PART II
STUDENT REPORTS
ECONOMIC HISTORY OF VENEZUELA 31 Geographical 31 Political 32 Banks and Currency 33 Aids to Economic Development 34 Government 35 Prospective 36
POPULATION, IMMIGRATION, EDUCATION 37 Census Reports 37 Most Thickly Populated Districts 38 Need of Immigrants 39 Inducements to Immigrants 40 Educational Facilities 41
PORTS OF VENEZUELA 46 Coast Line 46 Major Ports 47 Minor Ports 48 Special Port Activities 49 Port of La Guaira 50 Pilotage and Towage 52 Lighterage and Cartage 52 Stevedoring 52 Port Charges 53 Wharves and Warehouses 53 Documents 54
OCEAN, CABLE AND RADIO COMMUNICATIONS 55 Shipping Communication 55 Number of Ships Entering each Port 57 Nationalities of Ships Entering same Ports 58 Steamship Lines 60 Red "D" Line 62 Cable Communication 63 Wireless Communication 64
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES 65 New National Highways 66 Equipment and Care of Highways 67 Automobiles in Venezuela 67 Venezuelan Railroads 68 Waterways of Venezuela 71
AGRICULTURE IN VENEZUELA 73 Agricultural Zone 73 Products 73 Coffee 74 Cacao 74 Tobacco 75 India Rubber 77 Sugar Cane 78 Wheat 80 Cotton 80 Tonka Beans 81 Vanilla 82 Cocoanuts 82 Indian Corn 83 Beans 83 Indigo 83 Capital Invested in Agriculture 84 Forest Zone 85
CATTLE INDUSTRY OF VENEZUELA 87 Number of Cattle 88 Other Live Stock 88 Exports of Pastoral Zone 89 Facilities for Cattle Raising 90 Obstacles to Cattle Raising 92 Recent Developments 93 Centers of Animal Industry 93 Dairy and Canning Plants 93 Price of Land 95 Desirable Regions 95 British Investments 96
MINERAL RESOURCES OF VENEZUELA 97 Land Surface of Venezuela 97 Rocks 97 Gold 98 Copper 99 Iron 99 Coal 100 Salt 100 Summary of Ores Mined in Recent Years 102
PETROLEUM AND ASPHALT IN VENEZUELA 102 History of Petroleum 103 Mining Law of 1905 103 New Code of 1909 104 First Development of Petroleum Fields 104 Mining Law of 1918 104 Contracts Awarded 105 Opportunities for Development of Petroleum Industry 107 Petroleum Exported 108 Description of Asphalt 108 Occurrence of Asphalt 109 Asphalt Industry 110
CHECKS, DRAFTS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE AND TRADE ACCEPTANCES IN VENEZUELA 110 Function of Credit 110 Extent of Check System in Venezuela 111 Clearing of Checks 112 Laws regarding Commercial Paper 112 Drafts and Bills of Exchange 113 Long and Short Time Credit 113 Foreign Drafts 114 Definition of Trade Acceptance 115 Extension of Usage of Trade Acceptances 116
COMMERCIAL TRAVELERS IN VENEZUELA 117 Importance 117 Climatic Conditions in Venezuela 117 Customs Duties on Samples 118 Catalogues 118 Knowledge of Language and Customs of Venezuela 119 Climate of Various Cities 120 Market for Various Products 120 Complaints Against American Methods of Packing 120 Roads and Highways in Venezuela 121 Tables of Distances Between Principal Cities 121 Freight Charges 126 Financial Conditions 126 Currency 127 Venezuela's Tariff 127 Opportunity for American Travelers 128
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS AND AMERICAN CAPITAL IN VENEZUELA 129 Venezuela's Public Debt 129 Foreign Banks 130 Public Utilities 131 Other Investments 131 Investment Opportunities 132 Proposed Railroads 133
FOREIGN TRADE AND AMERICAN GOODS 137 Foreign Trade in Venezuela 137 Effects of the World War 138 Imports and Exports 139 Summary of Venezuelan Foreign Trade--1917-1919 140 Market for American Goods 141 Complaints Regarding Packing 141 American Selling Methods 142 German Competition 142 Customs Collections 143 American Personnel in Venezuela 144
APPENDIX
CLOSING LECTURE IN SCHOOL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE BY DR. PEDRO ITRIAGO CHACÍN 145
EDITORIAL COMMENT BY AMERICAN AND VENEZUELAN JOURNALS 156 Good Trade Ambassadors, _N. Y. Post Express, August 11, 1920_ 156 Student Fraternization, _El Nuevo Diario, Caracas, June 20, 1920_ 156 Llegada de los Estudiantes Americanos, _El Nuevo Diario, June 27, 1920_ 158 El Profesor Sherwell, _El Universal, June 27, 1920_ 159 Dr. Sherwell Arrives, etc., _La Prensa, New York, August 26, 1920_ 161 Georgetown Students Welcomed in Venezuela, _Sunday Star, Washington, July, 1920_ 163 El Match de Base-ball, _El Imparcial, July 18, 1920_ 164
ILLUSTRATIONS
At the foot of Bolívar's Statue _Frontispiece_ FACING PAGE Salutation--Georgetown to University of Caracas 16 Reply of University of Caracas to Georgetown 20 Map of Venezuela 24 Dr. Sherwell and Georgetown Students 31 Rancho Grande and Ocumare de la Costa 49 Bolívar's Home in the Mountains. On the Road from Maracay to Caracas 65 At Central Tacarigua. At foot of Statue of Ribas 97 Ceremonies in honor of Bolívar and Washington 133 Trophy presented to Georgetown Students by Minister of Public Instruction 165
REPORT OF THE REGENT OF THE SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE TO THE PRESIDENT OF GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, WITH RESPECT TO THE VISIT OF CERTAIN STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY TO VENEZUELA.
