Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 1906)
mm J U U Projected Behring Strait Tunnel Would Make a Trunk Line Across Three Continents I'M niTi, t "V-r r-s . 7 N m ( - JT .. rvmv -TheHeTSTdOfftce- in Parta j IflPaJlJ fl V .feU- r OV. . ufu v : : .-tr IWfa -OCT H M 2 ly ,.0'jL.4 sV I V Z V VS. v ' " ' : . ' ' - '-"111-" ' , MFC f h :i .u fr-fr' it-vsa t 7ijr5iso(6 Wa( aixt 'jiicsxsra ti 1 -v . '"fcrsS-Wh . vijv .yJi Ftv.i ri, i,L Uj THE: Artblnn Nlsht flrm of travelling by train from Nw Tork to Pari, via Alaska 'and Behring Straits, Mama about to b realised. i Among the wonders of tHe Paris Kihlbttlon of 1S00 was a railway trip tfrroufh Siberia. PasMnsrers took passaga In real Pullman cars, heard bells ringing and whistles blowing, and as they said goodby to friends the Imperial over land express rolled away. Through towns and oltlea, through long stretohea of coun try, hy 'went up Into a wilderness of Ice and snow, and then across the wilds of Siberia. It a'l seemed like maglo, yet was simple enough. WlOh a panorama moving at high speed, on either aide the country seemed flying by the car windows and the illusion was per fect. But no one imagined it foreshadowed a coming reaHty soon to be a commercial suncees. A St. Petersburg cablegram from M. Lolcq de Lobel, projector of the trans-Siberlan-Alaska railroad, to William Har- man Black, his New York counsel, the other day, said the Tsar had signed a ukase authorising a commission named ty the Rumlan Railroad Commissioners and the making of a survey by the route pro posed for the Inter-Continental road from Irkutsk to East Cape, on Behring Sea. This link, connecting with lines already finished there and lines to be built here. will make an unbroken route of steel rail from Herald square to Fans. M. de Lobel first Interested Parisian cap ital In his plan a few years ago, and a survey was ninde ait a cost of half a mill ion of dollars of a atrip sixteen miles wide, from Irkutek, on the trans-Siberian road to Behrlns- Sea. a distance of I.SOO mil the line following the richest agrlcultural and mineral regions In Russia. The com pany asked far a grant of this strip as a bonus from the Tsar to aid In building the great railway. Now that the concession has been signed, nothing rexoains but to Duih on the wont. It IS an Interesting fact that while M. de Lobel was proponing a, ferry or bridge across Behring Strait tie met with no ap proval here. But later, when he planned to tunnel the strait, ha reoelved encourage ment everywhere from capitalists and en gineers. Behring Strait Is thirty-six miles wide with a depth of frem 160 to 180 feet In the doepest place. 'Fortunately, rhere are two islands between shores, which will greatly aid In hastening the tunnel work, because It will glvsi the engineers planes In mlil- ehannel to sink shafts below the level of the sea, from which the excavators can I work both ways toward the men digging from the shore ends of the tunnel. When M. de Lobel was in New Tork last summer he formed an advisory committee oomposed of Alfred Craven, deputy chief engineer of the Rapid Transit Commis sion; Edward Bond, AJbany chairman of the Advisory Board of Canal Consulting Engineers of the State; Elmer L. Cort bell, a member of that Board and a con structing engineer of the West Shore road; Dr. John A. U Wadidell, Kansas City, bridge engineer, and J. I Harrington, ohlef engineer of the Montreal Locomotive and Machine Oompeuny. Mr. Black, re cently ootmnlaaloner of accounts of this otty, la the Wall street attorney for M. de Lobel's great enterprise. In the WaJdorf Hotel the other day Mr. Black said the great problem had been neither the tunnel nor the raising of money to build lines through Alaska, but to get the Tsar to officially authorise the build ing of the four thousand mile link at new railway through Siberia. This was what kept things at a standstill so long. Now that the ukase has been signed there would be no d-ffloulty in raising money to construct lines through Alaska, and Siberia, as well aa the great tunnel under Behring Straits. It is believed that these thousands of miles of railway, Including the tunnel It self, ean be finished and trains running in from four to five years ten years' less time than It took to build the first Brook lyn bridge. i One l the last words said by M. de Lobel when he stood on the deck of a French steamer about sailing for France was that It win be possible within a few year o enter a Pullman train In New York and go