Mexico Missouri message., 1915-09-16
A SMOKER"
WAS GIVEN
For Minister Orear-He Tells of
South America.

mexico ElkS Lodge gave a smoker
Friday night in honor Of John d.
Orear, American Minister to Bolivia,
who is at his home here on vaca-
tion.
Mr.. Orear made a speech. Other
speakers were: w. w. Fry, ]. w.
Burlington, E. A. Lawrence, DR.. ]. G.
Moore, c. T. Peyton, Lester Jennings
and Fred Reed.
Three candidates were initiated
j. N. Livingston, Henry Kunkel and
Carter Morris.
Minister Orear spoke as follows:
Bolivia is about the same size as
all the United States east of the Mis-
sissippi River. The western, half
contains two high ranges of the An
des Mountains with high table-land
of about 1900 feet elevation be-
tween. Upon this table-land are the
largest cities of Bolivia.
La Paz, the capital, is a beautiful
city of 10000 population, situated
at the bottom of a deeply followed
out gulch at an elevation of $4,000
feet, which gives to it a climate of
perpetual spring, flowers blooming
there every day in the year.
"In the eastern half of the Repub-
lie are immense stretches of rich
prairie land, but at present little US
ed This will doubtless some day all
be highly cultivated and developed.
"The mountains of Bolivia are very
rich in minerals, Bolivia producing
now about one-third of the tin of the
whole world, and also contain rich
mines of copper, wolfram, antimony,
and other baser metal. Gold and sill
yer have been obtained for more than
$50 years. The richest silver mine
in the world was discovered near Po-
tosi in 1916 by an Indian whose la
mas had strayed up into the noun
tain. He went up late in the evening
to look for them and, night coming
on, he built a fire up against the face
of the bluff and remained there all
night. The next morning he dis
covered that the fire had melted the
silver in the rocks and there was a
pool of it now at his feet. There is
now in the plaza at Potosi statue
erected to this Indian who made the
discovery. At this time Bolivia was
a province of Spain and upon all sill
yer and gold exported from Bolivia
there was an export tax paid to the
Spanish Government. The records II
Bolivia show that there was takeI
from this one mountain and exported
over three billion dollars worth of sill
yer. Silver and gold are still being
mined, and, as in the other metals
s, still offer wonderful inducements t,
miners.
Bolivia is the home of the llami
and alpaca. These are animals abou
four times as large as sheep. The
both produce wool, that from the al
paca being especially fine.
Taken as whole, the wealth
Bolivia has hardly been scratched
and will be in the near future doubt
less the scene of great activity.
Situated upon this high platea
there can be seen today the ruins
ancient cities and of civilizatio
thought by some students of thes
matters to be the oldest ruins in tn
world At Tihunaqua, about 20 mile
from La Paz and near the edge
Lake Titicaca, there are the ruins
a great city. In one place there y
remaips the foundation and part
the walls of a temple about on
fourth of mile square, compos'
largely of stones so large engineers
today know of no way in viii
they were moved. many obelis
and carved images, and upon t
wallis hieroglyphics, which speak in
language unknown and SO far impt