t and unique
interest. A glance at its steam transportation discloses rich material.
Fundamentally the railroads of any country are the real measures of its
progress. In Africa particularly they are the mileposts of
civilization. In 1876 there were only 400 miles on the whole continent.
Today there are over 30,000 miles. Of this network of rails exactly
11,478 miles are in the Union of South Africa and they comprise the
second largest mileage in the world under one management.

More than this, they are Government owned and operated. Despite this
usual handicap they pay. No particular love of Government
control,--which is invariably an invitation for political influence to
do its worst,--animated the development of these railways. As in
Australia, where private capital refused to build, it was a case of
necessity. In South Africa there was practically no private enterprise
to sidestep the obligation that the need of adequate transportation
imposed. The country was new, hostile savages still swarmed the
frontiers, and the white man had to battle with Zulu and Kaffir for
every area he opened. In the absence of navigable rivers--there are none
in the Union--the steel rail had to do the pioneering. Besides, the
Boers had a strong prejudice against the railroads and regarded the iron
horse as a menace to their isolation.

The first steam road on the continent of Africa was constructed by
private enterprise from the suburb of Durban in Natal into the town. It
was a mile and three-quarters in length and was opened for traffic in
1860. Railway construction in the Cape Colony began about the same time.
The Government ownership of the lines was inaugurated in 1873 and it has
continued without interruption ever since. The real epoch of railway
building in South Africa started with the great mineral discoveries.
First came the uncovering of diamonds along the Orange River and the
opening up of the Kimberley region, which added nearly 2,000 miles of
railway. With the finding of gold in the Rand on what became the site
of Johannesburg, another 1,500 miles were added.

Since most nationalized railways do not pay it is interesting to take a
look at the African balance sheet. Almost without exception the South
African railways have been operated at a considerable net profit. These
profits some years have been as high as L2,590,917. During the
war, when there was a natural slump in traffic and when all soldiers and
Government supplies