The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-10

almost abandoned now, to open a man ganeee mine. One gold mine is in opera tion, its product C$60,O00 a month) sufic- ing only to demonstrate the latest possi- bilities in that direction. In Chiriqui cat tie and fruit are raised in a desultory fashion. The pearl fisheries yield enor- mously under the most primitive condi- tion of operation; but there the end is reached. t &Fs In all Panama there is not a mill for the grinding of grain, a part of the kitch- en outfit of every home being a mortar and pestle. usually made by hollowing out one end of a short log and rudely fashfoning a club out of one of the hard woods Travel over the 5000 odd miles Of this area. and there is not to be heard the hum of a single sawmill, al- though such woods as lignum vitae, a white wood almost as durable as iron: kokoboia, red wood which takes a pol ish richer than cherry, mahogany or rose wood. or which, by being buried fin the ooze or swamps, quickly becomes per- fectiy ebonized, are available in limit less quantities
 NOT Is there to be found in this land. where travel is principally by boat along the coasts and rivers, a single boatbuild- Ing establishment; cayues-hollowed out or cedar logs and fitted with a small saii ana a paddle-alone are used. There Is one magnificent tannery on the isth. mus. but aside from 1t mechanical labor Is an entire stranger in this section of the universe
 The foregoing may be taken as a fare index to the prospects afforded by, the ftl- ture. Agricultural and mineral develop ment, commercial activity, industrial en- terprise-all walt the touch of genius to be called into being But as a prelude to this development there must come first the real work of the pioneers.
 Work for Pioneers.
 The railroads monopoly of transporta- uon facilities must be desroyed and wag- on roads constructed, so as to make the interior accessible. The destruction of the railroads transportation monopoly Will be easy after the United States ehall nave secured possession of the property; but the building of roads will be a more difficult undertaking.
 In its present native state the land is most repeIling. being a succession of Swamps and jungles. Drainage quickly doess away with the swamps, and by this means thousands of acres now wholly useless can be redeemed for purposes Of cultivation with comparative ease But there remain the jungies. These are nothing more than dense masses of most exaggerated and excessive vegetation rendering survey and construction work almost impossible. The jungles are only penetrable when one takes along a na- five. who. armed with the universal ma chete, cuts a path through the tangle of vines and small shrubery
 For actual road making the difficulties would be infinitely greater, for in felIing trees it is necessary to cut them off in sections at the bottom, the growth of vines through the boughs being so strong and so generous that it is very nearly impossible to drop a tree by cut ting. This pioneer work of clearing is not however. impossible: all it requires is plenty of determination and much hard labor.
 The greatest difficulty about it is that once 1t is done, it has to be frequently done over again unless, by advanced sys- tems Of drainage. the land is completely subjugated. Neglected for a little while the land produces a jungle rivaling the one removed, the quality of the soil. the excessive rain (the average fall Is about 130 inches annually and the perpetual heat from the sun giving to vegetation I that rapidity in growing found only in the tropical countries.
 It is notable, however. that in the case of the few cleared spots where recent att tempts to cultivate bananas have been
 
 ty is experienced in keeping the land clear. This Is due to the attention paid in drainage. and it stands as a fact that once this land is drained and thoroughly redeemed it's equal for richness and pro- ductivity can hardly be found.
 Government to Be Progressive.
 Given roads, drainage and decent meth ods of communication-for the diminu- tive ponies and minute carts now in use in the towns are of little account in con- nection with any interior operations on extensive scale-ali of the possibilities of this land which have recited can be turned to profitable account The policy of the new government towards the con- ceSsiona1res, while not entirely outlined is in the direction of progress. The beef killing concession has already been abro- gated. and in that act Is a great incen- tive for the development of the catle- raising industry on the isthmus. It is commonly believed that other conces- Aons, which being now in the hands of speculators serve only to retard progress will also be vacated. For instance, the concession for mining coal on the Pacific slopes of the isthmian strip is held by one man, who has never made an effort to open a coal mine, and who now holds onto the concession solely because he hopes at sometime or other to be able to unload it on some 0rm or corporation who will turn it to practical account The timber concession is in the same class, and SO are numerous others. The balefulness of recognizing the va l lidity of these grants or of permitting | them to be held solely as q speculation is recognized by the new government, and since a spirit of progress seems to animate those in charge of affairs some thing will almost certainly be done to make the present untamed areas avail able for purposes of cultivation and de- velopment. Just how this end will be ac- complished has not been determined, but | the wealth of the countrys resources Is too well understood. in a vague and in- | definite way, for the new government to countenance a policy of having 1t all locked up under the control of non-enter- prdsing concessionaires.
 A way will, therefore, be found under which the development of the country can not only be permitted, but invited. And when that time comes Americans will be more than welcome. for all that has been done on the isthmus Of q pro gressive nature has been done by Amer deans. It is, to be sure, very nttle' but Panama knows that America pos to convert this land from the jungle it is into the rich area 1t should be, and to raise the whole country from it's pres one of consequence; to employ the na- dow the new republic with prosperity.
 Kind of Americans Needed. That an invitation, couched in the auA amA III.