New Britain herald., 1926-12-17
ALBANIA PLANS
 STEAM RAILROAD
Heretofore This Is Only Rail
 roadleSS Country in World

Washington, D. C.. Dec. 1I-"Th" steam engine is about to invade the only 'railroadless' country Of Flu rope" Albania is planning the construction of tW Wenty-four mile road from Durrazzo, on the Adria tic coast. of Tirana.
 Thus Albania parts company with Afghanistan, Asir. Bhutan. Ne pal, Oman an Yemen. in Asia, and Liberia on the west coast of Africa Liberia Lacks Funds
 "Liseria. is probably the only one of the seven countries that would have a railroad if it could" contin- ues the bulletin. "The other six are voluntary adherents to a policy of 'splended isolation, and efforts to establish twentieth century com- mercial facilities have met with di- saster.
 "Largel due to the lack of funds, the little negro republic. which is about the size of Indiana, has hard ly scratched the surfaced Of its re- sources. For some fifty or sixty miles back of the coast, the land has been cleared and partly devel- oped, but from that imaginary line inland there are dense forests and extremely primitive peoples. "The president of Liberia visited the tAiteG States in 1921 to secure credit for his country. which has al- ways been C. ;idered potentially one of the richest corners of Africa.
 With the investment of American capital, notably the establishment Of
 . great rubber plantation; and the development C the country by progressive local administration. the thousands of negro porters who now carry huge leads of freight on their heads, will, perhaps, soon give way to more modern transportation. Afghanistan Largest of Isolates
 "Afghanistan is the largest of these railroadless countries-about IA times larger than Albania, yet no railroads or telegraph lines cross its border. The Amir has consistently objected to these facilities for fear of opening his domain to aliens who are no more welcome now than they were century ago. Only few for eigners, mostly British. have been allowed to enter the country for short sojourns. Foreign engineers and doctores whose services are bad ly needed if allowed to cross the border by the grace of the Amir. are subject to surveillance. Ambas- eadors, ministers, and even mission aries are unwelcome.
 "Camels and pack horses are de- pended upon almost entirely for transportation in Afghanistan, but 1t is not uncommon to see elephants and even wheelbarrows on the trails. Some of the caravans number more than 120,O00 animals, loaded with skins, dried fr- its, assorted gums, and spices.
 ITO insure complete isolation, the few roads the country are well guarded. The chief route lies through Khyber Pass, the largest gateway from India. It is open two days a week except in hot weather when it is available one day only. The Amir's agents scrutinize all who pass the gateway and even Moslem caravan guides are displaced by Af- ghans who proceed inland. From sun down to sun-up, the pass Is closed to all traffic.
 Nepals Door Has No Welcome Mat "Nepal and Bhutan, lying among the peaks of the Himalayas; the former with Mount Everest. the highest eak in the world, along it's border. have only slight hopes of extensive railroad transportation. To tra- :ls2 or tunnel the Himalayas would be q herculean task.
 While Bhutan displays some friendliness towards foreigners Ne
 pal is another country that is none
 too anxious for visitors. The roads
 piercing the border of Nepal are
 purposely kept in bad shape and
 built over unnecessarily difficult |
 country. With the exception of the
 British Resident and a few other
 European officials, TO one is allowed
 10 visit the country without special |
 permission from the Durbar. When i
 permits are issued. visitors must tra-
 vel by one particular route and they |
 are uOl dllOWeu tO 6O be9 OIu llle |
 Valley of Katn andu, tract of i
 country about 500 square miles. In
 consequence of this seclusion. the |
 internal administration has remain l
 ed almost entirely unaffected by mo-
 dern influence.
 Three Gases of Arabia
 The no trespassing' sign also | 1solates Yemen, Asir and Oman |
 from progressive commercial devel- |
 opment. These tates are little more 1
 than cases on the rim of the Ara
 bian peninsula with their back |
 door opening into the great desert. 1
 Yemen and Asir border the Red Sea i
 which. we are told. the children of l
 Israel crossed dry-shod, and have | existed there with little change since | that time. Oman. surrounding the [ southern end of the peninsula, | while yet backward, is beginning to
 awaken. Until recent years much of | her S2,000 square miles has not even |
 been explored and her mineral re- | sources untouched, but lively trade | with India is now being developed"