straight through to Paris by the way of Behring Strait without leav ing toe cars, nn comparison with a journey like this a trip to San Franctnco seems like a Journey to Harlem by trailer. Since 188a, when M. de Lobel vlsltej Alas ka as a memoer or the Paris Gographloal Society, he has been enthusiastically push. Ing along his gigantic enterprise. At the puina wnere nis railway would reach salt water In Alaska, at Cape Prints f wl. and Siberia, at East Cape, Behring Strait i iar across as ll is from New York to Fire Island by the Long Isl and Railroad, sr to Krugers by the Hud son River, or to New Brunswick by the Pennsylvsnia The amount of excavating required to build the New York subways would more than put a double track under Behring Siralt, with enough space to spare for sidings, depot buildings' and liv ing accommodations for the officials and . v i--ar,'Hv 1' r- Tfe. T Tain hi i hi ss i an is a ain l iS: ''htA(5Narw?4l i banks, connecting at a, point about one hundred miles south of Dawson City with the Grand Trunk Pacific, which Is planning an extension to that point. "The Russian government approves our plnni, and our concession, a strip sixteen miles wide the entire length of the road in Siberia, means about 40.000,000 acres of good land. To complete the road will re quire about $250,000,000. I have assurances I from men high In finance In Russia, France, England and the United States that they will give us $300,000,000 If neces sary to make the enterprise a success. It Is estimated that the fare to Paris would be Just about what it now la by transat lantic steamer and the trip would take from forty to fifty days. It is safe to say that such a Journey would give a man the experience of his life. Think of It. The New York man bound for Paris would step aboard the train in Herald Square, roll through the magnificent States to Chicago and Duluth, thence onward through the great moun tain ranges of the Rockies, through canyons and over great rivers to Alaska, where the scenery stands on end and a man 'gasps for Joy as he realises the boundless wealth of the country, the vast ness of the mountain slopes and the stu pendousness of the glaciers which are shoving millions of gold and silver Into the ocean every time the earth trembles under the weight of wealth. Thenca up the coast,- the views of the great ocean, and the countless Islands dotting the sea shore will keep a man's nerves thrilling until he reaches the Nome country, where every back yard la full of fish and gold. There ths traveller dives under Bahrlng Strait where all things movable plough their way southward and you, can hear icebergs and whales scratching the roof of the llg tunnel as ths train glides on Its way Into the vastness of Siberia. According to all accounts, that land of the exile Is really a rloh country, wonder- kful for wheat and oCher possibilities In forest, undr the Arctlo See and amid au roral splendors of the North. Cp!tl AvlUble. Yrt all this Is but a link In ttie world en circling railway system which capitalists are projecting. Read this from Mr. A. H. Ford In the Independent. He says: "From Cape Horn to ths Cape of Qood Hope by rail Is Khe latest project of our giants of finance who have control of limit less capital, "This round the world trunk line, which Is already more than half completed, la to be some 25,000 mlls In length. Begin ning at the tip of the South American con tinent. It la surveyed to follow the crext of the Andes, winding up through the Isthmus of Panama Into Central America, then across Mexico, the United Slates, and Canada into Alaska, under Behring Straits and across arctic Siberia and torrid Cen tral Asia to the Holy .Land and Egypt, where It Is to connect with the Rhodes trans-African railway now In course of construction from Cairo to Cape Town, a distance In all equal to 'the circumference of the globe, and the building of but 10,090 miles of additional railway remains to flu In the gaps and complete this most re markable project of modern times, "Half a billion dollars, a sum tm-rress appropriates every winter, will complete the Cape Horn to Cape of Good Hops rail way, which Is little more than the amount already expended on the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway. This sum has already been subscribed, If the projector of the great world uniting scheme are to be credited. "The plan of a round the world railway la ths Joint Idea of an American, an Eng lishman and a Frenchman. Andrew Car negie has offered to finance the New York to Buenos Ayres project, having subscribed $50,000 for the preliminary surveys, and M. Locq de Lobel has hsd a survey mads of the New York to Paris air line, tnat, wnen built, will aervs to connect the Cecil Rhodes "Cairo to Cape Town" with tn CKracifej es tJe Alajslcarv srvore ixrK&rc tTairva SarxU ertvsrrfe Iron. Q txj-i.c3.kr wDelurir-jg ' . Straitr I y. wv"..v t: . J ' ' " '' ' ' ''' ' ' " ' " , ' '' ' 'y '- 1 U :tJtt W -W 4TX -k... S. J . V"P 4SBwSV wr-wjc ..