Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1903-08-27
WONDERFUL PLANS FOR CHANG
ING FACE OF THE EARTH.
DESIGNS ON VESUVIUS
Sea of Sahara Again-That Is Among
terranean Heat is Yet Another Pro
ject-Great Russian Enterprise Ad-
vocated by Engineers.

New York Press-There are many
gigantic schemes in the world today
which are worthy and lineal success
sors of the plan for building the
Tower of Babel. Yet in an age when
SO many wonders have been accom-
plished it would be unsafe to assert
| that any of the vast projects which
haunt the imaginations of the advo-
Gates are impossible of accomplish
ment, or to prophesy for them the fate
which overlook the tower-building ex-
pertinent on the plains of Shina
French engineers have declared that
it is perfectly feasible to convert the
Desert of Sahara into vast lake, thus
opening to comemrce great regions of
the interior of Africa which can now
only be reached by long, tedious and
dangerous caravan journeys. They
say that a large portion of the desert
lies below the level of the Atlantic,
and that by digging a canal to let in
the waters of the ocean the great
change could be affected easily and at
cost which would be small compared
to the benefits which would accrue
If the whole desert lay below the level
of the Atlantic the flooding of it would
create sea more than four times as
big as the Mediterranean; but as the
| Sahara is composed of elevated
plateaus, mountain ranges and depres-
sions, only part would be covered
with water when the waves of the
ocean were let in, and the new sea thus
formed would be an irregular body of
water, probably of about the same size
as the Mediterranean. Great COM
mercial cities would at once spring
up on its shores and trade and civili-
cation strike at once to the heart of
Africa. The Sea of Sahara may never
become a reality, but in any event it is
a gigantic and pleasing dream.
The Russians propose not to make a
new sea, but to improve an old one
The Sea of Azov, which lies back of
the Crimea, is body of water 22O
miles long and so miles wide. 1t opens
into the Baltic Sea, and would be an
important center of trade were it not
for the fact that it is SO extremely
shallow that no ocean-going steamer
can enter it, Even small boats have
difficulty in navigating it's waters. Now
the Russian government proposes tc
bring wealth and business to the
shores of the Sea of Azoy by building
a dam across the strait by which il
communicates with the Black Sea oil
Azoy letting the rivers which empty
into the shallow body of water fill il
up to depth which shall make il
practicable for large steamers. 1t is
thought that heavy dam about two
miles long, with great lock capable
lof taking in ocean steamers, would &C
complish the desired result. Where
the shores of the sea are high natural
ly they would be all right when the
waters rose, but where they are low
artificial shores would have to be con-
structed, otherwise the Azoy might
lon1y be increased in area instead of be-
ing deepened. 1t is big undertaking;
but the Russian government is serious
ly considering the work, and detailed
plans have been prepared.
Among great schemes may be in
cluded the proposition of the Honor
able Rollo Russell, member of the
British parliament, who advocated the
building of immense walls to increase
the rainfall in sterile districts. The
walls were to be so high that their tops
would arrest the clouds and cause a
downpour of rain, thereby rendering
fit for cultivation lands which are now
good only for pasture or entirely I'M
profitable.
| Anther member of the same family,
Lord John Russell, when premier OF
England, had urged upon his attention
the scheme of digging an immense
hole three miles in circumference in
the center of England. 1t was to give
work to the unemployed and was to go
down so deep that the subterranean
beat -el. ased wuld be sufficient to fur
/ fish motive power for all the fac
tories in the land
1t has been proposed seriously
several times to put out the fires of
| Vesuvius by letting in on them the
waters of the Mediterranean. The ex-
pertinent has been prevented by fear
that gigantic explosion would result.
which would blow up Italy.