davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

Roads were laid out, great, winding boule- wards designed, overlooking which were to be chateaus and castles, either replicas or elaborations of the famed ones of pie turesque Europe Silver Lake was to be tapped by underground mains, and the great fountains of Versailles, the won derful fountains of Constantinople the soulptured flower gardens of Berlin, the sunl<en gardens of Rome and the great park scheme of Vienna were all 10 be rivaled in this place of enchantment down New York bay.
 All this thing was to cost some money. Ward put in s500e0 cash. His associates put in $35O,O00 Then they issued some bonds. Those bonds were magnificent. They were of the regular 5000 denomi- nation. Nothing more artistic had come from press up to that time. They were works of art. As such they would sell today at s1 apiece. Just" how many of those bonds were issued there is no rec ord obtainable. For a time they sold pretty well. Thousands and thousands and thousands were disposed of. A lot of real good men went down to Staten Island and bought land for homes and land for speculation. So much attention was diverted to Staten Island that realty values in Manhattan were affected for a time. The whole scheme was on a scale that was superb.
 Ward built a castle for himself-a mag nifcent place. It fronted on what was to he the village of fountains, right there on Richmond Terrace. All the old Staten Islanders remember Wards castle. He christened it with a fancy dress ball that was a glorious event Much as he loved British institutions he took occasion at this time to appear as George Washing ton, and he made up in way that start led the natives Mrs. Alexander Ham ilton. widow of the great federalist, was Martha Washington. good deal of the wealth and fashion of New York was there. Even Philadelphia Camden and Boston were represented. It was the great social funnction of the day and it did a good deal to boost the scheme.
 A little later lots of the New Bright on company sold high as 5000 for plot 20 feet by 100. You could buy the same lots today for less.
 There were any number of persons who thought well of Wards proposition but were coy about putting money into it. All that he and his associatesscould do to win their support was vain as
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

are nine large hanks and they have altogether. cash resources of about s6.- 000,000. while their deposits amount to close to $12,oO0000 Among the banks are two Canadian institutions which have been established since we took over the Island. One is a branch of the Royal bank of Canada, and an other that of the Bank of Nova Scotia The latter was organized in 1910.
 Big Money in Sugar
 All the big industries of the island are growing. Sugar has always paid better than anything else and that is the condition today. In 1910 the value of the crop was more than $23,000, 900, and it represented about 50 per cent of ali tine exports. At that time the island sold enough to give six pounds to, ,ever.' man, woman and child in the United States. with a balance sufficient to fur. nish taffy pulling for millions.
 The sugar plantations form a great necklace running clear around the island. The interior is everywhere mountainous, but there is belt of lowlands along the coast. and this is covered with centralles, as the planta- tons are called. The land here is rich and the climate is perpetual summer The cane grows for 12 months of the
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

it like major. He became partner in
 the house of Low, Hartman & Co.,. the
 Low of that day being one of the an. cestors of Seth Low. who has the dis tinction of having been mayor of Brook lyn and mayor of New York.
 Ward only remained a member Of the firm for a few years but in those
 few years his share of the profits amounted to $100,000. A pretty lively
 boy for society beau was George Ward.
 Like some of the men in business to- day he found time for literary pur- suits. His literary work was labor of love. He wrote volume entitled "Loy- alists of America It was pretty well
 written at that, even if he did make out every one of those old Tories to skipped over everything that was to their discredit and magnifed every thing that showed what martyrs they were to that crack brained, dissolute old fool, George the Third.
 You would not think so, but he made lot of money out of his book There was not Loyalist or a descendant of a Loyalist in New York or its vicinity who did not come running for copy of the "Loyalists" You may find faded, worm eaten volumes today in the libra ries of some New Workers.
 Wards ina agitation had begun to flower while he was making the grand
 tour, and he got out of the firm of Low, Hartman & Go. to give play to his ideas. He was a positive, dogmatic speaker, and fairly persuasive. A great scheme had been incubated in his mind and he placed it before some hard headed, well balanced business men of
 wealth. who saw, or thought they saw possibilities of big profits, and who
 joined him heartily. Such men as George Griswold, Thomas F. Davies. Gardiner G. Rowland and J. L. and $. Joseph
 were his associates in the formation of the New Brighton association.
 When the plan of this association was announced in 1887 the little old town of New York had a sensation on it's hands. The announcement was nothing more or less than that half dozen of the great men of the city had formed an organf- zaton to build rival of New York down the bay. The prestige of the or ganizers was enough to attract lot of fellows and the scheme itself was al- turing enough to catch a good many.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

