TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 205

especially in the regions not traversed by railways, where
the mule, donkey, camel or ox are commonly used. Bail-
ways in Turkey, though limited in extent, are well con-
structed, and normally would provide creditable service.
(In November, 1923, the 360 mile all-rail journey from
Constantinople to Angora required 36 hours.)

Primitive animal transportation persists because it
has no commercial competition. Still, the carrying costs
of the former are so high that only a few products can
stand the charges, which, nevertheless, are not unreason-
able in consideration of the modes of travel. Many
recent writers have overemphasized the present impor-
tance of the camel-carried trade. The use of other ani-
mals is frequently more economical. Furthermore, the
camel is unable to compete with the railway in any more
marked degree than the horse can compete with the auto-
mobile. The two following illustrations are based upon
Trebizond and Smyrna.

Trebizond on the Black Sea coast owes its importance
in history largely to its location as the terminus of the
routes from the interior, mainly, the Persian caravan
route. For the five year period, 1861-1865, the average
yearly exports from Persia to this port amounted to
$5,000,000, and the average imports destined for Persia
amounted to $6,500,000. But for the period 1906-1910
inclusive the average annual exports dropped to $675,000
and the imports to $1,580,000. This remarkable decline,
which is evident both in the value and in the quantity of
goods, can be accounted for partly by favorable Russian
commercial tariffs and special freight rates; but the de-
ciding factor, to the detriment of Trebizond, was the
building of the Transcaucasian railway with its main
terminus at Batum, at the eastern, end of the Black
Sea.

Another illustration of the comparative inferiority of
the camel is based on information furnished me in 1921