The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-07
TOWER OF BABEL oUTDoNE. ~
One Mans Wonderful Plans fer q.
Changing the Face of Nature. !.

There are many gigantic schemes u,
the world today which are worthy and
lineal successors of the plan for buifd-
ing the Tower of Babel. - Yet in an
age when so many wonders have been
accomplished it would be unsafe to as.
sert that any of the vast projects
which haunt the simaginations of their
advocates are impossible of accom-
plishment, or to prophesy for them
the fate which overlook the tower
building experiment 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 commerce 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 canal to let in
the waters of-zthe ocean the great
change could be effected easily and at
a 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 a sea more than four times as
big as the Mediterranean; but, as the
Sahara is composed of elevated plat
eaus, mountain ranges and depres-
sions, only a 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 about the same
size as the Mediterranean. Great COM
mercial cities would at once spring up
on its shores and trade and civiliza-
ton 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 a body Of water 220
miles long and 80 miles wide. 1t opens
into the Black sea, and would be an
important center of trade were 1t not
for the fact that it is so extremely
shallow that no ocean gofng steamer
can enter it. Even small boats have
difficulty In navigating its waters.
Now the Russian government pro-
poses to bring wealth and business to
the shores of the Sea of Azov by
building a dam across, the. strait by
which 1t communicates with the Black
sea and letting the rivers which empty
into the shallow body of water fill it
up to a depth which shall make it
practicable for large steamers. 1t is
thought that heavy dam about two
miles long, with a great lock capable
of taking in ocean steamers, would
accomplish thes esired result. Where
the shores Of thsNsea are high natur-
ally they would be all right when the
waters rose, but where they are low
artificial shores would have to be con-
structed, otherWase the Azov might
only be increased In area instead of
being deepeneds is a big sundertak-
ing; but the Russian government is
seriously constituting the work, and
detailed plans have been prepared
Among great schemes may be in
Guided the proposition of the Hon.
Rolfo Russell, az member of the British
parliament, who advocated the build
ing 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 un-
profitable.
- Another member of the same family,
Lord John Russell. when premier of
England. had urged upon his attention