COLOMBIA

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white,  black  and  Indian  in  varying  proportion, ­
  over  300,000  of  whom  are  negroes  and
mulattoes.  Little  can  be  hoped  for  from  the
majority  of  these  people  owing  to  their  poor
source  of  origin  and  the  climatic  conditions
which  surround  them.
The  Government  recognizes  the  doctrine  of
states  rights,  and  is  republican  in  form  with
the  usual  branches,  judicial,  legislative  and  executive. ­
  A  President  with  two  Vice-Presidents ­
  represent  the  executive  control,  and  the
legislative  body  is  composed  of  a  Senate  and
House  of  Representatives.
The  mountainous  topography  of  Colombia
has  had  much  to  do  with  the  scarcity  of  railways, ­
  rendering  them  expensive  in  construction ­
  and  owing  to  the  great  distance  between
possible  termini,  likely  to  make  them  profitless ­
  ventures.  There  are  about  630  miles  of
railroads  in  Colombia,  many  of  them  supplemental ­
  to  river  transportation,  or  connecting
ports  with  interior  towns.  It  is  doubtful  if
this  condition  will  ever  alter  materially.
The  trade  of  Colombia  is  carried  chiefly  on