Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1902-02-26
POVERTY OF THE TROPICS II
rerythins in tho Hot countrles4s H"' u

IN lHC hot AAH'
tG ful TO Man.
the tropics are really poo III
{natural resources instead OF being ilca
g4st the argument Of DR.. Semelede'' "
EGordoba, Mexico. His arguments are
IEssbecially interesting just roW, "il3h
ESQ much attention is being altf"c'ea
,sfo the hot regions OF the world as
ttsnlaces for exploitation. The DOCTOR
Esin letter to the Medical RECORD
issays:
rs "All men dream Of the marvellous
EIriches of the tropics, Of the birds Win
Erainbow plnn:age. OF the eXtraVagant
sfiowers, OF the elegant treelerns' oI
#the banana and palms, with waving
II leaves, and of the cocca-palm, which
i furnishes nan with everything neceS'
sary for life Indeed we pity MN "ho
Il has never seen a tropical landscape
as we pity him VINO has never seen the
sea Then VIC think Of the enormous
treasures the English, Spanish ana
! Dutch have harvested FROM Their trop.'
sIcal coloaics, and, naturally. we think
slsthat the tropics arc the 'taest re-
4 eions Of the wcy.,i. AL this nay DC
z true, vet. no-arihclras, in another
Il sense, instead Of being rlIh, the trop.
les arc fatally poor. Unable 10 Sc
Ii cure the necccssaTics OF life. the peo-
l pie of tropical countries are like the
man in whose kaud everything turns
aasto gold yet who perishe5 OF hunger
) and thirst.
A "Of all the breadstuffs necessary
4 for man the tropics furnish only corn
q and rice, ami these only to a limited
q extent. They have no wheat, rye, or
4 po.atoes. The banana may be, as
q Humboldt says, 1873 times more pro-
A ductive than wheat, and Al times more
Il 90 than potatoes, Jet it cannot re-
nlace either as food Nor can white
men live for any length of time on
\ ice and corn alone. nor on bananas
B and paln-nuts. Native tropical fooGs
4 can only hold body and soul together,
as they furnish but little vigor, energy,
Z and power. no machine can do GooI
\ work with poor fuel. a man who has
Il neither bread nor meat cannot get
8 life and strength and push from tea,
q coffee, sugar vanilla, and all the pre-
cious spices. Tropical products are
4 merely commercial luXuries and ii the
q inhabitants of cold climes did not buy
u them the people of the tropics would
y. lack trn neces&aries' and comforts OF
life and would yet choke with their
q own riches.
"If we wish to know the effects OF
the poor diet of the tropics combined
i with ths/efGcts of the heat, VIC have
. cnllFto lool; It the Inhabitants OF these
countries. Asa general rule they arc
4 thin, roorjy built, and unfit for intel
4 lectual or physical labor. occaslona:
1 exceptions viii ssoalSlcan firm The Tule gle
8 Even the ;y5ss ion are proslsss,
& are insufficient that The
q least intonerenke with the annual
crops results in famines as is the case
I, in India today. Indeed, India has al
I, ways been the land of fabulous riches
I: of c lew and Of famines of the mil
a lions. Until recently in the colo coull-
q tries there were none Of fabulous
8 wealth and but few faniiEes.
q Everything in hot countries is
a harmful to man; the ground. the wa
81 ter, and the air, swarming with mias-
3 ma and vcrnlin. and with torment and
Il danger. Life is as much torment Is
ga F'aasurn, for whatever makes life
3 worth living is lacking. They depend
4 for indispensable neccssaries upon the
q temperate zones. to which they fur
81 nish only the luEuries.'