The morning call., 1894-09-30

The most serious question which is
troubling China to-day in her war with
Japan is that of transportation. She has
big population, but it is scattered over a
country one-third larger than the whole
ottbe United States. This vast extent of
territory has only one railroad about two
hundred miles long. This runs through
one of the most sparsely settled parts OF
It, extending from the city Of TisntsIn to
.: the point where the great Chinese wall
60 jGts down into the sea at the head of the
Gulf Of Pechili. All of the traffic of
the rest of the country is carried on In
boats, carts and wheelbarrows,, and China
- has no means of transporting large
6 masses of men or provisions to feed them.
The roads are mere like bitches cut
through the fields than anything else. They
are full of ruts. and in the rainy season
they are turned into rivers. 1t is said that
there are 1000 roads in the empire, but /
venture to say that not one is macadam-
'ized, and the great highway over which
the caravans pass in going to Mongolia is
the bed of a rocky mountain torrent, and
the brick tea which to the amount of
thousands of tons is carried into Russia
and phibet is taken over mountain paths
so rough that only men can travel over
them. All the information, dis9a ches
and mails which go to the capital OF China
have TO be carried over dirt roads, and be-
fore the telegraph lines were put into Pc
p king important news was sent from all
parts of the empire by messengers with re-
lays of horses.
Such q messenger service exists in some
parts of China to-day, and i is said that
Kublai Khan had 300, 600 horses which be
used for this purpose and his relay sta
tions numbered 10000. Some of the pro-
visions for the palace at Peking are
. brought by relays from Tientsin and
to-day the courier service between China
and Thibet IS by ponies. Their clothes
are sealed on them when they start and
these seals cannot be broken until they
have delivered their messages. 1t is said
that they are lifted from one horse 10 an
other at the station and that they some
times die on the way from fatigue.
Nearly all the money transactions of
China are done in silver, and l saw boxes
OF bullion packed into carts and shipped
from one town 10 another. The bullion
was nailed up in pine boxes, and such as
saw being shipped out Of Peking did not
have soldiers to guard it. / was told at
the banks, however, that all money that
was sent far into the interior had to pay
commission TO the bands Of brigandS and
robbers. a certain sum wa wen to some
one connected with these bandS, and they
furnished an escort to go with the money.
The robbers in China have a sol { of trades
union, and there seems to be such honor
among Chinese thieves that other bands
will not modest caravans witch have paid
toll 10 the robbers. Some parts of China
are full Of brigands. and north of Korea
there are all sorts Of guerrillas.
The two greatest cities of North China
are, you know, Peking and Tientsin. and
these are the most interesting points in
the present struggle. Ii the Japanese
could take them the war would be prac-
tically settled, and The Chinese would
change their rulers from Tartars to Japs.
Both of these ties are not very far from
the sea. Tientsin is about fifty miles
back I'D the Peino River, and Peking lies
about eighty miles to the northward. Both
cities are frozen up during the winter, and
from December i'll March there il no com
munication except by rude carts and
ponies which go overland from Shanghai
and Cheefo0. | made several irips this
spring from Tientsin to Peking. and it
viii give you good idea of the situation
in China for me to describe the connections
or lrunk lines between these two mighty
cities. Peking Is, you know, the capital
OF the great Chinese empire. Ii contains
between 1000 600 and 100000 renple. 1t
is where the ruler Of 800. 0C0, 600 almond
eyed mortalS lives, and it is the Great-et
seat Of government on the globe.
Tientsin is the home of Ii Hung Chang.
1t is the New York Of North China. 1t is
the port where are landed all the goods
which supply these hundreds of millions
of the north and OF those which are car
Tied from 1t far beyond the borders of the
great wall into Mancburia, Mongolia and
the great province of Iii. Its inhabitants
number more than a million, and upon its
Wharyes goods ara stacked like hay, aggre-
eating in value every year hundreds of
., millions of dollars. These two cities are
abouta far apart as are New York and
Philadelphia, and the land between them
Is fiat as the floor Of a ballroom. All of
the supplies of the capital, including those
for the NO bles and the court. come first to
Tientsn. and there is a stream of goods
flowing continually from one place to the
other fully as large q that which passes
over the railroads between New York aud
Chicago. Through what channels does it
flow and how long does 1t Ia ke TO go from
one city to the other? | travelled nearly
two whole days and nights in making
my journey by land and the average
trip by way of the Peiho River is from
-FOUR to five days. These two cities have
not even decent wagon-rOad connecting
tnem The slow freight is wheeloarrow
and the fast express is a Mongolian pony
or Chinese cart. The Pu Imam car is. a
% houseooat on the Peiho River, but tiiis
lanas you only at the city of Tung Chow,
sand you nave to make the remainder of
your Journey by donkey or cart / have
Travelled both ways, aud ran race in my
honseboat with the boat Of Secretary John
w. Foster down tie Peiho. We both had
American flags floating from our nastheads
and my flag reached Tientsin first. The
Peiho River winds about like snake. 1t
cuts in and out at places like the teeth of
saw, and there are points where Won can
leave the boat, walk half n ,,,;to ooros, +na