Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-12


safer than government bonds. The nuts
are never picked. out as they mature they
drop off. and this ihowe Of fruit goes on
month after month for a lifetime. Bananas,
plneapples. msngoes, plums and oranges
grow without the slightest cultivation.
While cocoanut-growing may have some
Disadvantages not enumerated in the above
prospectus, It is undoubtedly an industry
Of great possibilities. The by-products of
this tropical luxury are used in every con-
ceivable way. Its sap and meat provide
the native with delicious food and drink.
Its dried meat Is called copra. The shells
are valuable as household utensils. and
can be made into many kinds Of
The tree provides lumber for the construc-
ton of houses. and the foliage makes an
excellent roofing. There are eighty-three
this wonderful tree may be put. ranging
from the manufacture Of toothpicks to the
preparation of dye and hair oil.
The custom Of giving concessions. a prac-
tice which recently caused so much trouble
for Mr.. zelaya of Nicaragua, obtains also
in Honduras, though It may not be abused
as 1t was in the n~eighboring state. one
thing the Honduraneans have Ions desired
10 ANYWAY N0HAAAENNApA AAN -
public. with all the enormous national
debt. made to secure a railroad, the capital
city Of Honduras stirI remains without rail-
connections with the seaports and the jour
ney must be made by automobile or other
conveyance. 1t is only in recent years
that even a good public highway has been
open.
The result is that the Honduraneans
will giya a1rnogt anVtbgnn that fe daDnannad
to get a railroad. Recently a concession
Of 1000 acres Of land was made for every
mile Of railroad the concessionarie would
build In one Of the provinces. As the route
for which the concession was granted
presents no serious engineering difficulties,
and the land through which 1t passes is
fine banana land, capable of being made
to yield a profit Of $50 per acre per year,
the concessionarie may secure for himself
a fixed income of 100000 a year for every
mile OF railroad he builds, even though
the line yields him no net profits during
the period ne is allowed to operate it under
the concession.
In another instance a concession of q, 900
acres of banana land was granted to an
American for an annul rental Of less than
5 cents per acre, the concession to last for
a long period. and the concessionaire to
have the privilege of buying the land at
unimproved land prices at the end of that
period. Honduras well realizes that it's con-
cessions are tremendously liberal, and that
they offer opportunities for the making
Of great fortunes, but II also understands
that Americans and Europeans will not in
vest their money in tropical America I'M
less they are assured OF great returns. I'm
limited natural wealth is of no account
unless there is capital to develop 1t.
British Honduras is not associated with
Honduras itself, except in name. 1t was
originally a part Of Guatemala, instead of
Honduras, as the name might imply. 1t is
British territory by reason Of the English
lumbermen who settled there a hundred
years ago. They saw the opportunity to
get themselves under the protection Of the
mother country by claiming the territory
in the name Of the crown, and asserted
Britain's title to 1t before Monroe delivered
his celebrated pronunciamento. The terri
tory extends as far back into Guatemala as
the lumbermen could reach in their quest
for mahogany. Today the section of cOun-
try lying close to the coast has been
stripped Of it's trees, but there are still
plenty of them inland. Belize, the capital
of the colony. continues to be the fore
most mahogany market Of the world. Other
precious woods are shipped in large guam
titles.
Many people have supposed that mahog-
any is a wood of very slow growth and
some OF the best writer's on tropical mat
tiers have accepted this theory. The error
is due to the difference to time in which
the rings on these trees are formed. In
America and Europe one ring a year is
formed and it was naturally presumed that
the same applied to the mahogany tree. AS
o matter of fact 1t adds three rings a year,
and the tree whose rings indicated that 1t
was 100 years old, WAS, as a matter Of
fact, only thirty-three years old. The
high price Of mahogany is due to the in
frequent occurrence Of the tree and the
dangerous swamps in which 1t grows. A
single tree is often worth thousands of
dollars. Most Of the work of cutting,
hewlng and getting the logs to market is
done by night. the heat of the day being
too intense for such operations.
By PREDERIC ]. HASKIN,
Tomorrow-Turbulsnt Central America
Costa Hica,