The Washington times., 1902-09-07

II HE news that company has beel
formed in this country to ex.
1 ploit the rubber production o
the district of Acre in Soutl
America connects the world of business
with that of the weirdest and wildes
romance.
Where is Acre. and what is it? II
answer to the latter question, it may b.
answered that it is, or rather was, ;
kingdom of Ruritania. AS for its loca.
tion, which will be looked for in vail
on many maps. it is great triangle
formed by the meeting boundaries o
Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru.
In II are thousands of square mile:
Of rubber forests-no one knows how
many thousands; thousands of square
miles Of jungle-no one knows hov
many; thousands of miles of river that
no one has ascended, and savages tina,
are cannibals.
From the borders of civilization in
South America itself the journey into
Acre is not one of days, but of months
Three governments squabble more or
less constantly over its possession. But
actually the hand of no government has
been strong or far-reaching enough to
rule 1t, except spasmodically and with
little success.
Out of this unknown land there drift
ed the news one day about three years
ago that new republic had been born
to the Americas-the republic of Acre.
Later came an announcement that a
diplomatic representative Of the new sis
ter would start soon to introduce him
self in Washington.
Then followed silence, broken once or
twice with scraps of news of fabulous
wealth in rubber and rare woods. And
then the republic of Acre went up in
smoke.
Who Would Be King?" That mans COM
and told the story of the kingship and
its ending.
The man who would be king of Acre
still has to tell his story. He was a
dreamer, too. And he, too, builded his
kingdom with his two bare hands.
But what kingdom he built and how
gallantly he lorded IL for whilei Three
armies went into the field against him
before he yielded. Three nations tenn
porarily sank their own differences TO
crush him and his newborn power, and
yet he might have defed them yicto-
riously. But, like the heroes of Kip
ling's story. he and his fellow kings of
Acre had within them the elements that
worked for their own undoing.
The king of Acre was Mexican. In
the City of Mexico he earned a preca-
rious living as baseball player. Base
ball was not lucrative in itself, and
rumor says that he was not good ball
tosser anyway.
So he looked around for something
better. 1t was a long look 1t led him
down the isthmus and finally into Bo-
liyia. Heaven only knows by what
chance of fortune he happened to hear
of the wild district lying in that noun
tain-split and river-cut triangle.
At that time Bolivia and Brazil had
both fallen into a temporary state of
over Acre. Latin republics
do things feverishly when they do
them; or, rather, on the outermost |
boundaries of il, there was good deal |
Sometimes Bolivia would mass her |
troops there, sometimes Brazil would |
police the district. and again at times |
Peru would remember that she, too, |
owned part of the country, and there
would be fierce goings on, with tre- 4
shootings and shoutings, and,
happily. little bloodshed, as is the way |
of fighting south of US.
But when the ex-baseball player hap
pened to drop in during the course of
his looking around there was neutrality.
Nobody appeared to care who owned
Acre. or If it was owned at all
Then the man who would be king
got his idea.
He pondered II for brief period. Be
tore long he sought comrades and held
conferences with them.
Birds of a feather were they all