The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-16


 East of the Andes is another Bolivia. This is the frontier or hackwoods of the country. It is unhabited only by a few thousand savages. Nevertheless 1t contains half of the area of the republic. and is said to be one of the richest lands of the world Eastern Bolivia is one-tenth as large as the United States proper. It is equal to six states the size of Illinois, and is one-third larger than either Germany or France. The most of this vas territory is well fitted to be the home of civilized people The land consists of fertile plains, that slope from the Andean wall toward the east, south and north, and gradually fall to a general level, where the highest points are only about 1000 feet above the sea. The plain fades away at the north into the Amazon valley, and at the east and south into those of the Paraguay and Parana. The country is in fact a con tinuation of the great cattle fields of Argentina, Paraguay and Matto Crosse and it may eventually be one of the great meat baskets of the United States. The land already swarms with wild cat tie, and great herds are now feeding along the banks of the Pilcamayo and on the borders of the Paraguayan Chaco. There are wild cattle also in northern Bolivia, next to Brazil, very near the tract of 100000 acres taken up by MT. Murdo Mackenzie and the Brazil Land company. That tract has the best of pasture, and 1t is already stocked with 150,0O0 beef cattle.
 During my stay in La Paz have met a number of explorers from eastern Bo- livia. I have also gone over the maps with pr. Manuel Vicente Bolivian, the head of the national bureau of statistics, and the best posted man in the world on the geography and resources of this country. Dr. Bolivian tells me that the easterin part of the republic is by far the best part of 1t and that 1t will some day support vast population. He describes 1t as well watered by tributaries of the Amazon and Parana. and as having rainfall well fitted for crops. He has given me report just received from Dr. Guillermo Veasco concerning the coun- try. Dr. Velasco has devoted many years to the study of this section, and in his report he discusses the extension of rail ways and the opening up of the mineral resources.
 One of the great possibilities lies in the petroleum deposits. Eastern Bolivia has strip of land running north and south for distance of 2O00 miles where ba ct1 re ( 1t has been used by the Indians for gen erations for lighting. and burning. A number of oil companies have already been formed for the exploitation of these deposits, and concessions have been granted to Americans and others to de- velop some of them. Among the for eigners who are interested in the region is the FarQuhar syndicate, which has vast properties in Paraguay and Brazil and which has to do with the building of the Madeira-M -Marmore railroad far up the Amazon valley. Experimental wells are now being put down, and the prospect of discovering flowing wells Is said to be good The chief difficulty will be the getting of the oil to the market The distance across country to the Atlantic seaboard in a straight line is considerably moro than 1000 miles, and this will neces- sitate the Jumping of the oil over the high plateau of Brazil. If "a pipe line should be run from the lower end of the field down to Asuncion in Paraguay, and thence through the. Parana valley to Buenos Aires, the distance would be al- most twice as great, but the slope would be gradual and uninterrupted all the way to the sea. Such pipe line would have the markets of the fast populating coun- try of Argentina on the way, and the