Willmar tribune., 1907-12-04
A HZDOCE1AW DOCY. HZZPQRART H1RHz7N4Z
or TEE &E4GO22VG REUPQAD

hue OuL across the coral lSlduQS I'D
Key West and of conveying his trains
from there by rapid car ferries direct
ly to the Cuban capital. first took tan
gible shape in his mihd during the
Spanish-American war; At that time
the certainty of closer political and
trade relations between this country
and Cuba became evident, as did the
commercial and strategic Importance
of some means of quickly reaching the
island republic from the United States.
The dream grew in Mr.. Flagler's nina,
and he directed that survey be made
by engineers to determine whether
such a road as he imagined could be
constructed. When the voluminous re-
ports, estimates, drawings and blue
prints of the engineers were sub
mitted, Mr.. Flagler glanced at them
hastily and turning to Mr.. ]. R. Par
rott, vice-president OF his railway and
his right-hand man In all his Florida
undertakings, said:
Cali want to know is whether the
road can be built"
Eyes, it can," replied Mr.. Parrott
"Then go ahead and build it," Mr..
Flagler directed.
That was in 1905. Since then tho
dirt has been flying ceaselessly. I'M
mense pile-drivers have been sinking
foundations, huge dredges have been
sucking up sand from the bottom of
the sea to construct a roadbed, and
an army of between 5000 and 1000
men has been pushing its way stead
lily southwark from Miami out over
the waves and the tiny islands toward
Key West.
There was no precedent in the his
tory of railway construction for the
building of this sort of a road. Con-
sequently the difficulties were many
and the problems to be solved un-
usual. In the first place, 1t was nec-
essary to assemble veritab1e navy,
including steamboats,, tugs, lighters,
hundreds of barges and bateaux,
launches, floating derricks, pumps,
pile drivers and repair shops, for
since this was to be a railroad at sea,
seacraft had to be utilized chiefly in
its construction. The Florida keys
traversed by the line are mostly un-
inhabited, and afforded neither shelter
nor support for the army Of men en-.
ployed. 1t was necessary to establish
| camps, transport supplies, build hos.
pitals for the sick and to establish
reading and club rooms in which the
workers could find relaxation from
the monotony of their isolated lives In
some cases big houseboats or floating
dormitories were anchored in pro-
tected spots to serve as living quar-,
ters. Even the drinking water must
be transported in huge tanks on
barges distance of hundred miles
or more.
At the northern end of the line the
route for number of miles is on the
mainland and extends through the
borders Of the Everglades Here it
was impossible to use ordinary means
Of land construction and barges were
!! employed. The water was so shallow,
however, that the heavy boats could
not be foated and canals had first to
be made for them. These canals ex,
tend along either side of the railroad,
and through them the barges worked
their way, digging their own channels
as they moved along and throwing up
at one side the earth taken out, so as
to form the roadbed. Further down.
where the railway crosses to Key
Largo and begins its real career as an
ocean-going line, problems of another
sort presented themselves for solu
ton.
Although the road, from the nature
of it's construction, is one Of the most
expensive ever undertaken, costing
approximately 100000 per mile the
task of financing it is being borne en-.
tirely by the man who planned and Is
building it. 1t represents an expendi.
ture of between $15.000.000 and $780,.
000, 900 for the realization of an idea
the linking together of Cuba and the
United States by the peaceful but
effective bond Of the steel highway.