The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-10-06
American Capital in China

Calvin S. Brice's statement of the
the new American enterprises in China
has been confirmed by an official of
that corporation. The plans Will prob.
ably result in uniting the Carnegie
company, the Sugar Trust and other
powerful combinations in opening a
railway 900 miles long between the
cities of Canton, Hong Kong and Han
kon, and it also means that the Car
negie company will manufacture sew
eral hundred thousand tons of rails for
this line These great organizations
will probably be able to force matters
to a more successful degree than did
the English merchants of Shanghai
twenty years ago, when they conceived
the plan of laying the first railway in
China between their city and Woosung.
They knew it to be utterly useless to
attempt securing formal consent of
the Chinese, but they thought that a
line once made on land obtained by
purchase might be tolerated. The chief
official of Shanghai expected soon to
retire from Office and privately agreed
to place no difficulties in the way, as
he would be safely out of reach when
the storm would burst. In 1876 the
little road was completed and became
the great resort of the Chinese, who
swarmed all over the trains. But then
along came the storm, which proved
to be cyclone of American dimen-
sions. A man, suspected of being a
paid suicide-which is a somewhat pc
culiar cOmbination-was run over by
a train. The result was that demand
was Immediately made for the life of
the engineer in payment for that of
the unknown deceased. This could not
be allowed and an English magis-
trate stopped the proceedings. Then
it was whispered that the Chinese Off
cials were about to resort to the time
honored remedy of a mob riot, in which
the tearing up of the rails by the
step. So desperate did the case be-
come that it was believed wise to sus-
pend traffic, and as the negotiations
resulting in the Che Foo convention
were in progress, appeal was made to
Ii Hung Chang, who was acting as
Chinese plenipotentiary. But Ii was
viceroy of another province and inti-
mated that his interference would make
matters worse. All that could be done
was to go through a red tape process
for arranging compromise. The
terms eventually reached were that
the line should be sold to the viceroy
of Nanking, but that it should be kept
working at least twelve months, when
it was hoped its financial success and
the appreciation of the natives would
insure its continuance, but a sort of
Poo Bah made a different decree. The
line was torn up and transported to
Formosa, where its chief mission was
to rot on the seashore.
But it was Ii Hung Chang after all
who promoted the pioneer line, for it
was in his viceroyalty that the next
railway was constructed in connection
with the collieries. The war with
France led to the official acceptance of
the railways as they were needed for
the transportation of troops. The first
real line of eighty-five miles was COM
pleted in 1888 at the cost of $2l, 25O per
mile, but it has sustained many vicissi-
tudes for all the dispensation of Provi-
dence and other catastrophies of the
empire from a palace fire to cutting
eye Teeth too soon by the last royal baby
and even more serious calamites were
warnings from heaven against foreign
innovations and extensions of the line
were forbidden.
Because of this pig-headedness, po.
litely known as conservatism, the rail.
road enterprise of China. with the ex,
ception of Ii Hung Changs own spe.
| cial to the northward, has practically
been stopped. 1t will be a great thine
for the land of Cathay, whose emperor
to quote the flowery diction of the Chi,
neses, has probably just gone to bt
the guest of heaven" when a few
Americans boomers land there with {
little Yankee push and the conscious
ness OF a big syndicate or two at thell
backs to brace them up.
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