New Britain herald., 1916-01-26
WORLD MUST DOFF
 HAT TO PARAGUAY
South American Country Among
 First for Patriotic Fighting

Washington, Jan. 26.-Away down
 heart of the continent, sandwiched in
 between Bolivia and Brazil on the
 north and east and Argentina on the
 south and west is located the heroic
 little country known as Paraguay. The
 adjective "heroic' is used advisedly,
 for when 1t comes to patriotic fight
 ing the world must doff it's hat to this
 little republic. If there ever was a
 nation that fought "to the last ditch"
 it is Paraguay, and if there is an-
 other instance in history-modern, mediaeval, or anCient-where a peo
 pie fought so completely to the point
 of utter exhaustion almost to extinc-
 tion, before they ran up the white flag it has been rather carefully con- cealed. In this particular Paraguay may be said to be about sui generis.
 It is so far away and so little visited by people of the United States that perhaps few citizens of the great northern republic know much more about this very interesting country than it's mere geographical location. Of late, however, it is coming more and more into prominence and people are beginning to hear something of and to want to know more about it and it's brave inhabitants and of the strug- gles they are making to advance and take their place among the progress 1 sive nations of the earth. In the de- 1 vclopment of it's fine natural resources l the country has doubtless Jagged be- | hind some of it's sister republics, but l when you know something of it's his-  for. An article in a recent number of the Bulletin of the Pan-Am erican Union Washington, D. C., throws light upon the subject in the following man. ner.
 Very Beginning of Things.
 Economically Paraguay is at the very beginning of things. It might nave been discovered but yesterday x It's immense possibilities as l food producer, both animal and veg stable, are practically unknown and Yet Paraguayan civil ration, except from it's economic side S modern and up-to-date. Paraguay ln imports are, generally speaking, of he same kind as the imports of other South American countries. The Par .guayan is much the same kind of nan and lives in much the same way s his neighbor in Argentina, Uruguay IT Brazil. With all this, his country is he least developed of any. Why? l lot because it was the latest known. l IS a matter of fact it was among the ! rst known. The reason for the | conomic unprogressiveness of Para : uay is 8 long story. but may be ummed up briefly.
 Merely Half Way House. {
 During all the colonial period and own to it's independence, in 1Sl1, 'araguay was looked upon merely as
 halfway house to the rich Peruvian nd Bolivian mines. Agriculture and ven stock raising was unconsidered Ill his era. Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay were all neglected. For much f this period in Paraguay the Jesu1ts 7ere conducting an experiment in ivilizing the Guarani Indians, which lvolved non- with the est of the world. Soon after inde- endence came the Francia dictator hip, ending in 1S41. Almost imme- lately following Francai came the dictatorship of the two Lopez, that of arlos Antonio Lopez ending in 1862 nd Of Francisco Solano Lopez, in 870. The policy of these dictators Jas similar (but for a very different eason) to that of the Jesuits, viz, to laintain Paraguay as hermit coun- ry and unknown to the outside world. 10 far as the outside world was con- erned, the result was the same--that or almost a century and a half Para uay was a closed and unknown book. 1t the final defeat and death of Fran l isco Lopez, in 1870, Paraguay was left