South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1919-06-08
Ho70 PLatium Was Mined for
america During Days of War

Dloyed There are beautiful walks
and flower beds and tennis courts
and music pavilions. The natives am
live in villages along the rivers. but.
no white man dares 90 venture
alone from this place that has been
prepared for him.
In Increasing Quantities.
Month after month they worked
there British French and American
together following the commands
/ OF the allied nations thss platinum
must be supplied ia ever increasing
quantities. They lived week after
week, IN a little world far removed
from the booming or the big guns
across the seas. But little by little
80 got 20 them. One day 10 was an
English engineer who came i'm. Cad
men, my sister has gone into muni-
tions." he said. Il can't stay here
nave got 10 get home and get a gun
IN my hands" And "a few weeks
later il was another They got my
I brother. those Hun 6ends. ne an
nounced. Il can't work now. goa
IA fight"
Men came in TO replace them and
| the work went on. But after while
/ the call came 20 the doctor. Bows
/ from his own home town were over
/ College friends had given their lives
( The camp was clean, clean as labor
and science could make II. There
/ was not fly or a mosquito there.
There had not been a case Of fever
/ Tor weeks. Some older man. who
could not go overseas. could dole
out the pills and powders that were
needed. And he. too. came back
| The journey home. alone. was
| longer and more tedious than the
| one down had been. for the en-
/ frances TO the Panama canal we're
/ strewn with mines and the ships had
10 wait for pilots and charts. But
/ after while he was back i'm his own
world again. He got a commission
/ as a lieutenant in the medical corps.
I went into an army camp. and in
\ just one month the armistice was
! signed
Business Possibilities.
! Or. Martin is enthusiastic about
I the business possibilities Of the coun-
| tries Of the west coast which are vet
/ in the infancy OF their development.
| in comparison with the better known
/ countries along the Atlantic shore.
! There are rich deposits Of copper
I ore in the mountain ranges OF Col
umbia, but TO transportation facili.
\ ties TO handle it. Thousands of cat
! tie are killed on the plains every
year. skinned and the green hides
( shipped, and the people in the cities
buy timed beef from the states
! though these thousands Of carcasses
are within a few miles of them. Rich
| oil wells have been found. but for
\ lack of equipment crude oil is now
/ shipped there to refineries and gaso-
! line sells for a dollar a gallon and
kerosene for so cents.
American ability. American pluck
and American ingenuity are needed
there. but two things make il hard
| for American ideas to flourish. These
things are the unreliability. as a
rule. OF the government there. and
| the absolute, unfailing reliability Of
/ the rainfall. 1t rains practically
/ every night, and the measurem ent
of the rainfall. which Lieut. Martin
made during the first year he was
/ there. showed 81 inches.
Possibilities Of commerce with Col
umbia are almost unlimited Trade
| is still barter with them. but impor-
| tiers say that demand for cOmmodi-
\ ties has shown a marvellous develop
/ ment in the last few years The
natives are beginning 10 want every
\ thing that they have seen Ameri-
I cans and Europeans use
Products i'm Exchange.
And in exchange for talking ma
/ chimes and player pianos and motor
\ cars and ready-to-wear garments
| they have to offer the products OF