The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1902-03-15
POVERTY OF THE TROPICS.

Everything in tho Hot Countries IL Harm
full to Man.
That the tropics are really poor in
natural resources instead of being rich
Is the argument of DR.. Semeleder. OF
Cordoba, Mexico. His arguments are
especially interesting just now, when
SO much attention is being attracted
to the hot regions Of the world as
places for exploitation. The doctor,
In a letter to the Medical Record.
says:
All men dream of the marvellous
riches of the tropics, of the birds with
rainbow plumage. Of the extravagant
flowers. of the elegant tree-ferns, OF
the banana and palms. with waving
leaves. and of the. cocoa-palm, which
furnishes man with everything neces-
sary for life. Indeed we pity him who
has never seen tropical landscape,
as we pity him who has never seen the
sea. Then we think Of the enormous
treasures the English, Spanish and
Dutch have harvested from their tropi
cal colonies, and, naturally. we think
that the tropics are the richest re-
gions Of the world. All this may be
true. yet, nevertheless. In another
sense, instead of being rich, the trop
les are fatally poor. Unable to Sc.
cure the neccessaries Of life, the peo
pie of tropical countries are like the
man in whose hand everything turns
to gold, yet who perishes of hunger
and thirst.
"Of all the breadstuffs necessary
for man the tropics furnish only corn
and rice, and these only to limited
extent. They have no wheat, rye, OF
potatoes. The banana may be. al
Humboldt says, 1873 times more pro
ductive than wheat, and A times more
so than potatoes, yet 1t cannot re
place either as food. Nor can white
men live for any length of time OF
rice and corn alone. nor on bananas
and palm-nuts. Native tropical foods
can only hold body and soul together
as they furnish but little vigor, energy
and power. No machine can do goot
work with poor fuel. A man who hat
neither bread nor meat cannot ge
life and strength and push from tea
coffee, sugar, vanilla, and all the pre-
cious spices. Tropical products ars
merely commercial luxuries and II tho
Inhabitants of cold clinics did not buy
them the people Of the tropics wouli
lack the necessaries and comforts o.
life and would yet choke with theil
own riches.
IF we wish to know the effects o.
the poor Diet Of the tropics combine:
with the effects Of the heat. we have
only to look at the Inhabitants Of thes,
countries. Az q general rule they arr
thin. poorly built, and unfit for intel
lectual or physical labor. occasiona
exceptions will only confirm the rule
Even the foods which are produced
are insufficient in amount, so that tn.
least interference with the annua
crops results in faniines. as Is the case
in India today. Indeed. India has al
ways been the land of fabulous richie;
of a few and of famines of the mil
lions. Until recently in the cold coun
tries there were none of fabulou
| wealth and but few famines.
Everything in hot countries Il
harmful to man; the ground. the wa
ter, and the air. swarming with MAS
ma and vermin, and with torment ans
danger. Life is as much torment a.
d pleasure, for whatever makes lif'
| worth living Is lacking. They depent
for Indispensable necessaries upon thu
temperate zones. to which they fur
| nish only the luxuries.'