The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-02
REMAINING THE EARTH.
Changes That Arc Easily within the Rapr
OF Human Effort.
From ne London DAILY Mail.

From ne london DAILY Nail
Few people realize how completely q, lat.
years the surface aspect OF this weakened old
globe OF ours has been altered and improved
Tho world OF to-day. In fact. differs from IN.
world Of our ancestors. much as society lady.
In all the glory Of fold and fril an d turbelov'
differs from her savage sister running wild in
pestiential woods. As art has transformed
the one, so has It the other.
Only the Nine. Rachel who has madc IN.
earth. II not exactly beautiful forever" n,
least pleasant and healthful place wherein ia
dwell. is no charlatan with dray load OF cos.
metics and glib tongue. but civil engineer.
owning nothing more harmless than a few
mysterious-looking instruments and a meas.
urlng tape
And the marvel OF II all is this-that what ba,
heon done Is but an ininitosimal fraction Of
that which may. and doubtless will. be done.
Who can doubt for Instance. that the great sa.
was an inland sea once II would not be a YER,
Difficult; matter to convert 1t into one again.
Atlantic the vast depression. which runs close
up TO the coast nearly midway between the
do h ns6 o.
?, the desert Here and there arg portion:
the Islands OF tho new Sahara Ocean.
VIVA, would be the results that would ensus
ter may be mentioned the probable destruction
depend Tor their existence upon the warm m" dr1
winds from the great African desert. As SONS
compensation for this however. the mercantile
abled TO gain immediate and easy access 10
vast regions now given over to barharism. and
towns would spring up all along the southern
borders OF Morocco, and an. Alseria; where tie
desert, and on the northern frontIero. the Congo
Free state.
the deser eoverhS an ars ?.
flooded. The island continent ,woud then be
roughly an dsS " WScS thS De-
pressed central portion would be covered with
q company, has actually teen formed for sub.
fornla.. II the plan as at present proposed 10
carried out II tract OF absolutely .uninhabitabIs
s and Rg esas p6n Of r gs Are
tween 900 and 1000 feet below sea level. will
lsndcrs"-stili blame the Goyernment for in.
sisting upon the reconguest OF the soudan,
But capable judges believe that il would have
been little less than suicidal 70 have allowed
France, Tor the simple reason that hsT en-.
glneers. by dlverting the course Of the Nile al
could at any time turn all upper Egypt into
1t has even heen suggested that II might he
many latetal ravinos which run at right angles
to the present, course Of the river-to, ind
new outlet for II into the Rod Sea. and thereby
to transform. In process OF time, that sheet OF
water int9 . great FRESH water lake To &c.
TO build a giant dam across the southern
neck near Perrin, and to regulate, or rather
stop altogether. the inward flow OF the Medi-
but one not impossible OF accom- plishmcnt
Tho above are examples OF big schemes.
There are many others that might be men
TONED. Including, OF course, the Panama and
Nicaraguan canals. and the French war
the Rhone which. when com pleted. will enable
their ironclads to dodge round behind Gibral-
tar when passing from the Atlantic TO the
Mediterranean. or vice-versa.
But II IL the comparatively little engineering
feats which have slowly but surely altered in
the past and Will alter in the future the face OF
the earth. Even so small matter. for in
he the at Ind
Thames; and may concetvably do away with
the Goodwin sands
scheme was recently mooted to cut a shin
canal through the centre Of Ireland. beginning
be no very difficult feat to accomplish. for most
OF the country through which It would pass is
fiat and DOGGY.
But just consider the result Ireland would
the best OF Moore's melodies would have 10 he
rewritten. To allude TO "Erin's green isle"
would be palpnele misnomer. Even this.
silver Thames" Transformed d into G h TWs
ditch. with ocean "greyhounds" and tramp"
cargo steamers belching smoke through Give
den woods or over Cook ham village.
robe az Is by 70
way OF the Severn and the Thames.