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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



-manufacturing industry in Los Angeles, 

 which has been phenomenal during the 

 past decade. In 1900 the government 

 industrial experts placed the city's manu- 

 facturing output at $5,000,000, and in 

 1905 at $30,000,000. This year Mr C. C. 

 White, of the Census Bureau, in his pre- 

 liminary investigations, places the total at 

 $75,000,000. 



With a cheap and abundant power such 

 as the city will be able to offer, a con- 

 .stantly enlarging market must follow. 

 Two hundred miles south of Los Angeles 

 lies the Imperial Valley. Here for three 

 years experiments in cotton - growing 

 have been carried on. Last year's crop 

 proved the industry a success, with a 

 grade of cotton of a very superior qual- 

 ity. There were 1,000 acres under cul- 

 tivation then ; this spring 30,000 acres 

 were set out to cotton plants. It will be 

 remarkable if this new industry does not 

 Ibring to Los Angeles likewise a new field 



for manufacturing. This is only one of 

 the possible means of power disposal at 

 which Los Angeles' commercial bodies 

 are casting longing eyes. 



For her own needs and for Pasadena 

 and other cities and towns in the vicinity, 

 electricity will be needed for street light- 

 ing, and in the construction of the mu- 

 nicipal harbor at San Pedro another field 

 awaits development of the magic juice. 



These are lean years for the second 

 metropolis of the Pacific Coast. She is 

 straining every nerve and conserving 

 every energy to meet the demands which 

 her enterprise now makes upon her. 

 With the spirit of the West, she has set 

 out to accomplish, and, with the determi- 

 nation of the West, ultimately she will 

 achieve. But, whatever the outcome and 

 whatever the reward, certainly no mu- 

 nicipality has ever waged a battle so 

 remarkable in all its phases as this city 

 by the Western sea. 



GUATEMALA, THE COUNTRY OF THE 



FUTURE 



By Edine Frances Tisdel 



THE interest of the world is at 

 present centered on the Isthmus 

 of Panama and the wonderful 

 work in progress there, so that in general 

 little attention is paid, except by those 

 commercially interested, to the adjacent 

 group of small independent republics oc- 

 cupying the intervening space from Pan- 

 .ama northward to the border of Mexico. 

 They are apt to be thought of as coun- 

 tries continually torn by internal strife, 

 devastated by earthquakes, and ravaged 

 "by disease — in fact, a sort of tropical wil- 

 derness scarcely worthy of a visit. 



Never was there greater mistake. The 

 iDcauty of the cities, the rapid extension 

 ■of railroads, the cultivation and enor- 

 mous proceeds of a wonderfully rich and 

 fertile soil, all convince us of the prog- 

 ress of a people living amidst a wealth of 



scenic beauty and a perfection of climate 

 rarely equaled. 



This is particularly true of Guatemala, 

 the most northern of the group, which, 

 under the long and peaceful administra- 

 tion of President Estrada Cabrera, has 

 been rapidly forging ahead to take its 

 place on an equal footing with other 

 nations of the world. 



Three days' delightful sail from New 

 Orleans to Puerto Barrios on one of the 

 fine ships of the United Fruit Company 

 brings us to these sun-kissed shores, 

 where stately palms, stirred by perfume- 

 laden breezes, wave in greeting. 



The steady increase of American and 

 German interests here is fast opening for 

 our benefit one of the loveliest countries 

 in the world, and the building of rail- 

 roads is placing within easy reach the 

 enjoyment of its natural beauties. 



