The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1898-03-28
MIR. AsFoR's EMPIRE.
John Jncob Practically Controls the
Republic OF Honduras.

John jacob Practically Controls the
Republic OF Honduras.
New York. March 27.-John Jacob As
tor is back from Honduras with fresh
land-holding laurels 10 boast Of
Ills family already own 10 acres Of
real estate in this CITY. which would APP
parently content the most ambitious.
But he now aids % this 59O6a1 acres
of the richest coffee. f~uit and timber
lands in the world. Besides this Mr- IS
tor runs the custom house.
The Astor properties in Greater New
York are figured at 500. J9.g0.
The property n Honduras is worth
now S2.O00O00- What it wiI be NOrtI
when it is cOi3nized Is something that
one is afraid to set down in cold figures
Some idea may be gathered. though
from the fact that one acre # well Eepe
coffee land nets its owner $50 per year
At the figure of a , per cent investment
this would make the value per acre s. G0l
Multiplying this by $4,000 gives the neat
little total OF S1.5l)61.a0
But 1t must be remembered that coffee.
while the safest and surest investment
fruit planting or lumber cutting does
So it is by no means improbable that ths
final fixed value OF the land will be = -sa.-
Coz. 900.
Nor is this all The syndicate ia which
Mr. Aston is so largely interested has thu
Honduras Railroad in it's control. This
road. while now only rOrJy-seyen niles
in length, cannot. by running night and
day. do all the business offered it, In the
banana business alone 1t keeps thres
steamships per week running to New Or
leans and two weekly to other ports.
Two hundred coIonists have gone to
Honduras since the syndicate began Ope- ,
rations last November and every steam
ship from New Orleans now is bringing
from twenty-five 10 dtty settlers Nest
of them are fruit growers from Florida
There are lot OF farmers from Illinois
and ranchers from TeXas and a grOuB
of twenty Cubans have started a Iobacco
planting colony.
Honduras is just about the size of New
York State and every square foot of the
country is marveiously fertile. New York
State is not overcrowded with six million
inhabitants. Honduras has only SiS.eeS
population.
There is right here the best text for a
colonizing sermon
Mr. Astor, when he reached Puerto Cor
tez in his yacht Nourmahal. on February
Il,
He is as good a machinist as il he had
been brought up at the forge. and his
inventions include electric launch, a
road roller and an arrangement for
quickly c0iling fire hose He went up TO
/ the terminus at Potrerilios the first day
and came back on the bicycle inspection
| car. He talked with Chief Engineer
Laclie that night and the result was
| that the present line will be relaid to
/ standard gauge and the plans for the mar
| row gauge extension to Amapala on ths
/ Pacific Coast changed TO correspond.
With the road completed, there viii be a
/ few more millions set 10 Mr. Astor's
/ credit.
Mr.. Astor spent whole day in investi-
eating the customs service. His syndi-
cate controls the whole export and i'm
port business of Honduras BIZ guarantee
ing the government $4,000 a year. The
syndicate has agents in every custom
/ house. spies along the border and reve-
nue. cutters along the coast
/ Since November. when they took con-
| troll, the wholesale smuggling that had
! gone on for years has been stopped. and
\ the duties received jumped in the first
\ month more than $4,000. Just how much
I greater this increased revenue will be
j when the colonization scheme OF the syn
/ dictate gets under way can only be mag
/ ined
On the third day Mr. Astor and his par
| ~ attended the official opening of the
| syndicate's bank. which is started with
capital of S500.eO0. The bank viii have
/ charge of the customs receipts and will
pay of from them. under new bond is
! sue, the debt sadtled Hpgn Honduras By
| lot of foreign sharpers thirty years ago.
| II is this great debt. S25. 0.000, that has
/ kept Honduras undevelOped and so far
| behind her sister republics
| Outside of these special matters, the
| bank will do a general business. That its
/ stockholders are to be counted among the
/ fortunate ones OF the earth may be seen
/ when the fact is known that the state
| ments of Guatemala's six banks Tor the
I last half of 1895 shows on Sl0,0a00e0 capt
tai net earnings of 81. 40. 1860. making an
| annual dividend OF about So per cent
Guatemala is next door 10 Honduras,
I and is in no wise ahead Of il in natural
/ advantages. All that Honduras wanted
was some capital. and the energy neces-
| sary to lift its debt burden. That once
I done and il viii be what the great natu-
/ ralist and traveller. Humboldt. prOphesied,
1.-The richest country Of its size in the
world