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Simeon, Prince of Tirnovo (born June 16, 1937), and Princess Marie Louise (born Jan. 13, 1933). Bulgaria's language is Slavonic. The state church is Orthodox Greek. Elementary education is obligatory from 7 to 14 years of age. There is a state university in Sofia and the American College is also situated there. Agriculture claims 78% of the population.

The principal crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, potatoes and tobacco. Fruit is abundant. Industrial plants and cultures, fruits, vegetables

and dairy products are exported in large quanti-
ties.
The chief seaports are Varna and Burgas (Bour-
gas), which account for 80 per cent of the foreign
trade.

Coal production is extensive. Mining otherwise is negligible.

The monetary unit is the lev with an average value of $.0119. The budget (1941) estimates receipts at 10,160,600,000 leva and expenditures 10,095,922,000.

Chile

(REPUBLICA DE CHILE)

Capital, Santiago-Area, 296,717 square miles-Population (1940), 5,000,782 The Republic of Chile lies on the west coast of South America, occupying the strip of land between the Andes and the South Pacific, from Peru to Diego Ramerez Island 55°59'S., having an extreme length of about 2,620 miles, with a coast line of 2,900 miles. The average breadth north of 40° is 100 miles.

Chilean imports consist mainly of machinery, petroleum, sugar, newsprint, automobiles, coffee, tea and maté and textiles. Besides minerals and wool the exports are chiefly meats, fresh and frozen, and fresh fruits.

The Andes have many lofty peaks, notably Aconagua (altitude 23,080 ft.), on the Chilean-Argentine boundary, the highest peak in the Americas. Corcoputi (22,162 ft.), El Muerto (21,227 ft.), the Baya (19,993 ft.), the Guallatiri (19,882 ft.) From 1907 to 1924 there were 12,694 earthquakes, an average of two daily.

Easter Island 2,000 miles west of Chile, with its hundreds of stone figures, and the two Juan Fernandez Islands, less than 500 miles west, are national parks of the Chilean Government.

The land in the north part is arid, but two provinces there, Tarapaca and Antofagasta, produced 95% of the world's nitrate supply until the process of obtaining nitrate from the air was made commercially profitable. There are 152 nitrate works in all (1938) but only about 25 are in actual operation producing about 100,000 metric tons a month About 70% of the world's supply of iodine is a by-product of Chilean nitrate oficinas. Chile is the world's second largest producer of copper. The provinces of Atacama and Coquimba have enormous iron deposits estimated at a billion tons. South of Valparaiso are large beds of coal, the reserve estimated at two billion tons. Other minerals are gold, silver, cobalt, zinc, manganese, borate, salt, sulphur, marble and onyx.

Agriculture is an important industry. There are many large dairy farms. Wheat, barley, oats, beans, lentils, apples, melons, peaches, plums, nectarines, peas and potatoes are grown in abundance. Chile ranks seventh among wine producing countries. Manufacturing industries have developed greatly during the last ten years. With the creation (1939) of the Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion (Corporation for the Promotion of Production) with a capital of $40,000,000, production of agriculture and manufactures has vastly increased.

The population is almost entirely of European origin; there are about 30,000 Araucans (natives) in the Andes and an indeterminate number of nomadic Fuegans in Terra del Fuego.

Magallanes (former Punta Arenas), in the Straits of Magellan, is the southernmost city in the world, and the center of a flourishing sheep industry.

Valparaiso, chief seaport, was founded (1536) and Santiago, the capital, three hours inland, is five years younger. The latter has two universities and a National Library.

Chile has about 6,000 miles of railroads, over half being state owned. An electric railroad connects Valparaíso with Santiago, 117 miles.

Education is free and (since 1920) compulsory. There is a government university and a Catholic University in Santiago. The Roman Catholic religion is dominant though not maintained by the state (since 1925) and all religions are protected. The language is Spanish.

All able-bodied citizens from 19 years to 45 are liable for army service. Service in the active Army is for 12 years and with the second reserve to the end of the 45th year. The strength of the Army approximates 20,000 officers and men. The Navy consists of one battleship, one armored cruiser and two protected cruisers, eight destroyers, nine submarines and auxiliary vessels. personnel is 8,000 men in normal times. There is an Air Service of three brigades.

The

Chile threw off the Spanish yoke (1810-18). Under the constitution (1925), the President is elected for six years, the 45 senators for eight, and 143 deputies for four, all by direct popular vote. The President is Pedro Aguirre Cerda (elected Oct. 25, 1938). All male persons, 21 years of age or more, and able to read and write, have suffrage.

