The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1913. AN IMPORTANT PROJECT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 307, 20 May 1913, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 20, 1913. AN IMPORTANT PROJECT.

In 1902 Germany obtained a concession ; from the Turkish Government to build a railway from Konia (the terminus of the line from Constantinople) to a port • in the Persian Gulf, a distance of 14G0 miles, or 1870 miles from the Turkish capital. The estimated cost was in the neighborhood of £20,000,000, and eight years were set aside for the work. A : start was soon made, and the first section, over fairly easy country, was completed. The next section traversed the i Taurus Mountains, and was estimated to cost three millions sterling, a great pro- < portion of which went into German pockets. The Turkish Government had : to stand guarantee for this and other monies required for the railway, which, it is estimated; will reach Bagdad next year. Britain in the past has not looked kindly upon the project, for the reason that once the railway tapped, as the Germans meant it to tap, the Persian Gulf, Britain's predominant position there—(she has about 88 per cent, of the £radc in her hands)—would be seriously affected, if not entirely destroyed. Evidently, however, some agreement of a ■mutually satisfactory nature has been arrived at between Britain and Germany,' for on May 15 it was stated that Germany's advice contributed to the agreeiment by which two British delegates will eventually join the directorate of the Bagdad-Bussorah railway to supervise I the transactions and prevent any disj crimination in the treatment of goods. I Britaip does not mind competition—her I free trade, open door policy at Home [proclaims that fact—so long as the competition is open and above-board. But Germany, who has her hands on practically the whole of the railways in this quarter of the globe, being absolutely supreme in this respect in Asia Minor, has, it is alleged, not behaved fairly towards British trade in the past, and, naturally enough, Britain has hitherto not gone out of her way to. facilitate or assist German railway enterprise in quarters over which Britain wields predominant influence. The German Gazette, according to yesterday's cables, states that Germany has made concessions to Great Britain over and above the Anglo-Turkish negotiations, and expects compensation, and in return hints at Britain surrendering Walfish Bay, a harbor on the south-west coast of Africa, which would be very useful to Germany's possessions in that neighborhood. We are given an insight into what the nature of these Anglo-Turkish negotiations are by a London cable. Britain, as usual, seems to have got the best of the diplomatic d,eal, for Turkey relinquishes her suzerainty of the peninsula and several of the important centres—a suzerainty, by the way, which has always been as sliadowdy there as in Egypt—and acknowledges Britain's right to participate equally with other Powers in the constructioh of the Bagdad railway. In return, Britain is arranging to lend Turkey officers'for'the reform of the administration of Asia Minor, and no doubt an understanding has been arrived at whereby Britain undertakes to assist Turkey in rehabilitating her finances. Britain will obtain control of the Gulf section of the line, and should extensions be made into India, the ultimate objective of the railway, she will be able to insist that the extensions shall be made along the coast, within reach of her naval guns. The line, as a commercial undertaking, must prove profitable, as the country it traverses, and will traverse, is amongst the richest in the | world. In its day the fertile plains and! valleys of Mesopotamia alone supported , teeming millions of people, and it can be made equally productive again. Not only is it rich from an agricultural point of view, but in several parts valuable minerals are to be found. Vast deposits of coal, iron, copper, lead, chrome, etc., have been proved to exist, but little or nothing has been done to develop the deposits. With Germany and Britain, as well as Russia, at work in that country, however, a change will sooii come over the scene, and the completion of the main ■ arterial railway line right through the land will aid considerably in the development. It is pleasing to know that an understanding has been arrived at between the two countries chiefly interested in regard to this important highway, and to have brought it about is another feather iu tlie cap of the gifted man at the helm of the Foreign Office, Sir Edward Grey.

mouth, we are sure, that can poasibly find accommodation for a child or | two, that will not eagerly open its doors I to them, but the work of administration is not going to be easy, and it is necessary for those who are prepared to assist to let the committee know at once what they are prepared to do individually. There must be a very strong committee of responsible men and women to attend to this particular department, for there must be no risks taken where the comfort and the safety of the little ones is concerned, for there will be many a sore little heart out back if parents, not satisfied with the arrangements, perforce decide to keep their children at home. Then there is the problem of feeding. Most of the children who visit the town for the day only will doubtless bring their own provender, and those who are billeted will, of course, be properly attended to. But there are sure to be the inevitable number of "foolish virgins" who have not "trimmed their lamps'" wisely, and they will require- the attention of those who have. The hotels and boarding-houses have already come forward with liberal offers, but their accommodation is limited, and they cannot be expected to do everything. It is essential that there should be at least one or two central depots, where hungry mites can be attended to by responsible men and women. There is one aspect of the visit, too, which must be borne, in mind. The New Zealand is to visit us right in the middle of winter, and if we should strike such weather on June 17 as we are experiencing now, the very best that we can hope to see of the giant warship is a smoke-blur on the horizon as she passes by. It may happen that after a bright early morning one of the twin inhabitants of the Cave of the Winds, as they often do in Taranaki, will decide to descend upon New Plymouth and turn dawn into darkness, and we shall be faced with train loads of children arriving in a rain-swept town with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Under the exceptional climatic conditions of the province, this is not a contingency lightly to be despised. It is sunny often in New Plymouth when Inglewood and Stratford are in tears, and ! the reverse, of course, also holds. The [committee must be prepared for this emergency, for the prospect of a town full of wet and weary children is not to be thought of. We have little doubt that the committee will deal with these matters effectively, but their task promises to be no light one, and they will require the sympathetic and active co-oper-ation of every man and woman in the town who can spare the time to hold out a hand to a little visitor or a tired mother on a day which bids fair to be a historic one in Taranaki. We are all hoping for fine weather and a calm sea to ease our responsibilities,- but these things lie in the lap of the gods, and what we are concerned with now is to give our friends out-back, whose children get far too few of the delights of life, an assurance that such of their children as can come to town will be properly and efficiently cared for, be the weather fair or foul.