The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-05-19

that they are allowing their vast pos
sessions, scattered here and there over
the world outside France, to remain
as they were when they obtained them.
This Is not SO a s to Africa. The fertile
parts OF Algeria and Tunisia are COW
cred with railroads. There Is line
about as long as from Philadelphia to
Chicago running from west to east
through Algeria, with branch lines to
the north and SOUTH connecting the
ports with all parts OF the Tell.
Algeria alone has now more than
two Thousand miles of railways. and
Its railway receipts are between &c.
10000 and ST.000,000 n year There
Is heavy freight traffic, and the
second and third-class passenger cars
arc always we'll filled. There are
sleeping coaches at high rates between
Oran and Algiers, and one can go
across a great part Of north Africa by
sleeper.
In Tunisia. which is almost as big
as the State of Illinois, here are now
something like six hundred miles of
railroads They arc mainly confined to
the northern part of the country. al
though there arc some lines running
down the east coast and inland to
fertilizer deposits which lie there.
These roads are all French. and the
Tunsian government has recently nu-
extensions.
a part of the Algerian systnrl Le-
longs TO the government, and another
Iert is in the hands of some OF the
french railroad companies This is so
OF the road from Oran to Alg:ars. It
belongs to the Paris, Lyons enc; Medt-
terranean corporation. and its chief
Offices are III France. The Sahara lines
are largely militay. and they could
hardly exist without government sup
port
Railway Travel in Algeria.
Railway travel in northern Africa is
| far different from that Of the United
| States. In comparison with US these
| people are still n century or SO behind
| rhe times. Express trains do not
| make more than fifteen or twenty
| miles an hour. and the railroad clocks
1 at the stations are purposely kept five
| minutes behind every other time In
orded that passengers may not get left.
The methods ct ticket selling and
/ baggage checking are such that one
should be at the train at least quar-
ter OF an hour before starting, and he
/ viii lthen have to wait his turn with q
crowd of Arab soldiers and others
each OF whom consumes at cast two
minutes at the ticket office and twice
that time with tho baggage master
4 IL inc tlCkeC Is u IclutlA, lIle d6eIl
figures out a reduction of 80 per cent
| Off the regular fare, and makes {
memorandum Of the amount on {
ledger as we'll as on the ticket itself
The ordinary tickets are somewhat like
ours, but the "rcturns" and excursion
certificates arc Of the size of a lega
document and quite as imposing.
Baggage Arrangements.
| 5c pf 1ac
gage are allowed free, and everything
must be weighed, There is a tax Of
cents for checking baggage, ard tn
agent registers the weight whether !
Is below seventy pounds or not. TIL
checks are not made of cardboard 0
brass. as In our country. They ar
, merely receipts on thin tough pape
SO arranged that one half Of each re
J ceipt can be given to the passenge
and the other doubled UP and tied wit
II string to tho baggage.
Most of the natives carry their he
longings In bags not unlike COTE
sacks, and much Of tho checked lug
gage is of that nature. At the depot
. the poorer Arabs throw these ,ags owe
, their shoulders and march off wit
| them.
First and second-class passenger
take numerous valises and bundles int
the cars. i am now travelling wit
Z nine pnckas;es. and they all go intotl,
! car. At every stop and start the pol
/, ters take all my stuff In and out fc
. me, and the rates are SO low that IL,
8 cost OF handling Is little, -Four cent
d Is a big enough fee for one man, an
: one good lusty Arab can carry my bag
: gage.
n In the Cars,
@ The first and second-class compart
| fTr a ia b. n M ytn al In
: first class and / sometimes have
compartment for myself and son, I'll
$ cars are divided into little hox-llk
s rooms by partitions, which run scros
from one side to the other. They al
o usually entered from the sides, and