Omaha daily bee., 1914-08-09

a part OF the contract This was in 1916,
shortly after which time the work was
begun. American engineers were brought
In and by 1905 the line from Oruro to
Viacha above La Paz was almost COM
protcd. other constructions were well
under way when the controlling interest
I'm tho undertaking was sold to the Eng
lIsh Antofagnsta and BOLIVIA Railway
company. and that at big profit,
EnEIish Now In Control.
In this way the Antofasasta and Boz
livia railroad PASSED out OF the control
VI the Americans and into that of the
English. The Americans may still own
some OF the stock, but tho railroad be-
longs to and Is managed by English capt
talists. 1t has been completed TO Ia
raz, and Is now advancing toward
Cochabamba. a thriving town on the east
crn side OF the Andes. The same COM
pany IL building line from Oyuni TO
1upiza. the total length OF which will he
about 100 miles A short extension Will
connect that line with the Argentine
railways, alsl then one can travel across
country from Bolivia TO Argentina. I un-
derstand that the Bolivian government
has already contracted a loan for the
building OF the break from TupiEa to the
Argentine frontier.
The Antofagasta road Ia one OF the
most profitable roads OF all South Amer
lea. II ls the great down-the-mountain
chute for the tin and copper ores OF the
Bolivian plateau, and, as " has mo-
nopoly. Il can charge all that the traffic
will bear The freight rates arc enor'
NOUS, and that on coal from Antofagasta
TO La Paz Ia something like $50 or S2o a
ton Suppose you had to pay Sn Tor
getting a ton Of coal from Washington to
Detroit. I venture you would object
even as Ia Paz people do
VIII Create Business,
BY the extension Of the lines tho freight
Of the road will be greatly Increased
Coohahamba Is In thriving agriculture
district. with no outlet for Its products
Potosi Is on the slope OF mountain
that was once great mass Of silver, and
is now being worked for its tin. II Is
expected that many low-grade tin and
silver mines which cannot be operated
because OF the high cost Of transporta'
ton, will be opened up as soon as the
road Is completed.
As to Tupiza, In southern Bolivia, that
town Ia OF no great Importance, but al
along the road from Uyunl there are rief
tin mines, and many low-grade propost
lions will he opened up when the rail
road goes through As II Is now. thu
| chief trouble of this system is Its tive
different gauges. Some OF the tracks arr
of a forty-lnch gauge, while others arr
| only thirty inches. The latter IL the cas-
/ with the road from Antofagasta to oruro
but arrangements are being made 20 alte
I II to forty inches, thus standardizing th'
| system.
American Rolling stock.
| A great deal of the Bolivian rollini
stock comes from the United states On
the Antofagasta line the locomotives ar,
| chiefly Badwlns. A great many Roger
are used on the Peruvian roads, and oil
the africa line the engines are American
English and German. During the con
struction OF that road there were fifteel
locomotives and $40 flat cars In service
The heaviest engine wighed seventy tons
Our civil engineers have had much q
do In laying out the roads OF Bolivia, an
Americans are now taking contracts 70
the new construction financed by tn
English. The rough work Is largely don
by Aymara Indians, who receive iron
so cents to 81 day. This Is very higl
for Bolivia, where the average wage
are perhaps not more than % cents pc
day.
Notwithstanding this, there is grea
trouble in getting good men. The Aymar'