
young Americans. Each plantation has
1 from 10000 to 6OOOO trees, and their
owners will, after the fourth year have
incomes ranging from $500 to $4,000 a
year. Mr.. Astor was especially inter
ested in the coffee plantations, and ques-
toned around until he was thoroughly
well up in the subject. He knows that
coffee made the fortunes Of other Cen
tral American republics, and there is r'
reason why Honduras should not ma se
hers and another one for him out OF it
To clear and prepair and plant an acre
costs about S5. There are four hundred
trees planted to an acre from shoots
These cost about 81 per 100. To keeI
up an acre costs about $3.50 per year
and the cost of picking. packing and
freighting to New York is about cents
per pound.-Son Francisco Examiner