Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1914-05-27
RUINS OF ANCIENT
IN BOLIVIA

feet wide and weighs 40 tons: another
is 26 feet by 16. and six feet thick.
Only the monoliths of ancient Egypt
equal those found in Tiahuanacu. The
movement and placing of such mono
llths point to a dense population. to an
organized government, and conse-
quently to Il large agricultural area
with means of transportation from va
riouS directions. The only enable ex-
PLANTATION is that at the time when Tia
huanacu flourished the Andes were
from 1000 to 1900 feet lower thar at.
present. Biologists held that in the
Jurassic and even in the Cretaceous
period there We're no Andes n that.
through a gradual upheaval they have
been formed in more recent geological
times. The bones of a mastodon nav
been discovered in Bolivia at an alti-
tude of $4,000 feet above the sea. and
such an animal could not have existed
at such an elevation Skeletons of gil
gantic %anteaters have been found in
the deserts of T%arapaca, and these
arboreal vegetation. These. n other
geological facts, support the theory
that the ancient city of T~iahuanacu
existed when the Andes We're much
lower than at present, perhaps when
the cave man OF Britain was fighting
for his life with cave bear. wild boar
NJ m%astodon. and sketching their rude
pictures on the walls of his primitive,
subterranean dwelling.
Alaska and Panama.
From the Washington Times.
President Wilson has named two en-
gineers of the commission that is to
handle the business of locating and;
building the federal railroads I'M
Alaska. One of these is Lieutenant
Mears. who has been chief engineer OF.
the Panama railway during the period
of the canals construction. The APP
pointment suggests the cheering proba-
bility that the magnificent ana build
ing organization will be to a consider
able extent be transferred to Alaska to
carry on the railroad development
there. No better plan could be de-
vised.
Doubtless it will be found easier in
nan ways to carry on the great work
in Alaska than 1t was to build the
ana There are no new and dubious
engineering problems to be met In
Alaska. Neither Is there the tre-
mendous task OF making the country
habitable for white men. Alaska is
one of the healthiest countries in the
world, and the conditions to be met are
just such as have been encountered in
construction of h prairie and moun-
tain railroads In this country.
For the present. the railroad project
in Alaska is a very small one compared
to the building of the canal. The canal
will have cost about $500, 0000, 900 by the
time it is completed; the present APP
preparation for the Alaska railroads is,
only $35, 900, 900. and 1t provides for a.
maximum Of 1000 miles of road. Not
unlikely we will ultimately build rail-!
roads enough in the imperial territory
to represent as muc Investment an
has been put into the canal: but that
will be O in II long period. The
Alaska railroads will be constructed.
where and when they are needed and
when 1t is reasonably apparent that
they will be justified by traffic con-
ditions n the needs of the country.
Before their builders will be the OPP
portun;ty to give a striking demon
sration of the efficiency of government
conduct of UGH operations. II the gov
proves that 1t can build and
equip railroads cheaper and more sat
isfactorily than they have commonly
been laid down by private enterprises,
1t will be n more great achievement
for the army engineers, and one more
nail in the coffin of the theory that
government can't possibly do any BUSH
ness so we'll as private ENTERPRISE.