The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-01-25


Copyright. 1914. by Frank G. Car
penter)
Hotel Tivoli. Ancon. Panama.
IwANT to tell YOU something about
the baby republic of the south
u American continent have Just
had long talk with its President in
the government palace and he has laid
before me the plans which are pro-
posed for the present and future.
Before 1 give you my interview, how
ever, l should like to say word about
the country and people. 1 have called
Panama the baby republic" 1t is so,
in both size and age. 1t was born
when the United States took over the
canal proposition, and that was only
10 years ago. 1t is so small that it
seems little more than the stubby tail
of our sister continent. and. as it looks
on the map, 1t might have been bitten
OF short, where it joins North Amer
ica, as one bites off the tail of dog.
Nevertheless. the case of Panama and
South America Just now is that in
which the tail bids fair to do some
thing at wagging the dog. Panama is
the setting of our great canal and al
thought it is only one-hundredth as
large as Brazil. one-thirtieth the size
of Argentina and one-twentieth as big
as Bolivia, it will for the next two
years make more news than any of
them in the worlds daily journals.
Panama has but a small population
The whole country has less popula-
tion than Buffalo. Montreal or Cincin-
natl, and many of its people are In
dians. some of whom have meyer been
civilized.
Notwithstanding this, the country is
rich beyond the dreams of avarice. 1t
has a soil that needs only scratching
TO bring forth tropical fruits and its
hills are said to contain copper, silver
and gold. 1t has waters in which the
pearl oysters live, and islands where
are supposed to be buried treasures
equal 10 those of the Peruvian Incas
1t is land free from debt The gov
crDment owes nothing, and in addition
it has s6.000.OO0 invested in mortgages
on New York real estate and from now
on 1t Will receive a quarter of n mil
hon dollars per annum out of Uncle
Sans treasury as a rental for the zone
of the Panama canal.
/ have been over much of the repub-
lie. great part of it is a Jungle and
of the whole considerably more than
half is unoccupied. Nevertheless IL
has large tracts of high pasture land
In the north and there are thousands
OF acres of land lower down which will
raise cocoa and coffee and sugar cane
and bananas. short time ago I Wis
tied the province of Bocas del Toro
which ad1oins Costa Rica. There the
United Fruit company has already laid
out 10000 DR. 10000 acres of banana
Plantations, and 1t is now exportine,
from Bocas something like 400 600 600
bananas year. or more than enough
To give three bananas to every man
woman and child on the North Amer
lean continent The banana exports now
amount to 100000 or 100000 a year
Adjoining the province of Bocas G>f
Toro is Chirqui, which President Porras
is now trying to open up by an electric
railroad to be driven by the waters of tne
taldere river. The Chriqui country is
high and healthy. great part of it is
more than 1000 feet above the sea, and
as the President says, it has a climate
which is perpetual spring. 1t is noted for
It's fine grass and fat stock and will fur
nish the beef of the future for the ships
passing through the canal. This country
mas been recently investigated by the
American meat trust with view to de-
termining whether it would pay to build
a packing house here to supply the canned
beer trade of the west coast of South
America. 1t was found that the cattle on
hand just now could not keep the factory
running and so nothing was done.
Nevertheless, ii is said that there is
enough land in Panama for stock raising
TO support 100000 head of cattle There
are parts of the country where one acre
l viii fatten a steer, and SO far there are
Rubhc pastures where any one can Craze
ms stock. The weather is so warm that
there is no need of barns or sheds and
the animals feed out of doors all the year
round. There are also special fattening
grounds where fodder plants are set out.
the animals being fed only wild grasses
until the time they are needed for mar
ket. 1t is also said that alfalfa will
grow and that at least two crops can be
secured during the rainy season and a
third crop, by irrigation, in the dry tine
of the year. The present cost of cattle
raising in the Chiriqui pastures is said to
be little more than dollar a head per
annum, and j am told that this can Do
materially reduced If the lands are fenced.
President Porras tells me that Ameri-
cans have begun to take up lands and set
out coffee plantations in the northern
part of the republic. DR.. Dexter, the pres
1dent of the National institute, in Panama
City, has just set out 5000 trees and he
EXPECTS to have 100000 when his plahta-
tion is in full swing There are a number
of North American families who have cCf-
fee estates near David, upon the high
lands some miles in the interior. Sufs.e
of these are eX-employes of the canal and
others are outsiders who have come III
from the United States to settle. There
is one large caeao plantation in ChiriQul
Wnere 5S,ODJ trees are IN bearing, ana
there is a rubber estate near Montijo bay
owned by a New England company which
has 400 square miles that will be set cut
in bananas. pineapples, cocoanuts and
other tropical fruits. This company
owns thousands of rubber trees from
which it is annually gathering the sap.
At the present time the tomatoes and
other vegetables and fruits of the tenn
perate zone are brought to Panama from
the states. President Porras tells ,,e
that the highlands of Chiriqui Will raise
the finest of tomatoes and potatoes. and
that great trucking business might ne
developed which would supply the canal
traffic as well as have large market IN
the tropical lowlands.
I asked the president as to his plans
for the development of the country in
the rasing of tropical fruits. He replied
that the banana industry could be
greatly increased and that he had al
ready begun to open up a cocoanut and
ivory nut industry along the Carib-
bean sea south of Porto Eello in the