Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-29
NEW FIELD FOR TRADE
Ancient Empire Being Modern
lied by the Turks.
MATERIAL AND SUPPLIES
Market for American Railway Con-
struction Goods.
PLANS MILES OF RAILROADS
Rivalry Between French and Ger
man Bankers to Gain Control
of the Concessions.
MATERIAL AND SUPPLIES
PLANS MILES OF RAILROAD:

BY WILLIAM F.. CURTIS.
Written for The star and the Chicago Record
Herald.
| The new Turkish government Ia show
| ing an enterprising disposition. and If 1t
is allowed to work out its purpose Will
| rapidly modernize that ancient empire
ant. offer a. vast and profitable field for
Anne rican trade in railway construction
material and supplies. Already has the
department of public works decided upon
! the construction Of 2.2JO miles of rail-
ways. and German and French engineers
are now in the field making surveys.
Most of the proposed lines extend from
the principal ports upon the Med1ter-
ranean and the Black sea into the pro-
ductive regions of the interior. thus CIV
ing the people access to market. Not
less than twelve Of these roads have
been proposed through Asia Minor, and
by connecting them at some early date
in the future with Constantinople 1t will
be possible for traveller from Europe
to reach any important port In the Otto
man empire by rail within a few years.
There is a great deal OF rivalry DE-
tween the French and German bankers,
who have agencies in Constantinople, TO
gain control of the concessions. and the
government Is playing one against the
other for terms. 1t is also inviting
Dutch Belgian, italian and English cap
ital to interest itself in order to have as
many different nations represented as
possible. 1t will be easy for an Ameri-
can syndicate to obtain a concession or
two If one should be formed. but the ex-
perience of our fellow countrymen in
China and in Central and South America
does not encourage Turkey or any other
1t seems almost impossible for an Amer
lean syndicate to build a railroad In a
foreign country 1t has been done In
Mexico and in Guatemala, but In Colon
bia. Ecuador. Peru. China and other
countries American SyndicateS which
have undertaken such work have fnva-
riably sold out to or consolidated with
British corporations.
Roads to the Interior.
The Turkish government proposes to
build four roads from ports on the Black
sea into the interior; one Of them 30 and
the others 800 go and go miles long.
1t is proposed also to build six roads
from ports on the Mediterranean into the
interior, varying from 60 to 600 miles In
length. The other roads contemplated
are to connect the larger cities of the
interior and the roads that are already
in operation.
If the plans are carried out, and most
of them undoubtedly will be, the rails,
bridges and other construction material
should be furnished by the United States.
was the case in the construction of
the railway recently opened between
Damascus and Medinah, Of which 1
wrote the other day. AS a rule the Euro
pean style of locomotives and other roll
ing stock is preferred in the east, being
lighter of construction and more easily
handled. Very few box cars are used
ICrhf hoy ohn
and protect the cargoes with tarpaulins
and other waterproof covers. The pas
senger cars are light and roughly made,
and do not cost 10 per cent as much as
this country. Railways are the great
civilizers, and when the people Of the
ottoman empire can travel about they
will develop a modern civilization and
adopt modern methods very rapidly.
To Restore Irrigation Systems.
An equally important enterprise Of the
new government is the plan to restore the
ancient irrigation systems Of Asia Minor
and Mesopotamia, which once supported
population Of twelve or fifteen million
people. but now have become almost q
desert waste. In the time Of Nebuchad-
nezzar and the Babylonian captivity this
was the richest section of the world, but
the splendid cities are now piles of ruins.
Psychologists of Europe and America are
searching for evidences Of an extinct
civilization, and are making remarkable
discoveries. The only population are
nomadic tribes of Bedouins. with here and
there a hamlet of people who have taken
refuge by a well or spring that has
been preserved from destruction, and
marks an oasis in the dreary stretch Of
lifeless sand.
-Four years ago Sir William Willcocks,
q 70 loot hos,
been engaged for many years In reclaim
ing desert lands in Egypt and India, made
survey of the great valley that lies
along the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.
and prepared rough estimate of the cost
of the redemption of about three million
acres of land. Since the new government
has been in power at Constantinople the
minister of public works has invited Sir
William to come from India, where he Is
now engaged, and take charge of a grand
scheme for an irrigation system that in
wolves an ultimate expenditure Of $780,
OOO,OOO.
Held the Principal Granaries.
In the days of Alexander the Great,
when the whole Of Mesopotamia and the
greater portion of the territory between
the Tigris and the mountains Of Persia
and Kurdistan were artihcially irrigated.
| this region held the principal granaries of
soil that, according to Herodotus,. it
yielded commonly two hundredfold, and
| sometimes three hundredfold. Now agri-
culture as well as all other industries
has been practically abandoned, and the
little that remains is in a deplorable
state. The yield of both wheat and barley
| is said to average less than five bushels
of the former and not much more of the
latter per acre. Only small patches of
ground close TO the river banks, are now
cultivated. Seedtime is in November and
harvest time in May. The blowing con-
| sists merely in superficial scratching with
| a wooden stick. AS the rainfall is in
significant, irrigation becomes necessary.
and the water is raised from the river
| in skins by means of rope running over
| a wooden roller between two uprtghts,
oxen furnishing the motive power. These
rollers are never fabricated, and the
| creaking can be heard a mile away.
The grain is cut with a sickle, the blade
| Of which is about eight inches long. and
slightly curved. 1t is piled up around
| a stake, and trampled by horses tied to
| the stake with long rope, so that
| they walk in an ever-narrowing circle
| (as the rope winds around the stake)
| dragging after them box on rollers sup
piled with knives. This constitutes the