The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-10-28

4 TgaxsayDEAN RAILWAY
The Eosa 20 BE Finished in isss-Ihree
s,xux~.-Enorsnous Grades

szxmxv.-Ensrsnous Grades
uens.xsseo Letter 70 Ssu FORK Trih&sre-
The year isSse vii probably be ssgnallxed
In saush America by . most interesting
event in civil engineering ard international
overland commerce. This VIII be nothing
less than the compilation and opening Of the
Transsnde1n railroad. forming another
railroad line from the Atlantic 10 tie Pa
cifsc and the first across the continent Oh
South America Il Is nineteen years since
this work Was begun, ard il Is now ecsifl-
IDENTIFY expected that il viii be finished nT
the Beginning of fsass- The road Is 10
Yan from BGeuos Ayres 10
Valparaiso. distance OF ST. miles
There are now sa1 miles OF II
finished at the Buenos Ayrcs end and
eighty-tgo at the Valparaiso end OF the
remaining 40 rniles about oEe-shIrd Is
practically complete. the rails being laid.
The passage Of the Andes Is accomplished
at the Combre pass. which is 1908 feet
above the sea level. The railroad. however.
does not reach the summit OF the
pass. but pierces the mountains ey
means of > tunnel more than three
miles long, 81 an elevation OF TO- feet
above the sea- This makes it one OF the
highest. il not the highest, railroad IN The
world There IS nothing in Europe 10
compare with il. The St Gothard railroad
is 3 ,7ss feet high. and tina. on the Rigi only
attains an elevation OF Gus feet The
grades are. OF course, very steep. For
considerable distance the rise is more than
s2o feet 10 the mile, or one foot Ii every
twelve and half. On this portion OF the
line rackraii is employed similar 10 those
on the Hartz and other mountain roads.
One unfortunate feature OF the road,
which vii! seriously impair its vaule, is the
diversity of guages adopted. The different
sections of the road have been built by diff
ferent companies. and each company has
its own guage. Thus there are go miles
from Buenos Ayres to Mendoza of 5 feet s
inches guage, the 50 miles from Valparaiso
10 Santa Rosa are Affect So inches guage, and
The remaining li9 miles from Mendoza to
Santa Rosa are being laid in the narrow
gauge of the metre. Thus. even when the
road is finished, ii will not be possible to
run a train through from end TO end. The
seriousness OF the defect is now appreciated,
however, and it is probable steps will be
taken to make the guage uniform.
The opening of the Transandean rail
way will do away with great deal OF the
navigation around Cape Horn, which has
been the only means of commerce between
the east and west coast of South America.
II will also, of course, prove of enormous
benefit in other ways TO both Chill
and the River Plate countries.
Especially will it give the coal and
copper and other products OF the
mines of Chilli splendid market in the
Argentine Republic, and it will allow the
produce of the fertile farms in the latter
country TO have better access TO the poorly
supplied markets of the Pacific coast. And
the productiveness of the land in the valley
of the River Plate seems to have no limit
The soil greatly resembles that of the rich
est wheat de,tricts OF South Dakota. and in
places that II the Mia delta. There are
thousands of acres around Montevideo and
Buenos Ayres that have been under con-
slant cultivation for 200 years: in all
that time no artificial fertilizer has
been applied to the soil, yet
there is no perceptible failing in its
crop producing powers. There are nearly
a Thousand million acres OF such land.
The climate, too, is most favorable, There
is scarcely a week in the year in which out
door work cannot be done on the farms.
Billiards are unknown and even the bitter
cold of the Middle Atlantic states is not ex-
perieneed here. In summer the heat is
great, but does not surpass that of New
England. The only defects of the climate
are the Irregularities of the rainfall. Three
are sometimes droughts and sometimes
foods But this evil is being steadily over
come by systems of irrigation, and by
wholesale tree planting on the open plains
The Chilians have been properly nick
named the Yankees OF South America
They do indeed exhibit the characteristic
Yankee thrift and enterprise. But the Ar
gentine Republic has OF late years also be-
come much like the United States, especially
the Western states. The enormous immi-
grafton, amounting to hundreds of thou
sands annually gives the people the same
cosmopolitan character. The vast plains.
devoted to wheat growing and to cattle
raising, remind one greatly of the prairies
and plains of the United States The open-
ing of direct railroad commerce between
the east and west coasts will effect prac-
teal commercial aud industrial union be-
tween the nations. Chill VIII be the New
England OF south America. the mining
and manufacturing region. while the River
Plate country will correspond 10 the Mis-
sIssippi valley as the great agricultural
country of this continent
Points ON Dress.
nj