The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-19
ENGINEER, is TO BUILD The
LINE.
WON THE IMPERIAL CONSENT
no CONNECT NANKOW WITH PEIxIN
AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF
WORK.
WHAT HE SAYS OF THE PROJECT.
Another G. A. R. Rate Matter to Be
SettIed-Meeting of Passenger
------~ Men Today.

NJ r JefferdS, the noted American
civil engineer and railroad contractor
who has succeeded in procuring con-
sent of the Chinese government 10 al
low him to construct railway from
Nankow to Pekin, distance OF iZo
miles, is in ST. Paul in consultation
with the officials of the Transcontlnen-
tai roads Mr. Jefferds has accomp-
lished something which no man has
ever accomplished before, and that is
to overcome the prejudice of the Chi
nese government against American and
European enterprises. For years he
has. been seeking to secure the right
to construct the line, and now he mas
won the Imperial consent of the gov
eminent. The American Will own one
third of the road when completed, ana
will have charge of the work. He is
in the city to arrange with the Trans
continental lines to haul the immense
amount of material to the Pacific sea-
board. as the greater quantity of the
material to be used will be from Ameri-
ca. Col. Jefferds was assisted in his
efforts by Flung How Wung, diplo-
mat attached to the London embassy.
Concerning the road, the colonel says:
when 1 reached China last summer,
/ found things very different there from
what l had been taught to believe they
were from childhood. The people
were well worth cultivating. The
reason that they have not
made more progress in the last
fifty years is that the people from
America and Europe who went there
as eXploiters, went to rob rather than
to improve the Chinese 1 found that
Americans are in far greater favor
in China than 1 supposed they would
he, in view of the various anti-Chinese
laws which we have passed in this
country But when 1 arrived in China
1 found that our financial legislation
had favored the Chinese so much that
they were disposed to overlook our
antagonistic legislation. Perhaps / am
prejudiced by the fact that I am an
advocate Of bi-metallism, but the
Cinnamon assured me that we were
really paying them bonus to do their
own manufacturing instead of purchas-
Ing manufactured articles from us.
Twenty years ago a Chinaman who
earned a Mexican dollar earned 100
cents of our money. Today he gets the
same nominal wages, which purchase
just as much as they ever did, and yet
they represent but SO cents of our
money.
1.-THE Chinese are generally getting
into the era Of progress and that ten
dency is going to develop one of the
richest portions of Asia, q region re-
plete with natural resources which
needed modern improvements and ap-
planes to develop them. The most
notable instances of this progressive
spirit was the imperial edict issued
some months since authorizing the con-
structiOn of a railroad from Pekin to
NankOw, a distance Of some 720 miles.
To the expense of building this road
Chinese merchants and capitalists were
allowed to contribute two-thirds and
foreigners one-third. On behalf of my
friends in America and England, /
Immediately subscribed for the one
third, which represents $500, 900 in
gold with the understanding that I
was to have the contract to build and
equip the road. The preliminary con-
tract was signed before I left China
to visit my English and American back
ers. Since that time the Chinese mer-
chants have carried out their part Of
the contract. have subscribed two
thirds of the stock and have cabled
me to return and sign the final con-
tract and commence work.
My Investigations of the markets of
England, Germany and America have
convinced me that the railway mater
ial required can be purchased more
cheaply in America than elsewhere. In
consequence the Chinese have decided
to adopt the American type of railway,
and the whole equipment of the road
from rails to engines will be bought
in the United States"
Col Jefferds leaves for Vancouver
today, whence he sails for Shanghai,
his present home, on the Canadian
Pacific steamer, Empress of China
The construction of the road will
require an investment of about 80, 0OO,-
600 taels, a tael being valued at about
rs cents in American money, Two
thirds of the amount has been sub