New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-03
ENTERPRISE IN THE FAR NORIh.

Tho worlds attention has or late Deeh l'"'"
0xed upon the tropics. The expiora'o" III"
oron,ng up of Africa have been the most ho'e-
r.or,hv enterDrlse OF the kind the world mas
Lrovn since the discovery and settlement OF
America. The value Of commerce WIFI 'roP'o"'
lands has enormously Increased ana Is eho'-
uously increasing 1t is probable that MT
Kidd in his discussion OF the cohtroi vi 'he
tropcs does not in tho least ovcres'imate 'he
importance Of those regions, high though HIS
estimate is But the tropics are not the OIL!
scene OF enterprise. They are not the only
waste or savage places that arc bclnS cul''-
waited The tide Of civilization flows towaru
the North Pole rs well as toward the Equator
and some of the greatest enterprises OF the oay
concern the Arctic regions We do not mean
mere exploration, Of which there IS much' p"'
actual colonization. founding of Industries anu
extension Of commerce In regions near or ACT
ually above the Arctic Circle
The Yukon. Of course. For the last two years
we haye heard much Of the Klondike ana the
adjacent regions. They are rich IN goid anu
other metals, and have attracted thousahos OIL
odventurers of all kinds. Doubtless there VIII
re+ he much grcater colonization and develop
mont in that quarter Hudson Bay Is another
FOR Northern region that is attracting much at
tent,on. not exactly in the Frigid Zone, but
,hort. N the din of the isothcrmal lines. actu-
civ "a cold os much of It. The plans for rail-
roods from Manitoba and elsewhere to the
sboro re the boy. and a steamship line thence to
u,,roro ore nv no means chimerical. There Is
reason to think they are quite practicable. Or
their great value. II executed. there can DE no
question. From Winnipeg to Liverpool by way
;c five hlrn
Ices than nv way Of the st. Lawrence Inc
difficulty Is. OF course, the accumulation o' 'ee
IN Hudson Strait To what extent that can De
overcome by ice-breakers remains 10 he seen'
Ice-breakers now keep Nladivostok liarpor open
the yea- round. and the Russian Government II
having a whole feet OF them Duilt TOT use ia
the Baltic and White seas
Mention Of the White Sea brings to nina tne
greatest OF all these Northern enterprises we
have already told Of the renascence OF Archah-
90, which Is now connected by railroad Win
Moscow and all Europe. Its ocean commerce IS
growing wonderfully. 1t now sends out large
messenger and freight steamship once week
to the Thurman Coast and Norway; one I'VE
,,mes n wear to the Pechora one twice a year 10
Nova Zembla. and one twice year 10 NoiSueii
Island and Yugor Strait. That means a consld-
or,h,o amount of commerce; and while Archan-
20, ,t.e,f Is IN the Temperate Zone all the other
nlaces mentioned and most OF the lines Oh tra'ei
arc in the Arctic. Moreover. a great ne" port
I. being completed at Ekaterlna, on the Mur
mnn Coast, far north OF the Arctic Clrcie
which Is TO be connected with St Petersburg Dy
rail and Is 10 send out steamships 10 all INC
world. The Siberian Railroad Is. OF course
we'll within the Temperate Zone; but its con-
structlon is wonderfully opening up the Arcuc
fringe Of the continent and causing ports 10 DE
made or improved and commerce Increased on
the Lena. Yenisei Obi and Irish rivers ana the
Arctic Ocean Nor does the scandinavian
Kingdom lag behind. The railroad from luiea'
on the Gulf Of Bothnia. which long ago ran far
north of the Arctic Circle, Is being pushed
northwest TO Victoria Haven, on Ofoten Bay on
tho Atlantic coast Of Norway. not far from the
s,xtv.nInth parallel Of north latitude. This Will
omen ND one of the greatest iron-minlng regions
Of the world. To guard the northwest termi-
ms of the line q gigantic fortress Is being con-
structed Mt Bodo, at the entrance to the Salten
Fiord and to Ofoten Bay-the first great mod
ern military enterprise within the Arctic Circle.
Those are only n part Of the undertakings
now in progress in the Far North They constl-
tute a splendid tribute TO the energy Of man and
to his power Of conquering adverse conqitions
bv adapting himself TO them. With railroads
and steamships giving n regular service in the
Arctic Zone a noteworthy cncroachmcnt Is
made upon the most inhosptable of regions.
md the unimproved area of the earth's surface
"a materially diminished. One man has pro-
posed a railroad on the ice TO the North Pole,
and another with some fine practical results 10
show as basis for his ambition aims TO make
his way to that Ultima Thule with an ice
breaker similar to those which eat their way
through six-foot foes at Vladivostok. Neither
NAV succeed but at least their devices will
make narrow the belt Of dcsoaion which en-
glrds the Pole.