Evening star., 1922-07-04
|LAND WITH women
!. IN LEAD PROSPERS
Paraguay of Today Depicted
Country Which Has "Come
Back" SuccessfuIIy."

A country whose population was
almost wiped out of existence, but
which has come back" successfully;
where women outnumber m"n several
times over; where cattle Craze the year
rc,nd under palm trees, and where
bearded cowboys wear bloomers-such
is the Paraguay of today. pictured in a
bulletin from the local headquarters of
The National Geographic Society. The
bulletin was issued following news dis
patches which state that a revolution
has broken out in the little South Amer
lean republic
paraguay. which has refused the Of
fered mediation of foreign diplomats
and has announced that its army will
| take care of the country's latest revolu-
| tion with rifles and cannon, is living up
to the military traditions which have
given it the most tragic history OF all
| the countries of the Americas" says the
bulletin.
DepopuIated by War.
Next to the smallest republic in
South America. with an area only about
as large as that of the state of Wyo-
ming, Paraguay in 1865 had, a popula-
ton comparable with that of extensive
/ Argentina and huge Brazil. and thanks
| to the military ambitions of its dictator:
Francisco Lopez, the most powerful
, army in South America. Lopez believed
himself destined to be the Napoleon of
] the western hemisphere, and i'll. 1860
confidently led the army of his little
country against the combined forces
of Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.
1.-The five-year conflict was so bloody
and the Paraguayans were defeated
so signally that between, two-thirds
and five-siXths of the population
perished OF a population that may
have passed the million mark, only
30. 900 men-mostly old. men and
young boys-were left. The losses
were heavier. probably. than those
suffered by any other nation In mod
crn times Even today Paraguay is
largely a land of women, the men
being greatly in the minority.
History Filled With Conficts.
"Paraguay's history has been filled
with conflicts, violence and unusual
situations from the first. To begin
with. there has been a slighter ad-
mixture of European blood there than
in any other South American country.
and the fire of the old Indian blood
has been preserved. A little band OF
Spaniards sailed up the Plata and
heart of South America founded
settlement. They took Indian wives.
! They and their descendants became
] the ruling power in the land, even
tually establishing great haciendas on
which the Indians worked.
missionaries who went to the re-
/ gion in 1909 brought the Indians to-
! gether into settlements of their own
| and taught them to carry on agrl-
culture for themselves. This was
resented by the half-breeds. and the
situation was further complicated by
! the arrival of other missionaries, VINO
destroyed the early settlements. the
| first Corners armed the Indians. ex-
PEELED the Spanish governor and the
| later arrivals and wrote the second
unusual chapter in Paraguayan his.
/ tory For more than one hundred
years they conducted sort Oh
| church state Later Spanish gov
ernors, who cruelty oppressed the
people. came back into power.
After independence from Spain was
gained in 1910. Paraguay entered
upon a period of dictatorships and
| became the hermit nation of the
| west Trade with outside countries
/ and the presence of foreigners swas
strictly prohibited and the country
came to be entirely seif-rel1ant
unit. sort of communism was
established for many years. por-
|
state. the proceeds being used for the
| benefit of the people. De Franchla.
the first and most benevolent of the
dictators was absolute despot OF the
F, country for twenty-five years. When
| he died there was a short PERIOD OF
fighting and turbulence. from wnlcn
| Carlos Lopez emerged as dictator.
After him came his son, Francisco
under whom the population suffered
! it's greatest losses.
Woman Rules ms DespOt.
For some of Paraguay's greatest
troubles it is a case of 'chercheZ Id
femme" Francisco lopez, who was
educated in Europe, was accompanied
on his return by woman who pc
came the Du Barry of South america
Lopez was completely under ner con-
troll and through him she ruled I'M
petuously and recklessly.
! "Paraeuay of today is a sort OF
, inland Florida. of fertile soil. equable
climate and an abundance OF fruits
and food products. On rs rlcn srass as
Hands vast herds of cattle Craze the
year round under palm trees, tendeo
| bv cowboys. who. instead of the
| chaps of our western plains. wear
loose, baggy bloomers. Only Argen-
tina. with its more extensive plans
surpasses Paraguay as cattle coun-
| trv. Recently a number OF packing
plants have been established oy
, North American interests.
| THE Paraguay river has a greater
flow than the Mississippi. and Asun-
cion. the capital of Paraguay, though
nearly a thousand miles from the sea
| is busy port for trade with the out
side world.
Has "After the War ProbIem."
Paraguay had its after the war
problem a long time before II was
! eorcad on the rest of the world. and
the little republic has largely solved
| it. 1t was necessary for the women
| left after the war of 1868 to bring
the country back to prosperity ana
their marked industry did it,. Today
| there is a degree of general pros
nar;tv in the republic that compares
favorably with that in most other
| ..'.S. R1t still 1t has its reYoiu-