The monetary unit is the peso with an average value of $.16. The budget (1941) is estimated to balance at 2,194,293,561 pesos.

China

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(CHUNG-HUA MIN-KUO, i. e. REPUBLIC OF CHINA) Capital (temporary), Chungking-Area, 2,906,475 sq. miles-Population (est. 1936), 457,835,475 China, with a history reaching back to 2205 B. C., occupies a territory in the eastern part of Asia about one-third larger than continental United States. To the north lie Siberia and Manchukuo; to the west Russian Turkestan; to the southwest and south the well-nigh impassable barrier of the Himalayas forms the Thibetan-Indian frontier. French Indo-China borders it on the south; and the China Sea and Yellow Sea on the east separate it from the Philippines, Formosa (now Japanese), the Japanese Empire and Korea. The country is of rolling topography, rising to high elevation in the north in the Kinghan and Tarbagatal Mountains in Mongolia; the Himalayan and Kwenlun Mountains in the southwest, in Thibet, and the Hinghan Mountains of Manchuria. Its length from north to south is 1,860 miles, and its breadth from east to west is about 1,500 miles.

situated, having about 36,469,321 people in 41,818 square miles, is the most densely populated political unit in the world.

Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are the religions of China, although there are an estimated 48,000,000 Mohammedans with more than 42,000 mosques in the country, including Manchukuo. It is estimated that there are 2,624,166 Catholics and 618,600 Protestants. Most of the aboriginal hill tribes are still nature worshippers.

China Proper-China of the 24 Provinces-occupies the fertile southeastern part of the country. an area nearly twice the size of the United States east of the Mississippi. There the population on the generally accepted estimates has a density of 174 to the square mile. China Proper is one of the best watered countries of the world. From the mountains on the west four great rivers run in general course stretching for hundreds of miles along the ocean and inland for 300 miles. These rivers, the Yangtze, the Yellow, the Si kiang and the Hanho, drain four-fifths of the country.

The Province of Kiangsu, in which Shanghai is

China is essentially agricultural. Wheat, barley, corn, kaoliang, and millet and other cereals, with peas and beans, are produced in the north: rice, sugar and indigo in the south. Rice is the staple food of the Chinese. Fruit is grown in abundance. Fibre crops are important and include abutilon, hemp, jute, ramie and flax. Cotton is produced mostly in the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys. Tea is cultivated principally in the west and south. One of the most important industries of China is silk culture. It has flourished 4,000 years. Livestock is raised in large numbers.

Cotton, wool and silk manufacture are important industries, especially in Shanghai and Canton, although native looms are found in most Chinese dwellings. Many commercial enterprises are Japanese-owned. In recent years flour and rice milling has become extensive; also tanning and cement and glass manufacture.

China is one of the foremost coal countries in the world, with reserves estimated at 243,669,000, 000 tons. Other minerals are iron ore, tin, anti

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mony, wolfram, molybdenum, bismuth and salt.
Oil wells are worked in South Manchuria and
Shensi. The oldest iron industry in the world is in
Shansi.

Shanghai, China's commercial and industrial capital, is situated on the left bank of the Whangpoo River, 12 miles above its mouth at Woosung. It is in the Yangtze delta. It occupies the most strategic position economically of any city in China. Through the port (before the last SinoJapanese war) passed 51% of the total import trade of the country and 35% of its export trade. deep sea vessels can navigate to its docks.

The Shanghai Municipal area (population, Census of 1935, 3,489,998), is made up of the International Settlement administered by the Shanghai Municipal Council (population, 1,007,868); the French Concession, administered by a Council under the French Consul General (population, 496.536), and the Municipality of Greater Shanghai, a purely Chinese administrated municipality (population, 1,986,358). The International Settlement stretches along the Whangpoo River between Chapei and the native city and contains the interests of 12 nations, the chief business buildings and houses 30,000 foreign nationals. Before the outbreak of hostilities (Aug. 1937) the Japanese residents numbered 28,000 of whom 18,000 resided in Chapel, and Japanese property interests were estimated as worth $189,500,000 gold.

Since the overthrow of the ancient Manchu dynasty and the establishment of the Chinese Republic (Oct. 10, 1911) China has been rent with internecine warfare.

The Nanking government called a People's National Convention in Nanking (May 5, 1931). The 450 delegates adopted a Provisional Constitution, which rearranged the executive departments giving the chairman of the State Council (then Gen. Chiang Kai-shek) the power to appoint the The Chinese government heads of ministers. was reorganized (Dec. 12, 1935).

