Morning appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1877-1906, 1879-01-12
SUNDAY READING.

Somehow. having fallen into a sort of a
Railroads.&c. vein, we have come to neglect the
higher and more spiritual things and thoughts
Of this world UNTIL coming as we Just have,
upon the subjoined statement, We were quite
prepared to hear the locomotives fierce shrek
among the defiles of Mount Horeb, and along
the dominions of Queen Esther to see
The palpatins engines snor in steam across her
And mark upon the blasted heavens the of her
land"
Of projected enterprise which seems to
promise to bring Sodom into the activities
Of the Nineteenth Century and cause the
suburbs of Gomorrah to be traversed by the
sons of the age of steam, the Scientific
american informs US as follows:
1t is reported that French capitalists have
secured grant for railway lire from Jatfa
to the interior of Palestine. which will open
up the Jordan Valley and the whole region
north of the Suez canal. In certain contin-
eencies this road might become of great
military usefulness, but it appears further
that the productive resources of the country
are considerable, and what is more surprising,
that the Dead Sea itself can be turned to
commercial account. Chef of these at pres
ent are the stores of natural comOustibles for
which that region is noted
Hitherto the main obstacle to the develop
menJ of steam traffic III the Levant has been
the total absence of combustible material.
Not only Egypt, but the shores of Syria and
the Red Sea, are completely stripped OF wood,
and the coal imported from the West com
mands price ranging from $40 to S24 ton.
Now the masses of asphalt continually thrown
up by the Red Sea attest the presence of
! : : I
and these signs were not long overlooked by
the enterpyisng men attracted to Suez by the
opening of the canal and the movement of
commerce in that direction. Recently numer-
ous soundngs have been made between Jaff;s
and the Dead Sea, which, 50 far, have not
disclosed any deposits of coal proper, bat, on
the other hand. have laid bare ineXhaustIblo
beds of Ignite.
OF itself this store Of Ignite is likely to
prove an inestlmahe gain to the industries
and commere of the Levant but We should
add that the iuxtapositon Of asphalt in great
Quantities furnishes the elements of mixture
Of liguite and asphaltun III the form o:
bricks, which Is equal III heating capacity to
the richest btumlnous coal, while It's cost on
the ground is only 3 80 ton. 1T is known
that similar bricks, made of coal dust and
bltuminous debris from gas works, are much
sides their heating power. they greatly facili-
ate stowage, owing to their regular shape OF
course, the bitumen OF lower Palestine has
been known from immenorial times, and was
used 10 impart solidity to the structures OF
unbaked clay in Assyria and Egypt; but it
may be said that the disc very Of the sub
t,rranean combUstible has lifted once for all
the curse which has Sc long rested upon
Sodon and Gomoryah, and will transform the
wasted shores OF the Dead Sea into Il focus of
industry and a magazine wealth..
Now let the SONS of Cush ana Ham, Ha>}ad
aid Manahath Caleb and Jershmeel, ,jehu
aid Ierubba5le, ZobebAh and oIim, Bozllleel
and Boaz, guard well their franchises lest
they too, be cnmeshed within the tolls OF
fares and frcights, special charters and i'm
perfect statutes, determinations and extor-
tIons, even from Dan to Becrsheba