Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-08-18


miles, and from there on the Grand
Trunk line through Persia, Afghanistan
and China will be 5000 miles more.
making a total of more than 10000
miles from the German capital to the
Pacific coast. The. length of the road
now under construction-from Ismid
to the Persian gulf-will be 1862 miles.
The commercial possibilities of the
railway seem to be enormous. So
thoroughly does the sultan of Turkey
believe in them that he has purchased
immense tracts of land on the lower
stretches of the Tigris for the purpose
OF specializing on its expected rise in
value. In the upper part of Mesopo-
tamia, and also in the neighboring re-
gions of Syria, cotton is even now,
when transportation is of the most
primitive kind, cultivated to a great
extent. From this portion of the coun-
try there are annually placed on the
market 100000 pounds of cotton
thread. When the Bagdad railroad
is in operation vast quantities Of cot
ton will be raised for export. One of
the plans of the German syndicate is to
organize several agricultural COM
panies, which will obtain from the Otto
man government great districts of land
on long leases which will be sublet to
small farmers or worked by natives I'M
der the direction of the company. In
this manner it is proposed that Ger
many will draw her chief cotton sup
plies from Mesopotamia instead of
from America, as now. AS an evil
dence, of the great trade that the
United States carries on with Ger
many at the>pTesent time in this line it
may be mentioned, that last year this
country exported to Germany $780,
SSS pounds of raw cotton, worth 1884,
S242S4
But Germany has her eye turned in
other commercial directions also. The
ancient prosperity of Anatolia was in
its cornfelds. Germany proposes to
revive this ancient source of wealth.
in some parts of Mesopotamia, Baby
lonia and Asia Minor the yearly rain
fall is sufficient to bring forth rich
vests; in other parts irrigation is neces-
sary Anatolia, northern Syria, Meso-
potamia and the Irak altogether are
capable of exporting as much corn as
Russia exports today. The population
Of these countries is now about 1,500,-
900. When the Bagdad railroad coun-
try are developed, it is estimated that
the population will soon grow to the
5000, 600 that lived and prospered I'M
DER the reign of the famous Haroun-
al-Raschid. If Germany gets her corn
from her new fields the Unietd States
will suffer in this direction, as they
will suffer in the matter of cotton, for
in 1903 this country exported 12,17S,S03
bushels of corn to Germany, at a valu-
alton of $685. 1897.
Although the final articles of the con-
vention for building the Bagdad rail-
way through Turkey were signed a
short time ago, the road is by no means
a new project The Germans made
their first move for constructing the
great system sixteen years ago. At
that time the Deutsche Bank, at Ber-
lin, backed by big syndicate which
made it's headquarters at CONSTANT
ncple, began making plans to get con-
cessions from the pashas. The plans
of the syndicate were kept a close
secret. There was one little stretch
of railroad running from Scutari to
Ismid, which was owned by the Eng
lish as a relic of the Crimean war.
This road the syndicate desired to be
used as a link in the great line from
Constantinople to the Persian gulf.
The English shares were brought up
! quietly and the Germans were in COM
kplete control before the Englishmen
knew that they had lost the road. Then
highland seemed to wake up. British
>ital;sts sought to obtain concessions
the extension of the Smyrna-Aidin
nv. with the view of pushing it
the 2srsian gulf, but the Ger
cked YStheir government, out
kBritish and obtained conces-
the Porte to extend the
line. Then the Germans
game They started
ire the Smyrna-Cassaba
na-Aidin railroads for
become rivals. With
french shareholders they
of the former line and
Rrly capturing the other.
plans were formed and
never, before the Bag
reached its present
fthe plan progressed, the
ID each advancement to
Dother concessions. The
of connecting the Medi-
and the Persian gulf was by
a new one. the Turkish gov
itself having had such a
mind before the breaking
>Crimean war, but it was held
yf6Y political reasons. But in
years soon after the treaty of
as signed-the sultan planned