THE BAGDAD RAILWAY TO-DAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 155, 26 March 1919, Page 7

THE BAGDAD RAILWAY TO-DAY

ALONG THE TAURUS SECTION COUNTRY OF GREAT PROMISE ("Times" Correspondent.) Cairo, January 13 (by mail). From a reliable authority who has recently arrived here from the Adaua vilayet I have received the following information about the section of the Bagdad railway in that ■ region. It" is already known that' British and'other Allied prisoners have been set to work on the railway. On December 1 there were about 3000 Indian 100 English, 600 Russian, 1000 Serbian, and 200 Italian prisoners of war working on the Taurus tunnel construction work. In the course of the following fourteen days they were released, via Mersina, and shipped to Port Said, the Turks raising no difficulties with regard to their egress, in spite of the fact that the demobilisation was going on at the time. The railway between Bozanti, iu the Taurus range, and Aleppo is on tb.Mvb.olo in first-class condition. Some excellent ; work has been done. The organisation near the Taurus tunnel is extremely- in- ' foresting, complete provision being made : oven for making the bootsof the workers, i Trains can run all the 'way, but the \ tunnels need lining with masonry. This is urgent, otherwise they will fall in after the heavy rains; indeed, 6ome " of the new cuttings have already fallen. The scenery is magnificent in tho tunnel area, and there is a very fine bridge with piers 220 ft. high. ', On the Amamis Range, tho tunnel work has finished, though there are many difficulties owing to the sinking of tho high banks. The track is laid and well ■ballasted for heavy trains to run at 45 miles per hour. There is ample rolling •stock and material to meet present needs. Tho original estimate for the construction of the Taurus tunnel lias been large-, ly exceeded owing to tho urgency-of tho work dun to the war. How this lings capital outlay is to lie paid is.,a matter for settlement, between the Ottoman and German Governments and the : Railway Company, which, though nominally an international corporation registered in Switzerland, is actually backed by the Deutsche Bank.' Future "traffic 'through the Taurus cannot hope to pay the enormous outlay, which was only justified on Strategic grounds. The commercial purchase price will therefore have to be based on the economic value.;.without talcing into account tho originabcost. The 1 higher engineers' are' Germans and Swiss. Tho former cannot be spared until they are replaced, otherwise stores and material would disappear and the plant would be ruined. The most striking feature of the rail- ' way eonstntcton work has been the survey. Owing to the precipitous nature of the mountains, ordinary methods were impossible. A special stereo-photographic theodolite was 'invented for photographing the mountain passes, and tunnels of a total length of 11 kilometres tvctc- plotted and planned from maps made from photographs. M. Mavrogordato, nominally of Austrian nationality, but of the wellknown Greek family-" of Constantinople, is in charge' of the construction work, which is carried out-In' a company quite distinct from the railway both as regards funds and management. With regard to the economic possibilities of the region touched by this part of tho railway Adaua vilayet has an extremely rich soil and two or three crops are possible every year. At present, owing to the unsettled stato of tho country, land is very cheap. Under good government labour should be plentiful, and it is probable that, other things being equal, more progress could be uiado there than in Palestine and Syria. . ;—,-- Thero are many mines in the Taurus area. Coal also is found in-the vicinity, but the quality has not yet been proved. Forests are plentiful. and magnificent, and ali tho requirements of Egypt could be supplied if cutting wero organised and tho necessary shipping could bo provided. Wood fuel, which cost with military labour 3J paper lire in peace time, cost 124 paper lire per ton. Taking the lower' calorific value of wood, and al-. lowing for gold value, this represents coal as 7! Turkish gold \\ri per ton, "aider existing conditions it would bo advantageous to use it for industrial enterprises, i Irrigation possibilities should proi'e mi teresting to engineers as well as to financiers. Much cotton is grown and there are cotton factories in Adaijn; indeed, if aeroplanes had dropped boinbs on a certain factory in that town most of tho Turkish Army would have been" without clothing. There are over three hundred 6leam ploughs iu tho country, and there is room for more: hut what is wanted ia some fivm tor organising repair shops. Nincty-nino per cent, ot the people wish for Allied occupation. The Turks wero as tired as the Armenians of tho lato Government and felt equally oppressed; all that. they.want is to be left . in peace. This became quite clear' when a few remnants of the Union and.Progress Tarty endeavoured' to excite the people; they frightened a few, bat they , had no following.