 appointed that he was not taken into partnership in the new firm, so he left 1t and started rival concern with two oi his friends under the style of Woolsey, Ward & Beach,
 Through the great ability of Ward this house soon took the foremost place. The partners made a lot of money but got to quarreing, and in 1880 the firm was dissolved
 Rich, young and ambitious to see the world Ward then turned his back upon America and went to that dear London.
 He mixed business with pleasure, how ever, for he went as the representative of the great importing and banking house of Oracle, Prime X Co.
 Ward created a sensation in London. They had not had such an exquisite in the foggy old town since the days of Beau Brummel and Beau Nash. There were some radical minded persons over there who did not admire him because he was too darn British but in society and in court circles he was very welcome.
 He was not snob He simply was a supreme egotst. Nothing exemplifies this more than the way he wrote. One choice bit of literature of his to Oracle, Prime x Co. tells of the alarm felt in London just then over the spread across Europe of the plague of cholera. He details with some DnlnuleneSS the ellecI cnOlera IS ndNlnS S upon business and then he closes with the statement that he is not in the least per turbed. "T understand.' says he, that cholera does not touch the higher classes consequently l have no dread of it's ap- proach."
 Immune as he was. he looked on with oomplacencv when the scourge reached London. and as if to verify his idea in the purity of his blood he was not strick- en. He went from London to Paris and from Paris to Berlin. From Berlin he travelled to Geneva. from Geneva to Ven ice, to Constantinope. to Alexandria. Rome and Madrid. He did the grand tour and d little more. He went to the far north, to St Petersburg and across Sweden and Norway, to spread the glad someness of his presence and to see what society looked like in the real high places of every land.
 Then he came back to America. Hs had spent all the money he had accu- mulated through his years with John Hone and as member of the firm of Wool sey. Ward & Beach. He had to buckle down to work for a while and he did
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07
PORTO RICO IN 1912-By Frank G. Carpenter

them being in cities of 10000 or over. The density of population is now S25 per square mile, which is an increase of l7 since 1899.
 Business Is Booming
 The business of the island is growing faster than that of any other of the West Indies, and faster than most parts of the United States. The Porto Ricans used to buy almost altogether of Flu rope. They now trade with us, and we have SS per cent of their commerce. During the past year the foreign trade increased IS per cent or more than $10.- 000,000. The Porto Ricans bought from the United States during that time more than $34.000,000 worth of American goods, and they sold almost that much of their home produce to us. As it is now there are only six or eight countries of the world to which we sell more than We do. to Porto Rico, and these arc the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Belgium, Holland and Italy. The Porto Ricans buy from us more than does either Russia, Spain, Austria, China. Japan or Turkey. Take out the Argentine, and they buy more than all South America. They buy three times as much as the British East Indies, and far more than either Japan or China. Their trade is worth about twice that of Africa and a great deal more than that of the Philippines. Moreover, the business is steadily growing. and it increased more than s7,000,000 in 1910.
 As to the home business of the coun- try, that is exceedingly prosperous. Thirty-two new corporations were or ganized last year and the year before that there were more than a hundred home corporations in existence. with an authorized capital of s22,000,0 900, while the foreign corporations regis tered had an authorized capital Of s30O,000,000, with a paid in capital of over S1S5.000,000. Last year % new foreign corporations were organized and their capital was s11.00O,00O.
 The Wealth of the Porto Ricans
 When l was in Porto Rico the peo- pie were taxed to death. The assess ments were high and everything under the sun had to pay. To day the taxes have been cut down and the assess ments are comparatively low. Never- theless the value of the property has enormously increased. It is now as- sessod at s121, 000,000. and this is esti- mated to be s75.000.000 below the ac- tual value. The per capita wealth of the island is now about s200. or 5000 per family of five Take tropical island where, on the average, if the wealth were divided every family would receive 5000, and you have the conditions us they now are in Porto Rico.
 Nevertheless the public debt is ex- ceedingly small. Further on I shall show you what the people have beer doing in improving their roads, in es tablisbing schools and in other public
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

