El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-09-12

NTOFAGASTA, Chile. Sept IA
a During the past two weeks
- - have been travelling through one
Of the richest lands Of the world,
land that turns out more dollars than
the valleys Of the Nile, the Euphrates
or the Gauges, and one whose work
able area makes the $500 an acre corn
fields Of Illinois look like 80 cents.
This land is as barren as the Sa-
nara It has not a plant, tree,
blade Of grass, nor any green thing.
It is land where one often has TO 90
100 miles for a drink and one upon
which the rains never fall It Is land
made up Of rocks, stone and SAND ana
OF salty particles that reflect the rays
Of the tropical sun inflaming the
eyes. It is the great nitrate fields
that run through the desert and up and
down this west coast from below
AntofaEasta TO the Peruvian boundary.
sreat Sources of Wealth.
For a generation and more these
nitrate fields have made Chile richer
than any other South American coun-
try, and tOdy they bring to It's annual
revenues an amount equal to $40 for
every family in the republic Since
1880 the total revenue from nitrate
export duties has been over $4OO,OOOs-
600 in gold and if the present rate Of
25 years the mount Will be three
quarters of a billion more Today the
nitrate fields are paying from so to
50 per cent Of all the government eN-
penses, and, in addition, are yielding
fortunes to those who exploit them
Antofagasta is one Of the chief
nitrate ports It is 24OO miles from
the Panama canal. and IL will soon
have a procession Of nitrate ships sail
ing nOrthward to the United states
and Europe Today the vessels are
still going around by the strait of Ma
gellan- and the distance thus saved
will be thousands of miles The bulk
Of the nitrate exports are now con-
trolled by an American syndicate,
known as the Nitrate Agencies. limit
ed This company exports IN the
neighbOrhOod Of a billion pounds Of
nitrate a year and controls about one
fourth Of the product Its ships are
always loading at the nitrate ports
and starting out for the United States,
Europe or far off Japan
The syndicate has considera bic
British capital. but il Is under Amerl-
can managers and its methods are en-
tirely American The controlling IN
fluence and largest owners are ". r
Grace & Co..-of New York and Lon
don. a firm that has its nitrate de-
posts and factories scattered througn-
put the desert from here TO Peru
Is Marvellous Fertilizer.
But first let me tell you something
about nitrate of soda It IS one OF the
richest fertilizers on earth and II has
doubled the crop Of many an --meri-
can farm. It is used largely in Ger
many. where it is employed IN rals-
ing sugar beets, and in the United
States which is now buying more
than 1900, 100000 pounds Of It every
year. We take abOIt one-flfth OF the
product and now that the canal IS
completed shall probably take more
Among the other large consumers IN
Europe are Great Britain, France, Hol-
-g Ea1eTfrrr7n is largely used
in the Hawaiian islands and also IN
little japan. the latter country now
importing about 100000 pounds every
month.
Nitrate Of soda when taken out OF
the ground and purified looks Just ike
white salt It is made up Of small
crystals or grains, and II is IN TINS
shape that II is shipped to the mar
kets It is put up in bags or -uu
pounds each, and is carried rom the
ports out TO the steamers IN LiBnleEs-
The nitrate beds are found right
out in the desert They lie at an alu-
tude of several thousand feet above
the sea on the western slope Of range
OF low hills that run along the coast
They are from 20 to 100 miles back
from the coast, and the belt in which
they lie is seldom more than ten miles
get the stuff to the seaboard and the
most Of the haul is down hill.
Origin n Mystery.
As to whence these great fields OF
nitrate come, there are many different
theories. One is that this part OF
Chile was once the bed Of an inland