The Republican., 1928-05-17
Some Points About Nicaragua As Re-
lated by Returned American Trav-


eler to the United States.
To the Editor of The Republican.
Nicaragua must be brought before
| the world; the world must be made
to see the tragedy and the needs of
this country. If my death can ac-
complish this, my life is well spent"
This is the gist of returned travel
er's report on Sandino and what was
told him by Sandino's gather.
1t was the father who expressed in
words like these his sons ambitions.
This returned traveller who is being
quoted is one of the four friendly vis-
itors who went in the winter of 1927
28 on an expedition of friendship to
Central America. Yet Nicaragua, in
its present chaotic condition, received
the most of its attention.
The purchase of the Nicaraguan
canal route, the occupation by United
States Marines, the proposed election
to be held under United States super
vision, the rebellion of Sandino, have
been so constantly in the press re-
Gently that these points were not
stressed by the four friendly visitors.
They do lay emphas.s on the char
acter of Sandino's family, his father
in his quiet life as a coffee grower,
the young alertness of his wife who
at one time had charge of the tele-
graph station at San Rafael. But
the main value of the report, which
has been given neither to the press at
large nor to the Government, is in
suggestions made as to our future
relation with Central American coun-
tries:
There is need of more favorable
news and of appreciable articles in
our newspapers and periodicals, to
counteract the unfavorable side which
appears too often. 1t would be an in
ternational service to promote travel
through Central America. Those who
go with human sympathy and under
standing will come home with a new
respect for the cultured people they
find and for the human and industrial
possibilities of these southern neigh
bors of ours"
I'VE should interest ourselves ac-
lively in the problem of transporta-
ton, the lack of which is at the root of
much that is wrong politically and So
cially in Central America. We ought
to agitate for the construction of the
Nicaraguan canal. We hold an op-
tion on it, but will neither build nor
let anyone else do it.
'There is need for libraries, which
could be provided at little cost and
which would not only provide means
of enlarged knowledge and entertain
ment, but would stimulate the de-
sire for education.
Everyone with whom we discussed
the matter said that, in the last analy-
sis, education must provide the cure
for the political ills of Central Amer
ica as well as the strategic point of
attack upon their economic difficulties.
There should be at least one good
school of agriculture and manual
training in each country to train the
teachers"
In return for this interest in Cen
trail American affairs we would be
helping in the development of one of
the richest countries in the world.
Central America could furnish vast
food supply. 1t is exceedingly rich in
minerals and woods, declared these
visitors, who made careful econom-
ic survey, and is naturally one of the
finest cattle-raising countries in the
world. 1t is in reality, also, our south
ern border, since our Pacific shipping
must pass through the Panama Canal,
and, when it has been constructed,
that of Nicaragua.
To establish friendly relations with
these southern neighbors and help
them in their problems will, in their
belief, bring return thousandfold.
F. J. C.