By these international compacts the
European character of the great undertaking is sufficiently attested.
[Illustration: THE "IRON GATES" OF THE DANUBE]
The work of blasting the rocks will be undertaken by contractors in
the employ of the Hungarian government, as the official invitation for
tenders brought no offers from any quarter. The construction of the
dams, however, and the cutting of several channels to compass the most
difficult rocks and rapids, will be carried out by an association of
Pesth and other firms. The cost, estimated altogether at nine million
florins, will be borne by the Hungarian exchequer, to which will fall
the tolls to be levied on all vessels passing through the Gates until
the original outlay is repaid.
Very few persons know, says the _American Architect_, what an enormous
work has been undertaken at the Iron Gates of the Danube, where
operations are rapidly progressing, mainly in accordance with a plan
devised many years ago by our distinguished countryman, Mr. McAlpine.
The total length of that part of the river to be regulated is about
two hundred and fifty miles, so that the enterprise ranks with the
cutting of the Panama and Suez canals as one of the greatest
engineering feats ever attempted.
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