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Show Lower California I fstrV V . 1 ( if ii j ili ml I ?) 'fi'PfW' U 1 i . h ft iiHi rite htt iPlp.J t W ' fU ) V&t A 3m' I ! v7t. 7 4 TMtAi t.R in La PaZ THERE have been many rumors of late that. Lower California would secede from Mexico and become a republic. Vague notions prevail of what con-ititutes con-ititutes 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 is little timber and less water, but tin-peninsula tin-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, agri-culture, 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 character-istics 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 clus-ters around the peninsula. It has been called "the mother of California." Cor-l.ez Cor-l.ez sent exploring parties there after pearls and gold. The Jesuit fathers established es-tablished themselves, and all the romance ro-mance 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 Iron-handed" Iron-handed" military dictatorship. The peninsula was constituted into a territory, ter-ritory, which it still Is, and was divided di-vided into two districts for administrative administra-tive purposes. The headquarters of the northern district are at Ensenada, not very far from San Diego, with which steamship communications are maintained. main-tained. 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, thou-sand, 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, legen-dary, 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 gulf 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 municipal-ity in a Soanish and Indian environment. environ-ment. N The pearl fisheries of the gulf at one time were quite valuable, although the reports of the revenues which the Spanish crown derived from them were, as usual, wildly exaggerated. The center of the near! fishing indus try is at La Paz. It has dwindled a sjood deal in recent years, but is still a source of revenue to the government. The agricultural resources of the peninsula never have been systematically systemati-cally exploited. This is party because It only could be done on a scale requiring requir-ing a large amount of capital and partly part-ly because of the political uncertainties. uncertain-ties. The country itself is not such as to invite many colonists from the United States, though there have been a few adventurous spirits who took their chances. What is needed in or-Jer or-Jer to insure colonization is irrigation. Magdalena Bay and La Paz. Attention has been centered on the proper interest of the United States In Lower California through the Mag-dalena Mag-dalena bay Incident. That was a case in which Washington could not afford to view the international situation with unconcern. Naval ollicers know the harbor as one of the tiuest 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 proposed pro-posed land and colonization scheme around Magdalena bay. The investigation made by the state department under the direction of Secretary Sec-retary Knox did not disclose that any foreign government was directly Interested In-terested 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 sub-stance 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 Amer-ican 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 extended 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 siauou uy wc United States. The station is not far from the old cove which was the rendezvous ren-dezvous 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 dictator ship and call it a republic, La Paz would be the center of a good deal of interesting news. But there would also be interesting news from Ensenada, on the Pacific coast, which is much nearer to American territory and with which communication is much easier. |