St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-26

tion of the czar's empi,e on the Pacific,
within fourteen daYS of St. Petersburg
and within ten days of Odessa and Sc
bastopol, and thus leave the Russian
feet, in cast of war, to act Of1enslvelY
againstthe commerce and other interests
of the enemy without fear as 10 the safe
t. of VladiyoStock. The troops from
the Siberian interior posts can be hur-
ried to any threatened point along the
coast, and the railway VIII guarantee
their arriving to garrison any port days
i'll advance of the arrival OF hostile
squadron.
Along the Chinese border the ad-
VantageS of this strategic line of rail-
way are very great. Running. as it
does, close along the frontier. it affords
q ready means of landing and maSSing
any available number of Russian troops
at any point from which it may be de-
sired to make an invasion of the Chi
nese provinces or an attack upon any
desired fortress.
As slow as the Chinese government
has been to take note of the lnroadS
made by foreign countries against the
peace and welfare of their ancient en-
pire, it has realized the importance of
this move of Russia and does not pro-
pose to be caught mapping. To this end
foreign engineers have BEEN employed
and railways planned and routes sur
Yeyed along almost the whole Of the
northern provinces of the empire. In
addition, telegraph lines to all the prin-
cipal cities and f0rtreSSeS are being
pushed forward as rapidly as the ma
terials can be obtained from the foreign
firms contracting for their delivery i'll
China. The material is supplied wholly
by American and European firms, and
Is brought to China by sea. The vessels
unload their cGrgaes at HankOw, and
from there it is carried overland 10 the
points at which the construction has
been begun.
The money necessary for building
these lines has been appropriated, or at
least such 4 sum is made payable an
nually as will cover the expenses in
Cured in the construction up to date of
paYment. The work is largely done by
soldiers and cOnvicts, and by this means
the heavy cost of the undertaking is
greatly reduced. No time has been fixed
tor the completion of these railways,
but, judging 10y the eagernesS with
which work is being pushed forward, it
Is safe to predict that they viii surely
be IN operation before the Trans-SibeT-
Ian line is completed.
It is most remarkable that. cnincident
Russia, the Usuri valley, through
which the Trans-Slberian railway runs,
has produced this year prOdigiOuS
cereal crop. ins0much that the authori-
ties have been compelled to come to the
agriculturists' relief by purchasing at
one time years supply of rye for the
entire Russian army The USuri valley
is one of the most prolific valleys in the
world, but at present only small part
of it has been brought under culiiva-
ton. Yet this small section has pro-
duced during the past year such an
enormous crop that were there a means
of transporting it to European Russia it
would 20 far toward checking the
horrors of the present famine. What
an incentive for eXpediting the work of
the railway!
Strategic considerations have been
heretofore mainly urged for the speedy
completion of this railway, but a new
inducement has ariSen-that OF striving
to avert the recurrence of abnormal
abundance IN one part of the empire
and wasting famine in another. 1t is a
problem which urgently calls for a
prompt solution Of how the work can
be most readily prosecuted.
The railway as how surveyed and
being built Will present 40 serious Ell
i
preme importance to the entire world
in is commercial and political aspects.
II will comprise 4 total length of 4.7SJ
miles, and Will cost roughly 5000, 600.
000. The construction of the line is
divided into six divisions, and these
divisions are subdiyded into sections OF
leo, 200 or 500 miles, according to the
Mature of the country. The contract fol
the building of the line is let by the
section, thus enabling many contractors
to come in for small portions. and con
sequently greatly eXpediting the com
pletiOn of the whole.
In addition to the large number Of
famine sufferers employed in the con
Nruction Of this work and of other:
previously engaged i'll it, it is now sug
gestad to use Chinese and japanese
laborers. Convict labor, upon which
much reliance was at first placed, la:
been found to be very dilatory and ex
pensive, and free labOris not sufficiently
available in Siberia to meet the demand
For reasons that at first seemed c0gen
and satisfactory it was decreed that only
the Russian pr0letariat should be em
ployed on the construction of the rail
way; but now it is quite evident tha
without the aid of an army of ChineSt
coolies the cOnsummation Of the under