The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-05-27
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
foreign cottons through the fall in tn
value OF silver.
WASTE OF MONEY.

WASTE OF MONEY.
Speaking OF extravaganza in railroad
building, 1 doubt whether there has ever
been erected more costly plant than that
which is now being put up here by this
viceroy for the building of cars. the max
ing of rails and the turning out OF small
equipment for the line which is at some
future time to run from here TO Picking.
The works are being put up by Belgians as
foremen. and about fifty high-priced men
are now employed here on salaries I Wis
tied the works yesterday. They are located
at the foot OF hill just above the mouth
Of the Han river, and a short distance
back from the Yangtse Kiang. Accompan-
led by the American consul and Mr.. Bur-
net, an American who has lived for thirty
years in the center Of China, rode in a
long Chinese boat, sculled by a ragged
haired celestial, up the Yangtse banks
under the shadow OF the Hankow wharves.
We passed thousands of boats loaded with
all sorts of freight, from Standard oil cans
and cotton bales TO baskets OF OIL boat
loads of peanuts, RATS OF poles with bam-
boo houses upon them, and through hun
dreds of great junks OF white pine. some
lines oiled TO rich yellow and in other
cases black with age. Every wharf was
filed with workers, and the coolies. with
and down them like gigantic ants The men
on the boats and on the shore grunted or
sang as they worked and the air was filed
with a noise as great and indistinguish-
able as that of the Tower OF Babel at the
time OF the confusion Of tongues. Passing
Hankow, We reached the ship-building
yards OF Hanyang, where men perched in
little bamboo huts. built upon four poles at
least fifty feet above the ground, were
twisting ropes Of plated bamboo. Each hut
was not more than four feet square, and
was just large enough to contain the rope
maker, who twisted at the coil which lay
in rings within the poles on the ground be-
meath. Here and all along the banks OF the
river there were hundreds of bamboo huts,
many Of them no bigger than the top OF
canvas-covered wagon and OF exactly tho
same shape. These were the homes of some
of the poorest of the million OF Hankow
and Of many beggars. 1 stopped and photo
graphed some OF them as we went by, much
to the CONSERVATION Of their owners. who
ran from the camera and called me for
eign devil at the top Of their voices.
One attempted to grab my camera. but
gave him shove backward and jumped
into the boat Similar cries greeted us as
landed at the wharf. where a score OF
Chinese coolies were unloading the great
ingots of steel which have been brought
here from Europe to make the first rails
and to use until the Chinese shall be able
to turn out their own steel from their own
iron. Other coolies were unloading thou
sands OF bushels of coke, also from Europe,
and this carrying Of steel ingots. coke and
machinery has been going on for months.
One of the ships on which sailed on my
way up the river had about one hundred
tons of these ingots. and it's hold was
packed with big boxes Of heavy machinery.
1t carried 1000 bushels OF coke, and the
captain told he seldom made a trip
without lot OF material for the Hankow
rolling mills. Money, in fact, has been fiow-
ing out here almost fast as the current
Of the Yangtse river, and the viceroy has
spent somewhere between $5O0o,0 900 and si0,-
100000 already. The evidences are apparent
that he will have to spend a number OF
millions more before he gets through, and
at the present rate OF extravagant
mistakes he is likely to bankrupt him
self and his state government before he
builds his road In the first place IT costs
him a fortune to make the foundations OF
his works. He has. judge at least seven
ty-fve acres the greater part Of which is
covered with buildings. There was a hill
close by, where he might have located the
establishment He chose. however. the low
bed of the river, which is overfiowed every
spring, and went to work to make IL safe
from the waters Laying out his founda-
tons he filled in this vast area TO a height
Of fourteen feet, the dirt being carried by
coolies It 10 cents day In little shovel
like baskets hung to the two ends OF a pole.
which they rested over their shoulders. It
must have taken an army to do it. but IL IL
done, and there is now a railroad running
upon it a distance Of perhaps a quarter OF
mile from the rolling mills to the water.
Upon this there were about 100 steel cars
and a steam engine or two OF European
make at the time entered the yard The
cars Were loaded with machinery. and were
being hauled to the rolling mills in the rear.
CHINESE MACHINIsTS.
I followed one of the trains. We first
came to eight large boilers, near which
were what looked like vast haystacks, but
which were sheds OF mats, In which the
coke was stored. Beyond these there were
two massive furnaces for the smelling OF
the ore. Each was hundred feet high, and
climbed on the top of one Of them by the
spiral steps on the outside. Below me I
could see the roof OF the vast machine
shops, which are now being filled with sx-
pensive works. These shops cover at least
twenty-five acres, and there are here that
many acres under one iron roof A railroad
runs by their side, and a smokestack Uo
feet high rises in the air behind them. Be-
yond them in the distance you see the
buildings Of the Viceroy's arsenal where
he is making modern rifles and other guns,
and near this IS brick works, where
bricks are being made with the latest OF
improved European machinery. / entered
the machine shops The din OF an i'm
mense boiler factory greeted my ears, and
found myself In the midst of hundreds OF
Chinese machinists, who were working in
putting up all sorts of rolling mills and
machinery. large part of the works il
already up, but ii takes time to build a
shop OF this magnitude anywhere, and in
China things go very slowly. The Vice
roy has been spending so much
that he has reached the end
OF his pile. and he is now waiting to get
an advance from Picking. The government.
however. is getting ready for the celebrs-
ton OF the sixtieth anniversary Of the
birthday of the Empress Dowager, and upon
this will be spent enough TO build road
from Picking TO Canton. and the people will
be taxed in consequence II Is not so easy,
however, to overtax the Cinnamon as IL is
in other so-called savage countries. and tho
government is trying TO economize in ev-
Frn-