Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-29
A GIGANTIC SCHEME
The Great Railroad to Unite the
Three Americas.
DREAM THAT MAY Yet Be REALIZED
To Run From Bering Sea to the
Straits Of Magellan.
MIR. HELPER'S STATEMENT


Some Of these days when the Cairo and
Cane Town Special and the st. Peters
burg ami VIaIfvostock Flyer running
On schedule time the ''RerinS Sea and Ma
Eellan Limited" may he expected to take
rank among the great through trains of the
world. Whether or not the present gen
Grafton will Re able to take train at Sitka
and alight at Sand Point. it is 10y no means
an idle dream To contemplate the actual
connection Of the thre" Americas by rail
within the next few years.
When that i done one Of tbs proudest
men in the country VIII be Mr.. Hinton
Rowan Helper. now 4 resident Cf Wash
ington. He expects to see the feat accom-
Tlisted within his lifetime, and will prob
ably be ready to say. with the psalmist.
Lord let now Thy servant depart in
peace" for one of the objec-s of his later
life viii have been accomplished.
To Mr.. Helper is due the credit of orig
mating the idea of three Americas rail
road. To him also is largely due the in
CeptiOn of actual efforts which already
have brought results.
Public men whose memories go back to
ante-bellum days remember Hinton Rowan
Helper He was a force in those days. and
his personality bore upon public events.
He was the author of The Impending
Crisis Of the South and How to Meet IT.
as well as a number of other works. But
IT was this book, published in 1871, which
made him famous then. 1t could be justly
p aced In the category with Harriet Beech
er Stoves work. which stirred the north
ern heart. In 1859 he published COM
peudium TO this book. which was used ex-
tensiVely as political document
The compendium entered into the contest
Tor the speakerShip Of the House of Repre-
sentatives in 1889 and was largely the cause
of the defeat Of John Sherman for that Of
flce- Mr.. Sherman had indorsed the COM
pendulum in general terms, probably with
out realizing fully its effect. His indorse-
ment alienated from him some of the south
erH wings whose votes he had counted upon.
The House was closely divided between the
two great parties, with the American party
holding the balance Of power. and for eight
weeks the contest ran on. Mr.. Sherman
came within three votes of election, but he
was finally forced into a compromise which
resulted In the cleo ton of Pennington of
New Jersey.
Conception of the Idea.
Mr.. Helpers prominence in political af-
fairs brought him into the consular service
after the war. and thus he was led into
conceiving the three Americas railway idea
How that came to pass could best be de-
scribed in Mr. Helpers own words. quoted
from recent communication to The Star
upon that subject. He says with great
wealth of diction and close attention to
minute details:
Is Gradual and rec,,,1ar sec,,aroos Of nv,
conception of this International and inter
continental measure. / may here, as hereto
fore, with simple and absolute truthfulness
state chror0IGcfca1Iy the several n,0rnar.
tous and rnern0rabIe orr11rrences irdicatad
below First-NOvember 80. 1StT-Origina-
ton Of the idea Of the Three Americas rail
way through process of close and eXigent
reasoning on account Of having been de-
tanned at sea ninety-elSht days between
~ ,,-,I.ri On, =, "ile NoS
Will. irritab,y naTIseafed and confinad -
my bunk 10y seastckness amid exceedingly
formidable winds and waves lasting four
G 49, t4i-~'.ou,.E5iy Jusl a1ier my departure
t1 - ~ - > '-.tI-.i o'' my Wy
d - t.,ii, ~. - ll7 ..i'' WI,
,,.t,.T. 81 - -, g 80 - 80 ~
q t-L.,,r +5,,,e ri-rl,t NO. - ,-ac,,f,aJ r. 80
me- T.7rJ, m nv native raDd M .fso as =,
Irha-ba- So. [,f I7Sr nd - I1e.s r1i,b+
not he Js--fssi for NOR eafa and e,arfai ~
rand transit between -ba ren1o.a ,7nrtberiy-
cities and s.c-i1rs ~ North America and
tha far-off sarthcrIv Dorrs and PROVINCES
Of south America
In a uerfrcrIv natural manner yntingeI
by any strauCgness or mystery whatever
the distinct and decisive and cxpedient re-
ply tn nv ardent inquiry was in these very
words WHY no. by rafl?' Since that i'm
rr.ssfve and rrnuer and potential supges-
~, c.r-a 70 M not 60 ID,cb as half a N
n
ayyak. whether in North America the land
az my nativity In south America where /
have he@n as the results Of six long vow
as.s- IN Central America v-bi-ber T have
1911 .bric... in E,Irar,a which 7 haye
'st-i7t ~. ~ ~ 80 ON ~ c..rlor- 20,
hiau shore where l once made a brief
iourh- mas ELAPSED without TINS |e!ghty sub
va. s'ilt i,iIt''r on ~
I,,. Mind
WI
Second. September II. ISL. Outset from
Buenus Ayres on my first crossing of the
continent Of South America with a view
90 y.-r1,- s.,i-s,.;,. -. - ,,5. -
- -N'S S''N''S ing NY oM" JUG iileh' oI
'"' "'--I--S'''i''"ie 4eS'S'Oi'''S OIL MY pro-
jeetei Three Americas railway Going
rOrthwestward V through the Argentine
Republic and Bolivia unit l reached Lake
Tticaca, ] then went down to the Paclttc
I
having ) direct and Indirect