The evening times., 1898-10-22
ENTERPRISE IN THE EORIENT
Civilizations Advance in the
Town of Tientsin.
COLLEGES AND RAILWAYS
Consul RaGsdnle Gives an Account
of the Growing Importance of the
City-EiShty Miles From Pekin
and Formerly a Military Station
oniy-Immense Population.

iSeo " UttOiilt the tIltdteT UI
transactions of worldwide Importance in
the near future in which the leading ma
tions of the world may be involved, a
paper which was given out at the State
Department yesterday is of unusual in
terest. 1t IS a report the city of
Tientsin by United States Consul James
w. Ragsdale, who is stationed there He
says:
'Tientsin is situated at the junction of
the Huei River sometimes called the
Grand CanaD with the Peiho River, in
latitude 80 degrees minutes and So sec
! onds north and longitude 1T degrees 3
minutes and SIS seconds east. 1t is dis
tant from Pekin by road about so miles.
oFrmerly, II was a military station only,
. but toward the end OF the seventeenth
! century became citg of great impor-
tance. Today, 1t is the home of 1,O0e 900
people, with an annual import and ex-
port trade aggregating IS. 900 taels ($i2,-
go, ,0O0)
The growth of Tientsin within the past
few years Is most astonishing The mud
holes and swamps of few years ago
have been filed in; one. two three, and
even four story brick buildings erected;
streets macadamized, trees planted gas
works constructed, and now pipes Qrom
New York; for very elaborate and per-
feet water system are being laid-all due
to foreign enterprise. On the other hand,
| the Chinese authorities have been seized
with the spirit of progress, and to them
Is due the building and furnishing of the
! Imperial Military College, the Imperial
| University, arsenals for the manufacture
of guns and ammunition mint for the
coinage of silver, and last, but not least,
500 miles of a splendid railway Machin-
| cry has also been purchased for COM
{ plete wooden mill, and many other i'm
provements are now under consideration.
The university was established in 1873
by its president, Mr. G. ID. Tenney dor
mer United States vice consul al Tien-
{ tsinl, and the request of His E.Xcellency
| Sheng Hsuan, with the advice and APP
! Droyal of the emperor His EXcellency
! Wa Ting-fang present Chinese minister
| al Washington, and Mr.. Ts-ai Shao-ehin.
member OF Viceroy Wang's staff, were
! the first directors. The university Is dl-
! vided into three department, viz, coIeSl-
! ite preparatory and railway. The pre-
paratory course covers four years. after
! which the students enter the collegiate
! department, where they remain another
, four years. At the end of the first year
/ in the collegiate department. the students
mining. and mechanical engineering, and
| law Each special branch is in charge
| of foreign professors, assisted by Chi
nese professors.
| ..Thr present number of students Is 20.
| and the annual expenses are 6G,OO taeis
| ($39. COO. entirely borne by the govern
ment. The president and four Of the five
professors are citizens of the United
| States.
The Imperial College was established
bv his exceIlency Ii Hung Chang. the
viceroy of Chilli in the year 1884. Al
| the beginning il was simply intended 10
| give employment TO the German ohcerS
! under contract with the government. but
the necessity of training men in the arts
| of war led the viceroy 20 memorlahze the
! throne in behalf of a permanent military
| college. A suitable building was erect
| ed at cost of 5000 taels t32. 500. anu
TN, annual expense of maintenance is
| about the same amount. The students are
drafted from the different military camps
and they are supported by generals un-
der whom they were serving. After two
| wears course they return to their re-
| spective commands as instructors. Ihe
school is under the directorship OF Taotai
! Yint Chang, a Manchu. who received MS
military education in Germany, and helu
a commission of lieuterantcy in the Aus
trian army. All the principal instructors
| are Germans. most of them being non
| commissioned officers. The course oi
study and training Is practically the same
| as pursued in most military institutions
The German instructors do not under
stand the Chinese language. and give
their instructions through interpreters
Many of the graduates are now holding
| prominent positions In the army anu CIV
| il government.
| ba Mining C'nmnanV Is com
mercial joint-stock company. with head
quarters at Tientsin. The shareholders
are private individuals. Their mines are
located at Tong Shan. about $50 miles
north of Tientsin, and at Linsf The dai
" output of coal is 1,500 tons at the for
mer and 100 tons at the latter place They
employ 5000 10 10000 men, the native op
orators receiving an average of % cent:
CMexican) per day The pit deputies anC
overseers receive 800 to $50 tMexican) pc
month There are eleven foreigners en-
ployed-one Austrian. and the remainder
British subjects. Besides these. there arr
five Chinese, educated in the United
States. two having studied at Lehigh anC
Lafayette Mining College. One is nov
chief mining engineer at Linsi, and the
other technical manager of the Tons
Shan colliery A third was an undergrad
uate of Yale class of 1884, where he tool
honors in the classics. The company
owns six steamers. which are constantly
employed in transporting coal to south
| ern ports. This company also owns anC
operates a silver mine IN Mongolia, tn,
machinery for which was purchased from
Prayer & Chalmers, Of Chica 80.
1.-The Imperial Chinese Railway Is with
out doubt one of the greatest enterprise:
in Northern China. Already, 800 miles o
road have been constructed eighty mile
| of which are double track and l25 ar
! now under construction. The compan!
has sixty-four engines of Chinese make
| four Belgian, twenty-one American ant
thirty-eight English. From 5000 to 1000
men are constantly employed, forty-tw,
of whom are foreigners. They have ex
{ tensve shops at Tong Shan, where car
of all kinds are built The crossties ant
bridge timbers are imported. principal,
from Oregon although small shipments
far inferior in quality, are received from
Japan. The road is gradually being ex
tended, the traffic is rapidly increasing
and already the road is paying handsom,
dividends.
: 1.-The government has erected at Tient
sin two arsenals for the manufacture o
munitions of war of every description
shells, cartridges. torpedoes, powder, gun
cotton, guns, etc In 1895, machinery wa
added to one of these arsenals for tn
purpose of coming silver dollars, half dol
, lars, 90 10 and scent pieces. The coin
age for 1897 aggregated the sum of 81, 176,
f $500 The vast machinery in these arse
; mails was purchased in Europe, and tn
superintendent and assistants are Eng
lish subjects. There are $500 men con
stantly employed in the two arsenals."
smalIwood Held for Homicide.
Philadelphia, Pa. Oct. 22.-John Small