Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-06-08

ESIDES being the worlds great
X est asphalt-producing country,
Venezuela is rich in minerals,
gold, iron, copper, salt and coal.
Coffee. cotton and and sugar cane are
grown extensively, and of recent years
the live stock industry has grown ire
mendously and has become a source of
great national wealth.
There probably is no other country
in South America where the United
States has made greater and surer
gains in commercial relationship
than this far northern South Ameri-
can country. This relationship has
advanced to a point where more than
80 per cent of Venezuela's foreign
States. Prior to the world war
Great Britain. Germany and Spain
were important factors, especially in
the matter of exporting to Venezuela.
but in the past four years the United
States has prof1ted by conditions and
the opportunities thereby presented,
and has incidentally increased it's
200 per cent.
q. s. Relations Please.
The leading business men and the
government representatives in Vene-
zuela have signified a great satisfac-
ton in the increased relations be-
tween their nation and the United
States, and there is now every indi-
cation that the latter has il within
it's power and means to not only
maintain this trade domination, but
tn lu I'M IN
will be necessary to increase and
otherwise improve the shipping facil-
ties and to encourage the financial
interests to show greater interest
in their faithful and promising
southern neighbor Much capital is
needed to carry out the plans for the
future development of the country
and the advancement and exploitation
Of its many promising industries.
Nature has been especially kind to
are vast riches lying untouched and
simply waiting the magic of Amerl-
can investment.
AS in the case of most of the other
South and Central American countries
the average person IN the United
Venezuela. Some, perhaps. have
! formed a comic-opera and romantic
novel picture of this large and prom
| Using nation. To begin with Venezue-
la is far greater in size than Ameri-
cans realize.
1t covers an area nine times as
great as that occupied by Cuba; 1t is
twenty-five times the size of Den
| mark. nearly twice the size of Ger
many, about twice as large as Spain
| and nearly three times the size OF
! Japan.
Nine Times Size of Pennsylvania.
To better illustrate VeneZuela's
| size. place nine areas the size of Penn
] sylvania or forty-five areas the size
Of New Jersey alongside of each
other and you will then equal the
| ezuela. Figures furnished by the
government of the latter show its ex-
act area to be $4,000 square miles,
! and it's total population to be 2,950.00o
| 1t occupies the northernmost part OF
| South America. stretching in a north
| westerly direction along the Atlantic
| ocean and Caribbean sea.
For its direct neighbors Venezuela
has Colombia, Brazil and British
| Guiana, and through it flows the
mighty Orinoco river the third larg
| est river in South America. which,
| with it's tributaries. furnishes a navi-
gable stretch about 1000 miles in eX-
| tent. It's position on the coast with
\ a shoreline of more than 1000 miles
! is most favorable to the best interests
many possibilities for it's future. 1t
possesses no less than fifty bays and
thirty-two ports along it's coast.
] OF the ports. La Guaira is the most
important. In fact, it is the CONNER
cial center of the republic and present