Evening star., 1901-03-19

money Every wage-worker In the tenn
perate zone seems to cherish in his inn1Ost
heart a never-failing desire to some time
remove himself and his belongings from
the region of snow to that of eternal sun
shine. The picture of the tropical hacienda,
with It's wide verandas and big grass ham,
mocks, the never-failing balminess of the
air, the richness of the vegetation. and the
apparently simple ease OF the life led by
it's occupants. is alluring to the most prac-
ticai mind, and when the average toil-worn
worker is assured that by contributing
weekly or monthly proportion of the
possibility, the proposed investment pre-
sents an irresistible claim for attention.
Failure of the Schemes.
Nowhere in the tropical world has such
scheme ever been fulfilled to either the per-
sonal advantage and comfort or the pc
cuniary profit of those who have made the
installment payments. Even on the Pacific
coast. where many thousand acres OF
fruit lands have been sold on the same
plan, the record of achievement and sue
cess is almost nil. If this scheme cannot
be worked to advantage within the bounds
of ones own country, how much more
difficult it must be to make it win three
thousand miles away in a strange and vn-
known land, under a foreign government,
among an alien people speaking an alien
tongue, and where the conditions of soil,
climate, production and market are entirely
If, by several years of investment on the
lnstallment plan wage-earner in the
northern states finally achieved the owner
ship of a small piece of ground in the
tropics on which had been planted, accord
ing to agreement, coffee, rubber, or some
thing else of unknown character, what
would he do with it? 1t would not be
enough to support him in case he desired to
go there to live. and if he did so desire the
fulfllment of the same would probab bly,
bring safety within very brief period,
for life in the tropics Is not all it Is
cracked up to be.
The probabilities are that If such an in
stafment scheme should by any chance
be carried out to fulfillment, which in it
self would be novelty, in the end the
holders Of the small patches of land would
be glad to sell for what they could get
to some company or individual who would
buy out the whole concern.
Glowing Promises as to Coffee.
A word as to the products of the tropics
which are now utilized in these land sales
1t was less than five years ago that cof-
fee plantations had such a boom in the
United States. Hundreds of companies
were organized to buy and develop coffee
lands on the Mexican isthmus. Partner
ships, corporations and installment compa-
MES were to be found everywhere Nearly
every large city in the United States was
the home of one or more of these promis-
ing enterprises. The advance literature of
these companies was the work of genius.
The English language was exhausted in
painting the charms of tropical life, the
advantages of owning tropical home and
the enormous income which was to come
to the resident or nonresident investor
who might trust his fortune to the man.
agement of this or that particular COM
pany i have before me at this moment
the prospectus of one of the most respect
able of these coffee companies. After read
ing several pages of figures and text, in
which are set forth the enormous profits to
be made from the raising of coffee at 20
cents pound, the then prevailing price,
l find the following statement:
IF, through some improbable condition
of the market coffee should go as low as
10 cents pound, which is the lowest point
1t could reach by any possible combination
of circumstances however unfavorabIe, 1t
will be seen by the figures given above
there is still a margin of profit to the pro-
ducer, even at this bedrock price"
In the light of the fact that coffee has
since gone down to 61s or cents pound
on the isthmus, the above statement has
rendered unavailable all of the literature
printed at such great expense less than
five years ago, and there. is consequent
luif in the coffee plantation boom Rubber
is the cry now, and upon this much-talked-
of plant nearly all of the tropical agrcul-
tural companies are basng their appeals
for funds. 1t may be taken for granted
that any statements made as to large num-
bers of rubber trees growing wild upon
land owned by these companies are essen
UdiIy Ialse 1he truth OF the matter lS so
little is known to the possibilities of
starting and bringing to maturity a rubber
plantation that the necessary data is un-
available, even from those most expert in
the business.
Possibilities in Agriculture
While all these things in regard to trop-
ical agriculture are true, it is equally a
matter of fact that there are excellent
possibilities for the investment of capital
in Mexico in the line of agriculture. More
cotton and corn are needed, and in the
raising of these staple articles far more
money is to be made than in the produc-
tion of tropical eccentricities in fruits or
products of any kind There is a vast
amount of land in Mexico favorably sit
uated and tremendously fertile but upon
which water must be placed to overcome
the natural aridity of the atmosphere In
fact, in no country in the world is better
opportunity presented for irrigation farm
ing than in Mexico of today Titles are
good, land is cheap, the laws are favor
able, the government is friendly, it is easy
to do business, markets are excellent
transportation facilities are ample and a
number of plants are already in profitable
operation as evidences of what can be
done. 1t must always be borne in mind
however, that the same industry superyi-
sion, intelligence and conservatism are
necessary to make money in Mexico as In
the United States, and perhaps it should
be said that more of these qualities are
required owing to the different conditions
to be met with, familiarized and overcome
Ii one or more men can command an ade-
quate amount OF capital and desire to in
vest it in Mexican agriculture there is no
reason that the money should not be made
to produce handsome dividends Personal
supervision and good business Judgment
will pull any enterprise through in Mexico
IxTh i- -,T6i asa