El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-28

They realize they are far better off
without revolution
I The Boundary With Panama.
What is the population of Costa
II is less than 100000, but the coun-
| try could support many times that
| number. Costa Rica has an area larger
I than many of your states 1t is bigger
] than Maryland, Massachusetts and DEL
I aware combined.
But YOU do not know just what
! land you have2 1 understand that the
! boundary between you and Panama is
/ unsettled
yes. that is so, but the amount of
/ land in dispute is not great. The ques-
ton of the boundary was first submit
/ ted to president LOubet, the president
of the French republic, but his decis-
ion was so manifeStly unjust that the
question was again opened up and we
have chosen the chief justice of the
: United States supreme court to arbl-
trate it. A commission Of Americans IS
f, now making the surveys and mapping
the boundaries, and 1t Will soon be
satisfactorily settled This work IS
costing great deal of money, how
ever, and I am in doubt whether the
cost will not more than equal the
value of the land in dispute
''W hat is the feeling here as regards
the United States2"
1T is friendly. We had some trouble
with the United Fruit company but
that mas passed away ana the LNu Ae%-
lions are on the best of terms We do
most of our trading with you, ana
you sell US over half Of all that We
buy. The most of our coffee goes to
Europe, but you still take the bulk OF
our bananas I am in hopes to see
the relations OF the two countries come
closer and closer
Earthquakes and the Canal
The conversation here turned again
| to the canal and I said to president
! Jimenez:
You are living here in the earth
quake belt Some Of you cities have
been shaken out of existence and you
are subject 10 volcanic disturbances
every few months. Do you think that
the earthquake will ever destroy the
( Panama canal?"
I would not like to prOphesy as to
that" was the reply. I understand
that Panama has had but Few earth-
quakes, but one can never tell what
will come. You had better ask Col
Goethals that question"
Il did ask him., sa dill. and his re-
ply was that when the naIonaI CAPT
tai at Washington was crumbled to
earth by quake that he would be
afraid for the canal, but not until
then"
Il did ask him" said I. and his re- .s
piled the president of Costa Rlca- L
wish I could be as sure of the safety
of my own little country
Costa Rica's Debt
then asked the president some
question as to the debt of Costa Rica-
He replied that this had now been
put on a sound financial basis, and
that both foreign debt and the internal
debt would in time be paid The for
eign debt amounts to about seventeen
million colonies, OF something hke
SIS. 00O, 900. and the internal debt IS
much less. The foreign bondhOlders
met last January and approved of the
settlement proposed by Costa Riea,
and the debt now has been refunded
at something like 4 or percent on
par, but with a big discount to the
underwriters. as am told. The presi-
dent of Costa Rica does not consider
a public debt a public blessing, but
he believes that money might be Dor
rowed and if properly expended II
would be of great good to Costa Rica-
1 asked his eXcellency what he would
do if he had $40. 100000 in his treasury.
AS quick as flash he replied;
Il would build roads. That is the
crying need of this land We have
practically no highways Of commerce
except the line of railway Whlcn
crosses the country from one side to
the other The only roads to the IN
terror are trails, and here and there
wagon road, which during a part OF
the year is a river of mud What
Costa Rica needs most is cheap trans
portation. but I fear me it is long be
fore We shall have what we should in
that line"
Pulling the Teeth OF the Tropics. .
During our talk president Jimenez
referred to the great work that has
been done at Panama IN what some
one has called pulling the teeth of
the tropics" I mean the sanitation
methods which have turned our canal
zone from being the PPes stt,is-. OF the
upon earth The president says that
our work is being studied by many of
the latin American republics. and that
hna = Of hNE a hEH
duced everywhere. He referred to our
fight with the hOOkwOrm and the dis
coveries made in Porto Rico. saying
that Costa Rica was fighting this para
site in the same way
The country has a medical board.
which gives hOOkWorm medicine free
of charge to all who apply, and 1t is
sending physicians out to study the
disease and to treat the people. So
far but little impression has been made
upon the health of the country. but the
work is at its beginning. and in time
it will do great good. Costa Rica is
noted for its live interest in sanitary
matters. It is now improving the
WaterWOrks at San Jose, and is bring
ing in mountain water through a pipe
something like is miles long. A new
system of sewers is being introduced,
and there are New York parties here
who are putting down blocks of new
streets with a view to making con-
tracts for repaving the capital
An UptOdate Nation.
Indeed. 1 find this little republic in
habited by what might be called the
most uptodate and progressive people
of all the nations of Central America
1t is still overloaded with the debts due
to the mistakes of the past. but never
theless it is struggling along the road
of modern civilization 1t has a good
school system. Education is cOmDul-
sorry and it is said that there are more
teachers in the republic than soldiers
There are 81. 900 children in the primary
and secondary schools and there are
n1HNa . \
of the cities The government is
spending almost a dollar a head per
annum on its educational branch and
W~L 30 -