The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-07-26

but are very light and like pith. They will keep for an indefinite time.
 Drunkenness is common aniong the Aymaras. I have already described the terrible condition brought about by drink among the Quiehuas, or Indians of Peru and Ecuador. The same condition Dre- vails in Bolivia. Almost all of the ,n- dians, both men and womsn, drink to excess. and they come together in great crowds on feast days and have drunk-. CT sprees. which are accompanied by4 dances and other exeesses. where tue marriage laws do not prevail. At such times there is seldom any brawling or fighting The drink seems to stupify rather than excite; the people use so much that the alcohol gradually burns uf their brains. l am told that tho ln- dian boys arc bright Until they reach the ago of l5, at which time they hegin zto carr enough so that they can afford to buy liquor. They then deteriorate. and are on the down grade intellectually for the rest of their lives. It is also said that these Indians are more intelligent tran those of Peru. and that the .Ian-> dard of incidentally rises as one soess CT southward
 I learn from our missionaries who have Indians in their schools that it is not uncommon to find boys and girls who are equal in quiclxness and reasoning power to the whites, and 1t is known that some of the best men of La Paz have a strain of Aymara blood. There are few Indians who are rich. Some of them have mines. and others estates Of their own. There is rich Indian fam- Dy in Lima that has three girls who will graduate this year at the mission school These girls have Indian features. but they are by no means bad looking. Their father pays s5ooo gold a year for the rent of lis house at the Peruviane capital. and he owns several ailtpmo- hiles. His money comes from copper mines
 There is no doubt about the natural ability of the Indian along mechanical lines He is the carpenter, iron worker and mason in this city of about 5000 people La Paz has fine houses and public buildings and also a large cathe- draI that has been for years in course of construction. All of the work upon these has been done by the Aymara Indians, and they have made practical ly all the furniture in use. They are expert cabinet makers, making tables and chairs and interior woodwork of mahogany, rosewood and black walnut. They make artistic creations in stucco, the fine houses of La Paz being dec- crated with a plaster made of mica mixed with lime and sand and then burnt in such a way that 1t gives a finish like the best plaster of paris.
 Tho Indians understand colors, and they have steady job at painting the he uses of the Bolivian cities. where, ac- cording to the law every house has to have a fresh coat of paint every year, am living just opposite the cathedraA where there are foc or more Indians new working.
 They begin at ' o'clock in, the morn ing and continue until 6 o'clock at night. with an hour off at noon. I am told that their wages are about $1 day. They seem very industrious and the employers say they stay on the job quite as we'll as the half breeds or whites. Many of the best laborers and the best mechanics of Bolivia are Indians who have served in the army. and thereby acquired such taste for civilization that they have come to the cities. Such men have elevated their wives, and the beginnings of change are already apparent.
 What Bolivia needs to do is to pass liquor laws to curtail. the use of raw slcohol to establish more schools and industrial farms, and to inaugurate movements that will create new wants among the Indians. This done, they will work to satisfy those wants and thereA will be gradual uplift in their condi- ton. The hope is In the young of the race, and, as l have said, they arc bright in intellect and ready to learn. As far as I can see there is no better field for. mission work anywhere than right here on the high plateau of the Andes The government and the better classes of the people of Bolivia would, l believe, join in any such work. and 1t seems to me an international crime that these people have so long been left with out any encouragement or aid from their civilized brothers