Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-08-18
have been many rumorS
of late that Lower California
would Secede from Mexico and

Would S9ceQe from MeAIco anu
become a republic.
Vague notions prevail of what con-
stituteS Lower California. Physically, |
it is a peninsula 100 miles long and a
hundred miles or so across from the !
Pacific to the gulf. The peninsula is a
jagged one with a mountain range |
paralleling the Pacific. The sterile |
heights are not inviting, nor is the |
cactus-cOvered tableland. Few passes |
bisect the mountain range. There is |
little timber and less water, but the |
peninsula is not all barren waste. |
There are regions in which the wealth |
of tropical vegetation is riOtous, and
there are great stretches of land
which, by means of irrigation, can be
made the sources Of productive agri-
culture, writes Charles NJ. Pepper, in
the Washington Star.
1t is the coast, however, that is of
chief International Importance. This
was charted by Admiral Dewey when
he was Captain Dewey. 1t has also
been charted by other officers of the
United States navy, and its character
iSticS are not unknown to the Japanese
navy. There are few good harbors
either on the Pacific side or on that of
the gulf, and that is another reason
which makes those that do exist of
such international importance.
A wealth Of romantic tradition clus-
ters around the peninsula. 1t has been
called 'the mother of California" Cor
tez sent exploring parties there after
pearls and gold. The Jesuit fathers es-
tablished themselves, and all the ro-
nance of the mission days is due to
| them.
Porfrio Diaz gave Lower California
! the best government it ever had, which
was that of a benevolent, but iron
handed, military dictatorship. The
peninsula was constituted into a ter
ritory, which it still is, and was di-
vided into two districts for administra-
tive purposes. The headquarters of the
northern district are at Ensenada, not
very far from San Diego, with which
steamship communications are main
tanned. The headquarters of the lower
district are at La Paz on the gulf
Resources of the Territory.
The bulk of the population is in the
southern part of the peninsula The
totai n6mber of inhabitants is said to
be between thirty and thirty-five thou
sand, of whom possibly three-fourths
are in the south.
Under the Diaz policy of encouraging
foreign capital to develop the material
resources of Mexico, marked progress
was observed in Lower California The
gold mines proved to be largely legen-
Diary, but there are several productive
silver mines operated by American
capital
Lower California is one of the
worlds principal sources of copper
production. The great mine known as
Santa Rosalia is situated near the gulf
coast. 1t is controlled by the French
branch of the Rothschild family, and
the majority of the foreigners there
are Frenchmen, Santa Rosalia has
been described as French municipal
ity in Spanish and Indian environ
ment.
The pearl fisheries of the gulf at one
time were quite valuable, although the
reports of the revenues which the
Spanish crown derived from them
were, as usual, wildly exaggerated
The center of the pearl fishing indus.
try is at La Paz. 1t has dwindled a
good deal in recent years, but is still
a source of revenue to the government
The agricultural resources of the
peninsula never have been systemati
cally exploited. This is party because
1t only could be done on a scale reuuir
ing large amount of capital and part
~ because of the political uncertain
ties. The country itself is not such as
to invite many colonists from the
United States, though there have beer
few adventurous spirits who tool
their chances. What is needed in or
der to insure colonization is irrigation
MagdaIena Bay and La Paz.
Attention has been centered on thu
proper interest of the United State,
in Lower California through the Mag
dalena bay incident. That was a cas-,