-ssV . a -. employes along the submarine line. As the bottom of ths Strait Is of granite, there will be no danger of rock slides or ths roof caving in. GoU in Vtst Quuxiities. Then there are other thlns to be con sidered. Borne mining engineers say there Is enough gold under Behring Sea, which ths tunnel would crosscut, to pay tor building ths road. It men not engineers can dig fortunes out of tbs soil almost anywhere in Alaska, and especially along the sea coast around Nome, which Is not far comparatively from the Straits, It would seem reasonable to expect the en gineers to find rich veins of gold, silver and perhaps platinum. If not copper and other valuable metals. Almost anything inai ins imagination may raney has been predicted by experts In the Northwest. The great Northern Pacific railways, both tn the United State and Canada, have mad fortune for their companies and opened up fortunes for ths settlers. M. de Lobel seya further: "Between the M. Den an and Alaskan coasts lie ths Dlo mede Island Thar are two of them, and the larger will permit us to divide the tun nel Into two sections of nearly equal leng.n. iere we can erect works neces sary during construction as well as a mo tive power plant for moving trains slther by electricity or compressed air and also tor ventilation of the tunnel. "Including the approaches. th 1.110.1 wltl v. .Iu...t v. 1 .. w. , 1 I rwi m. -rt.K ,h. ai -0 "Mn ?".' an j tne 1.20a we Intend bulldln In Alaska, berla with the Trans-Siberian road at lr r?- " ' . " .T" ranroaa W, ... mi. ., . ir,..ii..b..iu. knt.ir whll. our Alaskan road will naas w.M. w. ,-urpo.. constructing in Siberia beriaV RallVoaoT W wiU nnecrin Si- through Council City. Nulato and Fair- t ... y .... I ,, .--7r SI I a?;,. . V ,-!,.. Ail ' , ;.IV-J y. If "Idij I : .( -....iw.,'i ' y, WL i. -.. ' n. j4,-;-w ww- Jf alias- ieock.C-reek. on. AlaKe.' first" sba-Tv- rLrtjncl - ?53LUXJe road 1NO, . , agriculture, with mines punctuating the miles during the long Journey to Paris. Thus the traveller proceeds on the other side of the world, running swiftly down ths I slopes of Russia, along Napoleon's great .'line of march, through Poland, Austria, In to France ana ai laai reacning raris, the Imperial city of the world. Isn't such a trip worth the money and the thousands of miles Journey through mountains and "Pen-American" railway, thus bringing Paris and New Tork In touch by P-'--" service with every great ckty of the nv continent "Within Ave years," la the promise of the enthusiastic Frenchmen. "In about a dec ads," la the surmise of the cautious Bcotch Amerioan, that the various trans-continental railways will become united In on connected world system." Skilled National Guardsmen. AVRW YORK business man Interested In the military sends to the Hit raj. D a suggestion for meeting the emergency of running trains, telegraphs and other publla enterprises In case of great acci dents, riots and ths like. ' He would nave a regiment of skilled workmen enlisted uajur the National Guard Of the Stat and given courses of Instruction In training schools, making them expert engine drivers, machinists, electricians, tslegrapheraf railroad operat ors of all kinds brakemen, conductors, switchmen and train deapatchers. This, he holds, would enaul the authorities to assist tn keening the transportation ot mails and passengers anovlng and at the same time would protect property end the publla generslly. To quote: "When for any cause the company oper ating any railway or trolley line carrying the United States mall or passengers, or telegraph or telepnoue line conducting the business of distributing general news and banking and commercial messages within the limits ot the State of New York, shall be unable to operate Its servloe without Biaxlmun danger to life and property or . to ths detriment of general business, owing to any cause arising from Its Inability to command the services of skilled operators, ths suthorttivs may seise the operating portion of such lint and ilace