1t amounted last year to between X, ,OOO, 900 and $6000,000. At the time we took hold of the island the tobacco was cured in open sheds made of poles roofed with fhatch. l saw these sheds lining the hills, and in some places they were so steep that the men had to lean as they hung up the leaves The tobacco was badly cured, and it was so cheap you could buy good cigar for cent. The chewing tobacco used by the natives was sold by the yard. It was cured with rum and molasses and twisted up in ropes about 1000 feet long. and as thick as your finger. A half cents worth of this tobacco would equal the amount con- tained in the ordinary pocket plug of an American chewer.
 Since then tobacco has gone up and science has come in to help raise it. Our department of agriculture has introduced the methods of Cuba. and now a great deal is grown under tents of cheesecloth. This is especially so of the tobaccos which are used for cigar wrappers. In some of the valleys there are so many tents that at distance they seem to be filled with snow The cheesecloth is stretched over poles which uphold a net work of wire about 10 feet from the ground. The people are using fertilizers and they are taking care as to the se- lection of seeds. They pay more for their WOrk m the tactorieS, but wages are far lower than with us. and they make cigars and cigarettes at very high price.
 Money in Cocoanuts and Coffee
 A great deal of money is being made in cocoanuts. Thousands of trees are being planted along the coasts and they bring in on the average sl per tree every year. One man makes s200oo a year out of his cocoanut orchard
 This business is easy The nuts are laid out on the ground and after a short time each sends down a sprout from one of the little eyes at its end. At the same time root shoots out and goes down into the ground and within a few months the sprout grows to the height of your waist. The root can now be broken off. and the nut planted where the tree is to stand. It is set out so as to give almost 200 trees to the acre. and it begins to bear at five years The nuts ripen all the year round. They drop off them selves and the men have only to go daily from tree to tree to pick them up. There is a steady market for them, great quantity being dried for copra.
 Another big crop of the future is coffee. This was formerly one of the chief re- sources of the island. but in 1899 there was terrible hurricane, which uprooted the trees and practically destroyed the plantations. Since then new coffee trees have been set out and the exports last year were over s5,oo0 900 in value. which is about5'five times what they were In 1901.
 Tho best coffee Is raised in the high lands at an elevation of from 1900 to 5000 feet above the sea. The climate is so
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

