The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1914-07-22
OF
THE CARIBBEAN
ARE TO BENEFIT
BY Opening Of Panama Canal,
ShoWalter Declares in a
Communication.

WASHINGTON, d. C., July 22.-
The probable beneficient effect Of the
Panama canal on the countries OF the
Caribbean is told by William j. Show
alter In q communication to the Ma
tional Geographic Society,". at Wash
tngton, D. G. He, describes the Won
derful changes that have been wrought
In Porto Rico and Cuba since the adj
vent of the United States government
in those islands.
1T would require six Salyadors to.
make one Honduras, and yet Salvador
mas three times as much population
and three times as much foreign COM
MERGE as Honduras" he says. Costa
Rtca Is less than half as big as Mic
aragua, and yet It has three times as
much foreign commerce as Nicaragua.
And yet, when Salvador and Costs
RIGA are compared with Porto Rico,
they In turn seem to be slow In their
development. Porto Rico is SO small
that seven islands like 1t would be
required to cover an area equal to
that OF Costa Rica, yet it has a for
eign trade five times as great as that
Of the Banana Empire. Porto Rico is
less than half as large as Salvador.
yet 1t has a 'foreign trade seven times
as great.
Porto Rico Small.
Little Porto Rico is SO small that
It could be buried In single Central
American lake; it would take fifty
seven islands Of its size to equal Cen
tral America in area. and vet Porto
Rico produces more foreign trade than
all Central America together. The
reason? Because Porto Rico has an
ideal government. The trade Of the
island has nearly qiintupled since
Uncle Sam took posesaion,> there.
The number of children enrolled in
the schools has increased skiold. The
wages Of the laboring class has multi
Piled threefold. Porto Rico's prosper
1ty is seen in the sugar fields, where
four tons Of sugar are produced where
one was q dozen years ago, and where
the Porto Rican people receive Sc for.
exported sugar where they received
81 dozen years before. Coffee pro-
duction has qua6rupled since the be-
ginning OF the century. The produce
ton of oranges has increased seven
fold IN ten years, pineapples twenty |
fo!d IN four years and grapefruit
twenty.lvc-fold in three years"
Similar comparisons are made be- I
tween Cuba and the. six republics.
With ian area one-fiftf as great. its |
foreign commerce is three times that
OF the six. Zone might go on with
these comparisons indefinitely, the
lesson OF them ell being that prosper I
ity cannot exist where good govern |
'nent coea net, continues the writer.
With vast deposits Of minerals. I'M I
told thousands of acres OF tie finest /
trcnical fruit and vegetable lands In
tho world. and vast areas OF nagnifi- |
cent grazing and coffee lands, Hon
dnrss Is at our very doors. 1t is 700 I
miles nearer to Chicago than that CITY
IS from San Francisco; It is closer toll
Warrington than Denver Isl: It is far
ther from New Orleans to CHICAGO !
thar It IS from Puerto Barrios to New |
York. A stable government for Hon
drra5, and 1t must become a Kingdom (
OF plenty instead Of o principaiity OF (
poverty! Nicaragua Is in the same
condition as Honduras.
Cuba's Progress.
ut is not unreasonable to assume
that II the people OF Middle America
can secure fair, and proper govern
ment conditions after the completion
OF the Panamp canal. tney can do
what Cuba has done in the thirteen (
years since the first American INFER
vention. Since that time the number
OF: people 9ble to read and write has
increased 140 per cent. The mortality
rate has been cut down from 1858 per
thousand to 1853. The balance OIL
trade has risen from 1 deficit Of $27,-