The times., 1899-03-19
THE SIBERIAN RAILWAY.
Much Travel Already Attracted to
the Great Russian Railway.

est. Petersburg Correspondence London Times. }
The great Siberian Railway is now so far
advanced that it already begins to attract
a good many travellers going through to
China and Japan or coming overland from
the Far East. Hitherto, st. Petersburg
and Moscow have, practically speaking,
been on the road to nowhere except Siberia
and formerly nobody seemed to care to
penetrate into that vast region except rival
investigators of the exile system and prison
life, whose contradictory statements were
so long the only introduction which a
stranger could get to the country. Euro
pean travellers through Siberia of the ordi-
nary stamp were rare, but all this is rap
idly changing. Sir Howard Vincent. NJ.
P. who was there the other day. seemed
surprised at the small change that has
taken place in the outward aspect OF the
two principal cities OF Russia during the
quarter of century that has elapsed since
his first visit, and in this respect perhaps
his surprise may be justified. but study
OF statistics would show how great has
been the change as regards the human ele-
ments in these two towns. Never has st.
Petersburg felt so much the lack of hotel
accommodations as at present; never be-
fore has there been such an influx OF for
eign visitors. This is, of course, due in q.
great measure to the increased interest OF
foreign capitalists in the industrial devel-
opment Of the country. But the movement
is also extending to Siberia, where num-
ber of English and American engineers
and well-known South Africans have long
been prospecting for gold mines. They all
speak of the great potentialities of the
Russian Canada
1t is difficult to imagine what will be the
full effect Of the altered, or rather altering
situation when the Siberian Railway runs
right through to Vladivostok and Port Ar
thur. 1t now reaches the town of Irkutsk,
the capital of Eastern Siberia, distance
of about 1850 miles from st. Petersburg;
and a few weeks ago. when the official
opening OF traffic to that point took place,
the Gar telgraphed his hearty eongratu-
lations to the governor general on the re-
ceipt Of the news. In reality the railway
already goes beyond Irkktsk to Lake Bal
kal, but that section is not yet quite fin
ished A party of Englishmen under an
English engineer has been engaged for the
last two years on the shores of this bot
omless sea- as the natives call it, in put
ting together the pieces of the enormous
ice-breaking ferryboat constructed by Sir
W. G. Armstrong. Whitworth & Co.. for
carrying over the through Siberian train.
Some of the pieces got lost in the usual
Russian fashion during their transport over
sledge roads from Krasnoyarsk; but now
everything seems to be in order and, sub
ject to certain amount of skepticism as
to the ultimate success of the plan, ow-
ing to the alleged peculiarities of the great
lake in winter time, this powerful vessel
will probably be ready for navigation early
next summer.
have been led into these reflections by
the arrival here of small party of En-
glish and American travellers from Pekin.
including Mr.. Arnot Reid editor and part
proprietor OF the Straits Times" at
Singapore, who chose the road through
Siberia as the most interesting way home
to England They left Pekin fifty dsys
ago, and rode through the great Cobb
Desert, over the Russian post and cara
van route to Kiakhta. This part OF tte
journey, says Mr.. Reid, was most delight