Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-09
PAN-AMER|CAN RAIL
PROJECT IS D|MMED
Plane and Car Are Seen as
Answer to Problems of
Transportation.
RY REX COLLIER,
STAR Correspondent OF The Star on
Hoover South American Good viii Tri

Hoover South American Good VIII Trip.
The enlarging shadows of the air
plane and the automobile have fallen
across the long-advocated pan-Ameri-
can railway project In such a way as
to give rise to the doubt that the pro-
posed rail line between North and South
America ever will reach fulfillment.
This is the impression gained by
members of the Hoover good will mis-
sion during their long swing below the
Equator. 1t is not unlikely the i'm
preston is shared by the President
elect himself, for he has indicated his
belief that South Americas transpor-
tation problems will be solved by air.
ways and highways.
Project Arose in 1890.
The railway project came into being
at the first Pan-American Conference,
held in 1890. Each succeeding confer
ence voiced its approval Of the plan.
The proposition called for laying of
a continuous rail system from the
United States to Patagonia. The pro-
posal was inspired not by thoughts of
trade advantages, but OF neighborly IN
tercourse between the peoples of the
northern and southern continents of
the Western World.
project still flourish. but apparently
they are due to seek expression through
other channels. 1t has become increas-
tngly plain to those who have studied
tn problem that the railway plan Is
impracticable from a business stand
point. and that 1t will be superseded
by the great pan-American highway
proposal.
Central and South America have been
lamentably slow in highway develop
ment. Only in the past four or five
years has any appreciate progress been
made in construction of roads suitable
for automobile travel. But the progress
already made is enough to convince
even the more skeptical that improved
roads and the automobile will bring
new era of development OF the Latin
American nations.
Question OF Pay Brought Up.
Railroads are expensive. They require
much initial outlay of funds, and DELI
mite amount of freight and passenger
traffic to make them profitable. once
they are established. The Pan-American
Railway was to be north-and-south
line, extending along either the east or
west coast of South America. The east
ern route has been declared impracti-
cable by engineers, however, leaving the
west coast route for consideration.
Would such a railroad pay? Those
who have looked into the matter care
fully say it is extremely improbable. 1t
would have to depend a great deal on
tourist traffic from the United States
and domestic trafic from Latin America.
In this traffic, the railroad would be
competing with already established ship
lines down the western coast OF the
Americas. The rail line would not
answer the purpose OF the inhabitants
of the west coast. Their difficulty now
is not In getting from one western city
to another, but in reaching the interior
from the coast. The amount OF traffic
that would use such an interior rail line
might not at first warrant the expense
involved In overcoming engineering
problems involved in building the in
terror spurs, but In few years they
would find their traf1ic rapidly increas-
ing with the inevitable era of develop
ment.
Modern highways undoubtedly are
encroaching on the railways in the field
of transportation. Even the mails are
being taken away from the trains now
adays, With the advent of aviation. Ex-
perts believe 1t would be foolhardy to
spend great sum OF money on pam
American railway when a similar sum
spent on highways and airways would
produce more effective results.
Scenic Grandeur Is Point.
President-elect Hoover is understood
to feel that north-and-south highway
system in South America would have
justification both from the tourist and
domestic standpoints. He has seen
enough of the terrain to know that
such a system would far eclipse rail
line in scenic grandeur The road sys-
tenn undoubtedly would become one Of
the tourists wonders of the world. BY
following the old Inca highways, for ex-
ample, the motorist would find himself
in fairyland Of natural wonders. It
Is said motor highway from Cuzco,
capital of the ancient Inca empire,
northward through Peru and Ecuador
to Quito would provide a tourist route
Of urrivaled scenic and historic interest.
Latin America has been slow to re-
spond to the worldwide good roads
movement. Mexico has virtually no
road program. With the exception Of
Costa RIGA, Central America has been
most backward in this respect. Guate-
mala, Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Panama have no definite program
Of highway construction.
In South America, Colombia has
begun the building of improved motor
roads, Ecuador has made moderate
progress, Peru is undertaking a fair
sized program, Chile recognizes the
need for road improvement and is
launching definite steps to meet that
need, Uruguay and Venezuela have
made a little progress and Brazil has
inaugurated an agendun. The sole
exceptions in South America are the
Argentine, where practically nothing
has been done, nor at present is con-