The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-11-30
RAILWAY RISKS IN CHINA.

The heading does not refer To risks to
passengers or capitalists. but To those
run by foreign employees. A railway en-
gineer's life I'm North China, for In
stance. IN truly an adventurous one. Be-
sides natural and routine difficulties To
be met with I'm all countries, he has 10
cope with mandarin intrigues, village
opposition. mutinous railway coolies,
turbulent soldiery. and. besides pro-
fessonal skill, he, therefore. needs in
some measure the qualities of diplo-
matist, soldier lnguist and philoso-
pher.
Mr.. Cox. who was recently assaulted
near Pekin, has had many similar eX-
periences during the dozen years he
has been railroad building i'm the Chihli
province, and has onfy extricated him
self by dint OF tact. pluck and good hu-
NOR. He has practically for years car
ried his life in his hand.
In 1890. for instance. during floods,
mob, led by the soldiery Lutsi, n mill
tary camp near Tientsin, cut the rail-
way embankment and destroyed seven
miles of line. their officers encouraging
them, and the enlightened viceroy. III
Hung Chang. in his Yamen few miles
off, ''layin low and sayin 'nuftin'.' The
cause alleged was that the embank-
ment prevented the flood water from
running off. which, as there were fre-
quent outlets, was utter nonsense, sPfe-
vious To that attempts had been made
10 wreck trains, and the lives of the
foreign employees were constantly
threatened
The life, too of the foreign guard on
a train is not always a happy one. Man
darins' servants without tickets take
possession OF a first-class carriage, eat,
drink, sleep and perform other func-
tions of nature in IL. Perhaps they light
a pan of charcoal To warm themselves
If the weather is cold Charcoal has
certain asphyxiating effects; the other
passengers complain. and the servants
have to be elected. Too much violence
might lead To a general attack on for
eigners and another Tientsin massacre
while too little would not be effective
The unhappy guard has TO follow the
happy" mean between good hard
push and IA mild knock-down blow.
There have, of course been many lu-
dicrous as well as dangerous incidents
on the North China line. When II was
first opened, Chinese would come TO the
booking office and try to bargain for
tickets. When told the fare. they would
offer half. and gradually raise their bid,
much disgusted that they should not,
/ I'm a business spirit, be met half way.
one day a country gentleman, on his
| first ride in a train. seeing his house
midway between two stations flying
| past, deliberately opened the door and
| stepped out into space. At the pace the
| train was going a European would GER
| tanly have been killed: but the supple
| Celestial. after a prolonged period or
somersaults, was seen TO pick himself
! and bundle up. dust his clothes, and
set off home across the fields--much
| pleased with his shortcut and the con-
yenience Of the "fire- wheel carriage"
An unfortunate railway coolie, equal
| " ignorant OF the laws OF mechanics.
| did not get of so we'll Seeing two
| trucks coming at a snairs pace down a
| siding. he placed his foot on the rail to
stop them To his astonishment IL was
cut off, and he learned. like Steven
sons COW. that momentum is made up
| of mass as we'll as velocity.
But in spite of everything, railways
are bound to prosper in country
where travelling 10 otherwise so slow
| and so difficult-cars and ponies In the
north and boats in the south never do
ing more than thirty or forty miles be-
| tween dawn and dark.-London News.