Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-13
THE BIG NILE DAM
War in South Africa May Prevent
Its Completion.
WOULD Be A GREAT MISFORTUNE
What improved Irrigation Will Do
for Egypt.
PROFITABLE ESTMENT


Written for The Evening Star
One possible result of the Boer war that
has generally been overlooked is that it
may put end to the greatest engineer
ing effort which has ever been begun in the
world-the dammng of the Nile. Should
those compiled tons ensue that have been
foreshadowed. the intervention on one pre-
text or another of Russia. France and Ger
many about the first thing to happen would
be the forced evacuation of Egypt by the
British. Her majesty would be too fully
engaged in other directions to ho,d the
country where she has only been "toer-
ated.' as the Frenchmeu say with gritted
teeth. With the withdrawal of England the
Nile improvements would cease at once
and an end perhaps only temporary end
to be sure, would be put to the Nile enter
prise
Nothing more serious or more pitifu
could happen. The stoppage of the work on
the Nile dams would be a calamity involv-
ing the progress of the entire Egyptian peo-
PIE OF whom there are over nine million.
IL would affect directly over two million
peasants, who will be put back just as
many years as the work is Interrupted Its
carry completion means to these two mil
ION me ilfting of burden of taxation
uhder which they are struggling without
nope OF relief from any other source.
what Would He Accomplished
10 the world at large the successful issue
ie "ofh Will mean the leadJust-
lflent OF physical geography on a scale
never before attempted by man The recla
nation of the desert of Sahara could alone
re put In the same category. 1t is not
alone that two and a half millio, ocras of
lena M NH De brought under yield: that over
SI"nopoO00 VIII be added to the land values
OF the Egyptian people: that the population
IN IN ~ Country VII he practically doubled
t tne surface of the earth will be changed,
been affeot pneI, as II were than has ever
If tbo b,,,,. oelole III the recorded history
Thare Vii hn CO slIlGS the tlne of Noah
cont rho oonditi Tins hhe liiiS chahSe, eX-
rrava1 ti,,a, - % ma resulted IN prl-
of its tarr;t, eI. ne edrth underwent one
Where a hsrreI r ,d'I!i
exists there viii ~, ~ 5aHuy waste now
dam, sprin: m q rast i tet1Gii 81 me Isiie
surface area or nI,or ono 'iilalu SEA WIN d
sea or lake uIin 80. S I, i!iieE, ne
from the F,.,vntien far,,, nach 'lto Nupla
of about 10 miles To tbe iut a ui9lance
character of +ba Ni1o 80 NJ III INC ehtliH
be changed for distanna Of eon liIpy VIII
changes reachinp ciasr io+o Coi 80 liiiles, me
vond into the derta or5 - 81 ~ .lu De
ranean coast For T. ia si, oa ~ % ne ne. Mealter
of this wonderful u-orIy tbo+ ~ oh1 i.it'i teIS
prisonnd behind tha dow ~ ~ ,;tt1 I'M
of Assuan will bring ahnut tho raoIa., oo"n
and cultivation Of vast trant 200 :I
away in the dai+a - ~ - ~ nllles
only about ono bir5 - ~ ~, ~ Ii a. present
tween the two rnoutbe o4 ~ Nj =? ms - o
cultivation. IT ia Nv long nSas H. - uitue!
land in EevTt rroJtaIi Us o'u5 me liCheSt
comparaf iyeIy few, ears 90 ne Worioi a
narshv waste - vas a4i d
-
inc old DAM
In 1861 there was completed under
French supervision what Is known os tba
..,arr,,,, ,, :, 49,. =. 49,. a' tio
d uS'hi d. me apex Oh the delta
JUST ABOVE caro- The barrage, compare
lively unimportant piece of work had
taken twenty-fOur years to build 1t was
intended to raise the water level for navi-
ES, htion PURPOSES curing the low Nile.
tal,nt |I aert - oi'ou .S W ives ahn
it proved but a limited nrocaee 81 ;, ." 49, -
curely had it been planned that in 1853 the
slutce gates had to be hurriedIy raised to
prevent the Whole structure from being