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Show MINERAL WEALTH IN BOLIVIA United States Now In Position to Develop De-velop Natural Resources of the Country. "The opening of the Panama canal will bring all the South American, countries in closer touch, with the United States, and is bound to result in mutual profit," said J. H. Hobart of New York In an Interview at Washington. Wash-ington. "Bolivia is one of the countries coun-tries In South America of which little is known here, but which la sure to be developed through being In closer touch with this country. There la no doubt that among the many Industries to be established in Bolivia, gold mining min-ing is one that will be among the most lucrative. It was only a short time-ago time-ago that Bolivia, Ignorant of the gold that lay hidden, started her efforts to develop her mines of tin, copper, silver, sil-ver, bismuth and tungsten, paying no attention to the more precious metal. "Years ago, during the Spanish regime, the Spaniards took many thousands thou-sands of dollars' worth of gold from the Bolivian mines. Tho fleet of Spain carried to Europe cargoes of gold, which historians erroneously recorded as the product of Peru. The error was' duo to tho fact that almost everything sont from the American continent to, Spain had to pass through and be recorded re-corded In the office of tho viceroy, who resided in Lima, and tho error was the less notlceablo because, under tho reign of the Spaniards, tho territory now known as Bolivia was called upper up-per Peru. "The day following the proclamation of independence, when tbo Spaniards took their departure, they took the precaution to close the entrances to all the mines, hoping to find them as they left them on their return. But the Spaniards never came back, and for a century the rich vetns of gold, it Is said, have been lost to mankind." |