Evening star., 1912-01-21
THE

A great deal is being done to wipe out
tuberculosis. and the general condition OF
the people is 100 per cent better than 1t
has been before.
Next to the hookworm, one Of the big.
geSt things Uncle Sam has done In Porto
Rico has been in the good roads move
ment. He has started the work. and the
people have furnished the money to dc
the bus ness
There Is no part Of the United States
which has such a road development as
has had Porto Rice since we took hold
At that time the island had ITO miles OF
good highways. These were built by
the Spaniards and mainly for military
purposes. They cons sted Of one long
road across the mountains from the
Caribbean sea to the Atlantic and some
branch roads running here and there.
These military roads were as good as any
driveways In the United States. They
were as smooth as the floor. without peb-
bles or ruts, and they wound their way in
easy slopes over the mountains. In
some places they hung to the sides of the
BILE horseshoe curves SO that you could
see the road above and below YOU
went over that road In 1889 and l was
told it had cost about $4,000 a mile.
Meeting the chief parts Of Porto Rico.
and You can go in an automobile all over
the island. The roads have cost only
$4,000 a mile and they are now 81 ending
about $500 per mile per annum to keep
them in order. The aggregate length of
the macadam roads is such that If they
were placed end to end they would reach
from New York almost to Chicago. and
that would be a better automobile road
than II 1t were composed Of strips from
the best roads Of New England.
In addition to this wagon roads have
been made In the mountains connecting
with these automobile highways. and new
trails have been cut SO that transporta-
iS W
-
A great deal Of the business OF the coun.
try il now done by automobiles There
are more than 400 In use and more are
added every day. There were something
like a hundred new ones last year. There
are regular lines of freight and passenger
motor cars between the chief cities, and
military road from San Juan to Ponce. AS
1t IS now, one can leave San Juan after
breakfast In the morning and be at Ponce,
on the southern side Of the island, for
lunch. 1t used to hustle one to get there
in two days.
When was in Porto Rico. at the close
of the war, there was only one steam
railway. This was made up Of short
strips running from San Juan around TO
Ponce with numerous breaks. 1t was
part of a system that had been planned
to belt the siand. but oaly bits of which
had been built.
Since we have taken hold this road has
been improved and extended. The breaks
have been filled, and the steam cars now
run GEAR along the northern and west
ern ends of the island from San Juan to
Ponce, and from there TO the port of
Guayama This completes four-fifths of
the circuit of the island. and. in addi-
tion. there are many short Inc railroads
which supply the sugar plantations. A
very little more track would give roads
through all the coast lands Of Porto
Rico.
In 1898 the car service was miserable.
The passenger coaches were little better
than our box freight cars and It was
rare occasion when the d nky engine did
not break down. Today there are good
American locomotives and comfortable
passenger cars.
Since the United States took hold of
Porto Rico the steamship lines connect
ing with 1t have steadily improved. New
ones have been added, and the island has
now steamers for all parts Of the world