The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-11-10

Government Ownership and How 1t
pay>-Tnc Two Great Americans
Who ;irs, Started Railroad Build
ing IL :! Lie. !
icopyri%hted. 1919, by Frank =. '=f-
penterp
Puerto Mont.
me war in Europe viii force upon
Chile the uIrcnasa of d large amount
Of United States steel rails, steel
bridges and other railway materials.
Tee country has several enormous
projects under way ana there are a
dozen new roads either surveyed OF
projected. For the past two weeks j
have been riding over the State rail-
WAYS. I have had a pass from the
and have gone here ana
there ct my will without paying rare.
The place where | am now writing is
the southern terminus of the system.
1t is Puerto Nontt. d thriving port
on the very %frcntier Of the settled
part Of rhe country and as lar south
Of pisague the northern terminus,
where the railway begins. as the dis
tauce from Boston to Dallas, or New
York 10 Denver. This cOuntry is like
a great sausage. 1t is long and mar
row. If il were laid on the United
states with its northern end at BOs-
t"n il would stretch across New Eng
land and the appalachian system,
across the whole of the Mississippi
valley and far into the Rocky Noun
tains, ending in Utah. Cape horn and
the Strait Of Magellan, which forms
the southern end of The sausage.
would pc just about as far west of
Boston as is Salt q k City. The
country il nowhere much wider
than from baltimore to New York,
ana in many places il could be soueeZ-
ed in "a Baltimore and Phila :
dclphia.
II will pay our exporters to consider
the future railway system OF Chile.
This will consist of a long line Of
railroad running from Peru tosthe
strait Of Magellan, with feeders 60
ing west to the coast and east to
the mountains. This line is known as
the longitudinal system. and it is
now being built. Vi is already almost
ally connect Peru and Punta Arenas
the metropolis of the straits. The
railway already extends almost to the
Peruvian boundary. 1t traverseS the
nitrate fields and them with
Valparaiso and Santiago. The south
crn section extends to Puerto Mont
where this letter is written. The first
part Of the road is through a deser
as barren as the Sahara. This goe!
southwark almost TO the latitude o
Valparaiso, where the Longitudinal
system crosses the trans-Andine rail
way TO ButnOS AIRES. IEen OeGln
h great central valley. an irrigated
region which corresponds in its fertil
ity with he best parts of southern
California. Below that the road en-
tcrS the forests. traverSing a countr
who're the farms have had to be Gu
out Of the woods. and where tn
rainfall in places is 100 inches pc
year. The central valley section ha
been built a long time, and fiftee
years ago, when ! first visited Chill,
th"v We're already penetrating int
the forest region. | hen came o
construction trains as far as Temuc,
the home of the Ar"aucanian indian
and ! am now a days ride furthe
south. having one through pionee
settlements al the way. Within al
other fifteen years the oad will prot
ably have been extended 10 the Stra
of Magellan. This. ! should say,
aS much further south of here as fro,
81. Lou to New Orleans
The longitudinal railway belongs
~" government and contracts for m;
tcrlaI and cars NAV be made with IL
government officials. The governmcl
is furnishing The capital for the e,
tensions and the building goes ,
steadily. During 1913 seven hu,
dred miles Of new lines were one
ed to traffic and the total number
miles under construction was so
some of this has since been compile
ed. The railroad work paid for
mat year was valued at $75,0 90
9 sum equal TO more than 81 for eve
man, woman and child in the countr
AZ the present time chile has oy
1900 miles OF railroad III operatio
and of THIS about one-half belongs
the state. The government began
take over the roads about a gtnel
ton age. and 10y 1910 it had pa
something like $4,000 600 for The
The State railways are manag
10y officials appointed by the pre-
dent. There is q general manac
who - assisted by nine administr
tors. The administrator holds a SIT
ilar position TO that Of a general ma
aGcr OF 4 private railroad. and t
system is divided into nine Sectiol
each of which has its Administered
h chief offices Of the State roa
are al Santiago, and there is a 81,
connection with them and the COVE,