The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-29

cost of a large part of the roads he built in Africa. He said. however, that double that amount should be ap- propriated for it, so that the probability is that the average cost would be thirty or forty thousand dollars a mile. The Germans who are building railroads from the east coast of Africa westward toward Lake Tanganyika estimate that their roads will cost them on the aver age $30000 a. mile. They have to climb l the hills to the high plateau of the inte- rior, and their country is very rough. The
 Uganda railroad, which runs from Mom-
 basa. above Zanzibar, to Lake Victoria.
 has cost something like $SO.OOO mile. and
 the Congo line, built by the Belgians, cose S50,000 a mile
 On the other hand. the roads in Bechu- analand have been made for $l5,00O mile. and in Rhodesia at an average cost of $19,0OO per mile. At $30.000 a mile $36, 600, ,000 would complete the connections with the
 lakes sAld the Nile and $99,000.000 would , build the entire road. giving an iron track from one end of Africa to the other. Such railroad will have connections with all
 parts of Africa. east and west. Short lines will be built to the Congo and also to the east coast at Zanzibar, Mombasa, Beira and Durban.
 Cape Town, Kimberley and Durban. The metropolis of South Africa is Cape l Town It has with its suburbs about 90,- | GOO people. It has fine public buildings. l good residences electric lights and street cars and every sort of modern im- provement. Kimberley. the center of the diamond industry has 30.000, and Dur
 ban. the capital of Natal, Is doubly as large. I' ttN%
 These three towns are great commer- cial centers. Something like $9O0O.O00 worth of goods are annually landed at Cape Town. and more than $100000,O 600 worth are sent away. This is exclusive of specie, and, now that the gold mines
 of the Transvaal are again producing heavily, the shipments of the precious metal will be large.
 The trade of Kimberley is chiefly in diamonds. It exports millions of dollars worth every year. although the quantity is now limited to the demand by the dia- mond trust
 All diamonds of value in Africa are controlled by the De Beers Consolidated Mines. This company is diamond mon- opoly. It has a capital of $20.000.000 and
 it declares dividends of from 70 to 50 per cent It is now producing something like $5O,OO0 worth of diamonds every day. or from S15, COOL 900 to $20,000. 900 worth a year. Since its beginning 1t has handled about $4OO. .OOO,OOO worth of diamonds, and
 it has enough in stock to supply the
 world for some time to come The De
 Beers trust employs about 5000 blacks and 1,60O whites. paying out a quarter
 of million dollars every month in wages alone.
 New African Industries. The English are setting out a great many experimental plantations in Africa.
 They are establishing tea, coffee and cot ton estates in the different colonies. In Natal there are a number of large tea plantations. which annually produce more | than a million pounds of tea. The Cliff | ton estate has 5000 acres. and Is worked almost entirely by native labor. The tea Is nicked by men and women and car ried into the factories on their heads. l Tn Western Africa there are successful cotton plantation. and experiments with | cotton are being made in Eastern Africa l as well.
 lands and many Englishmen are now go- in. there to rear cattle. The land is sol foT 4O cents and upwards per acre. ant | a OO0-acre farm bring all the way from Ri. .20O to slO0OO each. There are many towns going up in that territory. The huiIdinSs are made of brick, with wool- l er cottages in the suburbs. The people l live comfortably. and 1t is not an unconi- mon thing to find a piano or billiard | table in a private house.
 | In N ltal more than 100000 acres are now
 cultivated In the Orange Free State
 there are several million acres of ia m-
 ing and grazing lands owned by Euro
 peans. and the same Is true of the Trans