Evening star., 1925-02-12
MOUNTAIN SUNSETS
| SERVE AS CLOCKS.
Farmers of Tacna Look to
F.: Last Light on Snow for
Goodnight Signal.

what are Tacna and Arica-beside
controversy?
The question arises because de-
cision is pending on whether or not
a plebiscite is to be held in Tacna-a
question that has hung fire since the
nitrate war of 1883.
The National Geographic Society
says:
"Tacna, at present is the northern
most province of elongated Chile ana
has an area about equal to that OF
Massachusetts. Tacna also is d city,
the capital of the Province OF Tacna,
whose $4,000 people comprise half
the population of the province -
Population Has Dwindled.
AFRICA, the port of Tacna- once was
a thriving city of some 10000 people.
Then il shipped out important prod
uctS-oreS, alpaca wool, barks ana
chinchilla skins. Today 1t has fewer
than 5000 residents and is important
principally as the salt W alter terminus
of the railroad that cuts across the
lower Andes from La Paz Bolivia.
Another railway runs to Valparaiso,
9S7 miles to the south. not long
trip in a country of magnificent
longitudinal distances.
The term africa, as a regional deS-
ignation, has disappeared from the
name has been merged with Tacna.
Volumes have been written about
the Tacna-Arica controrersy-a con-
troversy that had it's historic origin
exactly 100 years ago, when the Re
public of Bolivia was born.
"A glance at a map will show the
geography of the dispute. Tacna is
Bolivia's closed corridor to the sea,
and it is the Alsace-Lorraine OF Chile
and Peru.
Region Is Mountainous.
"Tacna is mountainous, but that
easy description gives a false pic
ture. The Andes do not project a
series of ranges into the province,
but extend a plateaulike cordillera,
with solitary peaks rising here and
there in majestic grandeur Once
their creStS were volcanic caldrons,
row in their old age they wear their
graceful caps of snow.
These older mountains contribute
wisdom, well as dignity, to the
scattered children of the valleys. In
the irrigated districts of Tacna sun
set is the time fixed for transferring
the water from one section to an
other. But in a valley, below the
sharp rise of the inclosing hills, the
instant of sunset may occur earlier at
the western end of the valley.
Alter the sun has set III tHe lo"-
lands it continues for some time to
light up the snow-clad mountain
peaks. Therefore the ancient agri-
culturists agreed that sunset occur
red when the sun ceased to illuminate
the snow-crowned mountains. And,
to this day, the farmer folk of Tacna
look to their mountains for this be-
nign good night signal.
Valley of Wine.
"The Sama River is the northern
boundary Of Tacna and the Sama
Valley yields grapes which have
made the name of Moquega, the bor-
dering Peruvian province. famous
among connoisseurs, and helped
swell the worlds raisin output to
the point where the distributors be-
gan to inquire whether you had your
iron today.
And now that science has traced
Eoiter to the absence of the tiny
regulatory quantities of iodine your
system needs. certain American cities
call upon the Chilean littoral for
iodine, dump it, in their municipal
reservoirs, and perform another
cine.
Nitrate of soda is virtually a Chile
monopoly and many of the tiny plants
occur in Tarapaca, along Tacna's
southern border. Whether the world
uses swords or ploughshares, Chile's
nitrates have ready market-they
enrich the soil and they help make
explosives.
Iodine is a by-product Of extracting
nitrates from the caliche rock. The
nitrate establishments limit their pro-
ductien to every sixth year SO the
market may not be overstocked.
Drug Store Supplies.
'Tacna yields sulphur and borax.
There, also, is grown the coca plant,
source of cocaine, which thousands
who have had the toothache call
blessed. This plant has peculiar
leaves. The upper surface, deep
green, smooth and velvety, is unlike
the under side, which is light green
with band Of paler color on each
side of the midrib.
'"Tacna and its northern and south
ern neighbors not only comprise one
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