1000062609_037

INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CONFER.ENCE.

171

riRing to pa.!'ls the ln.teral

ierras, reaches i ts lowest lovel at the Maranon, :111(1 rises

again to reach the great taule-land of Bolivia.

'l'o sum up: From the outhern terminns of the railways in operatiou in Mexico

to the northern terminus of the Argentine system is about 4,900 miles.

In this

distance t here are already constructed auout 2:30 miles which can be used in the

through line, 1,800 miles are under construction anu survey, and there remain2, 70

mile

to be located in order to complete tbe line that will eventually unite the

republics of the Western Hemisphere.

A more accurate statemen t of the location can not be rnaue frorn present knowledge

of the subject. Surveys are necessary; general, in order to give a rnQre complete idea

of tbe topography, and particular for the exact location of the line.

.Much of the

conntry to be traversed is unknown ; of the rest but few surveys have been under–

taken.

A branch liue has been projected

Bolivia from Oruro to Cochabarnba. A line

has been projected from Santa Cruz to the Paraguay.

these are built with a con–

nection between Cochabamba and Santa Cruz, the commerce of Paraguay and Brazil

will

be reached. The line from the Paraguay is to go to Suere, and might be extended

Potosi and Uyuni, joining at that point the Bolivian railways.

The ronte by the central plateau tonches a nuruber of tmnsandine lines: The

Canea Railway, in Colombia, from Buenaventura to Cali, partly completed; the rail–

way

in Ecuador from Guayaquil to Sibambe, Boon to be completed; the Oroya and

Arequipa lines in Peru, now complete; and the Antofagasta and the Valparaiso lines,

approaching completion.

Another ronte for the intercontinental line deserves mention. The Brazilian rail–

-way cover, more or less, the eastern coast of the continent.

If these were joined

carried northward they would approach the Amazon. The Veneznelan lines are

being counected with each other and are projected toward the interior. The Orinoco

and the Amazon then forro the only barrier between the railways of Venezuela and

those of Brazil, bnt one which may almo t be considered impa.ssa.ble.