Evening star., 1928-11-25
SOUTH AMERICA
RICH IN RESOURCES.
Has Made Many Contribu-
tions to WorId-Geograph
iCaI Features Unusual.

Present interest in South America is
heightened by the goodwill tour which
President-elect Hoover is making among
the nations to the south of the United
States.
A resume of the remarkable contri-
buttons South America has made to
civilization and the unusual geograph-
ical features of that continent are con-
tanned In communication to the Ma
tional Geographic Society by Dr. John
Oliver La Gorce. its vice president.
I'm Peru originated the potato, the
worlds greatest single crop; Chile con-
tributes the guano fertilizer which re-
juvenateS the soil of many lands; the
pampaS of Argentina bestow meats and
wool upon millions outside her bor-
ders Brazil helped make possible the
automobile by teaching the use of rub
ber-to mention only few of the i'm
portant economic services of the con-
tinent," DR.. La Gorce writes.
Buy U. S. Products.
1.-THE United States and South Amer
tcan countries have always manifested
their friendship by their trade. In
recent year Argentina bought three
eighths of her imports from our coun-
try; Brazil spent in the United States
approximately one-half of her ex-
penditure for imports, and Chile gave
the United States practically the same
proportion Of her foreign purchases.
Colombia was an equally good customer
in proportion to her total importations,
while Peru gave the United States
nearly two-thirds of her total foreign
orders. More than two-thirds of Ven
ezuela's foreign business was done with
American houses and in Ecuador the
proportion was As per cent.
I'm our turn, we bought more than
half of the exports of Chile, Colombia,
Peru and Venezuela, nearly half OF
those Of Brazil, and nearly a third of
those of Argentina.
ITO the geographer these figures tell
far more than profitable business re-
lationship; they betoken a mutual de-
pendency based on mutual needs. 1t
Is happy geographic fact that orr two
continents, thrown into close proximity,
need each other and. in so many ways,
complement each other.
Physical Geography Unique.
''The physical geography of South
America is fascinating. It Is distin-
guiShed by the absence of clearly de-
fined watersheds between its great river
basins. From the Orinoco Delta to the
Rio de la Plata Estuary there is almost
q continuous overlapping of these
basins. In southern Venezuela, where
that country thruStS political penin-
Sula into northern Brazil below the town
Of ESmeralda, the waters of the upper
Orinoco suddenly decide TO part COM
pany some of them reaching the Anna
zon and the sea through the BTaZo
CasiQuiare and the others forcing their
way TO the lower Orinoco over the rap
IDS of the eroded mountain barriers at
MaipureS and Atures.
Although the communications be-
tween the Amazon and the Rio de la
Plata Basins are not so marked as those
between the Amazon and the Orinoco
Basins, there are numerous places
where the flip of a birds wing, the di-
rection of the wind the abundance of
local rains, the formation of a sand
bar or the slip of bit CT land may
determine the destiny of a drop Of
water, whether it shall flow past Para
or Buenos Aires.
Natures Pr0digaT Blessings.
Mature has been prodigal of her
blessings to South Alnerica-blesSings
which, In some instances, are just be-
ing revealed.
"A rich asset of our eastern seaboard
Of North America has been its rugged,
indented coast line, which affords shell
tering harbors from Maine to Florida.
South Americas coast line Is more
regular, but she has what now is prov
ing an even greater boon-navigable
rivers of enormous length-nature-
made canals which offer ready trans
portation to regions of some of her
richest products.
Our Mississippi and its tributaries
have 1900 miles of navigable waters.
the major portion of them exceedingly
shallow. The Amazon and its tribu-
taries have twice as many miles and
several times as many miles capable of
accommodating ocean-going steamers,
which, for example, ascend 1900 miles
to Iquitos, while vessels of 14-foot draft
can ascend nearly 500 miles beyond
that point
South America takes that for grant
ed; but we of the United States marvel
when we realize that it Is as though one
could travel on a ship of 14-foot draft
from New York direct to Salt Lake
City by way of Chicago and Cheyenne.
A glance at map of South America
reveals that South America has the
finest system of inland waterways in
the world.
Vast Untapped Resources.
''The map also reveals the wonder
tale of South Americas future-her flu
ture of commercial importance, because
she holds so much wealth in natural
resources which the world needs.
There are delineated the vast extent
Of the rubber forests of the Amazon
Basin, the regions whence Argentina,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Colombia and
Venezuela draw their valuable exports
of cattle, hides, mutton and wool; the
nitrate lands of Chile and Peru the
rich coffee, sugar and cacao plantations
of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela and
Colombia, and the silver, copper, gold,
iron and tin deposits of various
countries.
The Andes are the Alps of South
America-only on tremendously large
scale. Everything in South America
seems scaled large, especially in con-
trast TO classic Old World standards.
The continent has twice the area Of
Europe. yet its people number only
about tWo-thirds the combined popula-
tons nf France and Italy. People have
plenty Of elbow room in continent of
natural wonders, rich resources and
progressive governments.
so. towering and so extensive are the
Andes Mountains that If all the high.
lands were plowed down and all the
lowlards were filled up, the continent
would be a plateau 1912 feet above sea
level, and 800 feet of this would be
represented by the material which con-
stitutes the Andes"