The National Government as reorganized is composed of five Yuan (Councils) under the National Government Council (State Council). The Councils are the Executive, Legislative, Judicial, Examination and Supervisory.

The Executive Council is the highest executive body of the Government and organizes the ministries to which are entrusted the various executive duties. The Executive Council (Yuan) may be compared to the Cabinet in the Governments of the Western Countries with the chairman of the council holding a position similar to that of Prime Minister

The Legislative Council is the highest legislative
body and decides on legislation. budgets, war.
peace, treaties and international problems. It has
a President and a Vice President with between 49
and 99 members appointed by the National Govern-
ment on the order of the President of the Legis-
lative Council. The Judicial Council has charge of
the administration of the law. The Examination
Council determines the qualifications of applicants
for public service and none can hold a Government
position without passing an examination by the
Examination Council and having his qualifications
determined. The Supervisory Council exercises the
powers of impeachment and auditing.

The President of the National Government is
Lin Shen.

The Cabinet of Ministers follows:
President of the Executive Yuan-Gen. Chiang
Kai-shek.

Minister of Finance-Dr. H. H. Kung.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Quo-Tai-chi.
Minister of War-Gen. Ho Ying-chin.
Minister of Navy-Admiral Chen Shao-kuan.
Minister of Economics-Oong Wenhao.

Minister of Publicity-Wang Shih-chieh.
Minister of Education Chen Li-Foo
Minister of Interior-Ho Chien.

Minister of Communications-Chang Kia-ngau.
The Japanese have been extending their power
over China for the past 50 years, since the Sino-
Japanese war of 1894. Korea was conquered
(1910); Manchuria (1931-32). The border prov-
Kwantung army troops came through (1935) the
ince of Jehol was cut off as a buffer state (1933).
Great Wall north of Peiping from Jehol into the
Mongolia. The principal Chinese officials in Pei-
province of Chahar which lies between Jehol and
inces were turned out and replaced by new men
ping and Tientsin and in Hopei and Chahar prov-
har was made a demilitarized zone by June of
acceptable to the Japanese leaders. In effect Cha-
1935.

Japan set up (1937) a so-called independent gov-
ernment in Peiping, called "The Provisional Gov-
ernment of the Republic of China" and (1938)
established a second regime "The New Reformed
Japan announced (1938) that it would es-
Government of the Republic of China" at Nan-
king.
tablish two chartered companies to exploit China.
with a capital of 350,000,000 yen and the Central
These are the North China Exploitation Company
100,000.000 yen.
China Development Company with a capital of

Fighting broke out between China and Japan (July 7, 1937) and since then large areas of the provinces have been occupied by the Japanese invaders. The area of the free provinces is put at 1,018,218 square miles.

The Japanese established (1940) at Nanking a so-called central government under Wang-Chingwei, dedicated to end the war and establish a new economic relationship.

The monetary unit is the yuan. It was revalued (Aug. 1, 1940) at approximately 7 cents in American money. The budget (1939) was estimated to balance at $2,850,000,000.

Chief exports are animal products, oils, tallow, wax, seeds, raw cotton, raw silk, hides, skin, The imgoods, paper, cereals, beans and peas. leather, tea, chemicals, metals, minerals, piece ports include cotton, wool, metals, fishery products, tobacco, chemicals, dyes, paints, coal, coke, Trade is principally machinery and armaments. with the United States, Japan, Germany and Much commerce passes through Great Britain. Hong Kong.

Chinese Industrial Cooperatives have more than 2.000 units with a capital investment of 30,000,000 yuan and are producing goods valued at more than 9,000,000 yuan monthly

Education in China is compulsory from six years of age to 12 with the administration in the hands of provincial and district authorities. Enforcement averages less than 50 per cent throughout the country under two systems of schools, the higher lasting two years and the lower four years. There were (1937) 107 higher institutions of learning in China, including 42 universities, 36 colleges and

29 technical schools.

Illiteracy is being reduced in not only the provinces under the government of Chiang Kai-shek, but also in the eastern and southern coastal provinces occupied by the Japanese.

China has a national Army which gets its recruits through a system of compulsory citizenship service for a period of three years. There is also the regular Army with voluntary and obligatory service for six years and with extended service up Recruits must be between to the age of 40 years. the ages of 20 and 25. The Chinese Navy, since the war with Japan, is practically non-existent and was undergoing a reorganization when hostilities opened.

