Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1943-01-07
VICARAGUA-OCEAN LINK
OF TOMORROW

ConLrdl AmoTlCdu ICpuUllCS. AIo
territory. about that of Wisconsin,
forms an isosceIes triangle wedged
into the middle Of Central America,
with the Pacific as the western
boundary and the Atlantic, the Car
ibbean Sea, as the eastern.
From northwest to southeast the
extension of the Sierra Madre noun
tain system cuts through Nicar-
aqua, dividing in into two parts
which have, as yet, little access to
each other. The smaller OF these,
the narrow Patific Coast region, Is
about quarter Of the country's 8
total area of $1,000 square miles.
But here is most Of the agriculture
of the nation, and nearly half its
population of about million and
half. Here, too, on the southern
shore of the famed Lake Managua,
about 200 feet above sea level, Is
Managua, the capital city.
Almost completely destroyed by
earthquake and fire in 1881, the
city has risen again, more modern
but fully as beautiful as Of old.
The larger eastern section OF the
triangle is for the most part noun
famous. Most of the large rivers
emptyfng into the Atlantic rise in
the central cordillera region. The
Rio Grande de Matagalpa flows
eastward through large gap in the
mountains, and in it's valleys are
most of the cattle ranches OF the
country
Lying placidly between mountains
and coasts are the two fresh water
lakes for which Nicaragua is ia
nous. Into them empty the noun
tain streams of the western slopes.
The smaller of these is Lake Man
aqua, SO miles long and 10 to Is
miles in width. The other, Lake
Nicaragua, is an elliptical body of
water 80 miles long and 80 miles
at it's widest 1t is about 135 feet
above sea level and has always been
an important factor in the trans
portation of the country. Davila,
the first Spanish conqueror, called
it "Freshwater Sea" From Lake
Nicaragua, on it's way to the AT
| lantic, flows the San Juan river.
Together, these lakes cover nearly
$500 square miles. These lakes
and the San Juan river long have
, been discussed as possible routes of
a second canal linking Atlantic and
Pacific In the days of the Cali
fornia cold Rush" there was live
ly interest in the possibility. A
definite step in the direction of such
waterway is a treaty recently en-
tered into by the governments of
Nicaragua and Costa Rica for the
canalization of the San Juan. Tbs
would open the way for navigation
of ships of medium size from the
Atlantic to Lake Nicaragua and
speed the development Of the whole
region.
Columbus was the first white man
to set eyes on Nicaragua. In Sep
tember of 1902, according to the
story, ntaring the Central American
coast on his last voyage, he was
overtaken by storm. Finding
safety in an unknown harbor, so
great was his relief that he called
the jutting point of land "Gracias
a Dies" (Thanks Be to Cod. So
the northeastern corner of Nicar-
aqua got its name.
Conquest did not follow close on
the heels of discovery. however. 1t
was not until after Balboa discov-
cred the Pacific and claimed it all
in the name of the Spanish king,
that there was begun period Of
conquest and Spanish rule, to last
for three years beyond three CEN
turies. Movements toward inde-
pendence there were, but the coun-
try's development into free ma
tion was delayed by attempts of var
ious foreign powers to administer
the affairs of the Nicaraguans. At
last, rid of foreign interference,
Nicaragua was to enjoy a period of
tranquility which has been marked
by a steady advance in the political
and economic life of the nation.
In the worldmarket of today
Nicaragua can offer gold, coffee,
bananas, lumber, cotton, live stock
hides and sugar. To supply it's
own needs, the country requires
from other nations, cotton goods,
machinery, tools. iron and steel