Subscribers enjoy higher page view limit, downloads, and exclusive features.
4 PORTO RICO SOIL WEALTH PRODUGER Productivity Largely Aug- mented by Torrential Streams That Score Hills. BY GIDEON A. L When Columbus touched the shores Porto November, 1493, he seekins Dorado. the land of found gold mines in , mow known as Santo Do e year before, but he still ng for the great continent of Ilimitless wealth. he passed Porto Rico by with only a brief stop to rewater his ships and to rest his crews. It was just as well as far precicus metals were concerned, Porto Rico has but a small stor mineral wealth, though the .Indians undoubtedly ‘mined it and used it fc ornaments. It is occasionally mine today 4n the torrential streams t score the hills. Those stre: ce of far & glittering parti down into ng products of plans of deve effect they wi vielded Colun In Path of Trade Winds. Porto Rico lies in the of trade winds prevailing generally 'm the East and Southeast. A great ridge of hills, rising to heights of more than 4,000 feet in some places, rough ly divides the is into two sections, > southern. from the it in the siopes of tha bundant raia < precipi though evenly or t i s flowing south. | as northward. Thus on is well watered by le on the south the fields LYON. of wa however, eater wea! are a than the brin; the v v are unce multiply the if present arried into rder and They have Ith thin sociates work even I Iy hereafter infinitely more his immediate fo: the mounta an 1. Lit ed on the outhern sides K 1081 Many vearsago the Spanish planters o feed the land. Their e comparatively cans settled in e early part of the nineteer y and somewhat im: proved the system, adapting the irri- gation processes used in their own unevenly watered island. Relics of these early irrigation works are still to be noted Some of the onduits, indeed, are even today in use, so sub: stantially were they built. Porto Rico’s Problem. present the problem in Porto is to make every mountain work to its fullest extent the big money crop of the island, its chief source of wealth, is & voracious consumer of water, It needs at le 72 inches a year. Upon the amc t, and more specifica the dist tion, of the rainfall, therefore, depends the prosperity of the island. Coffee, which grows mainly in the hills, gets enough moisture in the or- dinary ourse. Tobacco makes small demand for artificlal irrigation. The citrus fruits are mostly grown on naturally watered soil. Sugar is the greedy claimant that must be satis- fied or Porto Rico languishes. And the water that it needs must be given in t the right quantities at the right stages of growth to produce the de- sired result of a heavy stand of cane with a high percentage of sucrose. The island is ideally configured for water-power development. The ridges do not run with geometric smooth- ness, but cross and recross in eccen- tric lines, forming many deep valleys. The high hills are dented with al countiess depressions that may be dammed to form storage lakes. The problem is one rather of finance than of engineering. Will it pay to build & dam here, or there? Will the precip- itation and the average water flow Justify the expenditure? These questions belong to the juris- diction of the Department of the In. terior, whose chief commissioner, Guillermo Este is a _ remarkably capable man, an engineer of ability and an executive with inexhaustible energy He has organized a highl; efficient staff of assistants, mostl graduates of continental technical stitution: Water Power Ample. There is sufficient water power in Porto Rico, Mr. Esteves belie: , to produce all the electricity required for municipal purposes, for traction needs, for a far greater industrial develop- ment than the island now énjoys, and for the irrigation of every acre of po- tential agricultural land. If money can be provided for this work the plants can be established. It is only a question of how rapidly the funds will become available. To illustrate the ingenuity with which this problem is being solved it may be noted that plans are now under consideration to maintain the water supplies on the south side of the island, wher they are most ur- gently needed, by building dams on the north side of the main watershed and feeding the southern reservoirs by means of tunnels cut through the mountain wé A trip Esteves to south side, near gave me a vivid ade. At Rico stream Sugar, taken the with Commissioner Carite dam, on the Guayama Guayama, mpr ion of che in- tensive manner which Porto Rico's | “streams of gold” are belng worked to yield the wealth that Columbus and his followers in the exploration of the new world overlooked. rite is one of the most important, though not the 1a t, of the er_power develop- ments in the island. It feeds an area | that is particularly arid, and yet is a heavy producer of biz money crops The lake formed by a relatively small dam lies 00 feet above s The water is first brought down 750-foot fall, in two 30-inch pen stocks to n powerhouse, where