Copyright, 1911, by Frank G. Carpenter)
 Washington, b. C. VWTHAT is Uncle Sam doing as to M his share of the white mans
 He shouldered it at the close of our war with Spain and he has now been toting it for more than l3 years.
 What have we really accomplished in Porto Rico, Hawaii, Guam and the Phil ippines?
 Have the islands been bettered?
 And what is the present condition of our Little Brown Cousins?
 These are some questions I hope to answer in the short series of letters ol which this is the beginning.
 l know something of all these countries. ] traveled over Porto Rico at the time we took charge, and I went from there across the Pacific to the Philippines ana studied the islands from Iuzon tor Min danao, while they were still under mil itary rule Later on I visited the Sa- means, and later still spent some time in Hawaii I know what the people of these countries were when we took charge or them I want to show you what they arc now. There are men here in Wash ington wlio are just back from handling them, and the bureau of insular affairs receives reports every week as to the existing conditions. l have had access to this information, and the most of 1t comes hot from the tropics.
 Porto Rico in 1912
 This letter is about Porto Rico. That is A peach of an island It is 100 miles long. 36 miles wide and its soil is as fat as the garden of Eden. It has il climate like paradise, and the orange, which many believe was the apple that so tempted Eve, graws there quite as we'll At the time l was in Porto Rico, however the condition of the people was nearer that of hell than of heaven. Thcy were miserably poor. There were 500. GOO of them, and three-fourths were so lean that the bones of their yer tebrae almost sawed through their stonachs. It was then a popular saylng that one-third of the people starved for fully one-third of the year. l found beggars everywhere. and in San Juan, inc capital, Saturday was known as Beggars' day, and at that time the boggars came around in single file to ihe merchants, each of whom put lot of coins worth siX-tenths of cent on his desk. The beggars came in one by one and took one coin only. departing blessing the giver.
 Today the beggars have disappeared, and the governor reports that there is no one without work. The population of 500 900 or a little more has increased to over 1.100,000, and the whole atmos- phere is fnll of prosperity and progress. The cities are growing. san Juan has now 4S,00O. Ponce 35,000, N Mayagues 16,0O0 and Sa gnas 10000, Nevertheless the majority of the people still live out in the country, less than one-tenth of
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

Ward had prepared a head of literature in which his ideas were set forth fully and clearly. though a bit pompously. real estate promoters of vast ina gina tion and great ability New York has produced
 His plan was big enough for any one, and he had the courage to set forth it's virtues no matter who had to be hurt. He believed Manhattan island was not the place for the metropolis. He thought the judgment of the early settlers was bad. He argued, and he argued we'll that the north shore of Staten Island was a far more favorable situation. It was closer to the sea. Tt offered bet ter harbor. 1t gave entrance to the Hud- son and the East rivers It gave bet ter approach to the Jersey waterways, such as the Passaic and the Hackensaci. What was more important, it was nearer to Philadelphia. Land on Manhattan Isl- and cost much. Land on Staten Island was very cheap. On Manhattan Island rich and poor, high class, middle class and low class, were too close for con- fort. This was the result of misdirected growth. On Staten Island an ideal city might be built The hills offered mag ngcent opportunities for the palaces of the wealthy. Strips of low land along the shore could be used for the shops and dwellings of the others The Kill van Kull presented every facility for tho development of a great dockage system large enough for the commerce of the city.
 Ward and his associates felt sure if they could attract enough of the rich men and the influential ones to the project they would within 10 or 12 years build up powerful rival to the big city over the bay. Ward devoted most of his at tention to what was to be the great resi- dental section. a sort of fairyland. While he was abroad he studied the palaces of Europe When he saw what chances Sta ten Island gave for the play of his tal- ents he just turned himself loose. He engaged the foremost landscape gardeners and engineers of the time. All the land on the north shore of the big island was
 laid out so that every beauty spot could be set off to the utmost
 He planned improvements such as no part of the western world had dreamed of having The most elaborate water works system in America was designed.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

