COSTA RICA— AULCAN'S SMITHY 



517 



product of the temperate zone, but also 

 because of the history of the past half 

 century of steady fighting, not bloody and 

 cruel, nor for power, nor for the satisfac- 

 tion of petty ambitions, but for the con- 

 quest of knowledge and the enlighten- 

 ment of its citizens. 



For Costa Rica stands alone among the 

 turbulent Central American States in all 

 things pertaining" to freedom, self-gov- 

 ernment, and progress. The country 

 was colonized at first by people from the 

 ancient Spanish province of Galicia. and 

 the colonists have not. as in many trop- 

 ical countries, amalgamated with the 

 aborigines ; they have consequently kept 

 to the present time the original charac- 

 teristics, as well as the qualities of their 

 race, and the inherent grace and charm 

 of their ancestors. They are laborious, 

 progressive, and peace-loving, and have 

 a record of a long period of absolute in- 

 ternal tranquillity. 



Three-quarters of the population in- 

 habit the so-called Central Plateau, the 

 climate of which is the most perfect 

 realization of perpetual spring. The ag- 

 riculture of this region is very highly de- 

 veloped, the principal product being cof- 

 fee, maize, beans, and potatoes. The 

 land is divided into exceedingly small 

 holdings. Almost every peasant is a 

 land-owner. 



The Atlantic coast, warm, humid, and 

 rather unhealthful, but very fertile, pro- 

 duces on a very large scale bananas and 

 cacao, the exploitation of which is un- 

 fortunately tied by contracts with for- 

 eign companies. In the banana planta- 

 tions, covering over a hinidred square 

 miles, the laborers are mainly West In- 

 dian negroes, the only human beings 

 able to stand hard and continuous work 

 under the climatic conditions. 



The Pacific coast does not dilTer much 

 from the interior but for its warmer 

 temperature and its extensive grass-cov- 

 ered savanas, in which stock raising is 

 the chief industry. 



Except for a small part, located in the 

 western province of Guanacaste. the 

 360,000 inhabitants are crowded into a 

 narrow belt extending across the coun- 



try from Ocean to Ocean, along the rail- 

 road which connects Port Limon and 

 Punta Arenas. The remaining part of 

 the State— that is to say, four-fifths of 

 its entire surface of about 18.400 square 

 miles — is a wilderness, with but a hand- 

 ful of hardly 'half-civilized Indians in- 

 habiting the valleys of Diquis and Tala- 

 manca. 



Of the five Central American Repub- 

 lics. Costa Rica was the first to be con- 

 nected by a railway with the eastern 

 coast, thus getting into close touch with 

 European civilization. In many respects 

 this was a source of real benefit to the 

 country. The Costa Ricans became 

 great travelers. They sent their sons to 

 be educated in foreign schools and uni- 

 versities, and on their return these dif- 

 fused among their fellow-citizens new 

 ideals and more advanced moral stand- 

 ards. Foreign teachers and professors 

 were brought and kept long enough to 

 establish on a solid foundation an excel- 

 lent school system, so perfect indeed that 

 illiterate men or women are hard to find, 

 while books and newspapers are com- 

 mon even in the most remote hamlets. 

 The scientific study of the climate and 

 the natural resources of the country was 

 carried on at the expense of the govern- 

 ment, and the introduction of modern, 

 arts and agricultural methods and im- 

 plements were given every encourage- 

 ment. 



Sad to say, the uplift in the general 

 education has awakened misdirected am- 

 bitions among the poorer classes, at- 

 tracted the peasants to the cities, created 

 a greed for government positions, these 

 having consequently multiplied beyond 

 all reasonable limits, with a correspond- 

 ing" and necessary increase of public ex- 

 penditures. 



Moreover, on account of a heavy pub- 

 lic debt, the result, partly of unscrupu- 

 lous speculations of foreign and native 

 financiers and of unwise undertakings, 

 the government has become entangled in 

 heavy financial difficulties that have 

 brought the country to the verge of 

 bankruptc}-. This deplorable economic 

 situation has been aggravated of late by 