MONGOLIA

Mongolia, although nominally of China, was
somewhat shaken loose from Chinese adherence
Outer Mongolia is a re-
during the world war.
public, but it is recognized by Russia as under
Chinese suzerainty. It is bounded on the north by
Siberia, on the south by Sinkiang, on the south-
west by Turkestan, on the east by China Proper
and Manchuria. Its area is about 1,875,000 square
miles; the population is about 850,000.

Inner Mongolia (1928) declared its allegiance to
Nationalist China, but (April 23, 1934) set up an
autonomous government in Pailingmiao to handle
local affairs. Outer Mongolia governs itself on the
Soviet model.

The chief means of transportation is by caravan

but in recent years motor truck and steamboat lines have been established.

Tannu-Tuva, the northwest portion, about 64,000 sq. m. with a population of about 65,000 also governs itself on a Soviet model as a U.S.S.R. protectorate.

There is little agriculture, the great plains between the Tarbagatai and Kinghan Mountains being desert, with camels, horses and sheep as principal interests. The religion of the people is Buddhist Lamaism.

Chief exports are livestock and animal products. Foreign trade is backed by Soviet capital and the chief trading unit is the Mongo Central Cooperative Society.

SINKIANG (Chinese Turkestan)

Sinklang, known as the New Dominion, comprises Chinese Turkestan, Kulja and Kashgaria and includes all Chinese dependencies between

Mongolia on the north and Thibet on the south.
There are Turks, Mohammedans and Chinese resi-
Along the Kashgar and Yarkand
dents there.

Rivers there is much irrigation, and cereals, fruits and vegetables are grown with wool, cotton and silk production. Ili is the chief town. The population of Sinkiang is estimated at 1,200,000 and its

area at 550.340 square miles.

It is from Sinkiang that much of the jade comes. The province has been restive and made a declaration of independence in Kashgar (Jan. 23, 1934).

THIBET

Thibet, in Western China, is a country little known, situated between the Himalaya and Kwenlun Mountains, and hithmerto practically shut to strangers. The trade is with India mostly, being carried on through lofty passes, some of which are 14,000 to 18,000 ft. high, which are impassable in winter. China's hold on Thibet was visibly loosened when the revolution (1911) broke in China. The Thibetans expelled the Chinese garrisons. The capital is Lhasa. The area of Thibet is 463,200 square miles with wide areas unexplored. Population is estimated at 3,000,000. Some recent estimates place it as high as 6,000,000 and as low as 700,000. A 6-year-old peasant boy-Ling-ehr-la-mu-tan

chu-was enthroned (Feb. 22, 1940) in Potala Pal-
ace, Lhasa, as the 14th Dalai Lama, chief civil
and religious ruler of Thibet. Supposedly the
child-born of a peasant family in Kokonor Prov-
ince in China and taken to Lhasa by Thibetan
monks-was born at the exact moment the 13th
Dalai Lama stopped breathing (Dec. 17, 1933).
Until the new Dalai Lama is 18 years old the
head Lama of Reting Lamasery will rule the for-
bidden land.
The religion is Lamaism, a modified form of
Buddhism.

The highest grade musk is obtained from the muskdeer, now becoming very scarce in Tsarung mountains in Southeastern Thibet.

Colombia

(LA REPUBLICA DE COLOMBIA) Capital, Bogota-Area, 448,794 square miles-Population (1941) 9,334,392 The Republic of Colombia, situated in the extreme northwest of South America, extends up the Isthmus of Panama to the Republic of Panama. It has a coast line of 782 miles on the Pacific Ocean, and 1056 miles on the Caribbean Sea. It has as neighbors Venezuela and Brazil on the east, and Ecuador and Peru on the south.

Three great ranges of the Andes, the Western, Central and Eastern Cordilleras, run through the country from north to south. The eastern range consists mostly of high table lands, cool and healthful, the most densely populated part of the country. The Magdalena River, in the east, rises in the high Andes and flows north into the Caribbean Sea. 12 miles from Barranquilla. It is navigable for river steamers for 970 miles, as far as Girardot. Steamers ascend to La Dorada, 590 miles.

Snow-crested mountains standing almost directly over the Equator are one of many examples of scenic splendor in Colombia. Tourists are also attracted by the famous Tequendama Falls, a natural wonder near Bogota.

The country, conquered and ruled by Spain for 300 years, won its freedom in the revolt of the Spanish-American colonies (1811-24), the liberator, Simon Bolivar, establishing the Republic of Colombia (1819). Venezuela and Ecuador withdrew (1829-30).