it de- Yelops 1500 horsepower._in_electric | | PERPETUAL BUILDING ASSOCIATION Pays 6 Per Cent on shares maturing in 45 or 83 months. It Pays 4 Per Cent on shares withdrawn be- fore maturing Assets Over $10,000,000 Surplus $950.000 ComerllthandESu NW. JAMES BERRY. San_Cristobal fort, near San Juan, one of the “public works” of the old regime. current. It is then sent down about 500 feet to a second station. where it yields 1,000 additional horsepower. A plant is now planned, some dis e , that will produce 500 sepower, making 3,600 .in all from this one reservoir. Becomes Aid in Cane Fields. When it has vielded its final unit of possible electric energy, the water is turned into canals, and, with care- (ul daily measurements, distributed hrough the cane fields. ' Not a drop reaches the sea save through evap- oration and rainfai. But this is hot the whole story of the water impounded by the Carite dam. About onefifth of the electric current produced by the Carite de- velopment is used for municipal light- ing, nine towns getting the current for this purpose. Four-fifths of the current goes o industrial ses, chiefly to the operation of irrigation pumps. Wells are driven into the subsoil in the cane fields and the water that has been spread over the fields and has seeped to the lower soil strata is brought back to the surface and used over again for irrigation. Thus the mountain streams impounded by Carite dam, first worked for the pr duction of electricity, are spread over the cane fields and then are recovered by means of the current they have al- ready created and are used over again. This is an instance of the “triple expansion” hydraulics now in- creasing the fertility of the Porto Rican soil. The exports of sugar from Rico during_ the fiscal vear June 30, 1924, were valued 792,602. It would be difficult to figure just how much of this enormous vield was due to irri; ion. Perhaps it was half, which is a fair estimate, or put it at a quarter, which is more con- servative. That is $12,000,000. The present irrigation plants in Porto Rico have cost at the highest compu- tation no more than that, and are working season after season and will continue to work for countless seasons to come. Yielding Inexhaustible Wealth. The golden streams of Porto Rico are yielding inexhaustible wealth. While some of these irrigation and power projects are undertaken wholly by the insugar government, as that now under way in the Isabella devel- opment, in the northwestern corner of the ‘island, mainly they are of a virtually_co-operative character, with the insular government as executor. Demand is made for an irrigation project in a certain section. The San Juan authorities examine the ground, compute the number of acres that re- quire irrigation and the cost of the work. It then submits the question of construction to a vote of the peo- ple and the interests involved. If approved by two-thirds of the voters of the district and also by the owners of two-thirds of the property affected, the work is undertaken, being paid for by a bond issue. The charges for power and water are regulated by the amount of the loan and special taxes are imposed upon the entire district in proportion to the expenditure. Thus a sinking fund is blished, and the debt is reduced annually, the annual charges are thus lowe un- til_the entire obligation is liquidated. Behind the desk of Commissioner Esteves in his office in San Juan stretches a great blackboard on which Porto ending at $47- J%Wmew ARMOURS The Origi nal Quick C ookz WHOLEFIakes Now Also oy ook in 3 minutes. Try them. JOSHUA W. CANR. the | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, The Patillas Dam. | are written the titles of the public-work contracts in the « execution, with the names of the con tractors and the amounts involved On the day when I called upon him to | arrane for the trip into the irrigated | district_the board showed upward of 0 contracts. Those for road con ruction work amounted to $2,231, 000. For public_buildings the con tracts called for $2,600,000. For mu- nicipal works of various kinds $1,500, 000 was being spent. In addition to the contracts on this board other con- tracts for rural schools were running, the commissioner explained, involving the expenditure of approximateiy $1.