Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-03
1900 MILES OF RAILS
Wanted Right Here for New Japanese
Railroads in Prospect
A STUDIOUS JAP READY TO SELECT.
he Will Come From Altoona to Pittsburg
ina Few Days. and See.
WHAT HE SAYS OF EASTERN PROGRESS

NJ. Fukuzawa, of the Sanyo Railway
Company, Kobe, Japan, will visit Pitts
burg within a few days to look over the
mills, and especially those making steel
rails, with the object of ultimately pur-
chasing in this country rails for
from !, 500 to 1900 miles of rail-
road in Japan. He is now at Altoona,
studying the transportation department of
the Pennsylvania Railroad, and yesterday
gave DISPATCH reporter pleasant chat.
He was sent over here by the Sanyo Rail-
way Company nearly three years ago to
study railroading, and will return to Japan
in about two months.
The accompany now operates road from
Kobe to Balkan, about fifty miles long, but
are now arranging to build about 1900 to
1900 more miles. The company
is composed wholly of Japanese,
and has capital of $4,000, 900.
NJ. Fukuzawa said that since the first
railroads were built in Japan, the people
have "gone crazy" over them and clamor
for more. The profits on the 1000 miles
now in the country are enormous, the roads
paying as high as 20 per cent dividends
THE TWO GREATEST.
The investigator selected from all of the
railroads here, the New York Central and
the Pennsylvania, and for nearly three
years has been asking questions, discussing
complicated systems of billing, ticket sell
ing, mechanical engineering, etc., and once
month writing home to his company,
what to them is fairy tale of the wonders
of invention in this country.
The vestibule train with its dining cars,
shaving chairs, baths, Libraries, sleepers,
parlors, etc., were fully described in one
letter, with drawings; but his company
wrote back that it was too much for them.
Japan couldn't stand such jump from be-
ing carried around by coolies to palace on
wheels.
Mr.. Pukuzawa has spent much of his
time in Philadelphia, and was once before
in Altoona. As result of his mission the
Japanese roads have adopted the air brake,
the Jenny coupler, the Pennsylvania Rail-
road system OF counting, and are now study
ing over the question OF adopting American
rolling stock Their roads are only built
narrow gauge, 81 feet between the rails,
and smaller engines than here are used.
They propose at first to transport
from this country eight locomotives and 200
passenger and freight cars. NJ. Fukuzawa
has partially decided on the Baldwin works
in Philadelphia for his locomotives, but
will look around in Pittsburg. He has
been informing himself about H. R. Porter
& Co., but did not speak oil having heard of
the Pittsburg Locomotive Works.
HIS PITTsBURG VISIT.
He intends visiting the Edgar Thomson
Steel Works and it may be possible that
Pittsburg will in the near future furnish
steel rails for Japan's railroads.
The company have about decided to pur-
chase American rolling stock, but the corre-
spondence about different specifications,
prices, ETC., takes long. time. Full expia-
nations of every detail have to be given and
their questions answered. This cannot
be done by cable, hence the slow negoti-
ations of NJ. Fukuzawa's company.
The English built the first roads in Japan
and, of course, the English rolling stock
was used. The Japanese now know of no
other from actual experience, and though
NJ. Fukuzawa has persistently explained to
them the superiority of the American cars
over the compartment system, they want to
know more about it, aud as their
decision will undoubtedly set the
precedent for all future railroads in Japan,
they are carefully looking into all the de-
tails. 1t may be said that, in great meas
ure, the adoption of the American system
lays wholly in NJ. Fukuzawa's powers to
explain to his countrymen its merit, and
persuade them that it is best in all things.
First class fare on the Japanese roads is
4 cents, second q lass 2H cents and third
class cent, making it possible Tor man to
ride according to his means.
The man on which so much depends is
young man apparently. as far as an
American is able to judge of a Japanese
age. He is Of one OF the best families of ia
pan and we'll educated, speaking and writ
ing the English language exceedingly well.
Shortly after his arrival in America news
paper reporter wrote that he was prince of
royal blood, but such he says is not SO.
His father, Yukiche Fukuzawa, is the
editor of the Jill Shimpan or the Times,
the largest daily paper in Japan. 1t has
30, 900 circulation daily, and uses cyl
inder presses and all of the latest i'm
provements in printing. The subscription
price is 40 cents per week. 1t had full
account of Pittsburg's Centennial from the
pen (or brush) OF NJ. Fukuzawa, who was
in the CITY at the time. The Japanese are
greatly interested in anything American.
and crave after foreign letters. which they
read with wonder.