The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-11-08
IN 1850

rates are high, and more than half of
the earnings come from freight The
extra charges for baggage arc much
greater than in the United States. and
on the central system per cent of the
total earnings are made out of lug
gage.
Tho amount of freight carried is
about 10000 tons per annum, the
number of passengers arc more than
l2,oOO,ooe and the total receipts more
than sl3.0o0.000 In gold. The expendi-
lures are moro than 81 3. 600, 900, that
the deficit is.7norc than S2.000.0O0. The
state snow operating about 1000
miles of railway, and it's employees are
more than 1000, or over five to the
mile.
In addition to the government rail-
WAYS arc those owned by private par
ties and companies. These roads have
n .trackage almost'as long as that of
the government system. and their total
capitalization Is quite as great. Their
freight and passenger rates are high
err, hut the service is better. Many of
them are run in connection with mines
and other interests and the returns do
not show tho actual receipts or the
profits.
Take. for instance. the nitrate rail-
ways OF which there are seven. They
run from the ports out into the dcs-
ert and carry but little else than nj
trate OF soda. They range in length
from fifty miles to. three or four hun
dred. and their business is in proper
ton to the nitrate factories or ofcinas
with which they connect. The Pisa
gun Railroad, that runs between Pisa
qua and IquiQue. has length OF $50
miles, and it's capitalization is 100000
600. It's gauge Is only sixteen inches.
Nevertheless. II has been paving over
Z per cent ON it's common stock for n
number of ycars. and it's net receipts
are now more than SIT 900, 600 per an
mum. That road is owned in England.
Another profitable road is the Anglo
Chilean nitrate road. which runs from
the port of Tocopilla to several differ
ent oicinas. having n length Of sew
cnty- odd miles. 1t is capitalized at
S5.000,000 and in 1911 its dividend was
10 per cent. And then there is Il road
from Mejillones that connects with The
AntofaGasta Railway to Bolivia. That
road is about eighty miles long. and IL
has Il thirty-inch igauge. 1t will carry
the copper OF the GuEEenhcim syndi-
cate mines down to the coast and
should have AN enormous profit thcro-
from. At present it is part OF the
Antofagasta- Bolivia railway system.
which is exceedingly profitable. The
~
from the southern nitrate fields TO the
port OF Taltal. or the Pacific. paid n
dividend of per cent in 1912. All OF
these railroads ere feeders OF the
longitudinal system, and that system
has been built to connect them as well
MS TO give a line north and south
throughout the republic.
a most interesting feature of the
Chilean railway situation is. the num-
her OF lines that have been planned to
cross the continent. travcrsing the
Andes and joining the Argentine rail
way systems TO those of the west
coast. The only. one OF these that has
been completed is that which extends
from Valparaiso to Bucnos Aires. This
| is about as long as the distance be-
tween New York and Chicago. 1t
crosses the Andes at an altitude of
10000 feet above the sea through Il
tunnel that is nearly two miles long
The road was expensive to build, and
ii is so costly TO operate that its freight
rates VIII always be high. II has
rack and pinion or cog railroad sys-
TEN Of about twenty five miles and the
gauge is such that freight has to be
transferred twice during the journey
across the continent. The fare from
Santiago to Buenos Aires is S65 with
a very small allowance for baggage.
| This is more than three times as much
ms the cost Of the trip from New York
to Chicago.
Another transcontiRental railroad
that Will soon be completed Will con-
meet the port of Antofagasta with
liuenos Aires. This is an extension of
n branch of the Antofagasta- Bolivia
Railway. ! have already described my
journey over 1t from Bolivia to the sea
The transcontinental extension leaves
the main line ut Uyuni, where 1t has an
n II "a Af,tt
thence passes through rich mineral
district, crossing Bolivia to the from
tier ut La Quiaca, where 1t will con-
meet with the great railway system Of
Argentina. The road has already been
constructed to TupiZa, and within less
than a year II should be connected with
the Argentine system. The distance
between the two points Is now only
siXty-six miles. This road will never
be- q general passenger line across
south america. The distance Is too
great II will, however, be the short
cut from the Pacific Ocean to the upper
part OF the Argentine Republic, and
VIII be Bolivn's outlet to the Atlantic
Chic has plans and surveys already
made for several very Important trans
continental railways south OF the pres
ent line from; Valparaiso to Buenos
Aires. Some of. them ,1will have their
terminal at Bahai Blanca, the Argen
tine port on the Atlantic Ocean, n DAYS
ride south OF Buenos Aires, and nc.will
connect Talcahuano, the great CONNER
c!ai and naval station near Concep-
cion, with that port This road wiz
cross chile from Conception 10 Antuco.
and thence go OH into the Argentine.
NFh 4 Wi