Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-07-02

sea ride OF two Gays one can go from Lima
to the seaport OF Mollendo and thence by
rail. with the exception of the short ride
across Lake Titicaca. down through Bo-
iivia to the great railroad system Of the
Argentine Republic. The extension will
form a part of the intercontinental railway
and would be great step toward its COM
pletion.
Another road proposed is from Oruro to
Nochanamba, one of our largest cities,
whence an extension might take IL to the
mead waters of the Mamora river another
tributary of the Amazon
The Mamora and the Benz unite to form
ire Madeira Just beyond the boundaries of
Bolivia. This road to Cochabamba would
pass through a rich agricultural country
which is now inaccessible as far as EXPORT
is concerned because of the great cost of
transportation. When il is done we shall
De able to grow our own flour instead Of
importing it. we are now doing from
California and Chile. 1t would also open up
rich mineral deposits"
What Railroads Cost in Bolivia.
What would be the cost of such roads.
Senior Calderon?' / asked
They can be built more cheaply than
is generally supposed" replied the DoIiy
IAN minister. Take the railroad from Lake
lltlcaca TO La Paz, which was laid down
WITHIN the last three or four years That
road was built by the government Presi-
cent Pando originated and completed IT
government road is usually more expen-
siVe than one built by private parties ney-
ertheless President Pando built this out of
tue government revenues at the same time
ne was engaged in the expensive trouble
win brazil The road is just about fifty
niies iohg and its cost was about $1,000 a
mile 1t actually cost 500 900 less than The
engineers estimated il would cost Tba
~, mere Is comparatively level. and
nf a, -.
OF BOLIVIA The road from La Paz TO Or,,ro
goes over similar country and IL couId ha
oullt as cheaply. The other lines proposed
pass through a rougher territory hui M.
might be built a double the cost of ~ i;,,',
from the lake to La Paz and stiIl nav a
big profit" P"3
Inc Mileage of the New System.
How long would the new system he all
'"id' Senior Calderon?" I asked
IL would be I'm the neighLcrhood n, e,..
'uhured miles. | judge about sno blu
.ne,efs. Al cost of $4,000 a mile n ,,,o,,l,
take only $500. 900 to build i; ana " ~.
81 ar coy to put in sI0OoopD witbout
still eiva a system might cost more and
sNe great profit TO the investors II
i HIsh' hc extended If II IS tbougbt -,
w i.dt ne want is a syndicate strong s,,,,,G
Nh eahe ms contract and carry il tbroueb
.netner IL costs twelve million doIiarN 81
twenty million dollars u'iais OF
CT ready to guarantee q ner ca,,, l.,
go = On the additional sum required Whit
coun,. =. may DE: We do this to deyelon Tho
eountry' believing that far more ~ .o
amount we spend will come hack ia 80, -,
Jul ~, material and Industrial growth "a
SuFpose there would be some on,,or
naI $500. ol ne investors outside this origi-
Hti contract. Senior Ca;deron? said 7
Yes, l should say there would 49, 80
9e aoie proht. replied the minister frnm
oh'ia' A construction COMPANY would
the n ~ DE formed to carry out the work of
.lIe parent company. and this comnsny
would probably put in its estiuatnS f
uiluiiis on such basis that there vyo,,Id
oe a pront IN the construction of the roads
hiii,ios Issues; =. there would be enormous posi-
niitieS H. investing in the mines and Other
properties along the roads -
Fortunes in Tin.
What character of mines arc NOV, ,,o,.,,,.-
oest IN Bolivia. Senior Calderono'
The greatest profits are now mado .,
copper ana tin. Our tin mines are of enor-
NOUS value and there are great possibilities
In undeveloped tin. Bolivia is the chic, o.,
country OF the world. 1t supplies more I'm
than any other. ~
Tin mining is different from almost any
other mining. Gold silver iron ara 90,
per can be found almost anywhere h,,
.ih IS comparatively rare / do NOT
hho" or any other region in Sonth
tir ,,.c which produces tin. You have no
TN mines of value in this country. Tn
are some in the Malay peninsula ard
one or two islands Of the Dutch FaSt Irdins
australia and Tasmania also produce small
amounts, but the tin of the world is nou
coming from Bolivia There arc danasi,s
scattered throughout the mountains there
Inoeeo' TN and silver found in a strip
ot country running north and south about
I,oo miles. and east and west no miles
There is some tin along Lake Titicaca cow.
near Oruro. and they are now mining tin in
the silver mountain of Potosi The tin oc-
ou.s III comoinsti lion with some other metal,
Wi
roads Will open up the tin regions and will.
we nope, result in tin ore being shipped
drect from Bolivia to the United States.
HOW do We get our tin now Senior Cal
deron?'
You pay half dozen profits UPON II to
foreign merchants and manufa cturers" was
t tt reply. In the first place. 1t is mined in
Bolivia by foreign capital. carried to the
seacoast upon an English railroad and
thence taken to England or Germany to he
Smelted 1t goes south. about the Strait OF
magellan or Cape Horn. and up across the
Atlantic to the smelling works. From
there it is shipped back over the Atlantic TO
the United States. You are the chief tin
consumers Of the world and you should get
your ore direct. You will surely do so when
the Panama canal is completed"
rs not the silver of Bolivia about mined
out?
No. We have vast quantities of silver
In our mountains, Notwithstanding have
produced a large part OF the silver OF the
world The silver mountain of Potosi.
which will be reached by one OF the branch
es from Oruro. has already yielded almost
k.OO0.u worth of silver. We have other
great silver deposits. but at present silver
Is low and it does not pay to work many of
the mines. The situation is such that tin
mining is almost impossible without large
capital. owing to the cost of getting the
ore out to the railroad When the roads
are built the small miners will make money
and there will be enormous develop
ment."
Bought by an American Syndicate.
How about the copper mines?'
I'VE have some very celebrated ones
Among the best SO far discovered are those
Of Corocoro. the Desaguadero river
The here is soft and ductile that it is
sent to Europe for In making jewelry
and notions. Those mines as rich in
copper Potosi Is in silver. 1t is said that
IN American syndicate has bought them,
and If so IL has very valuable prop
srty. The mines not far from Lake
and they will be tapped by the
'ailroad which we propose to build with
his money from La Paz to Oruro. At pres
ent the copper ore is taken by the river
20 Lake Titicaca and thence sent down the
Andes by railroad to Moliendo.'