Evening star., 1902-05-24

to create a neutral zone of three miles on
each side of the canal. This anything
else that is necessary VIII be given, al
though by our constitution We cannot sell
the land to a foreign power. We can,
however, lease it in perpetuity, and this
means the same thing
The Sanitary Situation.
How about the health conditions along
the line of the canal. Senor Corea?' said
L. Can our people live and work there?'
Certainly they can" replied the minis
ter. II have gone over the reports Of your
engineers and surveying parties. They
state that Nicaragua is the healthiest of
all tropical countries and not to be con-
sdered in the same class as Panama. Sur
geOn Bradford. who went over the route
with sixty surveyors and one hundred and
forty Jamaicans and natives in 1887, says
that he did not have one case of-serious
illness in his whole party. He there
in the rainy season and was doing actual
work along the line now proposed. Ad-
miral Walker reports that he had two hum
dred and fifty men with him while he was
making his surveys through the swamps,
and that he had less sickness and malaria
than he would have had had he been run
ming a survey in Virginia al the same sea-
son Of the year 1 can give you similar
quotations from every traveller and engi-
neer who has been over the route. We are
entirely free from the yellow fever and
Americans in Nicaragua.
rs Nicaragua such country that Amer
leans could prosper in it?"
Il think so, without doubt was the re-
ply. "A fit answer to that question is that
many Americans are now doing so. We
have been having quite an immigration
from your country. Three hundred and ff-
teen young Americans came in last month
quiring about the canal and the chances
for securing land near it. Already a num-
Der of plantations have been set out by
Americans who expect to make fortunes
there in raising bananas, pineapples, CO.
Coanuts and rubber"
What are the opportunities for such
men?"
''They are Very great If they can only
wait q while for their crops to come into
bearing. In rubber it takes about seven
years to raise the trees, but after that
time they pay very well. | am interested
in plantation which has 25,0U0 trees.
They are now five years Old, and will
produce rubber about 1904 The trees cost
but trifie to plant and care for We grow
the sprouts in nurseries and have the In
GlanS set them out a twenty-five cents per
task n task means the setting out of a
certain number of trees The Indian NAV
do it in three hours. four hours or eight
hours, but he is paid by the task without
regard to time. After the trees are once
set out they receive but little attention
until they are ready for cropping"
There are good opportunities for making
money in cOcoanuts and bananas, and also
! in coffee. About One-third of our coffee es-
tates are now in the hands of the Germans
but If the United States builds this canal
we expect to see many American planters
come in. We raise a very fine coffee as
good can be raised in any part of the
world, and it brings high prices.
The mineral resources Of Nicaragua are
great continued SenOr Corea. 1--WE have
some very rich gold mines. and We are now
building railroads to open up the mineral
parts of the country. We have also large