The Yale expositor., 1919-08-21

var the Llberator, which rises upon its
marble pedestal in the center Of the
square, being one of the finest works
of the Italian sculptor, Tenerani.
From the Plaza de Bolivar the main
thOroughfares extend in every direc-
ton, almost all paved with asphalt
and kept in excellent condition by the
municipality. Gale Real. the principal
business street. and Florlan street are
the most bustling of the city. The for
mer. wide thoroughfare, merges into
Republic avenue (Avenida de la Re-
publica), fianked by modern buildings
and traversed by electric cars.
Called the Athens of the South.
The Colombian capital has long
been the patron of science. The as
Economical observatory, National Ii
brary, the academies, museums and
universities form a group Of institu-
tons which maintain the right of Bo-
gotta to be considered the athens of
the South" the name with which Eu-
ropean scholar christened her.
The observatory owes it's existence
TO the efforts of the naturalist, jose
Celestino Mutiz. 1t is octagonal In
form, 2,636 meters above sea level;
hence, is one of the highest of the
world and possesses valuable set Of
instruments for taking observations.
The academies were established by
devOtees of science and art. The Lam
guage academy recently took posses
sion of new building. The Museum
of Bogota contains objects of beauty
and considerable historic worth. A
Museum of Natural History founded
by the Christian Brotherhood (Her-
manos Christianos) possess exhaustive
collections.
The universities happily own ade-
quate buildings. Recently the build
ing to be used for anatomic lecture
halls was completed, equipped much
like the corresponding building of the
University of Paris. Public instruc-
ton Is becoming constantly more wide
ly diffused and Bogota is the center Of
secondary schools supported by the
government.
Cultured and Prosperous.
Bogota, by the refinement of its In
habitants and the luxury In evidence,
might be taken for a European city.
Culture Is marked; foreign news is re-
ceived promptly; desirable features of
Paris and London are initiated to slim
ulate progress. Unfortunately. owing
to the extreme narrowness of the
streets, many of the architectural fea-
lures of the city cannot be appre-
clated nevertheless, upon contemplate
ing the constant progress of the cap
ital and its development, one Is forced
to the conclusion that Bogota will be-
come an imperial city in the western
world, the heart of the plateau which
extends 16 leagues from north to south
and from east to west.
Economically Bogota Is on a sound
footing, being commercial and bank
ing center of constantly growing Inn
portance. There are five banks of
large capital, the American Mercantile
bank (Banco Mercantil Americano)
having been established last year, and
at present the establishment of an
other is under consideration. Several
Insurance companies contribute to the
success of financial enterprises. Large
export houses have founded headquar-
tiers there and importation is conducted
on rather large scale. Foreign credit
companies in the United States and Eu-
rope are added factors In Bogota's de-
velopment. Industry also Is being ex-
plotted. Thread and textile industries
compete with foreign establishments In
the production of fabrics and cloth.
! Stock raising is increasing consider
ably on the plain, the strains having
been carefully selected from stock
brought from England, and the wool
market Is plentiful.