The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-01

fy them. The Honorable James T. Du
Bois, our last minister to Colombia, had
such negotiations we'll under way before
the present administration came in, and
if they can still be consummated it will
be of great benefit to the two republics.
1t would also improve our standing with
all of the other South American coun-
tries.
But before | go farther let me tell you
just where Colombia is and something of
what it contains. 1t is just across the
Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
The shortest distance between it and our
country is not as far as from Philadel-
phia to Chicago. Tampa Fla, is as near
to Cartagena as New York Is to ST.
Louis. and from that Colombian port to
New Orleans is only four days easy
steaming. From Barrenquila to New
York is less than 1900 miles and the trip
can be easily made in five days. By
way of the canal Boston can reach the
west coast of Colombia by steaming a
little over 20O0 miles. and the whole of
this coatst is nearer our Atlantic sea-
board than any part of Pacific North
America.
And then look at the size OF the coun-
try. Colombia has a coast line of about
700 miles on each ocean. From south to
north 1t Is longer than from New Orleans
to st. Paul, and from east to west in
places 1t is wider than from Baltimore
to Chicago 1t is larger than all the At
lantic coast states, with Ohio and West
Virginia added. 1t is nine times the size
Of New York and 10 times as big as
Kentucky. 1t is bigger than Germany,
France. Holland and Belgium combined,
and Notwithstanding it is almost on the
equator the most of the land is so high
above the sea that white men can live
in 1t and the soil will produce crops that
have a steady market in Europe and in
North America.
Colombia has pasture lands which may
make it one of our future sources of
meat. One-half of the whole republic
consists of plains that slope down to the
Amazon and Orinoco rivers, and these are
now raising something like 100000 cat
tle The Cauca valley alone could supply
enough chocolate to glut the markets of
the world. and there are extensive re-
gions along the Caribbean fitted for cof-
fee. On the lowlands of this coast the
United Fruit company now has vast
plantations of bananas, the product of
which it is shipping to England and the
United States. The exports run into the
millions of punches a year, and they are
carried away to New York in steamers of
5000 tons, each having accommodations
for the first-class passengers They have
steamers to Europe which make the run
in about IA days.
1 understand that there are valuable de-
posits of petroleum on the northern coast
of Colombia. In coming to Panama / trav-
eled with Californian who owns tract
of 10000 acres not far from Cartagena. He
says that 1t is underlaid with oil, and
that there is oil all along the coast,
and here and there throughout the West
Indies. This man has been all over
South America investigating the oil fields.
He tells me that our sister continent has
probably more petroleum than we ever
had, and that the most OF it is yet to be
exploited. He describes the oil fields of
Colombia as being so close to the sea-
board that the oil can be easily piped into
the steamers. So far the country is un-
developed. but American oil men have
been coming In, and a 30-year concession
has been granted to tract of oil fields 100
miles long and 60 miles wide in the de-
partment of Santander. The owners have
agreed to work this field and to put up
one or more refineries, and the govern
ment has promised to admit free of duty
all necessary materials Arrangements
are now being made for an oil refinery
and warehouse a the port of Cartagena.
The mineral possibilities of Colombia
correspond with those of Alaska. 1t
was there that Balboa found his first
gold. when the Indians told him of the
treasures over the mountains that were
afterward opened up by Pizarro. Since
that day more than s7o00OO,ooO worth OF
gold has been taken out of Colombia, and
there are mines in half dozen differ
ent states which are now paying Well.
The great gold bearing regions are in the
mountains of the Choco and Antioquia