Evening star., 1918-06-02
By CHARLES n. PEPPER,

00 Ew times often bring to q
Mu head old projects. The new
WEI times in Russia have caused
q " q revival Of the talk about
the Alaska-Sfberia railway over or
under the Behring Sea straits. What
is left Of Russia Is not now taken
into account, but the project is dis
cussed with special bearing on the
new Siberia that may emerge from
the Russian chaos.
It is only thirty-six miles from the
American mainland in Alaska to the
Asiatic mainland in Siberia. This is
the direct route from Cape Prince
of Wales across the straits to East
Cape. 1t is no farther than from
New York to Fire Island by the pres
ent railway route.
The feasibility of connecting the
two continents by a tunnel under the
Behring straits was discussed in the
years Immediately following the pur-
chase of Alaska by this country.
Stewards Folly" as it was derisively
called at the time oed by those sh. who held soa
her territory in the North American
continent was good money thrown
away.
There were some in those days
who did not decry Stewards purchase.
They were ready to follow it up with
commercial enterprises. although at
the time little was known about
Alaska and the far northwestern
country on either side OF the straits.
The Western Union Telegraph Conn
pany at that period was making sur
yeys with q view to establishing a
land telegraph route to Europe via
Siberia, and this, naturally. led TO q
discussion OF the practicability OF q
railway. 1t is Of passing interest
that, after fifty years, when q WIRE
less company at Nome is planning for
wireless stations to span the Arctic.
the railway project should De re-
vived.
In the years following seward's ss;,is
engineering reconnoissances of the
Behring sea project, and use was
made Of observations taken by the
few vessels which piled in those far
northern waters. but there was no
systematic effort to determine whether
the railway plan should be carried
out.
thirty years ago the United States
Senate became interested IN the SUD
ject. possibly through the enorts Sol o.
Alaska pioneers who wanted to push
farther north and west. 1t called lor
a report from Maj. ]. w. Powell. d.
rector of the geological survey. TO
the one-armed man who had made the
first exploration of the Grand Canyon
of the Colorado nothing was impossi-
ble His report indicated his BELIEF IN
the feasibility Of the project. He con-
fined himself principally, however. to
the route which should be followed
from the Cape Prince of Wales point
through the Alaskan country and
Peace river region to join up with ex-
isting lines.
After the discovery of gold in the
Klondike and the blossoming forth OF
Nome in 1897 as the American port up
again heard of the railway to join the
two continents. The adventurous
gold seekers of the Klondike wanted
to push across from Cape Prince OF
Wales and prospect in kamchatka.
They thought railway would help
their prospecting. Some Of them
crossed the straits and returned, but
after the return they were not SO en-
thusiastic. Yet they did not discredit
the project. 1t is not the habit Of
the gold miner to knock anything
that is big and looks difficult of ac-
complishment.
About this time NJ. Loic de Lobel, a
French engineer. gave an information
al geographic congress at Paris a
mild sensation by the vivid presenta-
tion he made to it Of the Bering sea
route as a means of communication
between Paris and New York. He
spoke with the voice of authority,
and with scientific authority at that,
for he had been over the route. He
had even taken his wife and two
daughters through the frozen wilder
ness. He was an engineer, and he
had spent several months in actual
engineering reconnoissances of the
was that OF an enthusiast. but he was
able to show from his own observa-
tion that his enthusiasm was not due
solely to his imagination.
+
At the Paris exposition in 1900 there
was a vivid panoramic presentation
of a trip through Siberia and across
the straits to Alaska. based appa-
rently on M. de Lobers descriptions.
This was the first step toward inter-
esting the French people. who already
were large investors in Russian Sc
curities. But the French investors.
while No AAA provided money for
the Suex canal and the Panama canal,
seemingly were not yet ready to
finance q Bering sea railway, or else
AA - mi "a lists not N,v