The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1921-06-24

prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety. Washington, d. c.
The creation of a United States of
Central America" and troubles be-
almost led 10 war, have drawn atten-
ton to the countries south of the
Caribbean sea recently more strongly
than at any time since the completion
of the Panama canal. Nowhere else
in the world has Nature been more
bOuntiful. in her blessings of natural
resources than i'm the Caribbean re-
gion Everything that her treasure
house holds has been bestowed with
lavish. and also with impartial. hand.
Someone has observed that If you
tickle the ground with hoe It smiles
back with yam and certain IL is that
in any one. of these countries the
ground Of natural resources may be
tickled with the hoe of foreign capital
and ii smiles back with vans OF
wealth.
These countries are nearly all ia
there is vast difference in the de-
velopment of that wealth. differ
ence that may be attributed almost
wholly TO the character of the govern
ments i'm the respective countries.
In some of these lands the milk and
honey of plenty flows in a bOuntiful
| stream. Others are In wretched
poverty. where the masses never have
enough To keep the gaunt wolf Of
hunger from gnawing at their vitals
day and night and year in and year
out. In travelling through these coun-
tries, one is impressed with the fact
that prosperity abides with good rule
and poverty dwells with misrule
Differences in Development.
Starting out with the easily demon
strated fact that there is very little
difference between these countries in
| their natural resources, Ii is interest
ing to look around and notice what a
vast difference there is In the use that
| Is being made of this natural wealth.
| One need not go out of the confines
| of Central America to see this. Ii
would require six Salvadors To make
one Honduras. and yet Salvador has
twice the population of Honduras and
larger foreign commerce. Costa
Rica Is less than half as big as
Nicaragua, and yet its foreign com
merce is greater than that country's.
And yet. when Salvador and Costa
Rica are compared with Porto Rico,
they I'm turn seem To be slow In their
development. Porto Rico is so small
that seven islands like il would be re-
quired To cover an area equal to that
of Costa Rica. yet IL has foreign
trade more than fifteen times as great
rs that of the Banana Empire. Porto
Rico is less than half as large as
Salvador. yet IL has a foreign trade
over thirteen times as great.
Little Porto Rico is so small that il
could be buried I'm a single Central
American lake; il would take 81 is
lands of its size TO equal Central
America in area and yet Porto
Rico enjoys about three times as
much foreign trade as all Central
America together from Tehuantepec
10 Colombia. The reason? Because
compared 10 these Central American
republics Porto Rico has an ideal gov
eminent. The trade Of the island has
increased sevenfold since Uncle San
took possession there. The number OF
children enrolled I'm the schools has
increased sixfold The wages of the
iaboring class has multiplied three
fold even before the war.
Honduras Is a Laggard.
Honduras in some ways lags behinC
its neighborS. And vet it is rich il
! natural resources almost beyond i'm
agination.
With vast deposits of minerals o
all kinds. with untold thousands o
acres of the finest tropical fruit an'
vegetable lands in the world and witt
vast areas of magnificent grazing ans
coffee lands. Honduras is at our yer.
doors. 1t is 700 miles nearer 10 Chi
ragO than that city is TO San Fran
} cisco; il is closer TO Washington thai
Denver is: il is farther from New Oh
leans 70 Chicago than il Is from Puer
20 Barrios and Livingston 10 New OR
leans. With stable government
Honduras must become a kingdom o
plenty instead of principally o
poverty.
Across the border Is prosperous lii
tie Salvador. IL Is as different frol
, Honduras as night Is from day.
has a population SO deEse that If our