Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 201, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 August 1916 — Lower California [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Lower California

THERE have been many rumors of late that Lower California WQUId secede from Mexico and become a republic. Vague notions prevail of what constitutes Lower California. Physically, it Is a peninsula 700 miles long and a hundred miles or so across from the Pacific to the gulf. The peninsula is a jagged one with a mountain range paralleling the Pacific. The sterile heights are not inviting, nor is the cactus-covered tableland. Few passes bisect the mountain range. There i$ little timber and less water, but the peninsula is not all barren waste. There are regions in which the wealth of tropical vegetation is riotous, and there are great stretches of land which, by means of irrigation, can be made the sources of productive agriculture, writes Charles M. Pepper, in the Washington Star. It is the coast, however, that is of chief international Importance. This was charted by Admiral Dewey when he was Captain Dewey. It has also been charted by other officers of the United States navy, and its characteristics are not unknown to the Japanese navy. There are few good harbors either on the Pacific side or on that of the gulf, and that is another reason - which makes those that do exist of such international importance. A wealth of romantic tradition clusters around the peninsula. It has been called “the mother of California.” Cortez sent exploring parties there after pearls and gold. The Jesuit fathers established themselves, and all the romance of the mission days is due to them.

Porfirio Diaz gave Lower California the best government it ever had, which was that of a benevolent, but ironhanded, military dictatorship. The peninsula was constituted into a territory, which it still is, and was divided into two districts for administrative purposes. The headquarters of the northern district are at Ensenada, not very far from San Diego, with which steamship communications are maintained. The headquarters of the lower district are at La Paz on the gulf. Resources of the Territory. The bulk of the population is in the southern part of the peninsula. The total number of inhabitants is said to be between thirty and thirty-five thousand, of whom possibly three-fourths are In the south. Under the Diaz policy of encouraging foreign capital to develop the material _ resources of Mexico, a marked progress was observed in Lower California. The gold mines proved to be largely legendary, but there are several productive silver mines operated by American capital. Lower California is one of the world’s principal sources of copper production. The great mine known as ‘Santa Rosalia is situated near the gaff coast. It is controlled by the French branch of the Rothschild family, and the majority of the foreigners there are Frenchmen. Santa Rosalia has been described as a French municipality in a Spanish and Indian environment.

The pearl fisheries of the gulf one time were quite valuable, although the reports of thd revenues which the Spanish crown derived from them were, as usual, wildly exaggerated. The center of the pearl fishing industry is at La Paz. It has dwindled a good deal in recent years, but is still a source of revenue to the government The agricultural resources of the peninsula never have been systematically exploited. This is partly because it only could be done on a scale requiring a large amount of capital and partly because of the political uncertainties. The country itself is not such as to , invite many colonists from the tJnited States, though there have been a few adventurous spirits who took their chances. What is needed in order to insure colonization is irrigation. Magdalena Bay and La Paz. I Attention has been centered on the proper interest of the United States in Lower California through the Magdalena bay incident. That was a case in which Washington could not afford to view the international situation with unconcern. Naval officers know the harbor as one of the finest in the world, just as the old-time New Bedford whalers knew it. They know that the United States, in due regard for its own rights, never could acquiesce in any arrangement by which any Asiatic power, or, for that matter, a European power, would be allowed to convert Magdalena bay into a naval station. For that reason they, perhaps, were suspicious of the nature of the pro*

posed land and colonization scheme around Magdalena bay. The investigation made by the state department under the direction of Secretary Knox did not disclose that any foreign government was directly interested in the project. A full report was made to the senate on the subject. Nevertheless, the senate thought it wise to pass the resolution introduced by Senator Lodge, which was in substance a declaration that the United States would regard the establishment of any foreign* power at Magdalena bay as an unfriendly act. This was a notice to Mexico, as well as to Europe and Asia.

Magdalena bay Itself is thoroughly known to the American navy. When President Roosevelt started the American fleet around the world, Porfirio Diaz seized the opportunity to show his friendship for the United States and to demonstrate that he had no fears of ulterior purposes on our part. He-ex-tended the hospitality of Magdalena bay as a naval station for three years. La Paz, which is on the gulf, has been used as a coaling station by the United States. The station is not far from the old cove which was the rendezvous of the Dutch pirates in the days when the Gulf of California was known as the Sea of Cortez. La Paz is actually the metropolis of Lower California. The United States maintains a consulate there, and there used to be a small American colony engaged In business. There were also some adventurous Americans who did not know just why they were there. Should the military leaders of what exists of the Mexican army in Lower California decide to set up a dictatorship and call it a republic, La Paz would be the center of a good deal of interesting news. But there w r ould also be Interesting news from Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, which is much nearer to American territory and with which communication is much easier.

THEATER IN LA PA Z