File 3142/1903 'Hedjaz Railway' [‎73v] (153/488)

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depth, and the construction of wells there giving a large supply had fairly satisfactorilv
solved the water difficulty so far. " ^ J
Since leaving Ma’an, however, the water prohlem has become increasingly difficult,
no surface water being found, and generally speaking all attempts to sink wells has
been a failure, water being only found at very great depths, and then in completely
insufficient quantities. The discovery of water at Mudewere and Tebouk has assisted
matters considerably though not relieving the necessity of a considerable intermediated
transport of water. Added to the great difficulties which the scarcit} T of water has
occasioned comes the question of fuel. The country being innocent of any kind of
fuel, coal, oil, or wood, the transport of the same" over the long line of rail that
separates Haitfa from the ever-advancing railhead, becomes a costly and difficult question
necessitating an equally ever-increasing supply of rollin^stock and service, the
organization of which on a single line of rail is in itself no mean task ; and the additional
duty of providing food and other supplies sufficient for the 5,500 men that are engaged
in the construction in varying zones results in great difficulties and hardships foAioth
the engineers and troops. The punctual daily arrival of the trains from .Ma’an to the
railhead has so far been fairly satisfactorily effected, but in many places the line of rail
has had to be temporarily carried down into the beds of wadis,“until the stone bridges
across them shall have been built, and so there is a risk that in the wet seasons the
lines may be washed away and communication interrupted. The scarcity in the supply
of masons has led to this course being adopted for the purpose of expedition, and the hope
of beincr able to carry out the Sultan’s order that the line should reach Meda’in Saleh next
year. he country south of Tebouk as far as Meda’in Saleh has been already surveyed
by Moukhtar Bey, who reports favourably on the country, but holds out little hopes of
nndmg water. There is some prospect of difficulty as regards the construction of the
rm °ff r a cert f in district where there appear to be sand drifts, but this is less a
difficulty of engineering than of avoiding increased expenditure per kilometre.
n a i 1P c0Ilstrilc ^ 0n are } ve -d given in a report published recently in German
y Au er Bash a, a German officer in Turkish employ, which 1 have, therefore had a
translation made of the most interesting portion, of which I inclose herewith a copy.
e . 01 .7 yther point that need be mentioned in reference to the Question of
construction is that of labour supply. According to Auler Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. there is no prospect
ai the Bedouin Arab will ever be got to work or to assist in the construction
ot the line, but since the inauguration ceremonies, to which I shall refer later a
considerable change has occurred in this respect The Shiekhs having become
reconciled to the advent of the line, the Arabs appear to have realized a unique,
opnoitunity' of earning money and are now offering themselves in large numbers for
employment, this new state of things will probably not reduce in any large decree
e cost o. construction, but it has to a small extent solved the difficulties of food and
suppies. ic number of troops employed on the construction will be able to be
diminished, and the Arabs who are self-supporting will replace them.
Tne Financial Problem.
Perhaps one.of the most striking features in the conception and realization of the
-tleqjaz Kailway ls the successful wav in which money has been raised by means as
ingenious as they are yarious. Inclosed herewith will be found a translation from the
BToio?! the balance-sheet for 1905. In this balance-sheet is shown a surplus of
ri p,! - ! es ’ ° T 7 e 7 approximately 230,000/. The total receipts shown are
oVoff^o P ,a f S ’ “d t . he ? x Pe“<>Iture 224,713,347 piastres. Of the total receipts
f ’ , 4,7 ld piastres are derived from various revenues attributed to the line, 88,448 161
piastres^frorn subscriptions, 30,899,801 piastres from subsidies allotted by Imperial order
} it anque . gnco e, and 30,999,127 piastres tire profits realized by conversion
ot moneys c o 1Iecte( i tk© provinces. The traffic returns of completed sections,
mandy that of the Haffia branch, have yielded 6,190,336 piastres (almost entirely
raffic of material for the building of the railway) and taxes on the districts covered
y te railroad, 1,467,505 piastres. The total expenditure is given as £ T. 2 211 080,
fTnnrw hHt ^ lfc 18 Sai( J that £ T * 97 > 200 must be deducted as the Value of
i u ° keepers, and 11,000 tons of rails not yet used, and £ T. 79 436
placed to expense account, but which should be properly placed to the cost of running
expenses.
u P lll ^ e / m P oss ^ 1 ^ e check or to estimate the value of the figures given but in
all probability it would be unwise to place too much reliance on the details. But their