The Cecil Whig., 1882-05-27
THE AGE OF ENTERPRISE.

This certainly is the age of enterprise
To say this is to utter 4 commOnpla lace, yet,
like many commonplaces, it is accepted i'll
the gross with complacency without much
examination of its basis But il is worth
while to consider for a moment how truly
descriptive the saying is. Since the sue
cess of the SueZ canal there has been an
Unsuitable craving for big engineering en-
terprises, all commendabe in their char
acter, which the financial lethargy of six
or seven years somewhat quieted but never
quenched The recovery from that lethar-
gy has made the craving stronger than ev-
er. Foremost among the schemes that have
attracted public attention. must be placed
the Panama canal, which NJ. de LessepS
says is certainly practicable and which will
be as certainly cut. Next TO this comes tho
Eads' Ship Hallway, which is declared 10
be more practicable than the de LessepS,
and which is also sure to be consumed. 1t
is within the limits of probability that
both projects may he completed ere n new
century dawns upon the world. These
however, are not the only efforts being
made to link oceans in loving union. Les
seps is to pierce the Isthmns of Corinrh
and Russia has scheme for uniting the
Caspian and -\ral seas. And indeed, next
to Franco American enterprises those ot
Russia seem to be the most gigantic. De
sides the canal just mentioned, she con
temrlated navigating steamers up to the
Amur Darya to Tashkend, and cutting
through the very heart of Central Asia by
Il railway from tine Caspian to the borders
of China and the frontiers of Afghanistan
and the line already creeping along to
wards Merv may be regarded rs the begin
ming of this great scheme. The improbI-
bility of profit ON the enormous capital re-
quired will not have the determined effect
with Russia it would have with less despot-
ic powers. The single question is, "Can it
be done >" not 'Will it pay" and if the
answer be in the affirmative, political ieai-
ousy and military avarice will give the Or
der. Not less formidable in importance,
although still only among the things talk.
ell of as possible, is the English scheme of
the railway by the Ephrates valley. But
this is looking long way ahead, yet who
can say the realization is impossible when
see year by year the increasing strides
of engineering daring. The projects OF
Transforming the Sahara into an inland
sea has been apparently abandoned, but
the French seem seriously bent on throw
ing railway from Algiers into Central
Africa.
And besides all these projects of super
gigantic import, there is hardly Il country
in the world which is not busy with exten-
sion of internal communication by rail-
water and telegraph. Even China, the eN-
elusive, is engaged in the consideration of 4
system of railways: to connect all the chief
cities of the interior with Pekln. Great ~
have been the advances OF the present cen
tury SO far, those of the next decade will
without doubt surpass all that has yet been
attempted or even conceived. 1t would be
4 hopeless task TO estimate the capital val
he of all the vast schemes actually begun,
much less those in embryo That failures
will attend some and financial disasters
many, may be taken for granted, but the
happy posterity, who have done SO little for
us, will reap all the benefit. If, indeed,
there be benefit, for closer communion OF
nation with nation has not, as yet, done
much to hasten the beating of the sword
into the plow share, or the conversion of
the rifle into steel rails
The completion of even Il tithe of the
vast schemes IN posse will doubtless add
30 man 5 comfort in various ways, but it is
doubtful if they will add to his happiness,
which assuredly they will increase the re
sponsibilities of life. For the rest, one
may wonder if there is really any need for
so facilitating locomotion over the face ol
the earth when the telephone suggests the
possibility of ricd COce converse with the
Antipodes and the diaphote of bringing H.
visual acquaintance with people and places
of another hemisphere, without stirring
from ones arm chair.