The Washington herald., 1908-05-10

road known as the 'sNoroeste." The i'm
/ portance Of this railway. as at present
planned. bids fair 10 outrank any rail-
way enterprise undertaken In South
/ America within recent years. The initial
station Of this road is Bauru the present
/ terminus of the northwest branch Of the
| SoTOcabana Railway in the state OF Sac
! Paulo whence the line extends north
westward There is now, 10 miles in
operation, serving a territory which two
/ years ago was virgin and scarcely well
explored. Surveys are completed to the
/ point where the railway is TO cross the
PaTana River, which forms the boundary
I line between the states OF Sac Paulo and
/ Matto Crosse. The road to this point is
/ 20 be IN operation within two years.
1 From the Parana more or less definite
surveys have been made Horthwestward
I across the southern part OF the state of
Matto Crosse to Corlmba, on the great
Paraguay River, which separates Brazil
and Bolivia.
/ The original inteEtion was to extend
( the line from the Parana River to Guy
aha. point nearer the geogrs sphical cen
/ ter of Matto Crosse, but this plan has
/ been modified in view Of the evidently
superior position OF terminus on the
/ Bolivian border and on the great stream
forming the boundary line between the
/ two countries.
II is now practically certain that the
present administration will push this
work to a conclusion before the inaugura-
/ ton Of a new regime. This means that
within two and one-half years 400 miles
of railway are TO be constructed and put
/ into operation through a country wholly
uneNplored, several streams OF conti-
mental Importance must be bridged,
marsh lands encountered, and the diff
fculties incident to carving a way
through virgin and al but impenetrable
/ forests overcome.
Great Importance of This Road.
The economic and political Importance
of such an achievement in railway con-
struction may be seen after a glance
at the map Of South America. Corumba.
the objective point Of the railway, is in
almost the geographical center OF the
continent It's position on the River
/ Paraguay gives IL the same strategic i'm
/ portauce relative TO South America as is
B
/ Tributary 10 railroads at this point would
/ be territory covering an empire in ex-
/ tent with favorable climatic conditions
and with untold wealth of natural re-
sources. The only intercourse which the
Brazilian capital has with this region at
the present time IS via BuenOs Ayres
and the River Plata. going thence by
river boat up the Parana and the Para
L
ney OF three weeks The projected rail-
way would place the federal capital
within forty-eight hours Of this point at
the heart of the continent.
The railway will cross the Parana River
within a few miles of the junction Of that
river and the River Tiete. Each OF these
rivers has at this point magnitude ap-
proximateiy equal to that OF the Mis-
sissppi at any point above its confluence
with the Missouri. Within a few miles
also OF the point on each of these streams
where the railway will cross, each Of
/ these great rivers is broken by water
falls forty-five feet in altitude, having
a volume Of water said by the head Of
I the Brazilian geological service to rival
that of Niagara Falls, capable OF fur
nishing power 70 the extent Of millions
/ of horsepower units. Here is a position
which offers opportunity certainly for
/ twin cities of the South American CONT
nent which may be destined to outrank
! the great industrial centers at the head
Of navigation on the Mississippi River.
Government Guarantees Income.
/ The contract under which the company
/ is TO construct this railway provides a
guaranty on the part of the federal gov
ernment Of earnings of 6 per cent on the
amount employed in construction up to
S16,2S0 per kilometer O62 mIle) for the
section to the Parana River, and up to
$2O74S per kilometer ior the remaining
stretch OF the road At these figures
the probable cost of the railway will not
fall far short of $50 000 co., The French
company obligate themselves to operate
the railway for a short term Of years.
so that the government evades the re-
sponsibility connected with the prelimi-
nary expense of putting the road into
| operation. and possibly loss incidental to
operation during the period preceding the
adjustment Of the population to new op-
portunities offered in the territory tribu-
tary to the railroad.
The contracting company has expressed
a willingness to double and, If necessary.
treble the present forces in order TO COM
plete the entire project within the allot-
ted time OF thirty months.