The Washington herald., 1920-04-14
"7m Lizzie" GrowP Pop ularinPeru
Despite Hilliness of the Country
And 7 Terible Condition of Dads

lasting than when subject to wash
ing.
Travelling about. pointing out
these possibilities. Mr.. Shumway has
not only interested the Peruvians in
tackling practical improvements.
but made such q name for himself
that recently he was appointed a
Lima alderman.
1t is said. somewhat humorously,
that the city OF Lima has been run
by the same officials Pizarro put
into jobs when he founded II. Ger
tainly the administration had be-
come cumbersome, and the city is
not administered as IL should be.
With an income OF s1,000.000 and a
population OF lac, 1000, 1t should have
many public improvements, for that
is fair. income for an American
city of the same size, and labor
costs are lower in Lima. But the
sewers are worn out, the water
pipes clogged and pavements primi-
tive. the streets unsprinkled, and 1t
is said that municipal bookkeeping
Is so bad that no balance had been
struck for several years.
When President Leguia took Of
fee recently, the Lima city govern
ment came in for early attention.
He has the appointment of city Of
ficials, and Is a business man and
progressive. He believes that with
q business administration and eco
nomical expenditure, Lima can be
made one Of the most comfortable
cities In South America. So one Of
his first steps was to shake up the
city hail." and appoint business
men and engineers as "notables."
Lima's equivalent to the American
board Of aldermen is it's "Junta de
Notables." British and Americans
as we'll as Peruvians were selected
for the new administration, as Peru
Wan law permits that. Mr.. Shum-
way was one of those selected and
also made inspector OF public works.
Record cotton and sugar prices
have put a lot Of money into Peru
Wan pockets the last two years. The
coast lands where these staples are
raised can be plowed with tractors,
because level, and with fairly large
fields. Farm labor is scarce, and a
tractor can do as much work as
twelve or fourteen men. with twice
that many oxen. On the other hand,
the fields are often stony. with ir-
rigation bitches to be negotiated,
and the Peruvian Cholo, or Indian
farm laborer, has a reputation for
stupidity, especially in matters of
machinery.
Rains Once In 80 Years.
Light showers thirty or forty
years apart Is the coast weather in
Peru. So all crops must be raised
under irrigation. Here is where
ideas come in handy. too.
In the days Of the Incas, much
more coast land was irrigated, be-
cause Peru had four or five times
the population to feed and clothe.
But the Spaniards enslaved the In
dians after their conquest, diverted
them to mining. many Of the coast
lands were deserted and the popu-
lation decreased. The Inca irriga-
tion works fell into decay, and in
many places disappeared. In other
places they may still be seen. far
up the mountain sides, works that
Mr.. Shumway estimates must have
taken thousands of Indians many
years to build. but today quite dry.
Recently q landowner with hold
ings In such q dry district, set an
engineer exploring the old Inca ir-
rigation system. Following IL UP,
and clearing It out, water was
brought onto several thousand acres
Of idle land, producing sugar. The
design and construction Of the old
Inca system would have been cred
liable to present-day engineers.
There is said to be q large acreage
of coast lands which can be brought
under irrigation by individual re.
pair Of these old systems. In other
sections large irrigation schemes
are required to divert river water to
great areas. The present Peruvian
Government has comprehensive
plans for such irrigation, and thus
the country promises to be q fine
market for farm tractors.
tcopynsht. 1929. By Public Ledger Col