Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-12-15
THE Awakening
... Of YUCATAN
--- Continued from page fve) :

ational development is perhaps best
xemplified by the new school which
las just been opened where girls are
augnt domestic science and feminine
They are not given
superficial snlattering, but thorough
in cooking, hygiene, care
If children, first aid to injured, dress
making, marketing, management of
servants as well as music. painting
and embroidery. In this connection
t is we'll to mention the fact that the
irst feminist congress recently con-
,luded it sessions in Merida. 1t was
the first of it's kind ever to be held
under governmental auspices, as this
meeting was called and authorized by
the State.
All this shows without doubt that
Yucatan is waking up in social and
sense. The fact that it is
awakening in business matters is even
more noticeable to the onlooker.
Perhaps there is no section of the
Americas about which there is so lit
tie known as Yucatan, or rather about
which there is so little accurate in
formation, for the average untraveled
person considers Yucatan as sort
of semi-civilized, inaccessible land
where tropical jungles, impenetrable
forests and impossible mountains
make life out of the question for any
but the native Indians. But on the
contrary Yucatan has the remnants OF
one of the oldest civilizations in the
world-the advanced Maya culture
overthrown by the Spaniards. 1t
has no noisome, tever-breedlng
swamps, barring little strip OF Ia
goon along the coasts, and no noun
tains at all other than some rolling
Mills a few hundred feet high.
1t is sun-baked. clean land with
solid stone foundation; hot, to be
sure, but healthily hot. This great arm
of limestone dividing the Caribbean
from the Gulf of Mexico is one OF the
newest parts of the earth's crust.
Modern New York State was ages
old before Yucatan was formed, and
still in New York you can find no
trace of mans handiwork more than
800 years old, while in Yucatan there
are ruins of vast cities and magniti-
cent temples and places whose origin
lates back at least 1000 years:
The highly civilized and intelligent /
race which once inhabited them had
their expert engineers and astrono-
mers and knew more about archltec-
5ure and building than we do now.
The round corners and keyless arches
they constructed battle the ingenuity
of our twentieth century minds.
This new old land, this vast plain
of limestone, is covered with thin
soil making Just the right combination
for the cultivation Of the henequen
4ant, which grows in Yucatan to such
perfection as can be found nowhere
/ ise in the world.
Henequen
You can raise most any kind OF
crop IN Yucatan that grows in trop-
ical. semi-tropical or temperate cI-
mate, but in henequen it is great
wealth. The raising of this remark
lble plant on which the United States
is practically dependent for its binder
twine with which to harvest the wheat
crop, is as pretty a form of farming
as can be imagined. 1t is only neces-
sary to plant crop once in twenty
years. Very little cultivation is need
ed, and the crop may be harvested
several times year.
The exporting and marketing of
this enormously valuable crop is con-
Quoted by governmental commits
sion. 1t is a sort of planters coop
erative society by, which they receive
the benefit of organized and systema-
tic selling without the expense OF mid
idIemen and dealers commissions.
The economic excellence of this
plan for all parties concerned IS
proved by the fact that although the
consumers are paying less for hene-
uuen than for any other hard fibre OF
the world, the planters are getting
more for it than ever. 1t is needless
to say that this commission is not an
inheritance from the Diaz regime. 1t
was inaugurated by the revolution,
but to the clear business instinct and
broad-minded methods of DR.. Victor
A. Rendon is largely due the great
success with which it has been con-
Quoted. DIR. Rendon was fo1merly
Secretary of State in Yucatan and the
founder of the Mexican Democratic
Party. He successfully negotiated
with American bankers for a $1O,OOO,-
600 loan for the protection of Yucca
tan's cooperative marketing system.
It took the governor and his ad-
visers but a short time to realize that
modern methods must be adopted in
handling this crop if real efficiency
was to be shown. Its great value can
be gathered from the fact that in less
| than a year more than $30,000,000 of
| henequen FIRE has been imported into
| the United States from Yucatan. Most
of it is landed in New Orleans and
from there distributed by rail.
To facilitate the operations of the
| commission DIR Rendon recently pur-
chased on behalf of the commission
the charters of two big ocean steam
ers to run between New Orleans and
! Progreso and bring over henequen ex-
clusively They are to form the nu-
cleus of a fleet of six or eight ships
to run regularly and frequently be,
v tween the two ports and carry pas
. sengers as we'll as henequen.
g This will be a great benefit to the
[ travelling public as well as affording
Q better postal facilities, as at present
f there is a passenger boat from the
v United States to Yucatan only once
o in two weeks and consequently long
$ delays with mails.
- HarbOr Facilities
d There is no natural harbor in 4uca
! tan, so at present ships are forced
Is to anchor several miles out in thC
= roadstead and lighter their cargoe'
J. and passengers. This does not at al
suit the progressive spirit that is dom
mating things and plans are beinl
; drawn up and estimates secured fol
= the building of an artificial harbo
= which will cost $15,000,000 and b.
- capable of housing fleets of the big
! y gest ships afoat.
Work has already begun on tw
, big oil tanks at Progreso which will
= he kept supplied by Mexican OF
~ brought across the gulf by govern
ment-owned tanker Fuel is scare
N on the peninsula and so oil-burner
re are to be introduced in the henequel
lg mills, which number thousands, AM