The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-10-17

and when this contract involves a hundred
million persons in China and is sure to
so a long way toward forming the basis
Of a commercial alliance between England
and the United States, the occasion of the
signing becomes momentous TO say the
least. Mr.. Barnes was asked how he felt
while putting into definite language the
informal understandings that had been
reached between him and the Chinese min
ister
81 was pretty conscious" he replied, ''of
the importance of the agreement, and the
fact that l had no. one TO advise me- al
though ] am not myself a lawyer, made
it all the more interesting. His excel
loncy, WI Ting Fang, did not allow any
mapping, either. He was greatly alive to
the significance of the occasion, and is
man ably qualified 10 represent the most
thickly populated country on earth. Twen-
ty of the greatest banking houses in the
world have put up the money and under
taken the contract without asking for the
change of a single line in the document L
am proud to have negotiated a document
that will so materially hasten enhghten-
ment civilization and AnglO-Saxon feder-
alton. The Chinese minister is also very
proud of his part in this immense trans
action. He is likely to receive important
promotion for his services He may be
recalled to Pekin at any moment and made
viceroy or at least member of the Tsung
Ii Yamen. But the men who by lending
their names and abilities as fnanciers in
sure the success of the enterprise deserve
and viii receive the proper credit for their
liberality. 1 cannot state their names just
now"
The Men Behind the Scheme.
From another source, however, some
of the names on the roster Of the Chinese
railway syndicate were learned. Proba-
Oily no other company exists to-day which
includes so many members of worldwide
financial prestige. The list Includes: Elk
Vice President Levi p Morton; 7. Jeffer-
son Coolidge, ex-minister to France; the
Standard Oil Company; the Vanderbilt
family; the Carnegie Steel and Iron Com
pany; ex-senator Calvin S. Brice; Senator
Mark Hanna; Clement A. Griscom, of the
American Line of steamers; Gen. Samuel
Thomas. Hon. Thomas G. Plat: Freder-
lex p Olcott; George j. Bippus; President
Hageman of the Metropolitan Insurance
Company; Thomas +. Ryan, of the Metro
politan Traction Company; Hugh Grant,
ex-Mayor of New York; Col. James Nc
Naught; George F. Baker; Henry w.
Cannon; A. ". Brady; George Coppell;
the law firm of Cary & Whitridge the
firm of Moore & Schley; c. G. Haven;
Frederick Wessen; James p. Mcdonald;
Hartley & Graham; George r. Sheldon;
William A. Reed; James Jarvie; julius A.
Ward; Marcus Slime, and so on through
long list of representatives of banking and
commercial interests throughout the coun-
try
The surveying party which will lay out
the route of this great railroad has al
ready started for China, under the direc-
ton of William Barclay Parsons, en-
Rineer of the New York Rapid Transit
Company His corps of assistant engineers
will number over one hundred men. The
expedition will include experts in obser-
walton, interpreters, photographers, sur
veyors, mining engineers agricultural ex-
perts, and other persons with kindred
business. The survey, as will be seen
from this, will be most comprehensive, not
only deciding upon a route for a railroad,
but obtaining a very full and complete re-
port about the people and conditions of
the country, such as has never before
been obtained The expedition is under the
protection of the Emperor Of China, who
guarantees that 1.-THE party will be under
full military and civil protection, and will
not be interfered with by any persons or
spirits of earth or air" When this party
of engineers returns to the United States
we shall have an account of the Chinese
interior which will be highly valuable
from the geographical, sociological and
| general economic standpoint.
The Route of the Railway.
company
will be in Han Hok in the province of
Hupeh. The city is situated In the heart
of the Yangtse Kiang valley in China
and consists of three municipalities. Han
Kow in Chinese means "the mouth of
commerce" From Han Kow the railway
will proceed southwark, along the banks
of the Yangtse Kiang river. Passing on
its way through the provinces of Human,
Kwangsi and Kwangtung, the railroad
| viii follow the natural bed of the river
as far as possible, and when it branches
| away from the river it will not cross any
mountains. 1t will follow the valleys, and
! VIII pass through the following cites
| Woochang, Yohchau Chaugsha, Hang
| shan. Hangchan, Yungchau, Tau Kweil-
! in Pingloh, Wuchau, Shaking, Canton.
! At Canton the railway will divide One
! branch will proceed southwark to the
| Portuguese possessions at Macao, the other
! main branch going southeastward to
| Hong Kong. II will come down the
| shore of the bay to point about oppo-
site the island upon which Hong Kong is
situated. When trains reach this point
they will be loaded on ferry boats and
fioated over to the city.
Resources of the District,
Thus will a direct and rapid means of
! communication be started with the inter
Tor of China. Really very little is known
| about the country through which the
| IdilIOdu VIII pass. 1t Is Sdlu ana perhaps
! with some truth, that there are people in
the center of the empire, who do not
| know the meaning of the word civilization
as We understand it. There are said to
| be millions of persons living exactly as
! their ancestors lived before the Christian
era. Yet these people are intelligent, in
| dustrious, apt, frugal and have to blame
only their isolation for their failure to
keep pace with the world at large. Many
of them would rise above race prejudces,
! if given a chance TO develop. They live
in one of the most fertile districts on thu
| globe, in a country which grows tea, rice,
and other crops, produces jade petroleum,
coal, gold, and has many other natural
| resources. 1t is through this wonderful
country the railroad will go. As must be
| expected, short side lines will branch out
in all directions, so as thoroughly to tap
the various districts, and connect them
with this main artery of commerce.
A glance at the man of China will show