Evening star., 1941-10-19
By Emil Lenqyel.

forsaken that the natives call 1t "the
emptiest thing in the world"
The southern terminus of the railroad
line will be at the town Of Bourem. Its
mud houses are mirrored in the Niger
River, ''the Nile" OF French West Africa.
From that town supplementary tracks
will branch of east and west. The
eastern branch will end at Nancy, a
busy marketplace In the grass-covered
savannah country. The western line
will be built to Segou, where it will con-
meet with the railroad to Dakar, the
westernmost point in the Old World.
The entire line will be some 1900 miles.
Twenty thousand Spaniards and an
undisclosed number of wretched refugees
from the nations Hitler has overrun are
building the desert line. These Spaniards
fought in the great Civil War and were
subsequently interned in France. Some
Of the other laborers were members of
the French Foreign Legion or had volun-
teered in the war of the Republic against
Hitler. Their daily wages are the equiva-
lent Of two cents. All day they get only
two Hters Of water for their washing and
drinking. Many are stricken with
tropical disease, and all are infested
with vermin Most of them sleep in
holes scooped out of the bare earth,
and cover themselves with rags OF
canvas.
AS to the railway itself, its problems
OF water and fuel have been solved with
great ingenuity. Diesel engines will be
employed, whose water consumption is
so little that they can carry all they
need across the desert. The French have
dubbed the Trans-Saharan the peanut
line because it will use fuel oil distilled
from peanuts, the most important ex-
port article of all French tropical Africa.
The railway is expected to police not
only its own right Of way but also to
insure greater security for the entire
desert. Prowlers have preyed long
enough upon the desert. robbing the
miserable and wealthy alike. Most Of
the natives are peace-loving and the
authorities will now be able to organize
a tribal police force.
Two-Day Run
A speed Of 40 miles an hour will be
maintained on the entirs run, while the
maximum will be 70 miles. The trip
from the Mediterranean to the Niger
will take two days. AS temporary field
railway. the Trans -Saharan may be
rushed through in six months. As a
permanent line its building will take
three years. Quite recently the builders
have encountered some difficulty be-
cause they ran up against shortage OF
steel. which they had expected to pur-
chase from the United States.
For more than 60 years the battle has
been raging for and against the Trans
Saharan railway. A plan was actually
drawn up in the late 1870's to connect
the Mediterranean with the Niger. and
this blueprint found great favor in gov
ernmental eyes. This was the heroic
age OF the overseas expansion of the
French Republic. A mission was sent
out from Paris to explore the country
and report back to the highest authori.
ties. The mission did penetrate into the
heart Of the desert. but there it ran into
q group Of hungry Tuareg bandits.
Members Of the mission were massacred.
This disaster 50 shocked public opinion
ct home that the plan was promptly
dropped.
For full half century nothing was
done about it. It was nearly a decade
after the end Of the first World War
that Premier RAYMOND Eoincare at
tempted to revive the project of the