Bogota, the capital (founded in 1538), is situated in the Andes 8,660 ft. high. To reach it by the Magdalena River and rail requires nearly a week; but a daily airplane service makes it in 211⁄2 hours.

The population is mainly whites and half castes with only 105,807 Indians. Education is free but not compulsory. The National University (founded 1572) is in Bogota. There are four other universities. Roman Catholic is the prevailing religion but all are tolerated. Spanish is the language of the country.

Military service is compulsory between the ages of 21 and 30 with actual service for one year. The

normal army is approximately 10,000 with 50,000
available for war. The Navy consists of two
destroyers and small boats. The naval personnel
numbers slightly more than 800.
States. Twenty-four air lines cover 9,280 miles of
There is tri-weekly airplane service to the United
routes in Colombia.

The Federal Congress consists of a Senate of 57 members, elected for a term of four years, and a House of Representatives of 119, elected directly by the people every two years. The President is elected by direct vote for four years and is ineligible for two successive terms. The President is Dr. Eduardo Santos (inaugurated Aug. 7, 1938) for a four-year term..

The elections (1939) returned to the house 75 Liberals, 42 Conservatives and 1 Nationalist. The Liberals also gained a majority in the assemblies of each of the 14 departments which elect the Senators.

The soil of Colombia is fertile and agriculture is a growing industry. Mild coffee is produced extensively. Rice, tobacco and cotton are cultivated, besides cocoa, sugar, tagua, wheat and bananas. Dyewoods are important commercially. Rubber, tolu balsam and copaiba trees are being exploited.

The country is rich in minerals. Seventy-five miles from Bogota are the Muzo emerald mines, which have been in operation for four centuries. Near Somondoco are the Chivor emerald mines, worked long before the conquest and later for a time by the Spaniards, but abandoned. Rediscovered, they have been opened again by an American company. Other minerals are gold, silver, copper, lead, mercury, cinnabar, manganese, platinum, coal, iron, limestone, salt and petroleum. Colombia's principal imports are textiles, metallic products, transport materials, food, chemicals and machinery.

The monetary unit is the gold peso with an average value of $.57. The budget (1941) is estimated to balance at 84,601,000 pesos.

Costa Rica

(REPUBLICA DE COSTA RICA)

Capital, San Jose-Area, estimated, 23,000 square miles-Population (est. 1934), 616,000 Costa Rica, in the southern part of Central duction and the distillation of spirits are an America, has Nicaragua for its neighbor on the important industry. north and Panama on the south. The lowlands by the Caribbean have a tropical climate. The interior plateau, with an altitude of about 4,000 ft., has a temperate climate.

San Jose, the capital, situated inland-103 miles by rail from Puerto Limon on the Atlantic Ocean; 72 by rail from Puntarenas on the Pacific Oceanis a city of great charm with Spanish balconies and patios. The crater atop Poas Volcano is the largest in the world. Puerto Limon occupies the site where Columbus landed on his fourth and last visit to America.

Costa Rica is well served by steamship and airplane services. There are two international airports, one at Santa Anna, about 15 miles due west of San Jose and another at Sabana, only five minutes from the heart of San Jose.

Coffee of a high quality is the chief crop. Bananas and cocoa are profuse. Corn, sugar-cane, rice and potatoes are cultivated. Tobacco pro

The forests are extensive, but the lumber industry is negligible. Gold and silver are mined on the Pacific slope. Other minerals are quartz, alabaster, granite, oil, alum, slate, onyx, mercury, sulphur and copper.

The Constitution (adopted Dec. 7, 1871) has been many times modified. The legislative power is vested in a Chamber of Deputies, 44 in number, with four-year terms, one-half elected directly every two years by manhood suffrage. The President, elected for four years, appoints a Ministry of seven. Dr. Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia, 42, was elected president (Feb. 11, 1940) under the first secret and obligatory balloting. For failure to vote the first time there is a fine of five colones, the second time a fine of fifty colones with a ban of holding office for two years. Roman Catholic is the religion of the state, but the nation has religious liberty. Primary education is compulsory and free. The National School of Agriculture is in San Jose. The language of the country is Spanish.

The monetary unit is the colon with an avera

value of $.06. The budget (1940) produced revenues of 30,750,000 colones with expenditures of 31,298,644.

Chief imports are cotton, iron and steel, flour, mineral oil and derivatives, motor vehicles, silk goods. A start on production of rubber was made (1939)

when more than 1,000 acres were planted in the lowlands along the Atlantic littoral.

The standing army, by convention (1923) among the Central American States, is limited to 500, but with the reserve and national guard, it is estimated the protective forces number approximately 150,000.