- 000,000. The Department of the In- terior is furthermore spending $1.250, 000 annually for road maintenance. These figures total $8,581,000 for work under way which is exclusive of irrl gation and water power development Insular Work Done by Coniract. _Practically all insular government work is done by contract. Road main tenance is under the direct super- vision of the government. A _road mender is engaged for eve meters, or about 500 in all. is pald at the rate of a dollar and is given a house near his work. There is a suy every 21 kilometers, ana he also has dwell of the old anish “road houses” that the former ers of the land established as com bined roud-mending and military posts. Road-mending work done. Small holes are filled [/l so that a road rarely e When resurfacing is required It is done by the use of powerful combina tion rollers that tear up the old work and compress the new. No road is ever closed to traffic for repairs. Hence there are no “detours” in Porto Rico, a condition much appreciated by tourists. The repair work is all done on one side, leaving room for the passage of veh! S New roads are constantly under con- struction, completing the network of communications. Work on such roads begun from the point near- sea and the highway is st as it is ready for use, the people the earllest access to their markets, ich generally lie in the direction of the coast The roads are macadam, usually with a top surface of tar binder. They are the equal of any of the best roads in the States. The right of way on the main lines is 30 feet in width, giv- 11g. as a rule, a 20-foot driving surface. The ditches are well kept, it being one of the duties of the road-mender to trim the grass and weeds, which he does with his machete, the universal tool of the islanders. The machete is used for mowing, for cane cutting, for tree pruning, for cocoanut gathering and also for fruit peeling. and in idle moments for whittling. The machete, by the way, costs about a dollar, and & good one is the prized possession of its owner. Tree Planting a Duty To turn to the road keeping, each road-mender must spend a certain part of his time, one day a month as I recall, in tree planting along the roadside. Where the trees are in good condition he must keep them pruned and free from ants’ nests. These trees are bath for shade and for protection. In the mountains, where the roads wind, like the “elongated fish,” so often mentioned in the cross-word puzzles, these trees are a reassuring safeguard against disaster. The Spaniards built good roads and good bridges. The “military road” from San Juan to Ponce is a ronu- ment to their highway-making ability. it was a means of military communi- cation and no better engineering has been displayed in Porto Rico in later years than was shown in its location and its construction. The ‘“road houses” were stationed at intervals of about 3 kilometers, or the dis- tance a man could run at full speed. The_military commander at_Ponce visor for est t opened as thus Take “Beauty” Home with he is the cutest dog you ever geen. Makes a splendid house pot, he's auiet and very orderly: he hasn't a mean trait in his disposition Just a nice lovable doggie—s Ereat’ companion for kid- Gies, “Beauty' in made of the softest. tan and white wool: his insides are kapok and he upin a big comes all “Beauty bow. The cost of 18 governed by his size— $2.75, $3.75, $4.75 $6.50, $9, $15 The National Remembrance Shop (Mr. Foster's Shop) 14th St.. Ons door from Pa. Ave. Also 1229 Pa. Ave. SOME PUBLIC WORKS IN PORTO RICO Good Roads Near Cagnas. could send a relays from re in shorter time than a courier ride on horseback Good road material is abundant. On every hand, stone can be obtained, but great care is exercised to get and use only the Dest. Rock crushers are maintained at convenient points throughout the island to reduce haul ing, It is no uncommon sight to witness the construction of a substantial con. crete bridge over a perfectly dry »am bed. But at any time, espe during the ‘rainier” season— there is, strictly speaking, no rainy season, =o the word is used in the comparative degree—a storm may break that will bring a flood down the watershed, and transform these dry beds into raging torrents. For the rainfall in the mountains is often so heavy that the irrigation lakes over- flow essage to San Juan by house to road house could Spillways Quickly Operated. All the frrigation dams have in con- sequence fo be built with that are quickly operated. Patllias dam the spillway is on the leaf principle, the valves opening un der a certain pressure. A few months ago such a heavy storm broke that the lake was filled to overflowing with a rapidity that caused a scouring flow to escape from the spillway, cutting a deep gorge below the dam and mak- ing expensive repair work necessary. Public building construction — in fact, building work of all kinds, for roads, houses, bridges and dams—is expeditiously executed in Porto Rico For little time is lost on account of the weather. There being no frost, concrete work can be carried on throughout the year. Rarely does the rainfail check operations more than an hour at a time. Consequently large school buildings that are planned in January are often ready for Summer Sunday, May 10th A Special 8-Day Invest- ment and Pleasure All-Expense Tour to FLORIDA =311 This allows you to visit St. Augustine, Daytona, Palm Beach, Miami, Coral Gablez, 3= well as A By The Sea All expenses, Pullman, hotel, bus fares, yacht trip and all meais. Phone us about this special 8-day personally conducted towr. Uswal cost, $250. Our special price, in- cluding Pullman, hotel bills, food, etc. $250 Eight-Day Trip for $110 Reservafions Taken