Chapter III: Front Matter (3)

Even if the railroad were built, almost all the produce of the Amazon and montaña country could be carried more cheaply by water to Para than by rail to Cartagena; while goods from England and America would be carried cheaper by steamer to the Isthmus of Panama, and thence to all ports on the Pacific ocean, than by steamer to Cartagena and up the Magdalena across the Andes to the valley of the Amazon, and then a second time across the Andes to the Pacific ocean. The greater part of the business to and from the mines would be by the railroad.

At present, as there could not be sufficient business to pay the operating expenses of such a road, it must rely on government subsidies to build and operate it.

Those who have given the most consideration to the subject say that the road need not be an expensive one to operate, and in the important element of time it would have a great advantage over the route via Para. As a means of promoting the settlement of the country and developing commerce, which cannot exist without population, the railroad would seem to be a necessity, for navigation has neither opened the country nor brought in emigrants and we may fairly assume that it will not suffice in the future.