Cuba

Capital, Havana-Area, 44,164 square miles-Population (1939) 4,228,000
Cuba, the "Pearl of the Antilles," largest island
of the West Indies, lies among the Gulf of
Mexico, the Strait of Florida and the Atlantic
Ocean on the north and the Caribbean Sea on the

south. Key West, Fla., is about 100 miles distant.
The Windward Passage, 50 miles wide, separates
it from Haiti to the east, and Jamaica (British)
lies 85 miles to the south. Yucatan is 130 miles to
the west. Its length is 730 miles, and the breadth
averages 50 miles, with a maximum of 160 miles.
The coast line, including the larger keys, is about
2,500 miles in length. It has numerous harbors,
notably that of Havana, one of the finest and
safest in the world, also Guantanamo, and Bahia
Honda. Guantanamo was leased for an annual
rental of $2,000 to the United States (July 2, 1903)
and has since been maintained as a naval base.

Mountains rise in Pinar del Rio Province in the west, and in Camaguey and Oriente in the east, where they reach a general elevation of about 3.000 ft.. with Monte Turquino (8,320 ft.) as the highest point. Santa Clara is rough and broken, but Matanzas and Havana are flat and rolling. The soil is alluvial and under the tropical heat and humidity the vegetation is of rare richness. It is estimated officially that 8,628,434 acres are covered with dense forest. The royal palm tree dominates every landscape. All tropical fruits and vegetables flourish. At Havana the mean temperature is 76 and the mean rainfall 40.6 inches. Hardly a decade passes without a destructive hurricane. The population is about 68% native white.

The island was discovered by Columbus on his first voyage of exploration (Oct. 28, 1492). He landed at what is now known as the Bay of Nuevitas and took possession of the country in the name of the King of Spain. It was called successively Juana, Santiago and Ave Maria, finally regaining its Indian name of Cuba.

Cuba, with the exception of the period (1762-63) remained a Spanish colony until the sovereignty was relinquished (Dec. 10, 1898) under the terms of Treaty of Paris which ended the armed intervention of the United States in the fight of the Cubans for freedom. The island assumed a republican form of government (1902) with the Constitution providing for the election of a president for a term of four years (he is ineligible to succeed himself); a Vice President, a Senate and a House of Representatives with four-year terms. Women have the right to vote. A constitutional convention (elected Nov. 15,

1939) drafted wide and general amendments to the Constitution. The amendments went into effect (Oct. 10, 1940).

Col. Fulgencio Batista was elected president (July 15, 1940) as the candidate of the SocialistDemocratic coalition. Dr. Gustavo Cuervo Rubio is Vice President.

A new treaty between the United States and Cuba was ratified by the U. S. Senate (1936). It superseded that of May 22, 1903, and abandoned the right of the United States to intervene in the internal affairs of Cuba under the Platt Amendment. (See The World Almanac for 1934, page 629.)

Sugar is the predominant crop, and 1,500,000 acres are given over to growing it. Cuba is the second largest sugar producer in the world. Tobacco raising and the manufacture of cigars and cigarettes rank next in importance. The amount of sugar exported to the United States is in accordance with a quota established by the Washington government. It called for the admission (1939) of 1,932,343 short tons. Molasses and other derivatives, together with sugar, represent 73% of the country's exports. Tobacco is cultivated chiefly in the famous Vuelta-Abajo district. Other agricultural products are coffee, pineapples, bananas, citrus fruit and cocoanuts. Cabinet woods (mahogany and cedar), dyewoods, fibres, gums, resins and oils are important commercially. Iron, copper, manganese, gold, petroleum and salt are some of the minerals.

The live stock industry has grown in recent years, especially in Camaguey. There are more than 3,000 miles of railroads, with a main trunk line running across the Island from Guantanamo Bay to Guane, a distance of more than 500 miles. Havana is an important air base.

The Republic has no lands for sale. Large areas are held by native owners and many of these tracts can be purchased. Some land has been given to the poor.

Education is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14. Among the higher institutions of learning is the University of Havana (founded in 1721). The Roman Catholic religion is predominant. The language is Spanish with English widely understood.

The monetary unit is the peso with an average value of $.98. The budget (1941) estimated receipts at 84.000.000 pesos and expenditures 83.987,000.

The personnel of the Army, Navy and police is estimated at 20,000 with 30,000 reservists, including men and women.

