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Show NEIGHBOR ,,v TIN IS STRATEGIC U WAR MATERIAL Ce-fabuloisly wealthy sll-Ih sll-Ih s of Bolivia, which in the Colonial days yielded 1m- treasures to hordes of ad-se" ad-se" and explorers, are now riJtU7in producing a far more 83 vltal ele" iuont tin ore. Tin Is a necessary substance in the manufacture of essential war weapons and equipment, equip-ment, and is one of tho most important im-portant contributions of Latin American countries to the war effortmore ef-fortmore valuable today than ever before, with the Malayan states, the other principal source of tin, In enemy hands. Bolivia Is sending to the United States almost the total output of her great tin-producing mines which are high in the "Cordillera Real," 12,000 to 20,000 feet in altitude. alti-tude. Because Bolivia is a completely com-pletely landlocked country, without with-out ports and shipping facilities of Its own, uniqueness has been achieved in conquering the difficulties diffi-culties of transportation in moving mov-ing its products to shipping ports on the Pacific coast. The building of the aerial cable tramway at the Caracoles mine is one of the most spectacular engineering engi-neering feats ever attempted. Sixteen Six-teen thousand feet above sea level, this six-mile, double cable road is perhaps the highest one of, its kind in the world, supported by half a hundred giant towers. Huge steel buckets, filled with ore, speed over this cable system from mines to mill. The route traverses snow-covered snow-covered Andean peaks, yawning ravines, and almost perpendicular mountain sides. Still another phase of transporting transport-ing Bolivia's tin to the world markets mar-kets is the arduous mountain route which must be covered from mills to shipping points. Half a century ago, sturdy, surefooted llamas loaded with heavy ore carried car-ried their burden over the Andes in true caravan style. But modern railways have long since tapped the mineral regions of Bolivia, and a network of connecting lines now permit a constant and quickened flow of products to the Pacific ports of Mollendo, Arica, and An-tofagasta. An-tofagasta. Potosi is the leader producer of Bolivia tin, mining about half the annual production. The wealth of this district has been legendary and fabulous, from the century of its "silver age," when its riches were proverbial, and reckless, adventurous ad-venturous men flocked to explore the "silver soul" of the adobe town on a barren terrace, 13,000 feet above the level of the sea. In short, Potosi was. in Colonial days a parallel with our modern "boom towns." In 1545, thousands of Spaniards and Indians crowded the the steep mountain trails by mule and horseback; prices of hard-gained necessities soared; flour and eggs were more valuable than silver; silver dust flowed through marekts of the narrow streets of the little town in wan- ton indifference. Thus, the wealth of the town and the resources of the mines were quickly squandered, and today, to-day, the far less radiant tin substance sub-stance is being taken from the lodes which in a dim past yielded a more fabulous treasure. - Before the war, Bolivian tin ores were shipped to England and other oth-er refineries, and re-exported to the United States. Now, however, smelters have been built on the Texas seacoast, so both the raw and the finished product may be received and shipped directly. More precious , perhaps, than the silver wealth of Potosi is its production of common, every-day tin. Whereas its silver was scattered scat-tered recklessly, its tin supplies are hoarded with far greater zeal, for every available ton is needed to supply armed forces with mechanized mech-anized equipment and materials, and to provide preservation of foods which must be shipped to our fighting1 men and allies in a hundred countries of the world. |