The evening times., 1900-09-29
WOULD PROMOTE COMMERCE.
Feasibility of Railroad netween
British, Guiana and Manaos.

british Guiana and Manaos.
George H Moult2n, United States Con-
sui, at Demerara, has transmitted to the
State Department the following report on
the proposed railway from British Guiana
to Manaos, Brazil:
II submit for the consideration Of those
who seek profitable investment and those
in whose power it might be to encourage in
every reasonable way such investment
within their Jurisdiction. perfectly feas.-
Die railway route from the Atlantic sea
board in British Guiana to the fourishing
capital OF the State Of Amazonas il Bra
Zii.
Two locations are available as a START
Ing polnt-one at Bartica. at the head OF
navigation. fifty miles up the EsseQuibo
River. the other at Georgetown at the
mouth OF the femerara River. the capital
and commercial centre of the country
TIE line from Georgetown would be up
the valley of the River ,Essequibo to a
suitable point for crossing. that stream;
thence southwesterly to the valley of ths
Iakutu and the River Branco; thence
south to the River Negro: thence down the
valley to the objective point named. dis
tant about 700 miles from the place OF be-
ginning. Three hundred and seventy-fiye
miles OF the line would lie in British ter
rtiory and the rest in Brazil. The favora-
bic typographical features of the route and
the ample supply of material and labor at
hand warrant the belief that the road
coulG be constructed ad a comparatively
small expense. 1t would traverse the most
heafthful region of South America, and for
the greater part would be within the in
fuence OF the prevailing cool trade winds,
and the temperature range the year round
would not vary more than Is degrees Fab
renheIt
1t would intersect an immense aurifer-
Gus and savanna territory, where thous-
ands of people are engaged in mining
stock raising, agriculture the collection
of rubber and other tropical products. and
where it is estimated the vast forests
would yield sufficient timber to pay for
the construction of the road.
On the upper branch of the Potaro
River, ], ,130 feet above sea level and thir-
ty-five miles from where it empties into
the Essequibo, is the Kaieteur Fall 1t is
produced by the water of the Potaro flow
ing over sandstone and cong: Jmerate ta-
ble-land into the valley below 1t has a
perpendicular drop of III feet and width
OF over 300 feet, varying according to the
season. Other falls in the Essequibo
River below the affiuent of the Potaro are
OF less magnitude; but they would con-
tribute TO the scenic features OF the line,
and II a sufficiently constant and uniform
volume of water could be depended on,
would furnish astonishing power for indus
trial purposes and transmission of cleo
tricaI energy.
''Manaos. the terminus, situated at the
affiuence of the Rio Negro with the River
Amazon (caIled in that locality the Rio
Solimoens), has population recently es-
timateC at over 0,G00. 1t is an interme-
diate port between the mountains and the
seaport at Para. where ocean steamers dis
charge and take on cargo II is the cen
tre of the great fiuyial system which has
its source in the Andes between the equa-
tor and the twentieth degree of latitude
south. and it is rapidly growing In wealth
and commercial Importance
THE distances uavigable for steamers
from Manaos are as follows: To Iauitos,
Peru. via River Solimoens. !, $50 miles:
to Bolivia. via River Purus, l $50 miles
to Isabel. via River Negro, 40 miles
to Boa Vista, via River Negro and
Braneo 400 miles; 10 San Antonio. via
River Madeira 470 miles: to Para. via
River Amazon, 1,100 miles; total. 1870
miles
The establishment of the road at
Manaos would break into the centre of
entire system OF ocean and river trans-
portation between the Andes and the sea
and upset the usual course of trade bv
that route and divert the most OF it to
the seaport at Demerara.
Following the comparative distances
by the present and the proposed route
from Manaos to New York: Present
route-Manaos to Para River Amazon
LOO miles; Para to New York. via Bar
bados. 3.245 miles: total 4345 miles
Time TO New York at ten knots per hour.
eighteen days. Proposed route-Manaos
to DemeraTa BY rail 700 miles: Demera-
ra to New York. via Barbados, 2 400
miles; total 800 miles. Time TO Deme-
q
time to New York at ten knots per hour.
ten DAYS; total. eleven DAYS. Difference
in distance in favor of proposed rout g.
1-245 miles: difference in time favor of
proposed route. seven days.
'All commercial Intercourse with the
vast area embraced in the Amazon basin
and extending into Bolivia Peru Ecuador.
and Colombia would be greatly facilitated.
The mails from the United States and En-
roDean countries for commercial points in
this region would so and cone by this rail-
way route to Manaos and he bulk OF he
exports and Imports of the entire region
now travelling IaziIy TO their destination
would take the speedier and more economf-
cal rou' {. Shipments of rubber by this
line would be especially advantageous, as
it would save TO the exporter the tremen-
dOus shrinkage involved in the present
route The resources OF the entire region
would be made more available and he in
: dustr'al and commercial activity which
would follow would, I think he astonish-
ing. The harbor at Georgetown would be
crowded with the fleets and commercial
products of Europe and America. which
now go round via Para and the River Anna.
zon, and both Manaos and Georgetown
would become great centres of commercial
activity and distributing points of an enor-
nous and constantly increasing volume ot
trade
1T cannot be stated definitely what pro-
portion Of the commerce of Bolivia, Peru,
Ecuador, and the Amaze. basin about Ma
naos now goes by the river routes to the
Atlantic coast at Para. The Review OF
the Worlds Commerce. for 1899. publish
ed by the Department of State shows the
aggregate value of imports and exports OF
those countries, including all Brazil. ar
$2S5. .645 800. The export of rubber alone
from Manaos and Para during the fiscal
year 189S-'99 amounted 10 25,@46 long
tons
GAINS IN GERMAN TRADE.