Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-06-30

IRrepareQ py the National Geographic So
ciety, Washington, D C.j
The creation of a United States of
Central America" and troubles be-
tween Panama and Costa Rica which
almost led to war, have drawn atten-
ton to the countries south of the
Caribbean sea recentlM 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 in 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 a yam and certain it is that
in any one of these countries the
ground of natural resources may be
tickled with the hoe of foreign capital
and it smiles back with yams of
wealth.
These countries are nearly all ia
vored alike in natural wealth, but
there is vast difference in the de-
Felopment of that wealth-a differ
ence that may be attributed almost
wholly to the character of the govern
nents in the respective countries.
In some of these lands the milk and
money 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, it 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. 1t
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
| in f1Jr to no S1n n
| development. Porto Rico is so small
that seven islands like it would be re-
quired to cover an area equal to that
Of Costa Rica, yet it has a foreign
| trade more than fifteen times as great
rs that of the Banana Empire. Porte
Rico is less than half as large as
Salvador, yet it has a foreign trade
over thirteen times as great.
Little Porto Rico is SO small that il
could be buried in a single Contra
American lake; it would take 81 is
lands of it's size to equal Centra
America in area and yet Porte
Rico enjoys about three times a!
much foreign trade as all Centra
America together from TehuantepeC
to Colombia. The reason? Because
compared to these Central American
republics Porto Rico has an ideal gov
ernment. The trade of the island ha
increased sevenfold since Uncle San
took possession there. The number O
children enrolled in the schools ha
increased skiold. The wages of th'
labOring class has multiplied three
fold even before the war.
Honduras Is a Laggard.
Honduras in, some ways lags benin,
it's neighbors. And yet it is rich il
natural resources almost beyond i'm
agination.
With vast deposits of minerals o
acres of the finest tropical fruit an
vegetable lands in the world and wit
vast areas of magnificent grazing an
coffee lands, Honduras is at our YER
doors. 1t is 700 miles nearer to CHI
cago than that city is to San Fran
cisco; it is closer to Washington tha
Denver is; it is farther from New o.
leans to Chicago than it is from Puel
to Barrios and Livingston to New OF
leans. With a stable government
Honduras must become a kingdom c
plenty instead of a principality c
poverty.
Across the border is prosperous Iii
tie Salvador. 1t is as different frOl
| Honduras &c DiObt iC from 0aV