The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-03-27
MEIlcD
BEFORE

washinston. d, G. March rs
fore Texas became ! part 81 " y
United States and the Mexican 49,
sdfed nearly million square nntie8 ~
our territory, Mexico. then 6pent5
colony. and the Tinted states covere0
approximately equal areas Of Noftit
America. Now the extent a. Mexico
Is less than one-fourxh h6f that ri
continental United States.v says q
bulletin just issued by the National
Geographic Society al washington IN
this statement there Ii given some
very interesting figures which contrast
the present size Of the two countF3es.
Mexico. however. still haspsxfrI-
toriai expanse nearly eutfaf to tbs:
aggregate of France, Great Britain
and Ireland, Germany, and Austria
Hungary bfit IT'S total area ffS7 900
square miles} 10 less than that ~ atIf
f1ve largest states---Texas. cafifornix.
Montana. New Mexico and Arizona -
confined, all of these. except tfnn-
tana. having been part of View Spain
seventy-fivc years ago. None of this
thirty-one political subdivisions of
Mexico are as large az any one OF
the five States named. but four Mexi-s
can States Contiguous 10 the United
States aggregate an extent greater.
than that OF Texas. Chihuahnan thu
largest Mexican State. approximates in
area $4,000 square miiesJ that OF
Utah; Sonora .f77.000 square fnilssl DC
Nebraska; Coahuiia $4,000 Sqnare
miles, Of Georgia. and Durango f4o.-
600 square miIesJ OF Kentucky, Nine
subdivisions Of the United Statsv fiu-
cluding Alaska) are larger than Chi
huahua. fifteen OF greater rla gpt tudes
than Sonora, and thirty-two larger
than Durango. The rugged and desert
character of the Mexican. border
States. supports spare population, ex.
cept where mining exploitatiops ana
oities resulting therefrom. have con-
centrated settlement.
The mountainous ridge wiHaT limit
ed 'ittorals, which as narrow pen-
inclla extends southwark about 7B0i
miles from the United States b0und-s
fornia from the Pacific Ocean, In not
ia State. but liz recognized - the t4r-
rftory OF Baja California, which IN
area f5s,o00 square miies) closely APP
proxinates that OF F1orida~ The Gulf
OF California and the shifting Colcrado
River practically isolate BaJA CALI
fornia from the balance of the Repuh-
lie and prevent overland conifnunfca-
ton with 1t. Topic, on the Pacific
Coast fft.e00 square n1flesl. smaller
than Maryland. and Quinana Roo. add
joining Yucatan, are other terri-
tories. 81
An i,so0-Afile Border.
'"The United States is adjacent to
Mexico for 1900 miles and for d
distance equal to that Of ST. Louis
from New York, the Rio Grands River
forms the boundary. Except when IN
- IL L.
important stream and readily CROSS
ed. for the normal flow is we'll utilized
for irrigation In both countries. hut
II has carved In a part of its acourse
canyons dffncult of exploration The
changes wrought by fresi1et which
shift the channel. have demanded the
attention Of an International commits
sion, whose function was to adjust
a boundary along the Rio Grande to
meet the varying conditions This i1n-
certainty of this is illustrated by 4
clatm once under investigation that
a portion OF the important cftyeof M
Paso. Texas, was Mexican soil. Ths
remaining TOO miles of the interna-
tional boundary to the west separating
our neighbor Republic from New
Mexico, Arizona and California III
through an arid desert section, much
OF which II mountainous This ID not
Ia direct line, hut has hvo changes In
alignment. which have been accurately
surveyed and established by 2t8 per-
manent monuments easily distinguish
able.
ALLOWING Tor impasEable canyons.
mountain barriers. etc, prob@bly 1;t0N
miles Of boundary must be under SUR
veiiance to prevent smuggling ar the
passage Of contraband articles. Rail
ways In Texas, New Mexico and Ari-
xona areScisss 40 the border and these
transportation avenues unite the two
nations at seven points"