El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-04-02

March - The
great step forward in
progress" says Prof.
the eminent government
iu be the conquest OF the
Hey.
be a peaceful conquest re
the occupancy by wnlJe
the richest ana most Irult-
fon on the face Of the e2rtn--a
which up TO the present llL-ls
Teen regarded as pracucally IN
[bitable uncultivable. and to al
sutr and purposes. useless to civ
iEation save in so FAR as us Wiz
products can be turned 10 mar ls-D1e
sYet the time is destined TO arrive
when this basin viii be occupied py d
number OF human inhabitants eQua4 70
the entire population Of the globe 70
day 1t Is the future garden OF me
r7or1d-the most wonderfully 1erIlte
80 in existence. A veritable trOpio
paradise. extending from the AJlanllc
ocean to the foothills OF the Anoess
it is 70 q great extent une1p-oESS, a1u
IS now inhabited by tribes OF the
-1os+ primitive savages In the world
some Of whom are SAID to live IN trees
like apes. being the most olsIlnct4g
srboreal Of human beings
The Greatest Result.
erf the question be asked. what IS
tia Greatest result gained by the dig
ginE of the Panama canal almost any
body viii reply rhaE II Is the oeFeIop-
ment OF new possl1llllles OF CONNIE
through the Joining Of the two great
oceans But that IS not so me cut
ting of the isLhmus VIII nave proved
most useful 10 mankind through lne
object lesson II has afforded in the
practicability OF tropical conquest. II
has taught US that white men 81
make the hot belt Of the earth sa1e
and comfortable TO live IN
The canal zone was consldeTed IS
found anywhere In the world II was
nor the engineering difI1culrles N
volred but the climate LllaL oe-s+teu
the French in their efforts 70 Qlg the
ditch They made the mistake OF
irving 10 dig il before cleaning up the
STRIP When we tackled the 1ob We
took il up from the Olner end' pc
ginning with sanitation We stdI lsu
ia with complete hygienic recon
structlon Of the Zone, the most i'm
portant feature Of the work being the
elimination Of deadly levers by dram
ing swamps and stopping the breed
ing Of mosquitoes
--Tbe problem confronting the white
men in the valley OF the Amazon IS e1-
actly the same problem on larger
scale II viii be undertaken not az
at once, OF course, but piecemeal, and
in this way, cleaning up one region
after another. the entire area, VIII
eventually be sub1ugated- Ioday TIE
redundant vitality Of the tropics Keeps
the white man out but caAAse Is
SOIL Is TOO Rich.
1T is q curious and paradoX1cal sit
uatiOn. The soil Of region IKE the
Amazon valley is so excessively fruit-
ful that the farmer finds it difficult, 4
not impossible. to get living out OF
IT, He cannot keep down the IuNurlant
natural vegetation In order 10 replace
IL with cultivated and useful plants
Grasses of BrObdingnagian growth
spring up faster that he can cut
them down or pull them up While
vines riTalinE in rap1o1ry OF develop
ment Jonah's famous gourd oTerWheln
his crops. and weeds Of all sorts array
themselves In competition with what
ever he tries to raise But this diff
Guilty viii be solved by progressive i'm
proVement in agricultural methods
and appliances
IN the valley Of the Amszon there
IS redundance OF vitality such as
exists nowhere else on the face Of the
globe over an area Of corresponding
magnitude The rainfall is about six
" inches a year, which Is just what
IS needed 10 make the largest posi- I
bic amount Of plant growth from or
binary soils "a TN more WateL' planI
growth is reduced, because the soil
IS drowned; with less water there is
an insufficient supply In the east
ern United States the rainfall is about
forty-five inches per annumi In the
Great Plains region II averages from
twenty-five TO thirty inches
with dollhouse temperature ali the {
year round and so abundant supply /
Of water, It is natural that the plant (
life OF the Amazon valley should eI- I
hibit an astonishing lUXuriance. Vast (
forests and most Impenetrable jungles !
extend over hundreds Of thousands OF 4
square miles Of the interior. Life Of I
al kinds Is redundant-even that OF 4
fishes. and especially of insects The /
whole vast area literally thrObs with I
Vitality, and the minute organisms /
which are causes Of disease attain a I
correspo abundance.
New Burden For White Man.
'The conquest Of this wonderful dos
main is the burden which the white
man IS now ready. for the first time, !
te take up. He viii turn TO profita-
bic account the enormous vital energy
which, hitherto has assumed the char
arter OF an uncOnquerabie foe In the
valley Of the Amazon such energy is