Us artist ii in cueirul uulU suh tlu.es as the Cuiu panle' dlfferennes witb Us operatives mr be aijustea sumnenuy 10 e oeciarea uor- mali 1 "The company thus failing to safely transport psssensers ajid mail matter eo.aU pay Into the State treasury a sum equal to the wages paid skilled men, with the regular Bute pay of soh. trooper era ployed In maintaining efficient public ses vles, and sqy and all damage to the arms and -equipment ot each and every man, with the full State rations for each man aqd borl While thug) employed, or travel ling to .and from such employment." Here Is ths business man's idea as to how the various skilled trsdes should be represented and proportioned in a regi ment of National Guard artlaana: Onntpany A Knaiae eHm. 11m 0nnwu B iaii enrtn nrflrten iuu I , K-J , f.miMjr I- tHa enirlvr er,in.'t'V. ...... , 11 u, i ny E-Ti.r aul wli. h aiu lm It-wmiMuy F Kallr.r liriill.-irien. . t O 'nf 1 lirrnpti oyer lure. 110 I'umpm l -1-iewru inn. I . 11 iVinn.iii I inl aivl cu-otme iilur 1.1 Onupaur 4 TioHe vbaducturs lou To get expert military opinion on this soggeation, representatives of the United Hiates army and the New York National Ouarda wsre Interviewed. General Oratvi, at his headquarter oa Oovemor's IslanO said: "I thiak the proposed plan a good ons, if properly carried out 4hat Is, to have regi ments of educated men, trained eleotrlclsns na railroad experts ready to operate transportation lines and ths Islegraph to J; 'it.iect Ufa and property in oase ot unlaw- 1 ji ouiure&as aunxig riots ana striae. ( "llut whether the necessary law au- th irlxtng it could be passed la another matter. To do it would require Slat leg islation, which would meaa consultaitloo frTti! n 'wl,h tnelr -ontltuenU end r.?iJ. on th -uhjeet before the pro po,d -neasure could corns to a vote. .Wow the various labor organisations of in country would naturally oppose the passage of such a lsw, and so th plan would probably fgij., "But that would not make the scheme proposed any less Important. What Is our government for If not to protect life snd property., maintain peace and make it safe for people to travel and pursue their vari ous r vocations, without Interruption, men ace 1 r d anger T ( "It would not only os a good thing to have several regiments ot such trained men in the National State Uoards, but also In the service of the United States govern ment, to maintain order and protect life and properly, apeclally llnea carryln the ni.'.l. In case of unlawful demonstration am ing e wwun ui nu vuu lawlessness. "In my opinion one regiment would amount to little. There should be at least twenty regiments in the State of New York, composed of educated mechanics and operators who could ta fee charge of rail ways and efficiently run then In tnese cases of emergenoy. 1 think that all good citi sena will at least agree on th necessity of maintaining order at all times, protecting ibuslttes and human life." , General Koe, at the head of the New York National Guards, said: "I thank w already hav plenty of skilled men tn ths National Guard regiments. The Twenty second is a regiment of engineers practical pioneer who ould go ahead and wulld bridges, lay railroad tracks, in fact, do almost any kind of skilled work when necessoj-y. During the trouble In Brook lyn a few years ago they took charge of the trolley system and ran the cars suc cessfully. "To havs a special regiment would le like calling attention to their particular office and would create bad feeling. I think there should be no special regiments of any particular class, either of rsce, reklglon or profession. What wa want is an effective, homogeneous National Guard, representing all classes, the more the better, and then you will find enough skilled men to meet any emergency. Of the fifteen thousand men In our regiments, about half ar al ready skilled mechanics, able to put up machinery and run locomotives and trains. Challenge of Leonardo." , IT was twilight; and with feverish hast Leonaido da Vlncl wa putting tl.e fin ishing touches on "Ths Last Supper." Suddenly in the stillness he heard a voice exclaim. "Leon, eld man, this will never dot" "Sir, what Co you mean by stealing In upon me at -this hour ss If I were a crlrrdnalt" "Not quite a criminal, but almost," answered the Interloper. "By order of the National Bund ot Bun-bakers I have been watching hre for fully ten days to discover whether or not you In tend to paint the regulation union label on the Apostles' crusts yonder, snd If