Beview of Reviews, 1112/13. 



LEADING ARTICLES 



983 



one of the greatest acts of self-repression in 

 Sir William's life. But once out, horses 

 could not carry him fast enough to his chief 

 engineer. 



Everything was in waiting for the crucial 

 moment. Rails were stacked up at every 

 highway crossing. Labourers were on hand. 

 Everything was waiting for the word " Go," 

 and " Go " was the word. 



The railways were rushed across the 

 highways with as near an approach to 



the action of greased lightning as 

 human ingenuity could conceive in the 

 situation. And before Cuba knew what 

 was happening its first railway was in 

 operation. 



Tt was thus that Sir William beat out 

 his competitors, and achieved what to 

 every one of them was impossible — the 

 building of a railway without a 

 franchise. 



HELIOPOLIS, "A SUBURBAN MIRACLE." 



Those of our readers who have been 

 accustomed to think of the rapid growth 

 of metropolitan suburbs as distinctive!)- 

 an Australian, American and European 

 development will be not a little surjirised 

 to learn that one of the most notable 

 achievements in this direction within the 

 past decade has taken place in the perio- 

 dical ticket holders' zone, so to speak, 

 of Cairo, Egypt. His astonishment may 

 increase when he learns that the site of 

 this successful promotion is that of the 

 ancient city known as " the Eye of the 

 Sun," " the Fountain of the Sun," and 

 " the Centre of the Firmament," that 

 seat of civilisation which was supposed 

 to have passed out of existence fifty 



centuries ago. 



But even as the Phoenix was thought 

 to have risen from its ashes on this very 

 : spot, so the sacred city itself came to 

 ,■ life again in 1905 in the form of a 

 . suburb of modern Cairo. Tn that )ear 

 Baron Empain, having discovered that 

 the air of ancient Heliopolis was un- 

 usually pure, especially when compared 

 ' with the dust-choked atmosphere of 

 Cairo, that it had an unusual supply of 

 pure water, that the view was excellent, 

 and believing that the historic associa- 

 tions would add charm to the place as a 

 residential centre, conceived the scheme 

 of transforming this patch of desert into 

 a. modern town. During the past eight 

 years the Baron has expended millions 

 of dollars on the city site, has laid out 

 broad, shaded avenues and sporting 

 grounds, built handsome villas, and a 

 hotel which is said to rival in mag- 

 nificence and luxury the finest hotels of 

 , Paris, London and New York. 



Cairo and Heliopolis are connected by 

 train and electric tram, and also by a 



very fast electric flyer, which covers the 

 distance in twelve minutes. These and 

 other distinctive features of this remark- 

 able Egyptian suburb are described by 

 .S}'dney A. Clark in the second of a 

 series of articles dealing with the sub- 

 urban development of foreign cities, ap- 

 pearing in "Suburban Life " (New York). 

 In accounting for the phenomenal 

 growth of the place (it seems that, in 

 spite of thei great building activity, 

 backed up by ample capital, it has been 

 difficult to keep the supply of villas and 

 flats up to the demand), Mr. Clark 

 says : — - 



Everythin,o; in Heliopolis was planned and 

 fxeeuted witli an eye to the future, with an 

 eye to ])prmanence, and to artistic beauty 

 and sanitation, money being apparently a 

 l)nint of small importance. Although the 

 whole suburb is practically under the com- 

 plete authority of a ])rivate company, its 

 govtrnment, if one may call it such, is honest 

 and efficient and almost altrui.stic — qualities 

 which provoke a sorrowful comparison when 

 we think of certain municipal councils and 

 their ways. Xo city in Egypt, not even 

 Caii'o, has any drainage system, yet the pri- 

 vate eomiiany of Heliopolis has installed one 

 quite as modern and as sanitary as any in 

 America. It seems almost paradoxical to 

 a.ssociate with dirty, picturesque Egypt the 

 thought (if broad avenues actually as clean 

 and well kejit as the streets of Germany's 

 capital yet the paradox has become an 

 actual fact in Heliopolis. 



Tt would sound too improbable, and savor 

 almost of bribery, to pretend to claim that 

 t!ie company is actuated largely by altruistic 

 motives in all its actions. Doubtless the 

 phenomenal success of Heliopolis depends 

 largely upon the sagacity and foresight of 

 the founders, who acted on the ])rinciple 

 that a suburb. s])acious an<l clean and 

 healthy, near a city where tiie.s*' qualities 

 were unknown, would ])rov(> an irresistible 

 attraction, and. in the end. a paying busi- 

 n<\ss proposition. They have used every in- 

 ducement jiossible t-o draw from tlie city not 

 only the rich, tnit tbos^ of more modei'ate 

 means, and <n-en th(> better cli^s of workitig 

 men. For the ivell-to-do, i)al;itial villas 



