OIL & ILLITERACY

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXI, Issue 8839, 2 November 1942, Page 3

OIL & ILLITERACY

BIG WELLS IN VENEZUELA SUDDEN PROSPERITY COUNTRY THAT HAS NO DEBTS Should Hitler’s Caucasian oil rush succeed completely it will have serious consequences for Russia. Fortunately, Britain and America would 3till have enormous reserves to draw upon, among them bei*g the wells. of Venezuela, Latin-American republic hardly, known to Australians and New Zealanders, notwithstanding that it has had 52

revolutions in less than a cen-

tury! After the United States and the Soviet Union, Venezuela is the third greatest oil producer in the world. In .the economic sense it lives on oil, which accounts for 85 per cent, of its exports, and two-thirds of its Government revenue. It has no income tax, no real estate taxes, no excise taxes, and no municipal taxes. Oil pays for everything. One of the reasons why .German U-boat warfare has been intensified in the Caribbean zone is that the Germans arc hunting the oil-tankers which take this oil to North America. In that respect the Caribbean waters are important scenes of the present life-and-death struggle. According to the latest Venezuelan statistics, considerably more than 20,000,000 tons of oil are exported yearly. It goes entirely to the United States and other Allied countries the world over. As -the war continues and more oilfields are destroyed and production crippled, Venezuela’s importance will increase. Oil meant the same to Venezuela, a backward country in an area of 303,976 square miles, with a population of only three and a-half millions, as the gold-rush meant to Klondyke. But its sudden wealth was more sub stantial. It brought prosperity and order to a republic where dictators disturbed the peace and bankruptcy of the State was frequent. To-day, Venezuela is perhaps the only country in the world which has no external or internal debts. Thousands of Wells

Venezuela in English means “Little Venice.’’ The name dates back to the times when Columbus sighted it. The Spaniards associated, it with Venice, for they found a resemblance to the Italian city in the dwellings of the Indians inhabiting Lake Maracaibo; the area where the most prolific oilfields were subsequently discovered.

The republic to-day can be. divided into two parts: one is the oil-pro-ducing area, blessed with prosperity, and advancing in civilisation from one day to another; and the other is where “things are in a natural state,” as the Venezuelans say, still doubtful that the luck which struck them will last for ever. There are 3384 oil wells in Venezuela, all of them controlled by British and American capital, save the Carribean Petroleum Co., which is owned partly by the Royal Dutch Shell and the Mene Grande Oil Co., in native hands.

Maracaibo is the capital of the State of Zulia, and the centre of the oil region. Most foreigners in Venezuela live there. British, American and Dutch engineers toil to-day to lift the production to its highest peak. A considerable number of Germans live in the city, too. Bellavista, El Milagro and Los 'Haticos are the suburbs in which the foreign element resides. Life is expensive there, certainly dearer thafi in Australia or the United States; but in other parts of the country it is much cheaper. Maracaibo itself, with a population of 75,000, dates back to colonial times, and provides a peculiar mixture of modern and ancient buildings. The majestic cathedral and ecclesiastical institutions built in Andalusian style are reminders of Spanish rule, while the new Government buildings, hotels, modern boulevards, night clubs and little cafeterias bespeak the present. A few years ago, Indian villages dotted the shores of Lake Maracaibo. To-day, they are replaced by thriving, modern oil towns like La Roza, Cabimas, La Salina and Lagullinas, where order, cleanliness and prosperity hold sway. La Guaira, a port of which Venezuelans are just as proud as the people of Rio de Janeiro and Sydney are of their harbours, is the place where old and new Venezuela meet. Situated at the base of gigantic mountains, with a population of 10,000, it is the central port of the republic; furthermore, it is the shore end of the submarine cable to Florida, via Curacao, Santo Domingo and Cuba. La Guaira was not - always a safe harbour. It was made so by British engineers. Caracas, the capital, founded in 1567, and having a population of almost 150,000, is a city built .at an altitude of 3020 feet,' though the southern section is 400 feet lower. In some parts, where the hills are. too steep, it is dangerous to walk. Thus, it is a good idea' to have a climbing stick with you, as in Simla, the summer capital of British India. The city is the gate to the interior, and is only 23 miles from La •Guaira. Venezuelans look on it with pride and confidence. They say it is “steadier” than oil. Paper, cement, textile factories and soap and candle works can be found here, but the •State’s chief products are cocoa, coffee and sugar. There is a direct highway between Caracas and San Cristobel, one of the most important lines of communication between South and Central America, leading through the Andes —a long, trying journey, but’ rewarded by the magnificent scenery.

In the principal square is a statue of Simon Bolivar, one of the liberators of South America from the

Spanish yoke and the European influence. But in the side-streets you will find German-owned pensions, most of them centres of Nazi activities, now sternly repressed. The people of Venezuela are a mixed lot. The aristocracy are the “pure-blooded” Spaniards—very few of them—descendants of the first colonisers. By contrasts, there aic full-blooded Indians, not only the wild Indians of Guiana, but also many civilised groups, already converted to Christianity. Then there are the “pardos”—of mixed Indian and Spanish blood—and the “mestizos,” progeny of Europeans and Indians. The importation of many Negro slaves resulted in the creation of a new racial group, that- of the “sambos/ a mixture of Indian and Negro blood with some European infusion. •Poverty, lack of education, and disease still play havoc with the mass of the population physically and mentally, despite the wealth and prosperity of the people on top. John Gunther recently found that 90 per cent, of the masses were illiterate and that “when army conscripts are called up,’ 95 out of 100 are diseased!”