The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1911-09-02
american Grit Necessary
To Win Out In Columbia

Travelling $500 miles over noun
tain ranges. through rough valleys
ard across rougher seas with brok
en- collar bone just in process Of knit
ting and therefore weak. painful and
irritating, Charles J. Elder has arrived
in New York to tell the people here
what wideawake Yankees can do in
Colombia, where he came from. Mr.
Elder, who is manager of Ian Manue
lita Plantation, in the heart of the
Andes, near the town Of Palmira. has
lived in Colombia practically all his
life, though the son of American par
ents, and is therefore well qualified
to speak on the subject nearest his
heart and his pocketbook He is Wis.
iting his parents, Mr.. and Mrs. James
M. Elder, at No. 25l West Ninety.fifth
street, and his brother Phanor j
Elder, a lawyer at No. so William
street, who is also president of the
plantation company.
Mr. Elder was on his way home to
his sugar and coffee plantation when
the pole of his blackboard broke and
the frightened horses ran away The
driver was unable to hold them and
the vehicle upset. MIR. Elder was
thrown to the ground and the driver
fell on him, breaking the colar-bone
With the team righted he had to ride
four hours before the broken bone
Then, as he was coming to New York
he had to wait till the bone had be.
gun to knit, and he started on his
long $500 mile journey with his brok.
en- bone still weak. Most of the way
to Colon, on the Isthmus of Panama
was covered on hummocky roads, by
horseback a part of the distance.
Mr. Elders father was American
Consul to Colombia when the son was
born, and after his term as the repre-
sentative of his country established
the La Manuelita Plantation.
Hauling Machinery Difficult.
In establishing our sugar mills at
Palmira," said Mr.. Elder yesterday
I'VE found that the most serious OBJ
stacle was the transporting of the
machinery from the coast into the in
terror. 1t took us two and half years
to take the heavy machinery over the
mule trains from Buepaventura to
Palmira among the mountains. That
was twenty-one miles by railroad and
ninety miles on mule back. That was
in 1899. Today the distance Is less. In
carting the heavy pieces of machinery
over the mountain ranges we had the
greatest difficulty. The trail led up
zigzag fashion, very steep and narrow
and when we came to turn in the
trail it was necessary to tunnel into
the side of the mountains and drive
the Jokes of oxen with which the
loads were pulled into these tunnels
till the trucks had reached the turn
and then block them, take the cattle
out of the tunnels and haul the loads
on up the other inclines. 1t was slow,
laborious work, and some of our OK
teams had dozen or more Jokes of
oxen and men drivers for each yoke.
We shall never forget our experiences
in going over the passes of the West
ern range of the Andes around To-
cattle of Colombia, from which stock
our oxen were drawn, are very fair
kline, but not big like our American
stock here in the states.
Colombia is wonderful country
in many ways and is we'll worth the
attention of American investors,
though native Colombians are not
friendly to North Americans. Almost
on the equator, many of the yege-
tables and fruits Of temperate elm
ates grow to maturity. Apples and
pears ripen along with sapodillas,
bananas and oranges; wheat, barley,
indian corn and potatoes are pro
duced; beef, lamb and poultry are of
good quality.
In Palmira we have composite
type Of white people, verging on the
Spanish, but, like the people of the
United States, having the blood Of
many races in their veins. The lower
classes are a mixture of Indian and
negro, with a little white blood in
them They dress in tatters, go about
barefooted, and are fair workers for
country where time is of small ac-
count We pay them 40 cents day,