Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-02-01
INTER-AMERICAN ROADS.
A LINE 70 CONNECT FIVE REPUe-
Lies WITH THE UNITED STATES.

Extraordhnary Difficulties In the Way-A
Central Route Possibly PrxeticabIe-yast
Natural Wealth Of the Country to Be
Opened.
That so intelligent and practical people
as the Americans should build railroad
three-fourtils of the way around senncircte
when they have water transportation straight
across it was so unlikely that few people paid
any attention to the proposition for trunk
line connecting North and South America
But a modified form of the scheme has gained
some favor, and the legislature OF Virginia
has granted a charter to company which
will make the preliminary surveys
This compeny's plan is 70 use water trans
portation from the gulf ports of the United
States to Cartagena in the northwest corner
of South America. and thence build rail-
road through Colombia, Ecuador ard part
OF Peru to Cuzco, TO connect there with other
lines running to Buenos Ayres and other far
southern ports Thus, it is claimed, can New
York be brought within eight days of Lima
and twelve of Valparaiso. The difficulties
are confessedly enormous. but they are much
less than those in the way OF an all rail-
route.
Down the Pacific coast, as at first suggested,
the line would cross the deepest canyons and
sharpest ridges projecting westward from the
main range. Its construction would bankrupt
nation. Along the plateau Of the Andes,
where the Incas had their wonderful high
way, the grades would often amount to 1900
feet to the mile East of the Andes the line
proposed from port III Venezuela southwark
would cross hundreds of miles of lands over
flowed in the wet season and deadly with
malaria for half the year, and II the line were
located further west It would have to cross
all the eastward spurs of the Andes. All
these are impracticable, and Of the route last
proposed the practicability is not yet proved.
1t is claimed, however, that central line can
be found from Cartagena to Cuzco by which
streams and canyons can be followed, as on
the Union Pacific, and the first work pro-
posed by the company is a thorough survey
of this line.
There is, strictly speaking, no system of
South American railroads, nor is a system
like that of the United States and Canada
practicable There are, however, several
thousand miles of railway built and in pro-
cess of construction, stretching inland from
various ports. The Arequipa and Puno road
has crossed the Andes, and the Lima road re-
quires only the completion of a tunnel, while
Chill is building one line from Valparaiso to
a connection with Buenos Ayres and another
from the port of Antofagasta to Potosi in
Bolivia. a line from Buenos Ayres is also
being pushed towards Potosi, and when COM
pleted these will form continuous line across
the southern part Of South America, but in
form about like u fish hook.
If the proposed line proves practicable, the
road will certainly be profitable enterprise.
With some connections it will make CuZco
the center of as complete a system as South
America can have, and five great republics
would be brought into close commercial
union Of course branch lines would soon be
constructed down the eastern slope OF the
Andes into Brazil, connecting with the heads
of navigation ON her wonderful rivers; and
it almost makes an enterprisers mouth water
to think that Brazil contains a million square
miles of unbroken forest thick set with the
most valuable timber in the world-a region
where savages cook their reptile meats at
fires made of rosewood and mahogany.