El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-06

you have the conditions as they noW are
in Porto Rico.
Nevertheless the public debt is ex-
ceedingly small Further on / shall
snow you what the people have been
doing in improving their roads, in es-
tabl1shtngI schools, and in other public
works. Notwithstanding all that the
net debt today is only a little over S4-
100000 1t is less than three percent Of
the actual value Of the property, and it
represents an Indebtedness per head Of
less than 81, where as our average in
debtedness per head, the United States
over, is S5S True figures do not Ie
and 1 am told these figures are true.
They Pay Their Taxes.
Moreover. when people are well off
they pay their taxes. When they are
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
unpaid2 Two percent2 Three PERCENT
Five percent MOI Not percent The
treasurer reports that only 1-16 Of 1
percent of the taxes are behindhand,
and he expects to cut this out IN the
next report
in the banks At the time we took hold
the most of the banking was done BY
the Spaniards and rhe interest rates ran
as high as 4 percent Today they are
comparatively low and good loans are
made at and 8 percent The banks
have increased in number and the busi-
ness is now done by Americans Porto
Ricans, Spaniards and Canadians
There are nine large banks. and they
have altogether cash resources Of about
100000, while their deposits amount
10 close to 1000, 600. 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 another 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 con-
ditiOn today. In 1910 the value Of the
crop was more than $4,000, 600, and il
represented about so percent Of all the
exports. At that time the Island sold
enough TO give six pounds TO. every
man, woman and child in the United
States with balance sufficient to fur
nish q taffy pulling for millions.
The sugar plantations form a great
necklace running clear around the is
land. The interior is everywhere noun
famous, but there is belt of lowlands
along the coast, and this is covered
with icentrailes, as the plantations are
called. The land here is rich and the
climate is perpetual summer. The cane
grows for j months Of the year and
Louisiana
Since the tariff was taken off, in
1901. these lands have jumped in value
At the time 1 was in Porto Rico they
could be bought for $50 per acre They
are now worth $500 an acre and the
most Of them pay big dividends on such
q valuat ton.
As to the growth Of the industry, the I
sugar exported in 1901 was worth only
100000. In 1903 1t was about S19,-
600 900, and it has increased steadily
from year TO year.
The Porto Rican sugar plantations
are now as well managed as any Of
their kind the world over. Many of
them are allied to the sugar trust and
all are scientifically operated. They
have introduced modern mills, railroads {
to bring out the cane and men are em- I
ployed to study diseases and combat in /
sect pests. The actual number Of the /
mills has decreased, and scores of aban- I
dOned cane mills can be seen, with their 4
tan chimneys piercing the sky. The 4
cane from the smaller plantations is I
now carried to the large mills and sold /
Tobacco Grown in Tents.
Autonomous development has taken
place in the tobacco OF Porto Rico 1t
is "a times as great as it was in 1901,
and it amounted last year to between
five and six million dollars At the
time we took hold Of the island the to-
baccO was cured in open sheds made of (
poles rooted with thatch. I saw these
sheds lining the hills. and in some
places they were so steep that the men {
mad 10 lean as they hung up the leaves
The tobacco was badly cured. and if
was so cheap you could buy a GOOD
cigar for a cent The chewing tobacco
used BY the natives was sold by the
yard. It was cured with rum and mo-
asses and twisted up in ropes about
100 feet long and as thick as your fling
r. A half cents worth of this tobacco
you'd equal the amount contained in
he ordinary pocket plug Of an Amerf-
an cheWer-
Since then tobacco has gone up and
cience has come in to help raise III
our department of agriculture has in
reduced the methods of Cuba, and now
great deal is grown under tents of
heesecloth. This is especially $50 Of
he tobaccos which are used for cigar
wrappers. In some or the valleys there
re so many tents that at a distance I,
hey seem TO be filled with snow The
heesecloth is stretched over poles