Day Open Every Effi,. Until 10 PM. Phone Us at Once Main 347 D. C, WEDNESDAY, DAWES RULES PLAN OPPOSED BY MOSES Does Not Look for Any Ma- terial Change by Next Senate. Senator Moses of New Hampshire, President pro tempore of the Senate, does not look with favor on the pro posal of Vice President Dawes to re vise the rules of the Senate so as to provide more effective cloture, it be- came evident on his return to Wash- ington yesterday. Discussing the Vice President’s address in Old North Church, in Boston, when he attacked the Senate rules, Senator Moses said: “The Vice President's attack upon the rules of the Senate aroused so much enthusiasm and was given such a warm reception that the tempera- ture dropped to 18 degrees above zero and 6 inches of snow fell.” Senator Moses, who is a_member of the rules commlittee, predicted that, despite efforts of Vice President Dawes during the congressional re- cess, no material changes in the rules would be made at the next session of the Senate “I am looking for tax reform at the next session of the Senate,” he con- tinued, “and jt will not fail because of the rules of that body, which work well enough when the people are wide awake and are on the job. ‘Our_rules do not prevent the pas sage of legislation which the people really want. They have now existed for more than a century, and, while frequently subject to violent attack, ve never kept any desirable or de- sired piece of legislation off the stat ute books. A lot of bad legislation has been kept off the statute books by them. “We should have some place In this country of ours where a man can say his s: Had we been operating in the Senate under cloture we would Lave had free silver tn 1893, ship pur- chase In 1915, which would have launched us into the World War two years before we were ready, and in 1919 the Versailles treaty been ratified without reservation.’ Vice President Dawes' program for m of the Senate rules also was ked today by Senator F Re. publican, of Ohio, who declared a strict limitation on debate would aid rather than check the “mania for new laws.” The Ohio Senator, who made his views public after a visit to the White House, said, however, the Senate should amend its rules to limit speakers strictly to a discussion of the subje of debate. argy in the conduct of the works in Porto Rico. A phrase frequently heard in gov- ernment circles in San Juan s, teves is looking after that means that the job, whatever it may be, is being promptly, thoroughly economically executed. teves, commissioner of interior, type of the new plishment and progress under Ameri public is the America’s Most Beautiful BALLROCM Carnival Night! Just like the old street i Is_ of the OLD Noine mukers. —you'll "be wure of having & goed time at SWANEE tonight. 2 Swanee Direction. ree MET3 HARRY LINK, the “singin Will_entertain Tix novel munner. In the Earle Theater Building 13th Street at “E” & and | Guillermo Es- | Porto Rico of accom- | APRIL 1925. Plans Completed To Start Climbing 19.500-Foot Peuk 29, Hardships Erncountered as Mt. Logan Party Establishes Bases. VANCOUVER, B. C. April 29.— In a telegram to_the Vaacouver Dail Province today, Capt. A. H. McCarthy, who is to direct an_expedition which is to try to climb Mount Logan, an unscaled peak in the Yukon, 19,500 feet high, said that an advance party which he is heading “succeeded in accomplishing what we set out to do_after 70 days’ ceaseless worl The message, dated McCarthy, Alaska, read, In part: “The advance party that has been establishing supply bases along the route for the Mount Logan Expedi tion returned here Monday. We had three dog teams with us. “It was necessary to work re- lays, a six-horse team bobsled cov. ering 490 miles, and then three dog teams making the 950-mile stretch— all_over rough, broken terrain, very difficult to travel, with deep snow and bad ice in places, and terriffic cold at all timeg. On the wa wck ran into a Spring break-up, whic d our progress to some exten with 17,000 pounds of f and other supplies, All caches were suceessfully made.” Lleven members of the are to leave Seattle Sunday for Cor dova sica. from where they are to pre to a base camp on a north ern ¢ of Mount Logar MIDGET BAND|;|' INDICTED. Chicago Authorities to Hold Man Wanted in New York. CHICAGO, April 28—t was ported today that the grand ju voted a true bill in_eonnection W the investigation of Henry J. Fer- nekes, known as ‘the midget ban dit,” against whom the police charged several murders and a ¢ of bank robberies The reported grand ju interpreted in police a that Fernekes would be tried here in of being returned to Pearl N. Y. to be tried on indict- s charging two murders in con- bank robbery in 1921 in expedition re- had ith stead River. m nection with A PAIR? HAVE YOU anfilgver No wardrobe is complete without one pair of shoes that you can walk in and feel that vour feet are perfectly comfort- able. That's the great beauty of the CANTILEYV ER—it fits splendidly, snug at the heel and