The state herald., 1890-05-09
TO UNITE TWO WORLDS.
Ex-Governor Gilpin's Scheme for a
Railroad from America to Asia.

pen OF Joseph g. Brown, who IL clerk OF
the Colorado Bureau of Immigration, in
which he tolls Of scheme proposed by Ex-
Governor Gilpin, for tho construction of q
gigantic railway system to unite North
America with Asia by way Of Bohrlng
Straits.
In his younger days Governor Gilpin
was connected with several military expe-
ditions to the northwestern part of this
country whom II was wilder
ness inhabited by savage Indians.
While upon this tour Of exploration Gov.
Gilpin conceived the idea OF uniting this
continent with the rest Of the world by o
system of railways, and during the last
forty-seven years, in which ho has made n
special study Of the geography, the indus
trial possibilities, the resources and the
social and political life of North America,
he has also been daily at work on the plans
OF tho great Cosmopolitan railway He
now declares this part Of the work fin
ished. Tho results of his labor consist of
n series of handsome maps Of the globe,
large and small, showing the practicability
OF railway communication between all the
nations of the world, accompanied by n
volume OF explanation. In this explana-
tion hc argues that America as fallow
continent, with territory and resources
capable Of maintaining half million mil
ion OF people, is to be the basis Of opera
tions,the work to be prosecuted jointly by
the Government Ind the people.
Spread tho map Of the globe upon
/ Nil "a ,t L.. ~
axis OF the temperate zone passes through
the United States near its center, the tenn.
perate belt covering all the populous por-
tion OF the North American continent.
passing in its irregular course through the
Pacific Ocean, 1t covers all Asia, large
portion of Southern Russia, and all the
rest of Continental Europe. Within this
belt OF the temperate zone is gathered the
grand aggregation!of active, intelligent, in-
dustrial peoples Of the world Here the
learning, the arts, the sciences, and the
Inventive genious Of the world have their
| homes and their life. On either side of
the isothermal axis is seen tho great, rest
less, striving, moving army of enlightened
| humanity, unified in one common pursuit
and purpose. However varying in caste
or condition, whether Caucasian or Mon
| golian, the pursuit of wealth md the hon
orabie struggle for existence are the uni
versal motives, and along this line, marked
by the northern and southern limits of the
temperate zone, is the worlds highest
stage OF civilization.
| According to Gov. Gilpin, the funcss of
the time has come when the necessities of
this age of human progress demand quick
or and more universal carrying facilities.
1t is the mission Of the North American
people to heed the cry Of the oppressed and
| poverty stricken masses of Asia, and go
to their relief, not with ships of war nor
with cargoes Of supplies, but with well
| organized plan that will enable the people
of the two worlds to exchange product for
| product and money for labor America
can feed and clothe the starving millions
in the lands Of the plutocrats of the Old
| World.
The American, intelligent and self-reli-
ant, has bauished forever the impossible
from his philosophy He has surmountcd
the greatest obstacles possible to COM
.ncrce on his own continent. He now
looks to other continents for couquests and
his attention is directed to Alaska in the
| contemplation Of n railway into Siberia
and thence down through the empires and
| kingdoms OF Europe and Asia. The key TO
this gigantic railway system is Behrlng
Straits. That the passage of this channel
| SO near the Arctic Seas, would be diGIcuit
and next to impossible is merely SUPPOSE
tional For many years the feasibility of
! bridging or icrrylng, or tunneling has
been under discussion and those who pro-
| fess 10 be familiar with the subject de-
clare that the work OF bridging the straits
would be less dinlcult than the building of
the great railway bridge n, ST. Louis.
Starting from New York or Boston the
transcontnenial lines now established and
reaching into Northern Oregon constitute
the first American division OF the proposed
Cosmopolitan railway. The plateaus and
| valleys along tho base OF the Rocky Noun.
tains offer u natural route through Alaska
TO Behring Straits. Bridging the straits
the line would cross over into Siberia and
thence, running in Il southwcstorly dlrec-
| tion, connect with the lines of railway
now under construction TO give the Rus
sian Government an outlet TO the sea al
| the mouth Of the River Amoor. From this
| point of connection southward and Yves,
along the course OF tho isothcrma belt two
main lines would project into the interior.
thence south through the Chinese Empire,
| India, Arabia, thence across the Straits of
| Gibraltar into the Morocco, and coastwide
around the Continent of Africa. West
ward its course would be easy and natural
throughout Russia, Austria, Germany,
France, Italy, and Spain.
The passage Of i,chring Strnits Is tho
only apparent obstacle and two objections
are offered: First, that tho straits are
embraced In the Arctic circle; second. tho
great distance with water intervening bc
tween the American and Siberian shores,
| These objections present no impossible or
very dlfcult problems. The straits ure
only forty eight miles In width, with the
Diomcdc Island nearly midway This
island IL large enough 10 contain tho elite,
OF New York md Brooklyn. A bridge Of
little more than twenty miles on either
side OF this island would make the conncc-
tion. Tho water hns shallow, solid bot
tom, In no place exceeding depth Of forty
feet. The warm water current, or the Ia.
ciilc "gulfn stream, having temperature
OF scvcniy-ilve degrees, passes through
Bchrng Straits into Bchring Sea as
through the small mouth Of funnel Thus
the passage has uniformly mild tcmpcra
turc NIL tho year round; the straits are al
ways open md iccbcrgs are unknown By
reason OF the temperature OF the gulf
stream the isothermal axis ls deilcctod
horthwnrd nt this point Ia exact CORES
| pondcncc with its eccentric course In tho
Atlantic, whore tho warm waters OF the
gulf stream bring mildnoss TO the climate
| OF tho northern sens. Thus nature offer,
her assistance, and there nrc no ncchnnI-
cal obstacles 10 the construction OF tho two
bridges required. The mountains Of Amer.
| lea and Siberia will furnish the rpn unl