Czecho-Slovakia

(CESKOSLOVENSKA REPUBLIKA) Capital, Prague (Praha)-Area, 38,190 square miles-Population (1939), 9,807,000 Czecho-Slovakia lies in the very heart of Central Europe. Its boundaries are, in the north, Germany and Poland; in the south, Rumania, Hungary and Austria, now a part of Germany; in the east. Poland; and in the west, Germany. Its extreme length from east to west is 600 miles and its width varies from 50 to 100 miles. The Czecho-Slovak Republic was the realization of a dream that has lived for centuries, i.e., some sort of restoration of the ancient Kingdom of Bohemia. In fact, the Czecho-Slovak Republic was fused from the territory of Bohemia, Moravia, part of Silesia, Slovakia and Carpatho-Ruthenia.

are numerous labyrinths and towns of rock such as the Decin Walls (in the Bohemian-Saxon Switzerland), and the Tissa Walls at the point where the Elbe leaves Bohemia.

There are two extensive mountain systems in Czecho-Slovakia-the Carpathian in the eastern parts of Moravia, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia and the Sudeten in the west on the German border. Forests are famous for hunting and are the habitat of the bear, the chamois, the ibex, wildcat and whole herds of wild boars. Throughout the country mighty ruins of ancient castles rise on rocky heights, and in the valleys there are mansions of great beauty and interest. The subterranean caverns of Czecho-Slovakia are among the curiosities of Europe. In the Moravian Kras not far from Brno there stretches an exLensive system of caverns, lakes and abysses all underground. One of the famous sights of Centrai Europe is the magnificent ice caves in Dobsina in a district known as the "Slovak Paradise." There

The Czecho-Slovak spas and mineral springs are among the foremost in all Europe and the country boasts of more thermal and mineral water sources than any other country on the continent.

Prague, the capital, has a wealth of mediaeval architecture equalled by few other cities of Europe. More than 3,500 years back there was a settlement within the territory which is now occupied by present day Prague, on the site of the castle of Vysehrad.

Of the population 8,527,154 are Czecho-Slovaks, 377,830 Germans, 100,379 Hungarians, 512,289 Russians, 4,157 Poles, 126,310 Jews, and 31,949 of other races with 127.028 aliens.

Germany obtained the Sudeten area of CzechoSlovakia in the international crisis (1938) culminating in the Munich conference. The Sudeten area is an ancient name of uncertain origin applied to the Sudeten mountains in the northwest part of the country. The Germans there never were a part of the Reich proper, but were subjects of pre-war Austria. At the close of the World War the Hlucin section of Germany-area 110 square miles, 82 per cent of whose population were Czecho-Slovaks and the remainder Germans-was reded to Czecho-Slovakia.

The German demands for the return of the area were put forward by Chancellor Hitler (Sept. 12, 1938) and later the Berlin Government issued an ultimatum in which it threatened to seize the territory by force (Oct. 1, 1938). The German forces soon were in the Sudeten area and had occupied all the territory claimed by the Reich (Oct. 10, 1938). There followed a four-power conference among Great Britain, France, Germany, and Italy in which the Germans obtained all their demands. The new frontier was fixed (Nov. 20, 1938) and the result was Czecho-Slovakia lost 10,056 square miles of territory and a population of 4,922,440. This was divided as follows:

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German troops invaded Bohemia (March 14, 1939) and seized Prague. Two days later Chancellor Hitler declared Czecho-Slovakia no longer existed and that Reich forces would preserve order. Bohemia and Moravia, with an area of 28,717 square miles and a population of 10,897,000 (1939) were organized as a Protectorate of the Reich and Baron Constantin von Neurath was named Protector. Reinhard Heydrich was named Protector (Sept. 27, 1941) when von Neurath asked temporary leave and a state of emergency was decreed. The Reich assumed supervision of military and foreign affairs, communications and customs. The reichsmark and crown became the legal tender with the Reich to determine their relative value. The Customs border between Germany and the Protectorate was abolished (Sept. 15, 1940).

The establishment of the protectorate has not been recognized by the Governments of the United States, Great Britain and France. Italy formally recognized the annexation (Sept. 14, 1939).

Slovakia, with an area of 14,836 square miles and a population of 2,450,096, declared its independence (March 14, 1939) and Hitler offered to protect it. A treaty was signed in Vienna four days later in which Germany guaranteed to protect the boundaries of Slovakia for twenty-five years and in return received permission to construct and man fortifications along the Slovakian border. Slovakia was to remain an independent State, with its own army, currency and diplomatic representatives abroad. Dr. Josef Tiso was named Prime Minister and elevated by Parliament to be President (Oct. 26, 1939). Hungary recognized the independence of Slovakia (July 1, 1939).