arch, aond it flexes as the foot flexes. When you walk, this shoe doesn't drag against you. Come to our store and walk around in this oxford and see how comfortable it is. Prices, from $8 to §13 Cantilever Shoe Sken 1319 F Street N.W. Second Floor Over Young Men's Shop 'TRIBUTE PROPOSED TOREV. DR. TALBOT Memorial Tablet to Be Un- veiled at St. Paul’s Epis- copal Church. A tablet in memory of the Dr.. Robert Talbot, who was rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church for years, will be unveiled at the tomorro% evening by R Ethelbert Talbot, Bishop hem (Pa.) and pr piscopal Church States, who is a rector. ate Rev. ht Rev. of Bethle of brother the of United the late Bishop Freeman to Take Part. 3. Freeman, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington, will- pro nounce an invocation at the ceremony; Rev. Dr. David W. Howard of Nor: folk, an intimate friend of Dr. Talbot, will preach the sermon, and Rev. John Talbot Ward of Burlin , N. v sp k. Rev Dr Arthur solving and Rev. Christopher ng of Baltimore will attend, piscopal cler; invited to join in the vestme Mrs. Talk Washington from M present on this oce The services, which at 8 o’clock, will incl ‘Glorious Thi openir Tord's 132; iessons nd Revelations, lects of evening prayer singing of the hymn “We Lo Place” the bishops will proceed to the tablet, where Bishop Talbot will un veil it and Bishop Freeman will & prayers. K <par. and the d in come to processional s of Thes ce in eveni and xxi.1-7 Du XXXV and ¢ 1l Sermon to Follow. of this Christ Upon conclusic ceremony there will be sun, Sure Foundation.” foll will be the sermon by Dr. I concluding pravers and blessing Bishop Talbot, and recessional hy “I Heard thi f Voices.” After the s in tk there will be a fellowship gatheri the parish house, so that f have opportunity of meeti bot and the cle; ng h chureh | s bishop of the | v of this city have been | the | Is Made the |FRANCE TO FOLLOW " BRITAIN IN RETURN < T0 GOLD STANDARD | I, | (Continved from First Page) the d standard. Eminent econo- mists and influéntial newspapers had up to the last pointed out the danger of haste in th natter. “Exchange with the United States,” sald the chancellor, “has been for some time stable; we have no imme- diate heavy commitments across the Atlantic. We have entered on a period on both sides of the Atlantic when po« litical and economic stability see more assured than it has been for ome If this opportunity is ht not recur for some years missed it m rnment's insurance scheme, mitted, repri ed A liabllity on the state 900,000. 1t would, the taxpayers little sar of its operation, : charge on the state would £4,000,000. But by the tenth year would be £15,000,000 ‘and year £24,000,000. Then, by the thirty-fifth year, the bur- den would d to 00,000. Canada Will Benefit. OTTAWA, April 20 —Canadian sugar, t nd and, to a | certain exten be the chief eference pro- 1 before the today 1 Winst be the charge by the twentie cellor of the er Spencer Churchi BOOK DEALER FINED. | Harry C. Jones Accused of Operat- Without License. — Seventh | Harry C. ond-hand book | ticense, fined | Mahon Upon | the Te: | Dur their text All Day of Death '"flllllllllll\llll\ll\lhwfilItlllllll'Illllllllll'lll‘lllll.‘.I\IHNlHIHHIM‘VE‘.EHINh T CLOSED April 30th Because Butler-Flynn Paint Co. 609 C St. N.W. Thursday, in Family W. W. CHAMBERS CO. The Brownstone Funeral Home Cor. 14th & Chapin N.W. Phone Col. 432 not only renders valuable sistance, but takes all sibility from the family. as respon- bereaved Complete Funerals, $75, $100, $125, $150 Up —including fine casket, hearse, cars, ete. No extras. Private Ambulances. ... $4.00 Extra Funeral Cars $7.00 Any Make Steel Vault, $85.00 Chambers’ Charges —are only one-half the old-time undertaker’s charges, =S Ny ! l||m||h il NE The paint brush looms large on the horizon these days. “Clean Up and Paint Up” is the slogan of the season. “MURCO” Lifelong Paint —will be used by those who believe that what’s worth painting is worth painting well. Durable and Beautiful— 100% Pure—that's “Mureo.” Every home should have a VICTROLA F YOU think you can't afford one, you cither do not realize how much pleasure it would bring your fam- ily— Or you do not know about the easy plan of pay- ments which we have de- vised for your convenience. HUGO 1110 G Street N.W R I 3 Adjacent Brick Buildings ear 1739 Eye Street Direct Entrances From 18th St. and Alley in Rear = Will Improve to Suit Tenant and Lease Separately or as Entirety L. W. Groomes, 1416 F St. e ULV IS TR NIttt e flll|l|llllllllllllilllmllul'lvJIlIII1I|IIHIIII)IXINIII1\IIITN|IIIl E Vietrola No. 405 Easy Payment< IT'S EASY —to own one —to pay for it Come in tomorrow and let us tell you . Make a the address. WORCH (TR T T R T T R Tt e T EYES ' And Then—-on=" “Look for the Schwarts Clock™—it’s your protection \\\\xl ih i, . Center Your Thoughts YOUR ¥“on Chas. Schwartz & Son OPTICAL SERVICE Graduate trists bring full eff- ciency to your eyes. Cive it careful thought. I O e