Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1917 — RUBBER CENTER OF PERU [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

RUBBER CENTER OF PERU

ONE would scarcely consider a place miles inland a.seaport; and yet Iquitos, the only eastern outlet for Peru, near the confluence of-the-inany rivers which form the Amazon, is visited rernlnrly by large, ocean-going vessels. The two-weeks’ Journey upriver, from Para at the mouth, is rather monotonous; there is little to see on either bank except low, swampy jungles, save a few important places, such as the city of Manaos, Santarem, Boa Vista, and some others, where the land is comparatively high, until one reaches his destination, which is only 328 feet above sea level, writes Samuel E. Bayless in the Bulletin of the Pan American Union. At last he steps out on the large, half-mlllion-dollar floating wharf of the boat company; and then comes the big surprise, for Iquitos is not at all the rough, frontier Amazon city one sometimes reads about. Writers of such articles cannot have known the place well, or have not seen it of late years; for-there is much of comfort, beauty and substance in this the capital of the great province of Loreto, >vhlch occupies nearly the whole of Peru east of the Andes, and contains more than 280,000 square miles, or as much as three or four of our states put together. The city is comparatively new, being scarcely more than a third of a century from the Jungle stage, and owes its growth and prosperity to the everincreasing demand for rubber. In fact, it is one of the great rubber ports of the world. The first thing a person naturally notices is the buildings in the business section. These are the city hall, a commodious-and well-built structure, as is also the prefecture, or statehouse; Masonic hall —the lodge has quite a large membership among Iquitenos and foreigners; various storehouses; two very large barracks for the soldiers; provincial prison, and the splendid new hotel, the Malecon Palace, of re-enforced concrete, a handsojnely decorated, three-story edifice, having all modern improvements nnd convenlenees, which wa&ltuilt-at-a cost of $250,000 by Sr. Otonlel Vela, a public-spirlted-and very wealthy gentleman. This hotel is on the street facing the river, and~has its own drainage system directly into the stream.

Residences Are Up-to-Date. With the exception of a few palmthatched houses on the edge of town, the residences, too, are of brick and concrete, with tile or galvanized-iron roofs. Most of them are Brazilian in style. That is, one room clear across the whole front of the’ lot, or solar, flush with the street; and back of that two. rows of rooms, one on either sfde of the patio, or courtyard, which opens into the front room. All the rooms are large and airy. The fronts of some of the houses are beautifully decorated with colored French tiles, and the interiors arO up-to-date in all their appurtenances. All the buildings, both public and private, are exceptionally good, far better than their counterparts in many places of equal size in northern South America, Mexico and Central Aiher- ' --- -- ■ r , The number of inhabitants of the city varies, from 30.000 during the high-water, period to 18,000 —it may drop to 12,000 in the dry season, when the rubber-gatherers are out. Being the capital, the local assembly, or consejo provincial, meets here, as well as the superior and minor courts. The prefect, or governor, is appointed by the-authorities in Lima; but the alcalde, or mayor, Is elected; and he and the members of his council may be (some usually are) foreigners^ —merchants, as a rule. That part of the Peruvian army which is stationed here is well equipped, drilled and officered. There is a splendid parade ground about a mile and a half. from town, where It is a pleasure to watch the troops at drill and target practice. The goVernmejMffgunboats and a transport are usually stationed here. They were built in Europe and brought over under their own steam. The public schools, four in number, are well taught and attended, the

people being very generous in the support of their schools. The citizens belonging to the upper class of native Peruvians are very well educated, many of them having traveled extensively in Europe. Lively Place Socially. When everyone is home, during the worst of the rainy season (there are two dry seasons of from two to four weeks each, and the rainy season lasts pretty much over the rest of the year), with the prefect and his staff, numerous army officers, merchants and foreigners, the place is quite lively. There are public banquets, and private dinners and dances, and as Iquitenos are very hospitable, a person soon becomes acquainted, especially if he speaks Spanish, and loses entirely the feeling of isolation. The principal product of this part of South A merlca is rubber. which 18 gathered from the vast tropical forests, and many thousand tons of it are shipped frojn Iquitos every year. Next in Importance, in the matter of -exports, is the tagua nut, or vegetable ivory, and the number of tons of this product sent out is increasing. Third come c<’dar logs in the found, which are now being supplied for pencil wood, cigar boxes, etc. A few hides, 1 skins of boas, deer, and other wild animals complete the list of articles which reach the outside In any quantity from this port. Very few agricultural products are obtainable. The soil, a loose sand underlaid by stiff blue joint clay, which is close to the surface, is not conducive to farming; and the few chacras. or small farms, are some distance from the city. Four- years ago a very powerful wireless station was erected by the government to replace one less powerful ; and .now the town is in direct radio connection with Lima, clear across the Andes, without any relay of messages. Indeed, the operator frequently told me he had “picked „up’l Washington the night before and heard messages going from there. But treaties for exchanging commercial messages even- with Manaos had not yet been arranged. There is also wire communication with many points nearer than Lima, and telephones in the town, though their use is not general. At. least two newspapers are published here regularly, also a small magazine; and three theaters, two used for moving pictures, furnish plenty of entertainments

Burn Coal From Norfolk. All the coal is brought from Norfolk, Va., and although very high in price, is used by the ice factory, bottling works, electric-light plant and various machine shops, both government and private. Even the little street railroad, which runs from the customhouse along the principal streets to deliver freight, burns coal. This road also runs passenger trains, and operates a line out to a resort in the suburbs, called Lake Marona Cocha. To be sure, there is plenty of w’ood near by that is used to a certain extent; but it has not sufficient heat units to maintain steam well. Four days up the Nanay river, which empties into the Amazon 12 miles below Iquitos, are found outcrops of very good lignite that could be utilized under boilers, as has been proved in a small way; but so far no one has seen fit to exploit It. In the same vicinity are very good indications of petroleum. Twenty-five or thirty steamers, of from four to eight feet draft, and calling this their home port, ply the upper Amazon and numerous rivers that flow into it, though they never go below the Javary, which is the boundry between Brazil and Perp along its line of flow. They belong to the many large stores and trading companies located in Iquitos, that carry very complete stocks of goods, mostly European, and in Ordinary times when, rubber is “up” do an Immense business.