The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-08-26
WHO OWNS THE JUNGFRAU

Novel Question Brought Up by the
fr"ject of Building Railroad Up 1t.
curious question has arisen in Swift
zerland. 1t is, who owns the Jungfrau
Probably few of the thousands of travel
ers who have gaZed at the snowy peak
of the Virgin of the Bernese Oberland
from Interlaken have ever thought about
the matter. Apparently the people who
have lived 1or generations at ifs base
have considered it still less. Ordinarily
questions of proprietorship cease at the
line of perpetual snow. Even thrifty
people like the Swiss do not see any par
ticular benefit in claiming what lies
above: 1t may possibly be necessary
enough to know to whom belong the fir
trees, which one can cut down, or the
Alp-pasturages. which nourish so many
cows and goats, but when one gets above
1000 feet or so one gets Indifferent about
the glaciers and fields of snow which con-
stitute the wealth of these high attitudes
A railway is to be built up the jung
frau. and a summer resort hotel erected
somewhere near it's summit. That is
what has caused all the trouble. The pro-
jectors, before going ahead, have been de-
sirous of applying to somebody for per-
mission, SO that there may be no question
OF damages in the. future: But so far
they have been unable to find the owners.
1t is uncertain even in what canton the
railway and the hotel will be, for the
boundary line between the cantons of
Bernie and Vo1ais cuts the Jungfrau i'll
two, and the line has never been surveyed
and nobobdy knows which is which. This
is an important matter Oh account of the
taxes, for Switzerland is a great taxing
country. Although the property has been
there all along, 10 one has ever claimed it.
and it has never been assessed. Since
1871, when the ascent was nrst made by
Rod and Meyer to a height of 1880 feet,
many climbers have crawled up the TANKS
of the mountain, but until now no one
has ever thought of asking whose proper
ty he was trespassing upon.
The railway. which has been projected
for some time, will be ratchet-wheel
arrangement, like the one on the Rigi.
1t will be carried up as far as it is prac-
ticable to go, and will be supplemented
by an elevator in shaft which will run
to the summit. There, upon huge plat
form leveled in the SNOW, it is the inten-
ton to build a hotel with all modern im-
prOve1nentS.
The Alpine clubs, which have built SO
many refuge huts in the mountain tops,
have never had any difficulty in getting
concessions for the purpose, but that has
been because the buildings came under
the head Of works of humanity and were
never taxed; but when Joseph Vallot
built his observatory on the summit of
Mont Blanc. there was unwound u lot of
red tape. The municipality Chamonix
was afraid he was going to set up a tav-
ern $4,000 feet Or SO in the air, and the
mayor spoke in indignant terms of the
outrage it would be If travellers went on
to he summit without stopping for re-
freshments at the inn OH the Grand Mu-
lets-.already licensed. Everybody who
has been at Chamonix knows that they
squeezed more out of you there in the
name of the village law than in any
other place in the world, and therefore
NJ. Vallot was not surprised that. before
he could go ahead with his observatory,
he was obliged to agree to build an ad-
dition OIL the Bosses refuge hut con-
tanning hunks. tables, chairs. stove, and
kitchen utensils, which was to become
the property of the commune, and for
the use of which for single night the
commune was to tax each traveller 81,
and an additional 81 as indemnity to the
innkeeper Of the Grand Mulets These
conditions complied with, science was al
lowed to have a show, and the observa-
tory was built where it now stands.-
New York Sun.