Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1903-12-29
4 land full Of M|SER|ES'
Owing to Revolutions its Re-
sorces are Scarcely Touched.
AREA 473.ooo SO. MILES
Colombia 10 Fertile, and Rich In Min
erals = People Shlftiess = Manana
the Stock Phrase Of the Natives
Their Pride Is Phenomenai-Roads
Of Colombia.


Their Pride Is Observation-Disclosures
Of Colombia.
The republic OF Colombia, like sew
eral others Of the South American
States, is a republic In little more
than name and outward form. When
not in the throes of one Of its period
ic revolutions, 1t Is at the mercy or
q military dictator. It has already had
seven constitutions, and the march
OF political events Is SO rapid that its
own historians can hardly keep pace
with them. Colombian history during
the past eighteen years is character
lied by Senior Morales as one of un-
precedented misgovernment, confu-
sion and tyranny. In form the govern
ment comprises q Senate OF twenty
seven members. q house OF represen-
tatives of sixty-six members elected
by universal male suffrage for terms
of four years, and a president whose
term Of Office is six years.
The operation of universal suffrage
in Colombia is thus described by
Senior Morales: Election day In the
cities and towns OF Importance was
one for the display of power and vio-
lence. The troops garrisoned there,
and the police. from the first hours OF
the day, headed by their chiefs. sur
rounded the election tables and pro-
ceeded to deposit their votes. In that
proceeding they nearly exhausted the
time allotted by the law for the pur-
pose to the citizens; for each soldier
and each police agent voted under
two distinct names and under more ii
necessary. The free citizen who
might venture an effort to break
through that barrier of soldiers to ap-
proach the urn and deposit his vote
was ill-used, beaten, wounded, and
threatened with death by the chiefs
of the forces and the police. Regard
ing the present government, Senior
Morales writes:
"A government de facto rules the
country by the power of its bayonets
backed by no political party"
The area of Colombia, excluding
Panama, the most westerly of the nine
departments into which it was divid-
ed. is estimated at $4,000 square
miles, but several of the boundary
lines are sti1l in dispute and no &C
curate figures are obtainable. The
same uncertainty prevails regarding
the population, which is curiously es-
timated at from 100000 to 6.000,0 900.
The chief cities are Bogota, the capt.
tai. population estimated at 100000;
Barranquilla, the chief port, popula-
ton 10000; Medellin, population 49,
900; Panama, 10000; Cartagena, TO-
600, and Bucaramanga, 10000.
Colombia is fertile, and rich in min
erals, but owing to the shiftless char
acter of the people, and the constant
been scarcely touched.
Immense beds OF good coal are
known to exist in several sections,
and gold. silver, copper, and other
valuable minerals are already mined
to some extent. Along the sea coast
and in the interior valleys tropical
conditions prevail, suitable for the
growth of those agricultural products
requiring great heat and high humid
ity: while on the interior plateaus and
table lands. from 1000 to 5000 feet
above the sea, the products of the
temperate zone can be profitably cul-
tivated.
About half the population of Colon
bia are whites, or half-castes, the re-
mainder being Indians and negroes
negroes in the lowlands and Indians
in the interior mountain regions.
Manana tomorrow Is the stock
phrase of the natives.
THE pride of the Colombian of
pure Spanish descent says Mr..
Scruggs, rs phenomenal, and runs
into strange freaks. If poor. he is a
sort of aristocratic hobo-not asham-
ed to beg, but offended If offered
work, since to accept would be to for
felt his position as a gentleman. With
him there is no such thing as the dig
nifty OF labor. and the gulf between
gentility and honest toll is impassa-
BILE"
In the cities all men of any stand
ing are doctors, generals. or profess
sors. Sunday Is q holiday. occupied
with cock fighting. bull fighting, drink
ing, and dancing. Every male smokes,
and many of the ladies. French nov
els furnish the chief literary pabu-
lum. A paper currency of over $780,
100000 pesetas is In circulation, which
has deprecated to one -twenty-fifth OK
its face value. Although the metric
system has been established by law,
the old Spanish weights and measures
ora cfil1 uSad