The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1891-11-13
TO EUROPE BY RAIL.
Paris May Sometime Be Reached
in Palace Cars.
DIFFICULTIES TO BE MET.
Project to Bridge the Behring Straits
and Join Road Through Alaska to
the Russian Service in Asia.

Within the past year great deal has
been said and written about the Cosmo-
politan railway, as 1t. is often called. a
railway that shall connect the great cen-
ters Of commerce and trade In the United
States with the similar centers In Asia
and Europe, says the Denver Republican.
In other words, It is proposed to extend
the railway systems OF America and OF
Asia so that they will reach the shores OF
Behring Straits, and the two systems are
10 be united by bridge across the straits,
so that the traveller can, IL he wishes,
start from New York and In few days
land in Paris without change OF cars. The
writer continues:
This may be- feasible scheme on paper,
but Is IL possible OF accomplishment! It
looks reasonable that modern engineering
skill should be able to construct such q
road. A visionary railroad enthusiast
with q map before him and pencil In his
hand can easily lay out a road to connect
either the Northern Pacific or the Cana
dian Pacific Railway with Cape Prince OF
Wales. In the same way road can be
built from the Siberian Pacific Railway
across northeastern Siberia to East Cape.
Barriers would, OF course, be In the way.
as those acquainted with the country
would know. but these would probably
not appear any greater to him than those
that engineering skill has already over
come In other parts OF the world. not even
excepting the greatest barrier, that OF
bridging the straits.
1t would. think, be comparatively easy
to construct a railway through the great
Northwest territory OF British America to
the borders OF Alaska. Such a road would
open up to the world a vast region, rich In
~ I,..I ,.I
mining resources; and such road, or
most OF 1t, will probably be built within a
few years. Such road too, could proba-
bly, be- extended from the borders OF
Alaska at least to the Yukon River, aud
perhaps even TO Cape Prince OF Wales
without encountering great difficulties In
construction. There would be vast noun
tain ranges to go around or tunnel
through, and there would be great river
courses to bridge. But modern skill is
equal to these things.
Ignoring the question OF cost, the en-
cheering work on the American section
Of the Cosmopolitan railway can be ac-
complished. But IL is not alone question
OF the construction OF this road. The
question OF maintenance Is really the
vital question. Tor the daring OF engineers
stops at nothing nowadays. And In this
ters Of the scheme thought OF one barrier
sufficiently, that OF the snow1 At times
the volume OF the snowfall In extreme
Northwestern Alaska is beyond all possi-
BILE estimate OF those who have not seen
Ii. The year / was there the captain OF
our vessel went up into the country--and
IL was in a section that the proposed rail-
way would pass through-to examine a
silver mine In which he had an interest.
The mine was we'll situated on a southerly
slope, and as the visit was made the first
week In July. he naturally expected to
find the snow practically all gone. In
stead, however, he found his mine under
fifty feet or more OF snow, as the fall OF
the previous winter had been a very heavy
one.
IL is an important fact that the Esqui-
manx understand the nature OF this snow
fall 80 we'll that they never build tHeir
habitations under a lee or In a protected
place, for they know that TO do so would
be TO insure burial under the snow nearly
every winter. Some winters this snow
fall is so heavy as TO practically prevent
the natives from hunting for weeks at a
time, and IL not infrequeDtly drives the
deer and other animals that subsist on
vegetation TO extreme measures TO secure
food. Nov this railroad would of ne
cesslty have 10 run through river basins,
valleys and other low places, and along
mountain sides. And In dong this IL
could not escape being buried under vast
deposits OF snow frequently for months at
a time, and not improbably for occasional
periods OF fifteen TO twenty months dura-
tiOn.
So. though the railroad may be possible
OF construction even TO Cape Prince OF
Wales, I do not believe IL could be possl-
BILE OF maintenance and operation except
at rare intervals. and then only by con-
slant and expensive repairs.
And what Is true of the nature Of the
country OF ofNortheastern Alaska Is equally
true Of Northeastern Siberia. 4 large