The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-04-24
ALL OVER THE WORLD
s4,.[5 < ' : A. X ,, .a-,.-..-.y g. ... ,BT R4TL--PAN AMERICAN ROAD < oNLY 4 LINK.
In Great International Chain.

Epurred to action by the universal and continued praise bestowed upon the czar now that he has actually compile ted the longest railroad in the world, MT. Carnegie has actively embarked upon rival scheme of even far great CT magnitude, for his plan contemplates nothing Jess than carrying out James G. Blaine's life project of connecting the railway systems Of the United States with those of the South Ameri- can republics. 7.- ''- '@ :. From it's inception to it's finish. the Latin Americans seem quite willing that Yankee. thought and energy shall predominate in the carrying out of the great intercontinental project. It was fifty years ago that the Pan-American railroad was first mooted, a patriotic American offering prize of five thou sand dollars for the best essay on the advantages to be derived from the building of a railroad binding together the countries of North and South America, The prize was awarded many years ago, and it's donor, now a very old gentleman. still lives in Washington, hoping that he may yet see the idea he originated become a re- ality. t
 In 1890 the project was taken up by James G. Blaine, then secretary of state. A Pan-American conference was held at the national capital, and until the time of. his death MT. Blaine worked indefatigably to carry the plan to success The United States govern ment appropriated three hundred and sixty thousand dollars for surveys, which were made, and it seemed as though actual work mere about to be- gin, but after the death of MT. Blaine little progress was made until last year, when at the Pan-American con- gress held in the City of Mexico, it was recommended that the United States take the initiative and appoint com missioner to carry out the recommen- dations made by the congress. Secre- tary Hay has in consequence just ap-; pointed MT. Charles M. Pepper as spec ial representative to the heads of the South. American republics, and MT. Carnegie will pay the expenses of this Investigation.
 It is a strange coincidence that MT. "A. J. Cassatt, chairman of the first 8 n-Americar congress, in 1890, is now president of the Pennsylvania railroad, which has 8 mileage just equal to the distance from New York to Buenos Ayres, and annual gross earnings ex- actly sufficient to built the missing links of the; intercontinentaI line. The Pennsylvania railroad, too, will form the first section of the through route.
 Although the quickest way to reach Buenos Ayres is still via Europe, the intercontinental railroad has made some progress since our surveys were made for it's extension, so that it will oon be possible to travel by direct train from New York to Ayutia, on the border of Guatemala, distance of some 3,769 miles. But from Ayutia to Cuzco, in the mountains of southern Peru, there is a gap of nearly five thousand miles to; be built.
 The cost of the missing link will be, it is estimated, in the neighborhood of two hundred million dollars, or about F the amount that it cost to build the \, trans-Siberian railway. Fully ten years must elapse before we can hope to travel on. through trains from New York to Buenos Ayres, and even then the time of transit will probably prove disappointing to many. At an average speed of twenty-five miles an hour, day and night, some seventeen days would be consumed making the trip.
 Great as are the present projects for our intercontinental system, there is every evidence that by the time of it's completion they will be greatly extend ed. The Argentine Republic and Chile are both building southward to Cape < Horn, while Canada is constructing a ,railWay to Alaska which 1t is expected American capital will carry much fnr- ther north, perhaps to meet the rail- road already building southward from Cape Nome; so that at the end of ten years America may have a. cape-to- < cape railway some fifteen thousand miles in length, or if the scheme of the Denver company recently incorporated with capitalization of fifty million dollars is ever carried into effect, we shall be able to travel from any part of the two Americas by rail to Paris; for . travels across Alaska and Siberia, sur veying telegraph route, before the Atlantic cable was laid, and De Windt's later accomplishments-ho to put an iron girdle about the earth. The Russian engineers of the trans-Si- berian railway express their opinion that the American-Asiatic route, though expensive, is feasible, but their energies are turned southward to con- meet the czar's trans-Asian railway with. the Indian system in Asia, and eventually. perhaps with the proposed Arabian railway, which will have Cai- TO asa southern terminus. So that when all these projected railways are built-and there is no doubt of their eventual construction-we shell have Cape of. Good Hope to Cape Horn all- rail route, while every important city of America will have direct railroad connection with every large city of the " five continents.-Collier's Weekly.
 { 3