724 THE ECONOMIC CONQUEST OF AFRICA BY THE RAILRO.\DS. 



that time the Parliament has shown itself indisposed to grant further 

 appropriations and everything is at a standstill. During the last 

 decade three roads of purely local interest have been developed at 

 the expense of the national system. 



The great central Algerian railroad runs parallel with the seacoast 

 from Tlemcen to Sidi-el-Hani, a distance of about 750 miles. At 

 Oran it divides into two short branches. Tunis, at the other ex- 

 tremity, is connected by branches with the principal ports of three 

 provinces. There are three inland roads, no one of which, however, 

 can be extended independently into the interior. Railroad construc- 

 tion in Algeria is practically at a standstill. 



In fact France seems to be committed to what the English call a 

 " masterlv inactivity." She has neglected to take advantage of the 



Fid. 2.— Systems of Algiers and Tunis. 



incomparable base of operations for an advance into the interior 

 offered by her Mediterranean possessions, and in the possessions 

 themselves has contented herself with an insignificant system, the 

 elaboration of which is too often governed by political considera- 

 tions rather than those of a purely economical nature. 



When the contracts are rewritten, the companies merged, the 

 tariff revised, and the headquarters moved from Paris to Algiers, 

 the work of construction in Algeria will receive a new impulse. 

 However it may come about, the new era will put an end to the 

 standstill policy and inaugurate a period of progress. The inde- 

 pendence in financial affairs which the colony now enjoys gives the 

 means of appropriating necessary money for railroads. To the 

 great profit and economic glory of French North Africa rational 

 extensions will be undertaken as the occasion arises. 



