The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-12-12

line of communication from the Medi- |
terranean to the Cape of Coca ffopes
fer the laile is nayigahle, and noflh u
il lie Lakes Albert and Albert EaWaiu |
Nyanza. also navigable. The plan is
10 connect these lakes by short lnes
and place steamboats, on them at ilfSt
"a railroad TO skirt them later
IFrem the northern end of this system
If navigation to Befber Is ABOUT i'ooo
miles. For two months in the year
even this 900 miles of railway VIII not
ha necessary for the maintaining OF
through route from CAIRO TO the
Cape" since during those two months
the Nile, of which the Nyanza lakes
are the sources IS na Avn f az aa1
south as the equator. But Tor STEADY
traffic the railway is necessary, ana
that is what Cecil Rhodes expects 70
live 10 see. =.
Although the projectors of the Airl-
can railway have no giant mountain
,zspoe Ia overcome. as the Americans
! have there is one obstacle of very
/ formidable character which must ne
removed he fore their road can be built
and that is the Mahdi.
SOTARING THE MAHDI.
CECIL Rhodes in one of his speeches
/ said: Il do not propose to fight the
! Mahdi. | propose TO deal with the Man
1 III. and it is not an impossible thing at
ALL lie proposed to get through the
Mahdfs country by 'squaring that
potentate The British government,
however. has gone about il in another
way. and Is "squaring the Mahdl WIN
powder and shot. The Mahdi is an OBJ
/ etaclp but he is being removed.
IN estimate of The cost of the railway
] has not been given out. but II VIII moi
| be ANYTHING like as much as the cost
per mile Of the American intercontineh.
! fal railway, on account of the nature OF
| country through which it will pass.
The survey for this latter line was
the most extended and difficult ever I'M
dertaken. -Four thousand seven nun
/ dred and forty-nine miles of that coun-
Try almost all of it covered with noun
tains had to be surveyed, and path
vav feasible for railway picked out
amid the great crags and peaks OF the
+ backbone of the continent. Besides
that many hundreds of miles were sur
ycyed amid the mountain Businesses
for branch lines to connect with al
ready existing railways or with the
ocean.
FIRST STAGE ACCOMPLISHED.
The survey was begun in 1891, and
the final report of the executive COM
mittse of the commission having the
matter in charge will be out in few
months. the work being about finished
Everything will then be ready for the
actual building of the railway. 1t Is
I
line will be built at one swoop, bui
that sections will be built here and
there on the line of the survey in places
where they will pay best, To be con-
nfstea later into the greatest railway
line ever built, or ever likely TO he built
in the world.
\ part of the country visited by tho
executions sent out had not only Il
: he surveyed. but TO be explored for tbs
, frst time in history. new mountains
: ard streams were discovered and giNer
to the maps This immense work Ia:
been done by officers of the army de
! tailed for the service, and by ciytltar
engineers in the government employ.
/ A everyone knows you can go nov
: hy rail as far south as the City o
Mexico. travelling either by way o
Eagle Pass or FL Paso. From the Cit,
: Of Mexico to the Guatemala line Is
: distance Of about 500 miles. over Which
: the building of a railway would com
/ plete the Mexican section. BY uslni
: existing Mexican roads in operation
t (the enc which runs south from Yer
/. Cruz and the one which runs north
, west from the Guatemaian frontier
the distance from the City of MeSic