The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-01-07

| to cut this out in the next report.
| me same healthy condition Is shown
| III the banks. AT the time we took
| mold the most of the banking was done
By the Spaniurds and the interest rates
ran as high as IS per cent. To-day they
arc comparatively low, and good loans
F.; are maze AZ I and S per cent The
| banks have increased in number and
The business is now done by Americans
Porto Ricans. Spaniards and Canadians
There are nine large banks. and they
| have altogether ash resources OF about
! So,opp,O0c, while their deposits amount
| to close to sl:,on0Gon Among the
banks are two Canadian institutions
which have been established since we
took over the island. One is branch
: OF the Royal Bank Of Canada and an
! other 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. ana that is
the condition to-day. In 1910 the value
o: the crop was more than $4,000, 600
and |; represented bout 60 per cent
f! Oh all the exports. At that time the
island sold enough TO give six mounds
I, to every man, woman and child in the
United States, with balance sufficient
to furnish taffy pulling for millions
4 The sugar plantations form a great
necklace running clear around the is
land The interior is everywhere noun
famous. bu, there is n belt OF loNN nds
along the coast and this is covered
with ccntrallcs, rs the plantations are
called. The land here is rich and tao
climate is perpetual summer Tho cane
grows for twelve months of the year.
! and it is larger and swcctcr than that
| os Louisiana.
! Since the tariff was taken off. in
, 1901. these lands have jumped in valuc
Al the time was in Porto Rico they
| could he bought for $50 per acre They
arc now worth $500 AN acre, ana the
most OF them pay big dividends on surh
valuation.
! As to the growth Of the industry. the
F! sugar exported in l?Ol was worth only
/ S5.o0o.e00. In 1909 1t was about $t9-
| 100000, and it has increased steadily
| from year to year
! The Forto Rican sugar plantations
! arc now as we'll managed as any Of
! :hrir kind the world over Many of
them are allied to the sugar trust. AMI
ali are scientifically oparatcd They
have introduced modern mills, railroads
TO bring out the cane and men arc
employed to study diseases and combat
insect pests. The actual number Of
the mills has decreased. and scores Of
abandoned cane mills can be seen, with
their tall chamneys piercing the Gky.
the cane from the smaller plantations
is now carried to the large mills and
sold.
Tobacco Grown In Tents.
An enormous development has TAX
en- place In the tobacco OF Porto Rico.
lit Is thirty-four times as great as It
was in 1901, and il amounted last year
! to between five and six million dol
lars. at the time We took hold of the
island the tobacco was cured in open
sheds made OF po!es rooted with tina ch.
J saw these sheds lining the hills, and
in some places they were so steep that
tho men had to lean as they hung up
the leaves. The tobacco was badly
cured. and it was soAeheap you Gould
1 buy n good Cigar for cent, The
! chewing tobacco used BY the natiras