Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-05-01

l hOl H. UT LIE GhhA1 SHERMAN hAALh A ! . sia, the constant friction on the bound aries of their colonies in the east and the apprehension with which each has regarded the slightest movement the other has made ill that direction. It is presumed that when the Siberian rail way is ill operation it will be possible to make the trip from Moscow to Vladivos- tok inside of 10 days.
 That Russia evidently had tho mill tary possi biities of the road uppcrmost | ill her mind wheR it was decided to pro- ceed with its building is shown by the fact that the estimated capacity of the road is based upon the number of mili- tary trains which may be sent over it in 24 hours. For its strategic value alone Russia could we'll afford to put the $270, 900, 900 which is will cost into this railroad, without regard to the other advantages it offers,
 In case of hostilities between Russia and England the former country would be able in u comparatively short time to send a largo number of troops by means of this great railway system to attack Great Britain s Indian possessions. Eng | land would be forced to send her troops | by means of transports through the Med iterranean and Suez canal or across the Atlantic, British North America and | the Pacific ocean.
 From commercial point of view also the importance of the Siberian road can not be overestimated It will furnish means of transportation for the Chinese, Japanese and Indian trade to Europe and divert the commerce of the east that now travels in caravans from the lines it follows farther south. The popular notion of Siberia is that it is barren waste, extending from the frozen ocean on the north to the burning semitropic plains on the south, and that it's chief inhabitants are Russian political prison CTS who have been condemned to spend their lives ill the mines of this almost unknown region. But this idea is very far from the truth.
 As a matter of fact, it embraces enor- nous areas of exceedingly fertile soil and possesses climatic conditions favor able to the development of agricultural industries. It is also rich in minerals. Iron and coal are found nearly all over Siberia and in veins of exceeding rich ness. Gold, too, exists in abundance. These mineral deposits are now neglect ed simply because the present cost of transportation is too high to permit them to be worked profitably. The rail way will cheapen the carrying of imple ments and stores to the mines and in crease the supply of laborers, who are not numerous enough i'll great many places. It will also facilitate the mar keting of the output, and as the road is to be government institution probably the golden rule of 'all the traffic will bear" will not be allowed to throttle the industries it is built to promote.
 Hitherto the principal barrier to the development of civilization in Siberia has been the absence of regular commu- nication with European Russia as we'll as between the most important indus trial and administrative centers within the country itself. The railway will re- move this barrier and will pour in flood of immigration from the congested districts in Russia and from other places where the pressure of landless popula- tion upon the limits of subsistence is iu- imioal to the stability of existing insti. tutions.
 The influence of, the new road upon the commerce of the world must not be lost sight of It will connect 400, 0Oo,- 900 Chinese and 35, 900, 900 Japanese more directly with Europe. The journey from Europe through Vladivostok to Shanghai will be made in IS or 20 days instead of 45 by way of the Suez canal or 30 by way of the American transcon- tinental railways, as at present. It may also have much to do with determining that great contest between Asiatic and European civilization which farseeing statesmen have declared must one day be settled