The Sunday globe., 1901-08-04
Please Contrast the Progress Oh
Mexico with Canada.
THE LAST GREAT ACHIEVEMENT
OF Our Sister Republic illustrates to the
Boastful AngIo-Saxon that There Are
Others" in the Van of Progress-Th
Completion Of the Tehuantepec Railway
Joining the Two Oceans.

Canal projects, the republic Of Mexico
has been pushing an enterprise Whlch
may Justly be regarded as one Of the
notable undertakings of the age. Inc
twentieth century witnesses the COM
pletion of this work, which is nothing
less than the joining of the Atlantic
and Pacific oceans by means OF the
Tehuantepec Railway, which trayerses
the isthmus at it's narrOwest point.
President Diaz was the moving spirit
in the enterprise, but the constructive
genius and executive ability were tur-
nished by an Englishman by the name
of Weetman Pearson, who is a member
of parliament and a baronet into the
bargain. This railroad is not vision
airy scheme, il is almost an accomplish
ed fact,
Mexico is progressing. A glance at
her recent history under the presl-
dency of General Diaz reveals a story
81 astounding progress. The time for
merly spent i'm lethargic reliance upon
the saints and the energy formerly eX-
pended in revolutionary outbreaks IN
the interest Of this oC that ambitious
character are now directed into pro-
gressive channels. Mexico Is awake
and alert-or at least Diaz is, and the
Tehuantepec Railroad is proof Of the
fact
Attempts in the direction Of the Pan
anna and Nicaragua canals have failed,
so far, to open the nearest route for
commerce between the Atlantic ana
Pacific marts, so Mexico, by the aid OF
the Tehuantepec Railroad, aims at the
carriage Of 100000 tons a year Of the
traffic. Ii the success anticipated by
experts be attained, it will form an ex-
tremely practical chapter in the soly-
ing of one Of the most stubborn prob
lens commercial history comprises. A
writer says: valiant old Cortes nearly
four centuries ago, footed every inch
of the Tehuantepec isthmus in quest
of a waterway TO connect the two
oceans: and though he found none, nor
could devise any scheme better than
mule train to make good the lack, be-
lieved firmly that at some future date
| commerce would pass across this low
and narrow divide And it was in
! that belief that he obtained from his
monarch a grant of land which his
| descendants hold to this day, ana
| through which the new railroad runs.
| Cortes believed that if inter-oceanlc
| communication could be established
here, 1t would render the King or
| Spain master of so many Kingdoms
| that he might call himself the Lord OF
the World Spain has not gained uni
versal monarchy, but the communlca-
| tion of a kind undreamed by the an
cient general has been established
/ The Pearson project is by no means
| the first of the kind. Many have sought
| to perform the task, and as many pro-
/ iects have been advanced. Americans
| have been foremost in projects, though
uniformly unsuccessful in carrying
| them out One Of the most startling
| schemes devised in this connection was
| that of the late Captain Eads, OF Mis-
| sissippi jetty fame He desired the
! American Government to undertake a
plan for providing a track upon which
/ TO convey steamers and sailing ships
bodily over the 100 miles which sep
arate the two terminal ports-Coatza-
coalcos and Salina Cruz. Eads' plans
we're elaborately worked out, and
while the engineering difficulties were
enormous. the daring Eads was conf
dent of demonstrating the practicabll-
ity of his plan. The scheme contem'
plated a great cradle mounted on
trucks for conveying ships across the
isthmus. This cradle was to be run
into a dry dock into which ships were
TO be hoated and then were to be low.
cred into place by the drawing OIL
of the water The same means were
to be employed for unloading the ships
at the other end Of the line. Theoreti'
callv. the plan seemed feasible, and
perhaps something might have come
of it had Eads lived; but the plan did
not commend itself to Congress, and
when Eads died it fell through alto
gether.
It remained for an English arm to
construct a railway on the ordinary
plan. 1t is Sir Weetman Pearson, M
p. of the Westminster firm OF S. Pear
son & Son, who has at last given prac'
tical effect to the dream Of ages, al
though the Panama railroad has been
in operation for many years. An Eng
lsh account of the Pearsons' opera
tions says.
Since 1892 they have been carrying
on works on the Mexican coast, and
within the interior, of such magnitude
as to constitute a record for any single
firm. The task of draining the City OF
Mexico was a gigantic one, but in ad
dition they have converted the harbol
of Vera Cruz into what will be, per
haps. one of the finest in the world
they have established river fleets
working over 400 miles Of water; have
taken over and recognized the tram
way systems, and generally set in mo
ton the great wave of progress OF
which the republic is so justly proud
It was the splendid success gained in
so many directions indicated which
led to President Diaz and Sir Weet
man Pearson putting their heads to
gether over the Tehuantepec Railway
The outcome is that the firm has leas
ed the line for term of so years, dur
ing which period they will work The
system in partnership with the MeXi
can government, the firm, Of course
being the managing partners. TIL,
government has already sunk man!
= millions over the railway in the past
and at length there Is a likelihood o
their recouping themselves.
"When the present contractors tool
over the track in 1899 they had simpl!
the skeleton Of a line and fragile 10
cal system to work upon. The Ameri
cans are scarcely to be rivalled for tn,
, celerity with which they can get
track through a country, but for sta
bility and safety, English methods ar,
d still pre-eminent. Messrs. Pearson
: had everything to selidify, and n,
fewer than 900 wooden bridges to re
place with structures of iron, steel O.
masonry. But this, after all, was bu
chlld's play to them; the heavy worl
o. lay La the construction of the termina
! works and the harbors OF Coatzacoal
, cas- and Calina Cruz. The Atlanti,
: port, like many others on that coast
81 needs special treatment in view Of z