Evening star., 1921-08-01
|TAMP|C0 OIL Find
MADE CITY 'GUSnER'
Population Of fLethargic Town
Increases From 1900
to 100000.

Americans who saw prices sky
rocket at home and who saw them
selves and their neighbors nearly
lose their sense of money values
would have felt thoroughly at home
in Tampico. the great Mexican oil
town, during the last few years"
says a bulletip issued from the head
quarters of the National Geographic
Society.
This was the port to which United
States guntoats we've sent recently,
when the closing down Of American
oil wells and ref1neries because OF
| heavy Mexican taxes threw thou
| sands Of men out Of work and dis
orders were feared.
Floated to Prosperity on OIL.
"Tampico, long a port Of no great
| Importance, has had mushroom
growth in the last fifteen years."
continues the bulletin, "its popula.
| ton increasing from less than 1900
| in 1906 to we'll over 100000 today.
stride forward can be given in one
word-oil. The biggest 'gusher' the
world had ever known was drilled
| near Tampico in 1908. and scores of
other huge streams of oil have been
! opened up in the same vicinity since.
| oil have passed through Tampico,
and the town has been the financial
and business headquarters for fields
many miles away.
Money flowed easily into the
pockets of a large number of Amer
who were brought in. and into the
| hands of Mexican landowners. mer-
| chants and day laborers. The world
war raised the demand for liquid fuel
| to unheard-of heights and it seemed
| that every one in Tampico was be-
l nip0
paralleled those in the oil towns of
! the United States. Silk shirts were
| not the vogue that they were among
| the loungers along every American
main street. but in their way Tam
picans became equally proficient
spenders There was little inclination
| to count the change The cost of all
| articles of food and apparel rose
! tremendously. Rents scared until or
dinary accommodations for Americans
could not be obtained for much under
5000 to $500 per month.
Because the after-the-war indus
| tries Of the world required petroleum
no less than did the navies of the
lighting nations during the war,
Tampico's prosperity continued after
| most other communities whose busi-
ness was quickened by the war were
experiencing setback. Now, belat-
edly. the city is undergoing the read
1ustment that came to the rest of the
world.
More Freight Than Vera Cruz.
Although Tampico owes it's pros
perity predominantly to oil, it has
other factors that contribute to its
Importance. Thanks to railroad
from Monterey. connecting with the
mining region Of north central Mex
leo. and to excellent harbor improve
ments. the town is an important port
OF entry and export. 1t has surpassed
Vera Cruz in the bulk of commoii-
ties handled. though the latter city
probably Is the port OF entry for
products of greater aggregate value.
The city of Tampico is not directly
pon the seacoast, but is situated a few
miles up the Panuco river which is
broad and deep and affords anchorage
Tor large number of ocean-goinE
ships. At the mouth of the stream, at
La Barra. is a supplemental harbor
Near the latter place is one of the
finest sea beaches to be found
Until Tampico found it's buried
treasure and shook off its lethargy it
was an exceedingly unhealthy place,
often being subject to epidemics Of
yellow fever. Drainage and the ap-
plication Of other modern methods of
| sanitation have greatly improved the
health conditions. The families of
numerous American and English en-
ployes Of the big oil companies have
! moved in, and thriving Engli sh-
speaking colony exists in the higher
western part of the city"