Evening star., 1924-12-21
PERU PLANS HUGE
RAIL EXPANSION
1000 Miles of Trackage to
Be Built by British interests
if Proposal Is O. KID.
Correspondent OF The Star and New Yor
World.

Correspondence OF The star and New York
World.
LIMA. Peru, November l0.-Presi-
dent Leguia of Peru in his recent
message to congress forshadowed
the construction. by British inter
ests, of some 1000 miles of addition
al railways. 1t is the earnest hope
of Peruvians that the negotiations
now proceeding with that object may
not prove abortive. That Peru, in
this twentieth century, should still
be without the transport facilities by
which alone her immense natural re-
sources of raw material can be ex-
plotted and made free to the worlds
industry they say reflects no credit
upon any one.
The railway enterprises that are about
to be undertaken in the Argentine
have for their object an outlet for
he products of that state, through
Chilian and Peruvian ports to the
countries whose shores march, with
the Pacific. In addition to this
scheme, which is to cost millions,
the state railway authorities propose
to spend a further E32,000,0e0 upon
a great extension of their existing
lines in the northern central, the
eastern and the Patagonian regions
of the republic.
Gain for Argentina,
The Argentine scheme for connect
ing up with the Pacific coast by way
of Bolivian and Peruvian railways is
approaching completion and II is be
lieved II Will serve the economic in
terests of four republics. But the
principal gamer will doubtless be
the promoting interest--in this case
the Argentine Republic-for so far
as Peru Is concerned, an enterprise
which provides mere running powers
from the Argentine frontier over the
friendly Bolivian and Peruvian lines
will have little or no effect upon
Perus wide flung natural resources
nor will 1t be any palliative for the
disability of insufficient railway com
! munication from which she suffers
| SO acutely.
! Peru's development awaits a
| scheme by which her inexhaustible
| raw material may have easy access
| from the four points of the compass
along the steel rail to her many
ports, and until such an enterprise
is initiated and carried to successful
| completion the country's more effec-
| tive and more universal exploitation
and settlement will be delayed.
All who have travelled exploring
| ly in Peru have returned with the
same testimony of vast material
| wealth awaiting exploitation and
| transport to tho outside world. The
| raw material seen in such abund-
ance. especinally in the rich Montana
region. will inevitably bring the pio-
neer when the locomotive appears
amid this virgin FL Dorado. The
| 1870 miles of railway in a country
of $4,000 square miles and popu-
lation of 100000 is regarded by
Peruvtans as ridiculous.
American the Pioneer.
Meiggs, the enterprising American
| to whom the country owes the Cen
| tral and the Southern Railway sys-
tens, was a seer. and believed in the
| future prosperity of Peru. But the
distinguished stateman, who is the
nations president for the third time
! Is a seer also, but on higher plane
than Meiggs, and il his vision en-
braces more things than the vitaliz-
ing railways of the near future, 1t Is
because such things are necessary