The times., 1901-05-06
VENEZUELA A NEW KLONDIKE.
Mr.. LoOmis ON the Resources md
Possibilities of That Country

That Venezuela is new KlOndike, and
without frost. is the declaration of Fran
els b. Loomis. the United States Minis
ter to that country. Mr.. Looms tells of
the great natural wealth of the country
whose asphalt lakes recently promised to
stir mp international troubles. He also
gives some good advice to would-be in
vestors.
Gold and pearls. asphalt and sulphur.
copper and iron, asbestus and petroleum
are some of the things which Mr.. Loomis
says Venezuela abounds In. Nearly all
are worked either by the crudest processes
or under conditions of great disadvantage.
Each offers profitable field for the we'll
informed investor. Upon the matter of
being we'll informed MIR. Loomis lays
stress.
mo American should invest in a foreign
country" Mr.. Loomis says, without a
thorough. accurate. trustworthy knowl-
edge of the property or business into
which he proposes to put his money. In
considering what may be said here or
elsewhere about the resources of foreign
countries, | trust that this piece of ad-
vice may be needed by my countrymen
who are seeking investments abroad"
The richness of the gold fields of Vene-
zuela is indicated by the discovery of the
FL CalIao mine twenty years ago from
which more than $4,000 900 worth of gold
has been taken Mr.. Loomis declares that
it is the firm conviction OF competent en-
gineers and other investigators that as
soon as the world realizes the extent of
the resources OF the mineral fields south
OF the Orinoco River, where gold copper
iron, and other minerals abound there
will be another rush of immigration there
such as marked the development of the
Kondike and South Africa
This gold region he says, does not
attract the placer miner for the reason
that the best deposits are quartz. and for
their reduction an extensive plant is re-,
quired. The region suffers for lack Of
transportation facilities, for although
the gold fields lie not more than 100 miles
from the great Orinoco River, yet every
thing going to or from the mines must
be packed on the backs of donkeys
On the other hand, there is plenty of
water there, and waterfalls are capable
OF being utilized for the production of
power
The vital need of the region is rail-
road connecting 1t with some point on the
Orinoco River" Mr.. Loomis says, land
when this is built probably the long-ex-
pected awakening will take place.
Pearl fisheries carried on in an old
fashioned manner about the island of
Marguerite yield to the fishermen about
100000 a year, and much more to the
dealers who go from Europe to buy the
pearls. There is a remarkably rich de-
posit of Bessemer steel ore on the Orinoco
about seventy-fiVe miles from it's mouth
European capitalists are studying the
possibilities of Venezuela for cattle-rais- !
ing, and others are seeking TO acquire |
large tracts of land for the purpose of |
exploiting the rubber and other growths |
which they contain.
Mr.. Loomis says that the general belief |
that the climate of this part of South !
America is deadly is not well founded. |
BY taking proper precautions. he says. |
it Is possible to escape the nalarial fevers |
of the Orinoco country, and that much of |
the gold region of Venezuela is no more |
than We're large portions of |
the West when settlers first broke it's !
soil.
As to the natives. Mr.. Loomis says they /
have many noteworthy qualities. The |
poems are famed for their honesty. and
robbery and burglary are rarely COM
mitted