CENTRAL AMERICA 



1254 



CENTRIFUGAL FORCE 



came the tribes that had held out until then. 

 For almost three centuries from that date 

 Central America formed the Spanish captaincy- 

 general of Guatemala, but in 1821 the Spanish 

 rule was brought to a close by a revolution. 



A NATIVE HUT 



The newly-independent territory was at once 

 divided into the five states of Costa Rica, 

 Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador and Nicaragua, 

 which for a brief time were a part of the 

 empire of Mexico. In 1823 they freed them- 

 selves, and became the Republic of the United 

 States of Central America, but the union lasted 

 only sixteen years. Since that time various 

 efforts have been made to form another union, 

 sometimes by force of arms, but the govern- 

 ments in the single states have always been 

 too unstable for any one of them to assume 

 a firm leadership. By colonization Great Brit- 

 ain gained a hold in the country during the 

 nineteenth century, establishing British Hon- 

 duras, and in 1903 another state, Panama, was 

 added to the number of republics. 



Almost incessant wrangling within and 

 among the states has retarded progress, but 

 the Washington Peace Conference of 1907 was 

 the beginning of a period of diminishing inter- 

 state friction. A Central-American Court was 

 established, and it has been very successful in 

 arbitrating troubles between states. It has 

 also outlined interstate regulations as to roads, 

 telegraph systems and commerce. O.B. 



Related Subjects. The following articles, if 

 read in connection with the above, will give a 

 more detailed knowledge of Central America: 



Belize 



Blueflelds 



British Honduras 



Colon 



Cortez, Hernando 



Costa Rica 



Guatemala 



Honduras 



Leon 



Maya 



Mosquito Coast 



Nicaragua 



Nicaragua, Lake 



Nicaragua Canal 



Panama 



Panama, Isthmus of 



Panama, Republic of 



Panama Canal 



Salvador 



San Jose 1 



San Salvador 



Tegucigalpa 



CENTRAL FALLS, R. I., a city in Prov- 

 idence County, in the northeastern section of 

 the state near the border line, and on the 

 Blackstone River. Providence, the capital, is 

 four, and one-half miles south. The New 

 York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad enters 

 the city, and electric lines reach adjacent cities 

 and towns. The city is extensively engaged in 

 the making of cotton, woolen and silk goods, 

 leather, haircloth and glass, water -power "for 

 manufacture being provided by the river. A 

 chocolate mill was established here in 1780, 

 and the place was known for a long time as 

 Chocolateville ; in 1871 it became a part of 

 the city of Lincoln, and it was incorporated 

 independently in 1895. Since that time its 

 growth has been rapid. According to the Fed- 

 eral census the population increased from 

 22,754 in 1910 to 24,707 in 1914. 



CENTRA 'LIA, ILL., a city in Marion County, 

 in the south-central part of the state, sixty 

 miles east of Saint Louis, Mo. The settlement 

 made here in 1853 was first chartered as a city 

 six years later. In 1910 the population was 

 9,680; in 1914 it was 10,938. The area is three 

 square miles. It is served by the Illinois 

 Central; the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; 

 the Illinois Southern, and the Southern rail- 

 roads. 



The city has parks, a city hall, a Carnegie 

 Library and a hospital. It is near large de- 

 posits of coal, and coal mining is one of the 

 principal industries. Fruits, especially apples 

 and strawberries, are shipped in large quanti- 

 ties. There are railroad machine and repair 

 shops, canning factories, glass works, marble 

 yards, a zinc 

 smelter and 

 manufactories of 

 boxes and crates, 

 shirts and over- 

 alls. 



CENTRIF- 

 UGAL, sentrif'u 

 gal, FORCE. 

 Mud flies from 

 the rim of a rap- CENTRIFUGAL FORCE 

 idly rotating car- ^'^atm^a .gie at^o) 



nage wheel, and stone is at (a), revolving 

 wntpr flips frriTn a aroun <l (&). it is traveling 

 om a towards (c) ; but the string 

 swiftly rotating is pulling towards (6), hence 

 j~4." rr the stone must take the re- 



gnndstone. 11 a sultant path (arf). See COM- 

 string be tied to POSITION OF FORCES. 

 the handle of a pail filled with water the latter 

 can be swung over the head without spilling 

 the water. The force which produces these 