* * * * *
OFFICE OF THE REGENT
SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY WASHINGTON, D. C.
March 1, 1921.
_To the President of Georgetown University._
_Sir:_
I hand you herewith papers relating to the visit to Venezuela made by a group of eighteen students in the summer of 1920. These papers comprise a brief report of the trip, by Dr. G. A. Sherwell, who was in charge of the mission, some of the essays on the economic resources of Venezuela, prepared by the students, and, in the appendix, a translation of a notable address delivered by Dr. Itriago Chacín at the close of the Georgetown students' sojourn in Caracas, together with editorial comments from certain journals of this country and Venezuela. I venture to refer briefly to each of these documents.
Dr. Sherwell's report makes clear how great was the courtesy shown and how extensive were the facilities afforded to the Georgetown students by the official and academic authorities of Venezuela. I believe the University, and for that matter academic circles outside our own University in this country, must be grateful for the many attentions and unfailing interest manifested by the Venezuelan officials and teachers in the work of these students.
Dr. Sherwell's report likewise makes clear that the contact was a valuable one for the particular students who made the trip, and that they bore themselves well and creditably. All the more satisfaction may be derived from this fact inasmuch as the students selected might be fairly taken as a cross section of the student body in the School of Foreign Service,--and you are already aware how widely representative of the youth of our country that student body is. That these young men should have made a favorable impression in a rather long trip of this character when they were under the observation of a great number of persons, and often in situations calling for a demonstration of no inconsiderable poise and sense of the fitness of things, can not but enhance our satisfaction and our confidence not merely in the resourcefulness but in the trustworthiness of the men upon whom this country must depend in the future for the promotion of her trade and the dignified and active representation of her policies.
The address of Dr. Itriago Chacín has been reproduced in full,--in so far as a translation can ever render the full effect of an original,--and it is, quite apart from its intrinsic merit, a document of much interest, for it shows how profitable and enlightening must be the studies in the field of political science carried on by students sent out in groups under conditions described in this report. Studies in the field of Political Science are not, to be sure, the primary object of students going abroad to survey the economic resources, the commercial usages, and the facilities for transportation and distribution of commodities in the countries which they visit. None the less, sustained contact with trained masters of political studies may at times be possible, and should in all cases be availed of in order to gain the valuable experience of hearing points of view on matters of international policy developed in other countries and under conditions quite different from those obtaining at home.
Space forbids that more than thirteen of the reports prepared by the students be published. Those selected are believed to have the more general interest and to contain material not easily found in other sources. All of them were based upon personal investigation and consultation with Venezuelan authorities. Obviously, there are evidences of hasty preparation and the papers leave something to be desired in the arrangement and presentation of material, the collation of figures, and the critical discussion of printed sources. In places, too, there are statements which might require modification if a more mature person were to assume responsibility for the given report. They are submitted solely as the work of students in process of formation.
It is of interest to call attention to the fact that this visit to Venezuela was the source of much favorable comment in the press of the two countries, several papers in the United States dwelling upon its significance as the first formal effort to place our own students directly in contact with the life of the other Republics. Specimens are included in the Appendix.
Dr. Sherwell has referred to the bestowal of a decoration on him by the Venezuelan Government, and has minimized its personal significance. This reservation of his I transmit with amendments, for I can not but share the views of the Venezuelan authorities in granting him first, the Medal of Public Instruction and later the Order of the Liberator, that he had rendered Venezuela a lasting service, no less than his own country, by his dignified, gracious, and enthusiastic interest in the promotion of the intellectual and commercial relations of the two republics.
The immense practical value of laboratory work in the physical sciences is among the cardinal tenets of sound pedagogy. In like manner, the application of economic principles and theories of political science to actual conditions as they exist in the world to-day is the ideal feature of a liberal education for foreign service such as this department undertakes to provide. Perhaps in no other educational program should more pains be taken to cultivate the faculty of accurate observation, exact expression and bold initiative, based on logical reasoning aided by fertile imagination.
Proficiency in the technique of foreign trade or consular practice or diplomatic procedure is but a fractional part of the full equipment of American youths aspiring to serve their country's interests abroad either in public or private capacity. Technical knowledge will be futile unless humanized by a broad sympathy with the men and institutions of other climes. Therefore, the policy of sending such groups of students abroad deserves encouragement, and I earnestly recommend that the Regent of the School of Foreign Service be authorized, on the basis of the substantial success of this first experimental visit, to send such students as it is possible to select and send under competent direction, to other countries in the summer of the present year and hereafter.
Respectfully, EDMUND A. WALSH, S. J., _Regent_.
To JOHN B. CREEDEN, S. J., PH. D., _President of Georgetown University_, _Washington, D. C._