Universal military service for a period of two years from 20 to 50 years was decreed (Jan. 18. 1940).

Parliament adopted a Constitution (July 21, 1939) that made the remnant of Czecho-Slovakia an authoritarian republic with a National Council of ten to govern, a president elected for seven years, with a Parliament of eighty elected for fiveyear terms. The National Council has authority to issue decrees without a ratification by Parliament.

Hungary marched into Carpatho-Ukraine (March 4, 1939) and annexed that country.

Czecho-Slovakia possesses one of the richest territories in Europe, both in the matter of natural resources and industrial development. Agriculture and forestry claim 40% of the population. Wheat,

rye, barley, oats, potatoes, sugar beets, corn and hops are grown in abundance. Beer production was enormous. Czecho-Slovakian munitions factories were among the most extensive and efficient in the world. There were also numerous textile and paper mills, glass, furniture, stone, metal and chemical factories. Since 1924, when the land reform bill was actually followed by the sequestration of the large estates owned by the former Austrian aristocracy, the country has been developed into a land of peasant holdings. Mineral wealth is great and comprises both soft and hard coal, iron, graphite and garnets, silver, copper, lead, and rock-salt.

The peace treaty (World War) gave CzechoSlovakia, which has no outlet to the sea, 200 miles distant, the right to certain wharves in Hamburg and Stettin. The Dunaj (Danube) is the principal waterway, its chief port being Bratislava (Pressburg). On the Labe (Elbe), which flows from Czecho-Slovakia through Germany the main ports are Usti (Aussig) and Decin (Teschen). CzechoSlovakia has 800 miles of navigable rivers.

The term Czecho-Slovak refers to two national groups of inhabitants, the Czechs and the Slovaks, both distinct branches of Slav origin. The beginning of the independent kingdom of Bohemia in Central Europe reaches to the fifth century. The Habsburgs (1526) were elected to the throne of Bohemia, which thus became united through a common dynasty to Austria and Hungary. Religious persecution in the seventeenth century led to unsuccessful rebellions and to the loss of independence. The persecution of the Czechs by the Habsburgs left great bitterness. Czecho-Slovakia came into being (Oct. 28, 1918) on the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, of which it was the northwest portion bordering on Germany and Poland. The Constitution of the republic was providing for a National Assembly with legislative adopted by the National Assembly (Feb. 29, 1920). authority over the whole country, Carpathian Russinia to have autonomy. The Assembly, elected by universal suffrage, and with proportional representation. is composed of a Chamber of Deputies, six-year tenure, and a Senate, eight-yeartenure; both in joint session to elect the President of the republic for a seven-year term.

Dr. Eduard Benes (born in Kozlany, Bohemia, May 28, 1884), was elected President (Dec. 18, 1935) and resigned, in the face of German diplomatic pressure (Oct 5, 1938).

A reconstructed provisional Czecho-Slovakian Government formed in London by the CzechoSlovak National Committee was recognized (July 21, 1940) by Great Britain. Dr. Benes is head of the new Government.

The United States extended diplomatic recognition to the Provisional Government (July 30, 1941). Similar action had been taken previously by Russia and Great Britain.

The majority of the population of the Republic was Roman Catholic.

Institutions of higher learning were the Czech University at Prague (founded in 1348); the University of Brno and the German University in Prague. The Reich protector closed all the universities (1939).

Government receipts (1939) for the Central Government alone were estimated at 3,191,600,000 crowns, expenditures 3,191,300,000. The estimates provided for additional revenue from Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia of 4,638,000,000 crowns and expenditures of 4,902,000,000.

Peace time exports are woollen goods, cottons, coal, glass, sugar, iron and steel, grains, timber and leather. Imports are largely fruit and vegecables, cottons, woollen goods, fats and oils, iron and steel, machinery, mineral oils, coal and chemicals.

Danzig

(DIE FREIE STADT DANZIG) Area, 754 square miles-Population, 415,000

The Free City of Danzig is on the Baltic Sea, with the Polish corridor to the west, Poland to the south, and East Prussia, of which it was formerly a part, to the east. The River Vistula, coming from the extensive Polish hinterland, runs through the territory to the Baltic. The population (census of Aug., 1929) is preponderantly German. The district contains 258 localities, of which 252 are rural communes, two forest-estate divisions, and four cities, including the municipality of Danzig. Education is compulsory.

The Free City of Danzig was established under the Treaty of Versailles (Nov. 15, 1920) to create a port for Poland. It was under the protection of

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