not, wliiefuit?" It is said that Leonardo wa never a maay ot many wopds, tiut his obeervaitlojns on this occasion peeled seversl feet of fresco from the ceiling and bulged the walla ot th cht-il four iuohea hm of plumb. Costly Typographical Errors. ENORMOUS sums of money Jf fre quently expended by various govern ments to rectify errors, often appar ently trivial. In government printing. Ths United States, some year ago. destroyed 4.000,000 telegraph forms owing to the misspelling of a single word. In 188 several hundred thousand greenbacks were cancelled before Issue owing to the ami cause. An employe was convicted for attempting ro steal some of these worthless notes, with the Intention ot sell ing them to collectors. The Austrian government Is so Intol erant f mistakes that It cnncsls docu ments, not only on the ground of serious mistake or misspelling, but even as the re sult of a misshapen Uotter. The use of a small. Instead of a capital. "B" In the word "Brlefe" led a short time ago, to the destruction of 16.000 'forms Issued to the various post offices. In i860 an Austrian designer of bank notes signed his ivame In tiny letters ex the foot of a drawing. The engraver copied the name, and, before the mistake was discovered. 10,000 notes were printed, all of which had to be burned. A eymtoollcsJ figure on another Austrian note was maliciously given a beard which could be seen If the note was held at a cer tain anicle In the light. Before the union ot Italy, more than one aittempt was secretly made to turn official papers and notes to propsgandlst uses. A Customs House regulation form was so apareJ by the compositor that the Initial words In verv. Uue, xt read ouuseoualveiy, were a declaration against the Papal claim to eovrn Rom. In another cas th spacing of words In Certain batik notes wer so arranged that. by drawing a pnnoll line In a particular way, a rude outline of th arms of Savoy resulted. Tlviwe notes, of course, never saw the light, the device being too obvious to escape detection. In 1901 a Spanish engraver was heard boasting that he had "signed his nams" on svery one of ten thousand bank note Just about to be Issued. When railed up and asked for an explanation he declared that he had been Joking. But an examina tion of the notes showed that certain let ters In one line were raised a microscopical distance above thoss next to them. Theae raised letters spelled the employe's nam. One hundred and fifty pound was th price paid by th authorities for their en graver's Jnks. The Kaiser's persistent Interference In all matters of srt has cost the Fstherland heavy losses la cancelled printed matter. One of his first sets as sovereign wss to shew his subordinates how the Imperial arms should be printed. After many thou sand forms and documents had been im pressed with these arms sn antiquary of high authority proved to His Majesty that tiia new des'gn was not only wrong, but 'also humiliating to himself. Fifteen hun dred pounds worth of paper wer prompt ly reduced to ashes. In snot her oass ths Kaiser "sub-edited" the German money order form In such a wan that th gubllo ooul4 a-ai B-aJc head, or tall of thla Finally the new form had to be called In and thousands of unissued copies destroyed. Fifteen thousand pounds' worth of the eleven shilling poetai orders had to be de stroyed by the General Post Office some time ago owlns to the noundar mamnel oa the face having boon Id. Instead of Hd.. n snouia nave been. The estimated loss to the country was 4100. England seldom has to put op with such loaees, tout foreign government are less lucky. V Both on the Continent and In America carelessness or wantonness in misprinting money orders, telegraph forma and bank notes have led to serious loss and curious complications. Franc has been a bad sufferer. In 1898 more than twenty thousand hundred francs credit notes were printed with a word badl mlssiielled, the error not being no ticed until some of the notes had been Issued to banks. A coupls of years later sn engraver, un der notice of dismissal, contrived to num ber a series Inaccurately, with the result that, the notes had to be cancelled. During th Wrlmean War. a foreign firm of engravers, settlud in Russia, printed half a million creiit notes with th im perial arms reversed. The government, of course, refused to accept the notes, and ths engraver had to put up with a loss of nearly i-w.ouu. Japan has at last a newspaper In which th lltm. tVD IS Used a in Our lurmii It la called ti- KomaJU