The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-03-30
TRANs-sIBERIAN RAILROAD.

There came over the wires on Frid. Y
the following dispatch:
The Berlin correspondent of the Lon
! don Standard learns from an excellent
source in st. Petersburg that China has
granted concession to Russia to build
a railroad from the Chita, in the Trans
4 Balkal district of Siberia, through
Manchuria 30 Port Arthur, "the latter
port" says the Standards correspond
ent, being coded to Russia in exchange
| for certain, important concessions. The
car, has, therefore, consented to stop
the building of the railway from the
Chita to Vladivostock, in order to pro-
coed with the Manchuria line, which it
is hoped will attract an immense trade
from China
This despatch calls attention to one
of the greatest undertakings of the
nineteenth centry-the construction Of
the Trans-Siberian railroad. The road
| is being built by the Russian govern
ment to connect st. Petersburg and
other western centers of population
with its far-distant port on the Pacific,
Vladivostock. The road, when complet-
ed. will be nearly five thousand
miles long, and will be accounted one
of the great triumphs of engineering
skill even in a century famous for it's
! achievements in that line.
By this arrangement with China spo-
ken of in the dispatch quoted above,
| the completion of the great Siberian
line will be FASTENED and give Russia
! a better port on the Pacific that Vlad-
| livestock, and a much more direct route
to it than the original plan Afforded.
For some time railroad has been in
operation between Vladivostock and
Khabarovka, an inland city several
hundred miles north on the river Amur,
and it was to this latter place that the
! Trans-Siberian line was projected. But
with the grant of Port Arthur and the
right of way through the province of
Manchuria, both route and port will be
more desirable.
Only last January firm in Phila-
delphia shipped, for use on this ST.
berian railroad, a cargo of twenty I'M
usually large locomotives, each weigh
ing, with their tenders, ninety-seven
tons; and what is regarded as a
rather novel feature is the fact that
| they were designed to burn petroleum.
Another shipment of twenty such To-
comotives was to take place in Feb
ruary, so that undoubtedly rapid head
way is being made in the completion
of this road, though it is not expected
that it will be altogether finished until
1905, unless the work should be has
tened by reason of the growing power
of Japan, which, when this great rail-
way scheme was projected, was not
regarded as of very much Importance.
That this line clear across the en-
! pire of Russia will nightly increase
! the trade and commerce of that coun-
try, open up vast regions of rich agri-
cultural lands to it's people, together
with almost unlimited mining fields
! goes without saying. 1t will increase
Russia's wealth., but what perhaps is
will marvelously increase her military
prestige and prowess in that with its
branch lines it will open up a means
for the quick mobilization of her army
in any part of her extensive territory,
and enable her to operate as we'll on
the distant shores of the Pacific against
Japan or China, or with the nations
of Europe on the Baltic or the south
ern seas of western Asia.
Over a year ago now-in fact, nearly
| two years ago-Professor Herman
Schoenfeld stated that among the
greatest achievements of this century
| in the construction of rail and water
ways must be counted this vast Rus
sian enterprise. Then he added:
with the accomplishment of this
| stupendous work Russia win enter
among those nations which will give
| this century it's brilliancy and glory
| for having raised the technical and
commercial progress of the human
race to an almost incredible standard.
Two undertakings of similar dimen-
sions are still left to be accomplished,
conducting railway through the en-
tire length of the western hemisphere
and the completion of the Panama
canal"
1t may be possible that under the
whip and spur of pressing necessity on
account of THE changed conditions in
the far east, and the distinct advan-
! tages secured by the reported conces-
sions from China, Russia may con-
| Guide to complete the one of three
great achievements referred to by the
professor and assigned to her, within
the present century, but it is very I'M
likely that the other two will be COM
pleted.