hot that the coffee has to be grown un. der shade, and it is growing the shade trees that has caused the delay in the reproduction of the plantations.
 Another difficulty is the rains, which are so frequent that the coffee is liable to be wet when drying. The trays upon which the beans are laid have to be watched. and taken in whenever it rains. They cannot be left out at night on account of the dew. For this reason it costs more to raise coffee in Porto Rico than in Brazil, but the coffee Is far better and it ought to bring al- most double the price of Brazilian cof- fec
 Reclamation in Porto Rico
 What Is doing more fer Porto Rico than anything else is the wonderful system of new roads, which has been built so that nearly every part of the country has easy acess to the see. Of this l will write in another let ter
 Another big public works which has to do with the agricultural wealth of the island is the retaining of some thing like 35,000 acres of land This scheme relates to the southeastern end of Porto Rico where the soil is ex- ceedingly rich. but where, owing to the high mountains at the north, there is q scanty rainfall. The moist winds strike the cold mountains and the ram urops on the northern slopes.
 The average rainfall is only 42 inches, ranging from 20 to 50 inches per year. The land is excellent sugar land and will be worth, If 1t has plenty of water, about $200 per acre. As 1t is now some of it Is planted to sugar. This crop requires abundant moisture and when the rainfall is scanty it fails and millions of dollars are lost
 In order to irrigate this section the insular government has issued bonds to the amount of $3,000.000 and they will probably need s1,00o,000 more pe- fore the work Is completed. Ihe first s3.00o.00 worth. of bonds have been sold, and q large part of tue money has gone into the work The project Is now under the charge of Chief Engineer Beardsley the man who did so much for irrigation in the Philippines. Among the dams he is constructing is one on the Patillas river. which is 132 feet high and 1000 feet long. Another is the Carite dam, which is 105 feet high, and q third. the Guayobal dam, which will be 112 feet high and over 2000 feet long There arc also several great reservoirs and tunnels and all together irrigation works which will compare favorably with some in our arid lands of the west. Engineer Beardsley finds that his men cannot do as much work as those he has em- ployed in the United States, and he att tributes their lack of strength to lack of good food. He is now giving the men three meals a day free of charge. believing that he will be repaid in the additional work done.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

against the one proposition that both- CTS many of the real estate projects around New York today. That is-trans- to or from Staten Island 75 years ago than it is now. The ferryboats of that day had rather wheezy engines. Some times, if the tide and the wind were just right they could get down the bay in an hour and half But again they could not. In times of fog or ice pas sengers were inclined to be profane bit
 Once a party of MT. Wards friends who started gayly off from the Battery for the Staten Island fairyland met ad- verse winds and cross currents and were mighty glad to land on the Brook lyn shore and seek shelter in New Utrecht.
 So much of a joke was made over the plight and the ruined frills and fnery of the ladies of this party that it blighted Mir. Wards mushroom metrop- oils. Within a year after this unfor- tunate episode the United States bank foreclosed a mortgage of $47O,000, and the city that was to rival New York was wiped off the map
 The plans and projects of Mir. George Ward went by the board. The great amount of land that he and his asso-
 
 the shrewd men who tuned up to a small key at that sale got rare bar gains. You will find the ruins of the mansions that they built on the north shore of Staten Island something like what George Ward dreamed of makin g it, not fully, but just enough to sug- gest his residential plan.
 But as his plan was blighted in a day. So was that great row of residential pal aces blighted in day when the Standard Oil camped at Bayonne. across the hills from the sylvan beauties of Staten Is- land
 The collapse of the Staten Island fairy land ruined Ward financially, but he did not lose courage. He went into business in small way and made money again. Somehow he retained his castle and lived there in good style. His mother-fn-law. a remarkable old woman. kept house for him, and Mrs. Hamilton and other great women of the time were visitors.
 The collapse of his great scheme was supposed to have put an end to him as a plunger, and he kept In the background for nearly 10 years. But then he came out
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-01-07

works Notwithstanding all that the net debt today is only a little over si 000.000. It is less than 3 per cent of the actual value of the property. and it represents an Indebtedness per head of less than $1, whereas ourayerage in- debtednes per head, the United States over, is S5S True figures do not lie, and I am told these figures are true
 They Pay Their Taxes
 Moreover. when people are well off they pay their taxes. When they arc not doing well they let them run. At the close of this year how much of the taxes of that island do you think were unpaid? Two per cent? Three per cent? Five per cent? No. not l per centl Tine treasurer reports that oniy one sixteenth of 1 per cent of the taxes are tehind hand, and he expects to cut this out in the next report.
 The same healthy condition is shown in the banks. At the time we took hold the most of the banking was done by the Spaniards and the interest rate ran as high as IS per cent. Today they are comparatively low and good loans are made at and per cent The banks have increased in number and the bus mess is now done by Americans, Porto Ricans, Spaniards and Canadians. There